sight? She couldn’t tell.
Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight
. Josie reached for her cell. She’d call work and explain. See? It wasn’t her fault. She would have been on time if it hadn’t been for the stupid train. How could she control that?
3:59. With a heavy sigh, Josie scrolled through her contacts to the coffeehouse’s number and hit the green button.
Josie wasn’t quite sure what happened next. The Teal Monster idled at the crossing, the occasional shudder of the strained engine rumbling beneath her. Then, suddenly, the car lurched so violently that Josie’s head smacked into the roof. She screamed—half from surprise, half from fear—and smashed her foot onto the brake pedal. Had someone hit her? She frantically looked into the rearview mirror but saw only the barren expanse of Leeland Road twisting into the woods. Confused, she turned all the way around to make sure a deer hadn’t accidentally rammed her. That’s when she noticed the mirror. It lay cockeyed in the back, and the blue blanket had slid to one side. The mirror must have shifted in the backseat while she was stopped at the crossing.
Huh?
She reached back to see if the mirror had been damaged, when a light flashed—fierce, white, and so intense that a searing pain shot through her eyeballs to the back of her skull and left her irises screaming for mercy. It was a clear, sunny afternoon in the middle of April, but the light that filled Josie’s car blinded her as if she’d been sitting for hours in utter darkness and someone had suddenly shone a spotlight in her face. She slapped a hand over her eyes, desperate to block out the blinding flash. Blood thundered through her temples, and her eyes ached against the piercing light. Josie buried her face in her hands, and felt the car shudder . . .
Then everything went dark.
FOUR
4:09 P.M.
A HORN BLARED. IT SOUNDED CLOSE, YET MUFFLED.
Then a voice. “Hello? Josie? Are you there?”
Josie blinked her eyes open, half expecting to still be blinded by the mysterious flash. Instead, Leeland Road stretched before her, open and empty. The train was gone. The crossing arm sat vertical and inert, the warning bells dead silent.
Her car was still running, her cell phone still gripped in one hand, and her manager’s voice pierced the haze that had settled over her brain.
She absently lifted the phone to her ear. “H-hi,” she said lamely.
“Josie, do you have any idea what time it is?”
Another horn blast. An irate driver in a pickup truck swerved around her through the oncoming traffic lane, flipping her the bird as he passed.
“I said,” her manager repeated. His voice was steely. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”
Josie shook her head, trying to jar her brain back into working order. Time? What time was it? Her eyes drifted to the dashboard clock.
“Four oh-nine?” She couldn’t keep the question out of her voice. Ten minutes? She’d been at the train crossing for ten minutes? That was impossible.
“Exactly,” he said. “You’re fired.”
She heard the phone go dead, yet Josie didn’t move. She stared at the digital clock display wondering what the hell had just happened.
4:21 P.M.
Josie eased the Teal Monster onto the soft shoulder of Leeland Road and cut the engine. She felt disoriented and confused, and her head still ached from the blinding flash of light that seemed to come from nowhere. She sat in the car, her heart pounding, and tried to figure out what she was going to do next.
She could have gone home, but to what? An empty house and no one to talk to. Not what she needed.
Other options: Penelope would be home, posting on one of her favorite online forums, but she’d immediately theorize that Josie’s experience at the train tracks was part of a government mind-control experiment gone haywire or something equally off the rails, and Josie wasn’t quite in the mood for that. Nick would still be at track practice. She hated bothering him
Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight
. Josie reached for her cell. She’d call work and explain. See? It wasn’t her fault. She would have been on time if it hadn’t been for the stupid train. How could she control that?
3:59. With a heavy sigh, Josie scrolled through her contacts to the coffeehouse’s number and hit the green button.
Josie wasn’t quite sure what happened next. The Teal Monster idled at the crossing, the occasional shudder of the strained engine rumbling beneath her. Then, suddenly, the car lurched so violently that Josie’s head smacked into the roof. She screamed—half from surprise, half from fear—and smashed her foot onto the brake pedal. Had someone hit her? She frantically looked into the rearview mirror but saw only the barren expanse of Leeland Road twisting into the woods. Confused, she turned all the way around to make sure a deer hadn’t accidentally rammed her. That’s when she noticed the mirror. It lay cockeyed in the back, and the blue blanket had slid to one side. The mirror must have shifted in the backseat while she was stopped at the crossing.
Huh?
She reached back to see if the mirror had been damaged, when a light flashed—fierce, white, and so intense that a searing pain shot through her eyeballs to the back of her skull and left her irises screaming for mercy. It was a clear, sunny afternoon in the middle of April, but the light that filled Josie’s car blinded her as if she’d been sitting for hours in utter darkness and someone had suddenly shone a spotlight in her face. She slapped a hand over her eyes, desperate to block out the blinding flash. Blood thundered through her temples, and her eyes ached against the piercing light. Josie buried her face in her hands, and felt the car shudder . . .
Then everything went dark.
FOUR
4:09 P.M.
A HORN BLARED. IT SOUNDED CLOSE, YET MUFFLED.
Then a voice. “Hello? Josie? Are you there?”
Josie blinked her eyes open, half expecting to still be blinded by the mysterious flash. Instead, Leeland Road stretched before her, open and empty. The train was gone. The crossing arm sat vertical and inert, the warning bells dead silent.
Her car was still running, her cell phone still gripped in one hand, and her manager’s voice pierced the haze that had settled over her brain.
She absently lifted the phone to her ear. “H-hi,” she said lamely.
“Josie, do you have any idea what time it is?”
Another horn blast. An irate driver in a pickup truck swerved around her through the oncoming traffic lane, flipping her the bird as he passed.
“I said,” her manager repeated. His voice was steely. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”
Josie shook her head, trying to jar her brain back into working order. Time? What time was it? Her eyes drifted to the dashboard clock.
“Four oh-nine?” She couldn’t keep the question out of her voice. Ten minutes? She’d been at the train crossing for ten minutes? That was impossible.
“Exactly,” he said. “You’re fired.”
She heard the phone go dead, yet Josie didn’t move. She stared at the digital clock display wondering what the hell had just happened.
4:21 P.M.
Josie eased the Teal Monster onto the soft shoulder of Leeland Road and cut the engine. She felt disoriented and confused, and her head still ached from the blinding flash of light that seemed to come from nowhere. She sat in the car, her heart pounding, and tried to figure out what she was going to do next.
She could have gone home, but to what? An empty house and no one to talk to. Not what she needed.
Other options: Penelope would be home, posting on one of her favorite online forums, but she’d immediately theorize that Josie’s experience at the train tracks was part of a government mind-control experiment gone haywire or something equally off the rails, and Josie wasn’t quite in the mood for that. Nick would still be at track practice. She hated bothering him
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