Chapter 2 - The Stranger In The Storm
The headlights stopped exactly ten feet away from me.
I couldn't move.
I couldn't breathe.
The rain hammered against the broken roof of the ranger station, but everything else felt silent.
The vehicle was old.
A dark SUV covered in mud.
Not my father's truck.
Not anyone I recognized.
The passenger door remained open.
And then I heard it again.
"Kate."
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Careful.
Like she was afraid that saying my name too loudly would scare me away.
I grabbed the flashlight from my backpack and pointed it toward the vehicle.
"Who are you?"
For several seconds, nobody answered.
Then a woman stepped out.
She looked around forty years old.
Her dark hair was soaked from the rain.
She wore a heavy emergency jacket and carried a small medical bag.
She raised both hands.
"I'm not here to hurt you."
I didn't lower the flashlight.
Everyone had said something similar before hurting me.
My father had said he would never leave me behind.
My mother had said she would never give up on me.
My sister had said she loved me.
And now I was standing alone in a flood because I believed them.
"How do you know my name?" I asked.
The woman looked at the paper in my hand.
The one with three words written on the back.
Do not trust.
Her expression changed.
Not surprise.
Fear.
"You found it."
My stomach tightened.
"Found what?"
She looked toward the road.
Then back at me.
"Kate, you need to leave this place."
I almost laughed.
A strange woman appeared during a flood, knew my name, and told me to run.
"You're going to have to explain more than that."
She stepped closer.
"My name is Rachel Morgan."
The name meant nothing to me.
"I don't know you."
"I know."
"Then why do you know me?"
Rachel hesitated.
That hesitation scared me more than the answer.
"Because your father called me before he called anyone else."
The rain suddenly sounded louder.
"My father?"
She nodded.
"He wasn't calling to find you."
My fingers tightened around my phone.
"Then why was he calling?"
Rachel looked away.
"Because he was trying to stop something from happening."
I stared at her.
"What?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she looked toward the road.
The same direction my family's truck had disappeared.
"How much do you remember from this morning?"
I felt anger rising inside me.
"Everything."
"Tell me."
I didn't want to.
But something about the way she asked made me feel like the answer mattered.
"The warning came. We evacuated. There wasn't enough space."
Rachel watched my face carefully.
"My sister's dog was given the last seat."
Rachel closed her eyes briefly.
"And you?"
"My father told me to walk."
Her expression changed.
Like she had already known.
But hearing me say it made it real.
"Kate..."
"What?"
"Your father didn't leave you because of the dog."
I froze.
"What did you say?"
She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small plastic bag.
Inside was a folded piece of paper.
Wet.
Damaged.
But still readable.
She handed it to me.
I opened it.
My hands stopped shaking.
Because it was a copy of the evacuation route map.
The same map I found in my backpack.
But this one had something different.
A circle was drawn around our house.
And underneath it was a time.
3:40 AM.
Before the warning.
Before my father woke us up.
Before anyone knew about the flood.
"What is this?"
Rachel looked at me.
"Your family knew they needed to leave before the evacuation order came."
My heart sank.
"How?"
"Because someone warned them."
"Who?"
Rachel didn't answer.
Instead, she pointed at the paper.
"Look at the circle."
I looked closer.
There was something written beside the house.
A name.
Not my father's.
Not my mother's.
Not Lily's.
Someone else's.
My hands went cold.
Because I recognized it.
"That's impossible."
Rachel's voice was quiet.
"That's why your father was scared."
I looked up.
"Who wrote this?"
She took a breath.
"Your brother."
The world stopped.
I didn't have a brother.
Not anymore.
My brother, Noah, had died seven years earlier.
At least that's what my family told me.
I stared at Rachel.
"Noah is dead."
She didn't look away.
"I know what your family told you."
My chest tightened.
"Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Don't stand here and act like you know something about my family."
Rachel stepped closer.
"Kate, your brother didn't die in that accident."
I felt the anger disappear.
Replaced by something worse.
Fear.
"Stop."
"He survived."
"Stop."
"He came back three months ago."
My hands dropped.
The flashlight nearly fell into the water.
"No."
Rachel reached into her bag.
She pulled out a photograph.
A recent photograph.
A man standing beside a building.
Older.
Different.
But familiar.
Too familiar.
Because even after seven years...
I knew those eyes.
My brother's eyes.
I took the photo.
The rain blurred my vision.
"Where did you get this?"
"From Noah."
I looked at her.
"You know him?"
Rachel nodded.
"He contacted me because he knew your family would try to erase everything."
I looked back at the photograph.
The impossible person staring back at me.
My dead brother.
Alive.
A thousand questions rushed through my mind.
Why did my parents lie?
Why did they leave me?
Why did Noah write that warning?
And why did my father call me like he was afraid I had gotten into the wrong car?
My phone vibrated.
I almost dropped it.
Unknown number.
A message.
I opened it.
One sentence.
My breath disappeared.
"Kate, if Rachel found you, don't trust her."
I looked up immediately.
Rachel was watching me.
"Who texted you?"
I didn't answer.
Another message appeared.
Same number.
This time with a photo attached.
I opened it.
The image loaded slowly.
At first, I saw darkness.
Then a room.
Then a person standing inside.
My heart stopped.
Because the person in the picture was me.
But the photo wasn't taken today.
It was taken years ago.
Before Noah died.
Before my family changed.
Rachel saw my face.
"What did you see?"
I couldn't speak.
The rain outside became a distant sound.
Because there was only one explanation.
Someone had been watching me for years.
I looked at Rachel.
"Who took this picture?"
She didn't answer.
Instead, she looked past me.
Toward the trees behind the ranger station.
Her face suddenly changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
"Kate..."
I turned around.
A flashlight beam moved between the trees.
Someone was standing there.
Watching us.
Rachel grabbed my arm.
"We have to go."
The figure stepped closer.
And then my phone received one final message.
Three words.
The sender's name appeared.
May you like
It was from...
Noah.
