Emma's world went dark, and she felt herself falling. She tried to cry out, but her voice was muffled by some unseen force. When she came to, she was lying on the bed, her head throbbing with pain.
She sat up slowly, trying to remember what had happened. The stranger's face flashed in her mind, and she felt a chill run down her spine. She looked around the room, but there was no sign of the man.
The door was closed, and the window was shut. Emma's suitcase was still on the floor, but everything else seemed to be in order. She got out of bed and approached the door, hesitating for a moment before opening it.
The corridor was deserted, the only sound the creaking of the old motel. Emma stepped out into the corridor, looking around nervously. She had a feeling that she was being watched, but there was no one in sight.
As she turned to go back to her room, Emma noticed a piece of paper on the floor. She picked it up, and her heart skipped a beat as she saw the message scrawled on it:
"Leave now, while you still can."
Emma's mind was racing. Who had written the note? And what did they mean? She felt a surge of fear, and she knew that she had to get out of there as quickly as possible.
She packed her suitcase and made her way to the reception desk. The owner, a gruff old man, looked up at her with a scowl.
"You checking out already?" he asked.
Emma nodded. "Yes, I need to leave."
The old man raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to like what's outside."
Emma's heart sank. "What do you mean?"
The old man leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper. "There's something out there, something that doesn't want you to leave. You should be careful."
Emma's skin crawled. What was going on in this town? She paid the old man and made a hasty exit, eager to get out of Raven's Peak as quickly as possible.
As she drove away from the motel, Emma felt a sense of relief wash over her. She was leaving the strange occurrences and the sinister stranger behind.
But as she looked in the rearview mirror, she saw something that made her blood run cold. The stranger was standing in the middle of the road, watching her leave.
Emma's heart skipped a beat. She knew that she wasn't safe, not yet. She floored it, speeding away from Raven's Peak as fast as she could.
But as she drove, Emma couldn't shake the feeling that she was being followed. She kept looking in the rearview mirror, expecting to see the stranger's face staring back at her.
And then, just as she was starting to relax, Emma saw it. A pair of headlights, following her down the deserted highway.
Emma's heart sank. She was being followed, and she had no idea who was behind the wheel.