“Where’d it go?” asked Carl.
The truck had disappeared around a bend in the road. When Mateo cruised around the same curve, the truck was gone, like it had never been there. Just like back at the gas station.
“Freaky,” said Priya.
“Freaky?” said Kristy. “Try moronic and irresponsible. Who drives like that?”
“Did anyone see the driver?” asked Mateo.
“Um,” said Carl. “I didn’t see one.”
“Me either,” said Priya.
“Good one, guys,” said Kristy. “The truck that just sped past us didn’t have a driver. Your feeble attempts to scare me are becoming more and more pathetic.”
“I didn’t see a driver either,” said Mateo.
“Mateo, not you too,” said Kristy. “You guys are so dumb.”
“It must have been the fog,” said Carl. “That’s why we couldn’t see him.”
“Um, but there is no fog,” said Mateo. “Not anymore.”
“It could be one of those driverless cars,” said Priya, smiling. Mateo and Carl laughed.
“Just stop it.” Kristy shoved Priya. “All of you.”
“Sorry,” said Priya. “I’m just playin’. Of course there was a driver. There had to have been a driver. Just because we couldn’t see him doesn’t mean he wasn’t there.”
“He was probably dressed in black,” said Mateo.
“With no lights on, it was just impossible to see him,” said Priya. “Sorry, Kristy. I’ll stop. I’m sure you’re right. It was a stupid driver making foolish choices. Forgive me?”
“I guess,” said Kristy. They hugged.
“Are we still up for this?” Mateo asked.
“Of course,” said Kristy. “We’re going to the lighthouse to watch the blood moon. That was the plan, and we’re not going to let some obnoxious driver stop us.”
“Perfect,” said Carl. “Driver, you heard the woman. Onward!”
Mateo smiled and stepped a little harder on the gas pedal. He didn’t want to say anything more because Kristy was already afraid, but part of him suspected something bizarre was going down. The truck disappearing at the gas station and again on the highway was crazy. But not being able to make out a person behind the wheel? That was the icing on an already freakish cake. Mateo seriously doubted that this was your average truck. Maybe there’s some truth to Priya’s crazy tales about the blood moon.
Mateo quickly tried to rationalize things. The truck is just a truck, and the driver is some guy in a dark jacket getting his kicks by freaking tourists out. We lost the truck around the corner because the truck was driving so much faster. It made it around the first corner and then quickly around a few more. That’s why it looked like it disappeared. What other explanation could there be? Still, part of him wished that Kristy had asked him to turn the jeep around and take them all back to Middleton. They could go to the Flame, have a few smoothies, some fish tacos. They could be surrounded by people. A lot of people. And they could be far away from the desolate coast and some phantom pickup truck.
“Don’t look now,” said Carl, who was facing backward, “but our friend is back.”
“Are you serious?” asked Mateo.
The girls whipped their heads around. Mateo checked his driver’s-side mirror. Sure enough, there it was—the same truck, again with its headlights off.
“What does he want?” shouted Kristy.
“Where did he come from?” asked Priya.
“He must’ve pulled over, and we just didn’t see him in the dark,” said Carl.
“I’m not so sure,” said Mateo.
“What do you mean?” asked Carl.
The truck accelerated up to the back of the jeep. It seemed to be inches from their bumper.
Priya screamed. “He’s a psycho!”
“Let him pass,” said Carl.
“Anyone see a driver?” asked Mateo.
The three friends stared at the truck.
“It’s too dark,” said Priya.
“Of course there’s someone in there,”said Kristy.
“But can you see him?” asked Mateo.
“No,” said Carl.
Mateo again slowed down, and again he waved the driver past. But as soon as he did it, he knew it was a pointless gesture. The truck didn’t want to get around them. It wanted to scare them.
“He’s passing,” said Kristy.
“Really?” asked Mateo.
But instead of flying past, the truck pulled up alongside the jeep. Mateo did his best to look into the cab. He could see some movement inside, but in the darkness it was still impossible to tell who—or what—was behind the wheel.
“What’s he doing now?” shrieked Kristy.
“He’s just sitting there,” said Carl.
Mateo kept the jeep at cruising speed, just around forty. He hoped the truck would get bored and drive off.
The vehicles drove side by side up a hill and around two sharp corners. With the truck to his left and the edge of the road to his right, there was absolutely no room for error. Mateo glanced at the truck, but he had to keep his eyes on the road and the jeep safely on the pavement. They swerved around yet another bend. At any moment an oncoming car, hidden from view, could be on top of them, crashing headlong into the pickup.
“You should pull over,” said Carl. “He’s going to kill someone.”
“Where?” said Mateo. “There’s absolutely no shoulder.” Calling the PCH a narrow stretch of road was an understatement. The only thing separating Mateo’s jeep from a steep embankment to his right was about five feet of grass, bushes, and boulders.
Suddenly the truck eased ahead of them just a bit. Almost simultaneously it moved to the right. It was forcing them off the road.
“Look out!” shouted Priya.
“I see it,” said Mateo. He pulled to his right, his tires balancing precariously on the edge of the asphalt.
The pickup didn’t stop. It kept moving right.
“I’m going to have to ditch the road!” shouted Mateo. “Otherwise he’s going to push me off. Everyone hang on!”
Mateo waited just a second—long enough to clear a couple of boulders up ahead in the grass. They flashed past, centimeters from the tires. Shouting “Here we go,” Mateo yanked the wheel hard to the right and applied the brakes, not so hard as to lose control, but hard enough to stop before another thousand-pound boulder appeared out of nowhere in front of them.
It was a hard stop. The jeep dipped and dived several times before crashing to a halt. Dust billowed in all directions.
Mateo was clutching the wheel, his knuckles ivory white. He released his grip and let out a deep breath. “Everyone okay?” He took a look around the jeep.
Carl’s hands were still braced against the dashboard. The girls’ eyes were huge.
“I think so,” said Kristy.
Priya checked. “Yep. Nothing broken here.”
Nobody said a word for at least a minute. Mateo thought he could hear the beating of his friends’ hearts.
Carl broke the silence. “You realize if that had happened on the other side of the road . . .”
“Don’t even say it,” said Mateo.
“We’d be fish food right now,” said Carl.
“He told you not to say it.” Kristy took Carl’s ball cap off his head and smacked him with it.
“Ow!” Carl grabbed his hat back.
“That truck wants us dead,” said Priya. “I’m sorry, Kristy. I don’t mean to scare you, but I think it’s true.”
“It’s okay,” said Kristy. “This time I think you’re right.”
Mateo looked from one of them to the other. “We need a plan,” he said. “And we need it now.”