Chance
I.
Sputtering to a stop at the edge of the road, he slammed his fists on the dashboard in anger, cursing his wreck of a life. It is now 3 o'clock in the morning and he is stranded on the side of a barren highway. Not quite sure what to do, he exits the car and circles it several times, finally reaching in to pop the hood, not that it will do any good. A mechanic he is not.
An hour passed by before the welcoming sight of headlights on the horizon. Jumping out of his car he anxiously awaits it. A man in a pick up truck eventually slows to a stop and asks if he could use any assistance. Without hesitation he climbs aboard the truck.
"Hey man, you have no idea how glad I am to see someone out here!" He's shaking the pick up drivers hand and beginning to unwind a little. If he can catch a lift to the nearest service station, he'll be back on the road again in no time.
"Well, then, I'm glad I came along when I did," the pick up driver's voice is low and quiet, his eyes never leave the road.
Several minutes pass in silence as an unease begins to creep over him. He is silently convincing himself that everything will be ok as soon as he gets to the service station. He pushes from his mind the confining feeling of the surrounding darkness, the silent danger of the quiet pick up truck driver.
Relieved to see the oncoming lights of the service station, he breathes a sigh of relief, wiping his sweaty palms on the fronts of his jeans. The pick up driver watches, through the corner of his eye, as the man nervously clutches the door handle, trying to escape him. 'Not this one' he tells himself. "Hey man, I sure am glad you came along when you did." He's not as excited as he was when he first climbed aboard the truck. He knows.
"No problem," the pick up driver replied, turning slightly to look his passenger over from head to toe.
"Hey man! Where the hell are you going!" the driver picked up speed as the service station flew past. As the realization of the situation closed in on him, tiny beads of sweat form above his upper lip, the color slowly fades from his face.
"I have something else in store for you, Roy."
II.
The same old feeling of dread and self loathing washing over me as I pull into that God damn driveway. My face contorts with disgust and hate, the only thing keeping me from torching the place is Roy. Tonight's the night, tonight is going to change everything. Roy is going to help me change everything.
"Get out of the truck Roy," flipping the visor down, grabbing the key, gotta be quick. Gotta be quicker then Roy, he's too fidgety over there. I can see his mind working overtime, I'm much smarter though, he doesn't have a chance.
"Look man..... I'm not Roy, for God's sake, I don't even know a Roy! Just let me go man, I swear I'm outta here and you'll never see me again!" he is panicked, his hands are fidgeting, sweat is dripping in his eyes.
The corners of my lips are curling into a smile, he's scared and I haven't even started yet!
Sputtering to a stop at the edge of the road, he slammed his fists on the dashboard in anger, cursing his wreck of a life. It is now 3 o'clock in the morning and he is stranded on the side of a barren highway. Not quite sure what to do, he exits the car and circles it several times, finally reaching in to pop the hood, not that it will do any good. A mechanic he is not.
An hour passed by before the welcoming sight of headlights on the horizon. Jumping out of his car he anxiously awaits it. A man in a pick up truck eventually slows to a stop and asks if he could use any assistance. Without hesitation he climbs aboard the truck.
"Hey man, you have no idea how glad I am to see someone out here!" He's shaking the pick up drivers hand and beginning to unwind a little. If he can catch a lift to the nearest service station, he'll be back on the road again in no time.
"Well, then, I'm glad I came along when I did," the pick up driver's voice is low and quiet, his eyes never leave the road.
Several minutes pass in silence as an unease begins to creep over him. He is silently convincing himself that everything will be ok as soon as he gets to the service station. He pushes from his mind the confining feeling of the surrounding darkness, the silent danger of the quiet pick up truck driver.
Relieved to see the oncoming lights of the service station, he breathes a sigh of relief, wiping his sweaty palms on the fronts of his jeans. The pick up driver watches, through the corner of his eye, as the man nervously clutches the door handle, trying to escape him. 'Not this one' he tells himself. "Hey man, I sure am glad you came along when you did." He's not as excited as he was when he first climbed aboard the truck. He knows.
"No problem," the pick up driver replied, turning slightly to look his passenger over from head to toe.
"Hey man! Where the hell are you going!" the driver picked up speed as the service station flew past. As the realization of the situation closed in on him, tiny beads of sweat form above his upper lip, the color slowly fades from his face.
"I have something else in store for you, Roy."
II.
The same old feeling of dread and self loathing washing over me as I pull into that God damn driveway. My face contorts with disgust and hate, the only thing keeping me from torching the place is Roy. Tonight's the night, tonight is going to change everything. Roy is going to help me change everything.
"Get out of the truck Roy," flipping the visor down, grabbing the key, gotta be quick. Gotta be quicker then Roy, he's too fidgety over there. I can see his mind working overtime, I'm much smarter though, he doesn't have a chance.
"Look man..... I'm not Roy, for God's sake, I don't even know a Roy! Just let me go man, I swear I'm outta here and you'll never see me again!" he is panicked, his hands are fidgeting, sweat is dripping in his eyes.
The corners of my lips are curling into a smile, he's scared and I haven't even started yet!
posted by Sherri Sanders at 8:14 PM
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