“When driving on an unlit road between 2:00 AM and 4:00 AM, do not look in the rearview mirror. The Avventura was tested extensively in the Turin wind tunnel and the Romanian backcountry. In the latter, something got in. It is not harmful. It merely… observes. It prefers the back seat. If you must look, acknowledge it by saying, ‘The road is long.’ It will reply, ‘The fiat is longer.’ Then it will vanish. Do not ask about the warranty.”
The car grew cold. The shape leaned forward, and a voice like gravel mixed with Italian opera whispered directly into his left ear: fiat avventura user manual
This was the section he should have heeded. It was tucked between “Changing a Tire in a Monsoon” and “Using the Roof Rails as a Clothesline.” “When driving on an unlit road between 2:00