Short fiction: Highway to...?
Nov. 14th, 2011 07:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chiaki777Jim Warrens drove down the interstate. He was heading West at about 3 p.m. It was winter so the sun had already sunk below his roof and peered through his windshield. Jim wore a pair of aviator sunglasses, his favorite pair, that dyed the landscaped into a sepia, like an old photograph taken of the burgeoning days of agriculture in the central valley of California. Almond trees passed by in uncountable row after row as his 2009 Dodge truck barreled through.
His truck was certainly not the fastest car on the Interstate, but at 73 mph, he was pushing it when it came to what the highway patrol considered “acceptable.”
In the center lane of this freeway, Jim focused on the car in front of him, a Ford Explorer traveling at about the same speed as him, either side of their cars were empty, the calm mid-week afternoon had not picked up in traffic and to Jim, the road was just him and the Explorer in front of him.
His eyes locked on the square frame of the SUV in front of him, mesmerized like a barfly’s gaze at the sight of a shapely ass clad in red walking into the bar for the first time. Mesmerized, he felt he had ceased driving, that the truck was driving itself, rather the car in front of him was driving for him.
He shook his head from the thought, he had to concentrate. Zoning out could land his car in a ditch, and on this lonely stretch of highway, the nearest hospital was 40 minutes away.
He strained his eyes to refocus on the road, but his gaze always fell at the car in front of him, drawing him in, inviting him to slip closer – to leaden his foot just a little more to press closer. He realized he was no longer driving anymore, and had left the Explorer in front of him directing him forward. He was caught in the will of the driver in front of him as his truck had slid into the slipstream of the vehicle in front of him.
The three lane freeway became one lane, exits and interchanges had become peripheral objects in the field meant to be ignored as if he were stuck in a single track course in an old racing game from the 90s. To Jim, the back of the Explorer became all he knew in the world save for the fields around him.
The Explorer sped up, the car inched away. Jim followed suit, pressed his gas pedal down gently to match the other’s speed, he caught up to the Explorer and momentarily eased off the gas to decelerate and match speeds. He was seduced.
Driving forward, he had forgotten where he was heading as his very existence had become nothing more than the stretch of road. He had forgotten everything else in his life and he had gone past the point of no return as no off ramps existed anymore on this road, just him, the car in front of him and the agricultural fields disappearing into the vanishing point.
Jim didn’t know how much gas was left, he figured he was okay, but he suddenly felt the chill of being left behind.
What if he ran out of gas? What if the Explorer sped off ahead and he could not keep up?
He felt chills of impending abandonment and pressed his foot down harder. The hood of his truck inched closer but kept a safe distance. The Explorer in turn accelerated to maintain a safe distance.
Jim gave a deep sigh, he realized he was fool hardy, he couldn’t catch the car in front of him, and he knew doing so would only be disaster. He backed off and let the Explorer lengthen its expanse of road between them.
He watched the Explorer become smaller in front of him. The freeway reverted to three-lanes. Signs started reading out sense to him.
“SAN FRANCISCO NEXT RIGHT”
He felt he had forgotten where he was, he realized his turn-off was coming and signaled to catch the off-ramp.
His truck was certainly not the fastest car on the Interstate, but at 73 mph, he was pushing it when it came to what the highway patrol considered “acceptable.”
In the center lane of this freeway, Jim focused on the car in front of him, a Ford Explorer traveling at about the same speed as him, either side of their cars were empty, the calm mid-week afternoon had not picked up in traffic and to Jim, the road was just him and the Explorer in front of him.
His eyes locked on the square frame of the SUV in front of him, mesmerized like a barfly’s gaze at the sight of a shapely ass clad in red walking into the bar for the first time. Mesmerized, he felt he had ceased driving, that the truck was driving itself, rather the car in front of him was driving for him.
He shook his head from the thought, he had to concentrate. Zoning out could land his car in a ditch, and on this lonely stretch of highway, the nearest hospital was 40 minutes away.
He strained his eyes to refocus on the road, but his gaze always fell at the car in front of him, drawing him in, inviting him to slip closer – to leaden his foot just a little more to press closer. He realized he was no longer driving anymore, and had left the Explorer in front of him directing him forward. He was caught in the will of the driver in front of him as his truck had slid into the slipstream of the vehicle in front of him.
The three lane freeway became one lane, exits and interchanges had become peripheral objects in the field meant to be ignored as if he were stuck in a single track course in an old racing game from the 90s. To Jim, the back of the Explorer became all he knew in the world save for the fields around him.
The Explorer sped up, the car inched away. Jim followed suit, pressed his gas pedal down gently to match the other’s speed, he caught up to the Explorer and momentarily eased off the gas to decelerate and match speeds. He was seduced.
Driving forward, he had forgotten where he was heading as his very existence had become nothing more than the stretch of road. He had forgotten everything else in his life and he had gone past the point of no return as no off ramps existed anymore on this road, just him, the car in front of him and the agricultural fields disappearing into the vanishing point.
Jim didn’t know how much gas was left, he figured he was okay, but he suddenly felt the chill of being left behind.
What if he ran out of gas? What if the Explorer sped off ahead and he could not keep up?
He felt chills of impending abandonment and pressed his foot down harder. The hood of his truck inched closer but kept a safe distance. The Explorer in turn accelerated to maintain a safe distance.
Jim gave a deep sigh, he realized he was fool hardy, he couldn’t catch the car in front of him, and he knew doing so would only be disaster. He backed off and let the Explorer lengthen its expanse of road between them.
He watched the Explorer become smaller in front of him. The freeway reverted to three-lanes. Signs started reading out sense to him.
“SAN FRANCISCO NEXT RIGHT”
He felt he had forgotten where he was, he realized his turn-off was coming and signaled to catch the off-ramp.
