The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

It should never have come to this. The longer Eliza sat at the bottom of the hill, the worse she felt. It had been 180 days since Frank… Since the ghosts from her past finally caught up with her. She went from housewife to vagabond instantly, living hand to mouth with the only possession allowed her: her father’s old car. She slept in the back seat all these weeks driving back toward her childhood home, hoping for some semblance of escape and now she had finally run out of fuel and strength. She cursed Frank, she cursed God, she cursed the old car and she cursed herself.

There were hours of nothing and more nothing. Then she sensed movement shimmering in the middle of the road some ways toward the east. She dared a glint of hope, but the form never grew nearer. A heat mirage flickering in the noon day sun and nothing more. The morning was cool but here in the open it was sweltering. She was sweating and it rolled down her face mixing with dirt. She was a wreck and the full weight of all those lonely weeks finally hit her full force. She began to sob heaving for breath until she was interrupted by a voice.

“Eliza.” Almost a low growl. Familiar and frightening.

It found her here in the middle of nowhere.

She looked up to find more nothing, just the faint glimmer on the horizon like before. She wiped her tears and stood up. Shielding her eyes she strained to see what it could be moving at the horizon.

“You should have known I wouldn’t leave your side.”

She was grasped around the waist and pulled toward the car by an invisible force. The door flung open and shut her in. She screamed and tried to get out but the door wouldn’t budge. The heat was oppressive and she gasped for breath. Soon she grew weak and lay her head against the window. She looked up, eyes losing focus as she faded out.

Frank stood there at the door, grinning down at her.