Chapter One

      "This is no good," she growled, after her second attempt at loosening the lug nuts. 

      Her first attempt had resulted in some rather nasty abrasions on her knuckles. Thinking back, the tire iron didn't seem quite set in place, but she was in a rush and needed to get back on the road. 

      After bandaging her hand with a handkerchief, (the nice white silk one with the embroidered hummingbird and her great grandmother's monogram - it was the only bit of clean cloth she had on hand, and she hoped against hope that the blood and dirt would come out), she took a deep breath. 

      "Can't rush like that anymore, or it'll end up just costing me more time," she told herself.

She decided perhaps it would be better to try a lug nut with a bit more distance from the ground, in case she misaligned it and slipped again, so she went for the top one. 

      No joy... the tire iron was just not setting on the bolts properly.  She tried one more time for good measure, (Marcel was not going to get the chance to say she gave up without even trying - this whole disaster was his fault, anyway), and then climbed back into the car, dropping the tire iron on the floorboard and fumbling with the heater controls.

      She checked for cellular and wifi signal again, (Again, and again, and again!), but this stretch of country road was isolated and totally off the grid.

      "Damn you, Marcel! I'm going to get you for this!" she swore, shivering even with the heat on high.

      The rain, up until then only a heavy drizzle, picked up considerably. Even without the blowout, she was stuck for the duration.