I cranked up the music till it was blaring loud as my boyfriend and I drove down the scenic Texas road. Rolling the window down, I stuck my head out letting the warm air blow through my mess of mahogany waves.

It was a perfect day, not too hot not too cold. I watched the families picnicking in the open field nearby laughing, smiling, enjoying the day and the company. If only that could be us right now. I looked over at Matt who was singing along with the radio at the top of his lungs. A smile crawled across my face as I watched him.

He looked over at me, his green eyes matched the rolling fields around us. "What's wrong, Tills?" he flashed a concerned look, turning the volume down.

Yes, Tills. Short for Tilly, which is short for Matilda after my grandmother. Matt's the only one who calls me that though and I love it. That's always been his nickname for me since we first met freshman year of high school and we've been together ever since then. He knows all my quirks and always seems to know when I'm upset, even before I do. I love him for that.

"Just a little nervous, I guess" This move has been so hard for me. It's my first time leaving home and being away from my family...and Matt.

"About leaving home?"

"Yeah, I've never been on my own before. How will I survive without you?"

He laughed, reaching over for my hand and entwining his fingers with mine. "It's only for a year, baby. I'm pretty sure you'll be fine."

"I'm not so sure. I mean, I can't even order my own food from a drive-thru and now here I am moving all the way to Texas by myself."

The one year program I've been accepted into is supposed to help me perfect ASL and learn to use it in real life situations. My goal is to teach deaf and mute children how to use sign language. This program is a HUGE deal and it's an honor to be accepted in. I only wish I didn't have to move all the way to Texas to attend.

"Trust me. You'll be just fine, but if you really need me, you know I can be there in a little over two hours." he raised my hand to his lips, planting a soft kiss on my knuckles

"You're the Best, babe." I said, leaning forward and pressing my lips to his cheek.

A goofy grin spread across his face as his cheeks flushed "Aww, Shucks!" He said in his very best southern accent.

The drive seemed to be taking longer than we thought. We should have reached the city by then, but instead, we were still driving past barren fields. The worst part about it was the fact that the sun was beginning its descent and taking the daylight with it.

I grabbed the GPS out of the glove box and tried to switch it on. The screen lit up blue and the words 'battery low' flashed across the middle before promptly fading to black.

"Babe, please tell me you brought the charger."

"Is it not in the glove box?" he asked, turning the radio down as if to help himself focus on the present objective.

I opened the little door and rummaged through the contents: random papers, a flashlight, napkins from our countless trips to Chick-Fil-A, absolutely no charger.

"Nope, nothing but papers and junk." I huffed, my chest tight with worry.

"Crap! I must have left it at home." he ran a hand through his sandy blond hair. "We must've made a wrong turn somewhere. We should've been there by now." He bit his lip, the frustration he was keeping back was audible in his voice.

I sat back in my seat contemplating what to do next when something shiny on the side of the road caught my eye.

"Hey, slow down a bit," I perked up and poked my head out of the window as Matt drove by at a snail's pace.

An aluminum sign laid in the overgrown weeds with the words "Town of Poth 10 miles ahead."

Praise God! I'm dying to stretch my legs and get a bite to eat. Judging by the time, it looks like we'll most likely be staying overnight too.

"There's a town about 10 miles from here." I rolled the window up and adjusted my seatbelt. "Maybe we should try to ask for directions there."

"Good idea, that's only about twenty minutes from here." he replied, switching the headlights on to cut through the darkness.

We drove on, following the occasional signs pointing bus towards Poth that seemed to be leading us deeper and deeper into the countryside. Cars and houses became scarce until the point when we didn't see any at all-- nothing but endless overgrown fields for all the eye could see.

Matt nudged my shoulder drawing me out of my thoughts. "Do you see that? " he pointed at something ahead of us.

I stared into the distance, straining my eyes to make out any significant details in the dusk of evening.

As we drove closer, a small run-down building became visible like a beacon of hope. A sign reading "Last Chance Gas Station. We Slaughter Barbecue." sat atop the silver tin roof promising a solution to our predicament and an end to our hunger.

The gravel filling the lot crunched beneath the wheels of our car as we rolled in, parking beside one of the rusty pumps and climbing out.

"There's no light on, maybe they're closed." He remarked, examining one of the pumps which I doubted contained any gas.

"Maybe, but there's no harm in trying."

I walked under the shaded awning, running my fingers across the wooden columns slathered in chipped red paint holding the roof up. The exterior was desperately needing a good scrubbing and a fresh cost of paint-- not a very inviting place to stop for gas, is it?

I pressed my knuckles against the faded blue door and gave a few sharp raps; no answer came. Can't say I was surprised, this place looked pretty rundown. Grabbing the cold metal handle, I jiggled it a few times but it wouldn't budge.

"No one's home" I called to Matt, walking back towards the car.

"Well, that's just great!" He threw his hands up in frustration. "We're running on fumes and this Coke machine ate my last quarter!"

I snickered under my breath as I watched him his kick the thieving Coca-Cola machine. I shouldn't laugh because he's genuinely upset but something about watching him get so huffy over a few lost quarters is rather amusing.

"The town should be only another ten minutes away. You think we'll make it?" I asked, drawing his attention away from his destructive fit and back toward the task at hand.

"We sure can try," he replied, sulking back to the car, the both of us climbing in and fasting our seatbelts before cranking the engine and pulling back onto the dark empty road.

I rolled the windows up and locked the doors-- something in my gut was knawing at me and it wasn't just the hunger. We drove for another few minutes down the seemingly never-ending road. Dense fields of overgrown vegitation as thick as corn fields surrounded either side of us, shielding the terrain from any light at all making the road as dark at pitch.

"Getting a real 'Children of the Corn' vibe from this." he joked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"That's not funny, Matt!" I reached over and punched his shoulder sending him into a fit of laughter.

"Why? Are you scared?" He curled his lips upwards into a creepy smile like he always does when he's trying to scare me.

"Maybe," I whispered, sinking further into my seat trying my hardest to avoid looking outside.

My mind was telling me some psycho could come running out of the field and chase us down any minute. Ugh, I've seen way too many scary movies.

"They're coming to get you Barbara!" he said, quoting Night of the Living Dead and making cringy ghost sounds.

"Stop It!" I shouted, playfully slapping his hands away as tickled my ribs.

"No one lives any nearer than town. No one will come any nearer than that. In the night; in the dark,"

"You're not funny!" I giggled, failing in my attempt to act serious and suppress my laughter.

Movement out of the corner of my eye drew my attention back towards the road as something large darted in front of the headlights.

"Stoooppp!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, my eyes wide and fearful.

Matt snapped his head back towards the road, but by then it was too late.

Time seemed to move in slow motion. The sound of crunching metal filled my ears as I threw my arms up shielding my face from the shards of glass flying around me. I could hear Matt screaming beside me as our bodies slammed against the concaving metal walls. A warm red liquid splashed across my body, but whether it was Matt's or mine I couldn't tell. The impact jolted my body forwards, my forehead colliding with the dashboard. More of the warm liquid spritzing around me streamed down my face, blinding my eyes until I was literally seeing red. Piercing silence rang through my ears and flooded my mind before everything faded to black.