Another Saturday afternoon wasted away at the bar, with nobody to keep her company except the half-empty bottle of beer in her hand.

How utterly magical.

Sasha used to have dreams and goals just like everybody else. Unfortunately, the frequent disappointments and letdowns she went through were enough to change all that. Hope had left her, trust had been replaced by cynicism, and she found that apathy was much better than being ambitious.

35 years old, single, working a dead job in a tiny little cubicle for a salary that was barely enough for her to get by. There was also her tiny apartment, one that was conveniently located right next to one of the city’s more dangerous neighborhoods.

Except for one person, Sasha no longer kept in touch with any of her other friends, and she liked it that way. She had no intention of letting other people amuse themselves by seeing how wonderful she turned out.

Speaking of that one friend…

“I thought I’d find you here.” Said a voice from behind.

Sasha didn’t bother looking, since she already knew who it was.

“Can I have a seat?” the voiced asked.

“Knock yourself out.”

The person sat who had joined her was Dianne, a friend from their college days, and the only one who Sasha really talked to nowadays.

“Drinking again?”

“Aren’t you observant.”

“You could’ve waited for me.”

“Like I knew you were coming.”

“Please, isn’t this what we always do on Fridays?”

“Guess so.”

As they drank, the two conversed about what they had done during the week. It was always a short conversation, as Sasha would always say either ‘not much’ or ‘same as last week’.

She tried, she really did. But despite her efforts, she just couldn’t lift her friend’s spirits. It was sad, seeing her so like this.

Dianne wouldn’t give up, though.

Never.

At that moment, the nearby television set showed a report that caught Dianne’s attention, though not in a good way.

“There was another kidnapping…?”

It was the fourth one this month. So far, all of the victims had been young women, unaccompanied as they walked the empty streets late at night. More surprising, however, was how the suspect would always manage to evade capture, and not leave anything that the police could use. No trail, no evidence…

Nothing.

“I wonder how they do it…” Dianne commented.

Sasha didn’t seem to pay attention to the report, though.

“Aren’t you worried that this one happened pretty close to where you live?”

“Not really.” She shrugged and took another drink of her beer. “Besides, what would they want with someone like me?”

“What would they want with the ones they’ve already kidnapped?”

“That’s for the cops to figure out.”

“I guess you’re right.”

Some time passed, with neither one of them saying much. Dianne eventually broke the silence by suggesting something.

“Hey, it’s still bright out. How about we go for a ride?”

“Where?”

“I don’t know… Around?”

“You’re not going to kidnap me, are you?”

“What?! No, of course not!” Honestly, how could she even joke like that?

“Alright, it’s not like I have anything better to do.”

Despite the drinks, neither one of them were particularly drunk. Sasha had built up a tolerance, and Dianne always ordered the lighter beverages. Leaving the alcohol behind, Sasha got in her friend’s car and joined her for the ride.

It was…pretty boring, especially when trees started replacing the concrete buildings. The countryside failed to provoke a change in Sasha’s mood, though.

“I should’ve said no. At least the pub had booze.”

“You’re going to kill yourself with how much you drink.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Dianne sighed.

“I really worry about you, Sasha.”

She raised an eyebrow at that, and let out a brief laugh. “So that’s why you brought me along. I should’ve known.”

“Huh?”

“I didn’t know I was due for another one of your lectures.”

“Th-That’s not it at all! I just want to help you. Get you back on your feet, you know?”

“You’ve been trying to do that for a while, now.” It had been going on for several years, actually. Dianne called it ‘concern’, but as far as Sasha was concerned, she was just meddling.

“If you want to help, you can start by driving me back home.”

“But…”

“Wake me up when you get there.” Leaning back on the chair, Sasha closed her eyes and took a brief nap. Her friend wasn’t done talking, but ignoring Dianne had become increasingly easy over the years…

Though she managed to fall asleep, the rest didn’t last long.

“Sasha, hey!” she nudged her until waking her up.

“What do you want now?”

“Look over there!”

A wrecked car was laying a couple of yards away from then, right in the middle of the road. Dented, scratched, and with a couple of parts lying on the asphalt, the vehicle had definitely seen better days.

“Looks pretty bad.” commented Sasha.

“I wonder what happened…”

“Probably some accident.”

Driving closer, the two got a better look at the remains of the car.

“Pity, it looked like a real nice car.”

“I hope everybody survived…”

However, both Dianne and Sasha were about to find out that the accident was more recent than they thought.

“Wait a minute…” she stopped the car and looked out the window, gasping at what she saw. “Someone’s still inside!”

“Dianne! Where are you going?!”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to help them!”

Before Sasha knew it, Dianne had left the car and was rushing over to the wreckage.

“Ugh… I knew I shouldn’t have agreed to this.” Well, at least it was different than all the other Saturdays. Unbuckling her seatbelt, Sasha left the car and went to her friend’s aid. As far as she could tell, there was no gas leak, which obviously lessened the danger of playing hero.

Together, the two of them managed to pull out the only survivor. They then placed him on the side of the road, and started looking for any serious injuries.

“He looks better than his car...” Said Sasha.

“Call the police, just to be safe.”

“Alright.”

At that moment, the man began to stir and move.

“Hey!” Dianne called, though Sasha was already on her cellphone. “He’s regaining consciousness!”

He opened his eyes, and sat up.

“Ow… what happened?” he said while holding his head.

“Easy there.” She placed an arm on him, trying to keep to him from exerting himself too much. “You were in a pretty bad accident.”

“I… don’t remember much.”

“It’s okay.” She reassured him. “My friend’s calling the police; they should be here any minute.”

His eyes widened for a moment. Slowly, and without losing his balance, the man managed to get back on his feet.

“I need to get going.” Though still dazed, he began walking away from Dianne, who stopped him anyways.

“Hold on! You can’t just leave. We have to wait for-“

“You don’t understand.” He interrupted, as he reached into his coat. Though his identity was a mystery, his intentions were clear, as the man had just pulled a gun on Dianne. “I really need to get going.”

“Wh-What’s going on?!”

“Shut up.”

Several gunshots were then fired.