My foot pumped the clutch twice on that Hudson. My frustration at this shitty day made me grit my teeth while trying to force the car into the next gear down as the engine lagged. The heavy auto is a dog trying to go up the slight incline the road followed.

“Who in the hell puts the damn shifter on the steering wheel column?”

Of course, my continued rage at the world didn’t help me move the lever into the correct slot. On any other day, I might smile with pride after figuring out how ancient technology worked.

Luckily, the car was crawling uphill, and somehow, I noticed movement along the edge of the narrow road. Before I realized it, a person came running in front of the car.

“What the…”

I barely got the words out while slamming both pedals to the car floor. Now I locked his arms and legs, but I still felt my body sliding forward. Strangely, in the next few milliseconds, my mind remembered the car has no seat belts. That also told me that I would die against the enormous steering wheel. Instead, the car skidded to a stop.

Staring through the sheets of rain, I felt stunned that the person outside avoided being struck. Fingers clutched around the steering wheel; I’m sure that my eyes appeared ready to pop out of eye sockets. I’m gawking at a woman in a soaked yellow dress rushing to the driver’s side door. Frantically, she banged on the window. As I scrambled to find the handle to roll down the window, the woman’s pleading voice came through.

“Please help me! I need someone’s help.”

A blast of rain struck my face when I got the window down.

“I need your help. It’s my husband. He’s trying to kill himself!” Her knuckles whitened as they clenched the sill of the window.

“Please, will you help me?”

I sat there like a statue as my brain remained in first gear. The woman’s expression hardened at my stunned look, and she suddenly ran around to the other side. My eyes followed her as the memory of her high cheekbones and gorgeous eyes appeared vaguely familiar, even with her long blonde hair plastered over part of her face.

What is happening?

After the woman practically spilled inside the passenger side along with the rain, I sat there trying to figure out what to do.

“Hurry, my house is this way,” she pointed to the paved road that I couldn’t see.

Her frantic voice finally goaded me into action. I fumbled around to get the driver’s window up, before realizing that the car motor had stopped earlier when I braked. When I turned the key to restart the car, the vehicle lurched forward.

Put the clutch in, you klutz!

With an embarrassed grimace, I pushed the pedal down and tried again. This time, the engine started. As the pressure built as this woman watched me, I fumbled around with the shifter, trying to find first gear.

“Did you call the police?” I blurted out while fighting his battle with the gearshift.

“No, the phone is out. Can you please hurry?” The woman’s disbelief at my clumsy attempts was obvious.

Finally, I got the Hudson going and almost immediately; she started yelling and pointing at the turnoff to a private drive. Taking the turn, the vehicle slowed on the grade. The grinding of gears filled the cabin when I downshifted. Following the steepening road, I can make out only faint outlines of vegetation on the hillside from the dim headlights. To make things even more interesting for me, I’m confident that the land fell away sharply on the left side of the road.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Great, I get to die without knowing what the hell’s going on!

Out of the corner of my eye, I see my wet passenger expression, which doubted the wisdom of her getting into the vehicle. I’m sure that her face isn’t that pale normally.

“Sorry, I’m not used to this type of car. Apparently, none of these darn things have automatics inside,” I tried to explain. “Hell, I never heard of a Hudson car until today.”

Glancing over, he wasn’t sure she was paying close attention to his rambling as she kept staring ahead.

“You’re lucky I didn’t run over you.” I’m looking for a response, but she kept biting her lower lip while looking ahead.

“I’m not sure where I am,” I continued, since the sound of my voice comforted me more than the pounding rain. “Everything is so weird around here. Damn rain on top of everything else.”

“You look familiar. Are you sure that you’re not from around here?”

Her question surprised me, and I glanced over to see her eyes assessing me. I’m guessing that she’s worried about my poor driving skills. After guiding the car through a curve, I responded.

“I had the same thought about you. I’m swear that I’ve seen you before.” I keep glancing over, but she’s not paying attention. “I can’t get used to the idea that everyone dresses like they’re going to choir practice. It’s crazy.”

There was a weird sense of comfort as I’m trying to explain his day. The car is not making much speed since I can’t see that far ahead in the blinding rain. I’ve got a petrified woman in the car who probably thinks I’m nuts. So, what else can go wrong?

“Hell…I mean, heck,” my sheepish smile came back. “Nobody bothers to lock their cars. You know, I walked up to this car and took off with it.”

Realizing my words were giving the wrong implications, I cast a look over. Her expression revealed growing apprehension, and I noticed her tight grip on the doorknob.

Yeah, she thinks I’m crazy!

“Listen, lady; I’m not nuts.” I hesitated, thinking back to my day.

“Well, I’m pretty sure I’m not. This day has been like one of those Twilight Zone episodes. You know what I mean? You’d think so too if you found out that you’re stuck in the past. I mean, it just doesn’t make sense.”

I knew she had no idea what I’m going on about.

“It’s just—I mean, how many times do you meet Boris Karloff on the street corner? You know it’s nuts, but really, Boris freaking Karloff! I nearly knocked him down this afternoon.”

I felt her eyes on me.

“And you have no idea what I’m talking about!” I sighed.

“Mister, you’re starting to scare me!” His passenger’s pale face agreed with her statement. “You say you’re not from here, then you say you are. Can you just drop me off here?”

The woman appeared ready to jump out of the car and I tried to backtrack.

“It’s alright, I know I’m rambling here. I promise that I’ll shut up.” He took a deep breath. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I—I guess I made a bad joke. I promise that I’ll shut up and drop you off. I’ll even find a phone somewhere to call the cops so they can help you with your husband.”

She looked at him carefully for a moment while pulling her wet hair out of her face.

“Just help me with Joe. Those are the porch lights on my house.”

Sure enough, I saw those lights. Embarrassment combined with frustration filled me. A beautiful woman needed my help, and I’m jacking my jaw about all sorts of strange things.

Still, she should know about Karloff.

The calendar on the wall told him it was 1940. The woman had to know about the actor. He was famous back then. Then again, I never expected to wander around some damn city I have never seen before, no matter what the year. I’ve got a sweet-looking lady riding in some old car with me in the middle of a typhoon. I’d think it was a movie if I wasn’t in the middle of it.

The front of a house suddenly appeared, and she ordered him to park in front of the red-tiled single-story bungalow. The woman opened her door before the car stopped. She hesitated, looking over at me.

“Will you help me with my husband? I need someone else there. He’s not acting like himself.”

I frowned, glancing at the house. Then I shrugged.

“I don’t know what I can do, but I’ll try.”

“Thanks,” she hurried into the rain.

As he slid out from the seat, I was glad I wore that stupid hat.

“He’s been drinking.” The woman’s warning when we reached the porch made me roll my eyes.

Of course!

My initial thoughts about the size of the house were obviously wrong. The steps inside the door led down to a large living room. I saw the massive, hand-hewn oak beams stretching across the ceiling over to the gray and white plaster walls. The stone floor had fur rugs carefully scattered in strategic areas.

“Cool!” I blurted out.

“This way,” she ignored the comment.

She rushed past a grand white piano near the large front window, and I followed her, only to nearly fall on my face in front of a sofa. The rug spread on the floor under a heavy wood coffee table caught my foot. Luckily, she hurried ahead through the middle of the room. Her high heels tapping out the path. While I’m looking around the place with the wide eyes of a stranger, I also noticed her shapely form in front of me. Yeah, this petite woman in the waterlogged dress made a guy want to follow her.

Her husband must be stupid to knock himself off, I decided.