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“Going on a trip?” I ask.

“Fishing with some buddies. Left later than I should have.” He pulls out a clean T-shirt and uses it to dry his hair, ignoring me when I offer the towel. “Forecast looked fine. Then that damned detour.”

“Yep.” I dry my face on the towel. “Detour plus thunderstorm plus being too impatient to wait until morning. That’s my story, too.” I start lifting the towel to dry my hair and let out a hiss as my injured shoulder ignites.

“Let me get that bandaged. I have some painkillers, but if you have any in your car, you might want those.”

“Because yours could be knockout drugs, all part of this secret plan to kidnap the first person you collide with in a storm?” I shake my head. “Bandage me up, doc, and then give me the drugs.”

My shoulder is bandaged and all my cuts covered. Henry gives me the painkillers with a bottle of water, apologizing that it’s been opened and offering me a Coke from his cooler instead because really, at this point, I’m very worried about catching shared-water-bottle germs.

While I take the pills, he checks his phone again.

“It’s not going to magically get service,” I say. “I didn’t have any for miles.”

“Same,” he grunts. Then he peers out the window. “Rain’s slowing.”

“It is, and the lack of other vehicles on this road means we have a choice. Sit here all night or set out and try to find either a cell signal or help.” I glance over. “Did you see any houses on the way up?”

“I couldn’t see anything on the way up.”

“Me neither. I kept thinking I should pull over, but that didn’t seem safe. Then—” My head jerks up. “The woman. Shit!”

I twist to grab the door handle, which makes my shoulder scream.

“Whoa, whoa,” Henry says, reaching as if to stop me but again halting. “What woman?”

“There was someone on the road. A woman. I swerved to avoid her and hit the tree. I couldn’t find her, so I was worried I also hit her. That’s what I was doing when we collided. Looking for her.”

Henry frowns. “She was standing in front of the fallen tree?”

“No, it was just her. In the middle of the road. I didn’t notice the tree until I hit it.” I grab the door handle. “We need to go look—”

“The tree is across the road, Ellie. All the way across it.”

I throw up my hands. “I don’t know. The point is that there was a woman, and then there wasn’t, and I need to look for her.”

“Okay.” The word comes slow. “I’ve got a flashlight in the back. We’ll look. But … You said you hit your head. There’s a bump already.”

My jaw sets. “I hit my head after I saw her. I’m not imag— Whatever. I’m going to look, and if I can use your flashlight, I’d appreciate that.”

“No, we’ll both go. I just don’t see how someone—” A deep inhale. “Okay, let me start the hazards, and we’ll get out there while the rain’s died down.”

FOUR

The rain hasn’t completely stopped, but after the torrential downpour, this feels like a drizzle. Henry finds the flashlight, which is still working. He hands it to me. As I fuss with it—it’s a huge, heavy thing—he surveys our surroundings. Then he looks up.

“Huh.”

I follow his gaze. The cloud cover is both thick and patchy, endless chunks of cloud fitting together like a jigsaw.

“Weird clouds,” I say. “I’ve seen that before. It’s always strange.”

“Altocumulus,” he says. “A type of mid-altitude tropospheric clouds.”

When I arch my brows, he shrugs. “I needed an optional course in college. Took meteorology. The clouds are interesting, but do you see the moon behind it?”

“Oh, you mean the swirling blood-red orb that I mentioned earlier and you thought it meant I was in shock?”