Lights flashed through the torrential rain. For a moment the man was confused. Had lightning hit close by? A steady rumble began. He felt it in his feet, a tremor that worked up through his body.

He swayed with it for a moment. Nicotine-stained teeth flashed in a wide grin as realization cut through his tumbling thoughts. A car. The lights solidified into two white beams and the rumbling became the low sound of an engine.

Whoever it was didn't like to drive in the rain. The engine seemed to creep when it should roar. The beams were taking an age to come closer. The man stepped to the crumbling dirt at the edge of the highway and stuck out his thumb.

Anger blitzed through his thin frame. A fire ignited in his mind. The car wasn't stopping. His eyes narrowed, squinting against the driving rain. His hand slipped inside his jacket, clutched and then withdrew as the lights flashed twice and the engine idled.

"Need a ride fella?"