Rough break
Life could really suck sometimes, but
not today. The top was down on the
convertible, the wind was blowing, and
the sun was shining.
Samantha smiled broadly and pushed
her sunglasses back on her nose farther.
A new life was opening up before her
and it was far away from the one she’d
known before.
There were no big-city skyscrapers
here, just trees and open grasslands.
Miles and miles of them.
No one knew her and she could start
over. She’d pressed the reset button of
life and fortune had smiled upon her and
granted her a way out of the rat race.
She’d been raised in the country, but
this was a bit different. It wasn’t even
the same country.
She was in Canada and she had a
license to work. She had her degree and
teaching from a prestigious school and
though she could have gone many places
and made better money she’d opted for a
little school nestled in the wilds of
British Columbia.
She was thousands of miles away
from where she’d ever been before and
for over the past week and a half in the
time it took her to drive here she’d had
the best time of her life. School didn’t
start yet for another month, but she
wanted some time to settle in.
Yes, everything was going according
to plan. Something popped loudly and a
half scream left her lips, but that was all
the time she had before she was counter
steering aggressively in an attempt to
save her life.
Despite her best efforts the little
convertible skittered sideways off the
road into a rougher patch of grass and
rocks and then banged loudly as the back end smacked off of a tree. The car skidded to a halt and breathing heavy
Samantha sat still for a long moment,
taking in the fact that she was
remarkably none the worse for wear.
Her car though was another story. So
much for good fortune. Life once more
truly sucked.
Cursing angrily she turned off the car
and got out. Her flip-flops felt entirely
inappropriate for the tall weedy grass
growing alongside the road. Did no one
mow the grass here along the road?
On a sudden hitch of indrawn breath,
she thought of something else. When was the last time that she’d seen a house or a car or a person for that matter? .Her mind drifted back to the gas station she’d stopped at this morning and
the advisory sign warning that had stated
it was the last gas stop in 100 some
miles. Swallowing nervously Samanthaturned about and glanced at the still
forest that surrounded her. Suddenly it
didn’t matter that the sun was shining.
What would happen when it was no
longer shining? Hurriedly she turned
back to the car and bent over the door
and snatched up her iPhone.
Oh no! No service.
No Internet. Nothing!!!
A bit shakily she wiped at the fiery
red curl that had fallen over her brow
and put it back into place with the rest of
her curls that safely had just enough hair product applied to make sure that they
stayed in place for the most part.
Somehow though that didn’t matter so
much in the moment as it usually did as a
daily matter of manicuring. What on
earth was she going to do?
She heard a noise then and she spun
around with every nerve pulsing in
expectation of the worst. In the distance
she could see were trees had been cut
and as she watched a noisy and very
beat up looking pickup truck was
heading down a switchback road made
of dirt as it bounced its way steadily
towards the main road.
Had they seen the accident?
Were they going to help her?
Would they even see her or maybe
head off in the opposite direction?
As the fears mounted within her one
came to the forefront. She was in the
middle of nowhere and who knew what
kind of creature was behind the wheel of
a truck that looked like it had crashed
twice and then been rolled over by a
monster truck for good measure.
Swallowing down fear,Samantha
stilled herself and waved her arms
repeatedly. She needn’t have as it was
clear the truck was headed for her and
had seen the accident occur.
Oh God! Her primary fear came back
to the forefront in a heartbeat.
She’d packed in such a hurry to be on this journey that she hadn’t brought
her pepper spray that she usually jogged
with. Her mind went through a potential
list of items to use in self-defense and
the outcome of that mental endeavor only left her feeling puny and a complete
wuss.