Achtbaan

When he gets a call that his mother has suffered a stroke, college student, Alan Parker, has no car to get him from the University of Maine campus to Lewiston where she has been hospitalized. He is able to hitch a ride with a stranger who offers him a no-win choice. ([source][1])

Also included in:

• [Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales][2]

[1]: stephenking.com/library/short_story/riding_the_bullet.html [2]: openlibrary.org/works/OL81584W/Everything's_Eventual