The tires of the truck howled through the night, the rumble growing louder and louder until it was almost unbearable. Niles jumped off the curb, his head turned just in time to catch the blinding glare of headlights bearing down on him like the jaws of a predator. For a moment, his breath caught in his throat, frozen between two possibilities: life or death. The truck had swerved, missing him by inches. Relief washed over him, his knees weak. He was still alive.

  "Quick, get in!" A voice called out from the truck, slicing through the night like a sharp-edged blade. A beautiful blonde woman stuck her head out the driver’s side window, her hair catching in the wind like something from a dream, or maybe a nightmare.

  Niles blinked. Adrenaline still pumped hard through his veins, and not just from nearly becoming roadkill. Something about her made him uneasy, like there was a hidden danger lurking beneath that perfect smile. He eyed the truck. It looked... rough. Rusted in places, dents that hadn’t been cared for in years. The kind of vehicle you hear about on the news, the one that vanishes with people inside it. The ones that don’t come back.

  His heart raced for a different reason now. This could be a trap.

  He tried to think. What could they steal? His phone? Hell, that thing was so old most people wouldn’t know how to use it. His shoes? They were decent enough, but would someone really want to take those? The thought of walking home barefoot sent a shiver down his spine.

  "Stop taking so long, or we'll leave without you!" The blonde woman’s voice was sharper this time, urgent. But there was something underneath—was it impatience or desperation?

  Niles weighed his odds. She had said “we,” and that was the part that really got him thinking. Who else was in there? Men? If it was men, well, maybe they were planning to rob him. But if it was women… Maybe I could get lucky. If it was a mixed group, perhaps he’d make some friends. Maybe. Sixty-six percent chance of survival, he calculated in his head. Thirty-three percent of a life-threatening experience. High risk, high reward.

  He shook off the unease, squared his shoulders. “I’ll do it,” he muttered to himself, more for confidence than anything else, then he shouted, “I’m coming!” and walked toward the truck.

  The door slid open as if on command, and a strange force—a gust of wind, or maybe something else—swept him up and into the cab, slamming the door shut behind him. He looked around. Two guys sat in the back, around his age. One had wild, untamed green hair, the other sported a red slick back.

  "Welcome to..." the blonde woman started to speak, but Niles’ panic flared.

  "NO! Please, don’t rob me!" His voice cracked as he pressed himself against the door, fingers scrabbling for the handle. "My phone is old, and I NEED my shoes!" Niles brought up his flip phone from his pocket but there was no reception.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The truck lurched forward. “We’re not robbing you,” the blonde woman said, almost bored.

  “I’m too young to die!” Niles wailed, throwing his arms up in a wild gesture of surrender. He decided that the high risk – high reward had backfired “I’d rather see you in HELL!” he shouted. If he was going to lose his shoes or his phone, he was at least going down fighting.

  The woman rolled her eyes, her voice growing taut. “I said, we’re not—"

  “Wait, are we going to die?” Green-hair chimed in, glancing nervously at the woman, the wheels of his own anxiety turning. Red-hair leaned in too, his eyes wide with dread.

  “HELL?!” they cried in unison.

  “I AM A GODESS AND I NEED YOU TO QUIET DOWN YOU DESPERATE BUNCH OF RETRO PHONE FANATICS!” The blonde woman snapped, her voice erupting like a clap of thunder. The truck jolted, the force of her shout echoing in the cramped space.

  Silence fell like a heavy blanket.

  Niles, now pinned between Red-hair and Green-hair, blinked and swallowed hard. “I... I think she told us to shut up.”

  “She did, and it's rude language to raise your voice like that” Green-hair muttered, rubbing the back of his head, clearly still a little shell-shocked.

  “And she called us desperate,” Red-hair mumbled, staring at his hands like he was questioning his life choices. “Not very goddess-like, is it?”

  Niles pulled out his flip phone, flipping it open with a defiant snap. “And she said my phone’s retro.” He paused for effect. “How dare she?”

  The two other guys leaned in to look. Red-hair nodded solemnly. “That’s definitely retro.”

  Before they could keep griping, the blonde woman reached back and slapped all three of them on the back of their heads in one quick motion, hard enough to leave them dazed.

  “Alright, listen,” she growled, her voice barely controlled. “I am a goddess. You three should be grateful. Welcome to a new world. You're about to get the opportunity of a lifetime.”

  Niles raised his hand, shaking off the sting from the slap. “Who’s driving the truck?”

  The goddess turned her head slowly to stare at him, eyes narrowing. “It’s on auto-mode.”

  “How does this old thing have auto-mode?” he asked, frowning in confusion.

  “Magic,” she replied, waving a dismissive hand.

  “Magic?” Niles blinked.

  She grinned. “My magic.”

  Niles nodded. “Okay, that makes sense.”

  A few beats of silence passed. Then Niles’ face went pale. “Wait... WHY IS THIS TRUCK DRIVING THROUGH SPACE?!” He pointed out the window, where the vastness of the cosmos sprawled out before them, a sea of stars and swirling nebulas.

  Green-hair and Red-hair gasped in unison, their eyes wide.

  The goddess laughed, a high, almost maniacal sound that filled the cabin. “I told you, I’m a goddess! I’m sending you all to a new world where you’ll fulfill your destinies! Be happy! You’re lucky to have met me.”

  Green-hair raised his hand tentatively. “Wait, I’ve read a lot of isekai stories… Usually, people die by the truck first. Are we dead?”

  The goddess smiled, clearly pleased with herself. “No, no, no! You’re alive. I’m merciful." She lowered her voice to a whisper "also, if I killed you, the life insurance costs would be outrageous.”

  Red-hair blinked. “Wait, what?”

  “And this truck,” Niles added, “is that why it’s so old? You’re… broke?”

  “Do you think goddesses are made of money?!” the goddess snapped.

  The truck suddenly slowed. “Well, we’re out of gas,” the goddess announced, waving toward the cosmos. “I can’t afford any more. But this should be close enough.”

  The door opened again, and the cosmic wind rushed in.

  "Wait, we still have questions!" Niles called, gripping the seat.

  The goddess grinned, the kind of grin that left no room for argument. "Look, I’m not some all-powerful billionaire goddess. I used all I had to give you some skills. Good luck."

  “What skills?” Green-hair asked.

  Before she could answer, they were sucked out of the truck and hurled into the abyss.