Manny was driving and listening to 80s tunes as he always does when he drives people from one place to the other.
He found out a new station recently and they actually nailed a few jingles he liked most so he turned the beats up was in a good mood. He took the Mercedes this time and it had a good audio system, rather comfy chairs, sturdy engine, perfect for his needs.
'These Nazis know a thing or two about cars!' he thought to himself.
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He was alone in the front, as always, the guy was in the back as always, quiet as they always are. He had the maps running on his iPhone hanged to his windshield. He didn't need it, he knew the way and he could even go old style only by following road signs as he mainly did before GPSes were invented. Unlike most of the young folk nowadays who would be completely in the dark without the blue stripes and arrow telling them which way to go.
He kept GM running mainly to hear a voice from time to time, it didn't matter what she was saying, it was so he didn't feel like the only living creature around. Route 50 was a surprising wasteland, though it was pretty late in the night.
[music playing]
A short *thump* sound came from the back like someone banged on the car. He looked in the mirrors trying to understand if he hit something or went over something but there was nothing anywhere. A short chill went up his spine. He just passed Union and was getting ready to hop onto Interstate 44 to get to St Louis where the guy had his final destination. He braked and pulled over curious to see what caused that sound as he knew he won't be able to pull over once on the Interstate. As he was turning off the engine he thought about the nazis again:
'Maybe they don't know everything about cars and this one is failing on me. Crap!'.
He got out of the car and checked it around. There was nothing visible on the outside, not hits, no bumps, no sign of being hit at all. He opened the door in the back of the car. His passenger seemed to be just fine, quiet as always.
'How you doin' mate, all good back here, hehe?' he said adding a grinning smile and a left over question he inherited from his Scottish father.
He didn't wait for an answer, he checked out the guy and slammed the door heading back to his seat, music and maps lady. Maybe it was something on the radio...
He started going again and got on the Interstate, glanced at the phone screen to see how much time was left until he'd hit his destination: '51 minutes' it said. In the city he always followed the GM instructions as he didn't want to bother thinking about the routes too much.
After driving for a while he heard the strange sound again, but this time a repeating consecutive 'thump thump'. That never happen before and to be 100% honest, there was no way it could happen. He was in the city already, near a park. Luckily there was plenty of space to pull right, next to the sidewalk so he did.
As he got out of the car he was forcing himself to calm down from all sorts of scenarios that ran through his head following the adrenaline rush in his body. There must be something in the back, maybe a loose can or something, as the outside of the car was again spotless. He got to the back and put his hand on the door handle. In an effort to scare the chills away and prove to himself he wasn't afraid, he pulled the handle immediately and the door opened. The light turned on and he froze. For the first time in his life, he froze like a stone. The lid to the passenger seat was pushed to the side, and his passenger...was gone.
'What the hell?' he said.
As he was turning his head to look around and make put some sense to this whole thing a hand grabbed him by the neck. Surprised by the tight grip, Manny tried to turn around but he couldn't. The grip was too tight, this guy was strong beyond any imagination or maybe Manny was out of shape. In the end he was just a hearse driver.
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