THE HITCHHIKER

Andrea had just gone out the motorway and had taken the road to Brockbourne, where se lived with her husband. It was a winter day, there was not much cold in the car, but the trees bending in the winter air and the snow heaped near the street made her feel chilly. She wanted to listen to the radio, but it had been stolen two weeks before in the car park near her office in London, so she felt lonely too.

Suddenly she saw an old lady with a big shopping bag on one side of the street, holding a sign saying "Brockbourne". She did not usually pick up hitchhikers when she was alone, but she felt sorry for the woman so she decided to give her a lift. The lady was broad and fat, and wore a long, shabby dress and a yellow hat lowered over her eyes. After a few minutes, Andrea felt that something was wrong, the woman stared in front of her and did not move her face. She felt the lady was dangerous. Andrea saw sideways to the woman, without turning her head, and noticed she had hairy arms... she was a man!

Andrea swung and stopped. She said she had seen a child and she thought to have hit him. The "old woman" opened the door, to check what had happened. As "she" got out of the car, Andrea sped off and fled away.

When she was far away the hitchhiker, she remembered about "her" big shopping bag. She stopped, put it on her lap and opened it. There was a sharp axe, dirty with dried blood.

Andrea started screaming.