A black Mazda sped around the curves of the back roads of Virginia, the moonlight shining off its rain slicked surface. Judging by the clear sky above, it was really hard to tell a storm had just raged through. Windshield wipers removed the last remaining droplets of water before coming to a halt.

"About time. Thought it was never going to stop." Sirena Sterling sat in the passenger seat staring out at the surrounding night. Her clothes and hair were soaked from their dash to the car.

"Wouldn't have been so bad if we didn't have to leave the party so early. Coulda missed it," her boyfriend, Mark, complained from his spot behind the wheel, earning him a fiery glare.

"You know why we left."

"I know why you think we left." He shot her a look.

"She was all over you, Mark. Anyone could have seen it. She wasn't exactly being discreet," Sirena shook her head, still hurt by his actions earlier that night. Her electric blue eyes stayed trained on her finger as it wound itself up in a damp lock of her jet black hair.

"Stop being ridiculous, Sirena. She was just being friendly," Mark rolled his eyes.

"Right, very friendly." Sirena returned her attention to outside the window at the passing pines. The forest was dark and mysterious at night and to be honest, it kind of gave her the creeps. They were about an hour away from home and she didn't want to spend the rest of the trip fighting. Apparently, Mark didn't mind.

"I don't understand why you have to do this every single time. You didn't see me throwing a fit when you were talking to Jamison."

"That might have been because we were just talking. Maybe Courtney should realize that in order to have a conversation with someone groping isn't a requirement."

Tearing his eyes from the road, Mark's eyes bore into hers. "You're unbelievable. Maybe you should just—"

"Mark, look out!" Sirena screamed.

Mark slammed on the brakes when he saw what Sirena was pointing at, swerving just before he hit the hooded figure standing in the center of the lane. Everything was a blur. All Sirena could see now was a swirl of trees and in an instant there was one right in front of them. Every bone in her body jarred as the vehicle collided with the massive trunk, deploying the airbags. Without opening her eyes, Sirena tried to sit upright again, but there was a gnawing pain in her neck, causing her to wince. Slowly opening her eyes, she tried to gain focus. She could, however, make out Mark leaning forward unconscious with his face in the slowly depleting airbag. Even in the darkness she could see signs of blood from his collision, but couldn't see from where it had come. Remembering why they had crashed in the first place, she began looking outside for any signs of the person they had hit. There was nothing outside of Mark's window. Turning to look through her own, Sirena saw a black figure still standing in the road. She had been so sure they had ran them over. Still trying to clear her vision, Sirena blinked her eyes, but the blow to her head was still in effect. Not taking her eyes from the person, she began fiddling with her seatbelt to get free, but it was no use. The fact that the person was just standing there was really beginning to frighten her. Why weren't they doing anything? All of a sudden they began stalking toward the vehicle, their features dark. Something about them made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Shaking Mark, she did her best to get her voice loud enough to urge, "Mark, wake up! Please, Mark! Wake up!" Still messing with the seatbelt she felt it finally give way, unlatching and freeing her from its restraint. Just as she turned to burst through the door, it was pulled open and she was yanked roughly from her seat.

Sirena woke with a jolt. Her body bolted upright and she found herself sitting in a damp pile of leaves in the woods. Every bone and every muscle ached. Looking around, there was no one else. How did she get here? What had happened to Mark? A million questions flew through her mind and every one of them made her head throb. Pushing herself to her feet, she brushed her legs off, trying her best to get the mud from her jeans. Man, these were my good pair, she thought. To her left she could just barely make out the edge of the woods. As she made her way over, her hand flew up to her jaw. Her mouth was killing her and she hoped she didn't knock any teeth loose in the accident. Something didn't feel right. Looking down at her hand she saw her fingertips were coated with blood. Great, she groaned. Reaching the road she saw that she wasn't far away from where they had run off the road. The first thing that she noticed made her stomach clench was the SUV. It was missing. Hobbling over, she saw the tire marks in the grass that had turned up the mud, a chunk taken from the large tree they led up to. Did Mark wake up and leave her? What happened after the person pulled her from the car?

Headlights shone up ahead, coming her way. Hurrying to the road, she waved her arms over her head to the best of her ability, trying to get them to stop. She had no idea where she was and had a feeling the next town was a ways down the road. It may not have been the best decision, but still she stood in the middle of the road, hoping they would be able to see her in the dark. Her concern mounted when they didn't seem to be slowing down. Her eyes grew wide as the headlights grew brighter and just as she was about to jump out of the way the truck skidded to a stop.

A scruffy man wearing a mechanic's coveralls and a trucker hat jumped from the driver side. His clothes were covered in grease and Sirena guessed he must've been on his way home after a long day of work. Dashing over to her, he asked, "Hey, are you alright?"

She shook her head, knowing she must look a mess.

"What happened to ya?"

"Car accident," she choked out.

The man looked around, looking confused and she knew it was because of the lack of cars. "well, come on. Let me get you to the hospital."

She let him help her up into his truck and shut the door. Once inside, he continued down the road toward the next town. "So, uh — what happened?"

"My boyfriend—" she winced. "Um— My boyfriend and I were on our way home. Someone was on the road. Swerved so we wouldn't hit them and ended up running into a tree."

"And your car?"

"I— I don't know," she answered honestly, but when he stared over at her with curiosity she added, "I woke up in the woods. It was gone when I made it back."

"Alright, well, let's get you to the hospital. Do you know where you are?"

She shook her head.

"Next town's a few minutes up the road. Maybe your boyfriend went there."

She didn't say anything and instead just sat there hoping this man was right. Wincing, she clutched at her stomach.

"You alright?" the man watched her with concern.

"I'm starving," she answered, slightly embarrassed.

"I may be able to help with that," he smiled. "I got a granola bar in the glove box there. You can have it if you'd like."

"Thank you," she smiled weakly. As she sat picking at the snack, she noticed the man had a tan line from where there had once been a ring. She assumed he had been through some kind of divorce recently.

He must've noticed her looking him over because he said, "Just got off work. Luckily I stayed late tonight. Damn carburetor..." he shook his head. "If I had left any earlier I may have missed you." Glancing over at her, frowned as she stared silently out the window. "Just hold tight. We're almost to town."

"What town?"

Smiling over at her, he said, "Mystic Falls."