It t'was easy... too easy, really. T'ain't hard... ain't hard at all.
I killed 'em... 'n there's a lot more I should... and maybe . . . I will.
"Goddammit!" Jess muttered as the Volvo yanked violently to the left in reaction the the sudden collapse of the air pressure in the front tire. He jerked the wheel hard to the right and realized he had overcompensated as he heard Sharon's head bound off the door glass. "What the hell!!" she shouted as she woke hard from a deep slumbering sleep. They had been on the road almost 16 hours, trading off the driving chores constantly. It was her time to rest."You fall asleep?" she asked, her voice thick but concerned.
"I think it was a blowout..." Jess replied, fighting the steering wheel to bring the car under control. He downshifted and felt the old tire bite the rim as he slowly maneuvered the car to the side of the deserted country road. "Volvo...the world's safest car... my ass." he said to no one in particular. "Ahhh, shit! Shit!" he yelled.
"What the hell is wrong now?" Sharon asked, but already knew the answer. "We don't have a spare, do we? We got rid of it to make room for the damned Mac..."
"Yeah...its Apple's fault we don't have a spare. Let's sue... after all we are lawyers..." he laughed.
"Some lawyers..." Sharon retorted. "Out of work... driving the worlds worst Volvo... probably lost in the middle of who-in-the-hell-knows-where. Heading for some podunk job in some podunk berg in some podunk state..."
"Arkansas."
"Ark-KANSAS."
"Bill Clinton's home state."
"Well then, there you go. Argument made."
"Hilliary's too..."
"Yeah, but she got smart and moved to Nu Yawk,darlink..."
"Well, you're going to replace her. Give us a year at this little know-nothing firm and you'll be the top attorney. Hell, I doubt it will take you that long..." Jess smiled at Sharon. "You know it's true. You're the best person I've ever seen at getting inside a person's head - quickly."
"Feeble minds don't take a lot of coercion darling...."
"Speaking of feeble minds, I suppose it's me that is going to have to hike and find a open gas station to fix the flat...?"
"I think we'll both go. I really don't think anyone wants this ratty old car - and even if they did take it, you can carry your precious PowerBook with you."
"Well, then dearie..." Jess kissed his new found friend. "I guess we'd better get a hike on."
Jess and Sharon started north, toward the last speck of light either of then could remember seeing. it wasn't much - just a tiny dot of yellow against a solid black background. It was enough to give them hope - and hope was all they needed to begin.
********************************************************
A mile behind them, the old Chevy pickup coughed and sputtered before rattling to a start. The clutch squealed slightly as first gear caught. It slowly pulled out onto the darkness of the single lane road...its lights off and headed toward the couple walking away from it. "Think that spike strip worked, this time?"
"Sure did... didn't ya' hear that rubber squealing...? That was a tire blow'in fer sure."
"Then we got us one, fer sure..."
"Yep. Fer sure..."
"I think maybe we oughta just kindda let 'em get ahead some... I'm thinkin' this old heap 'o your'n ain't goin' to make it if'n we try too fast..."
"That's fer sure..."
"Which'in ya' think it was... the Porschee or that there Fe-r-ee thing..."
The driver laughed. "I think you been watchin' too many TV races, whut I think. You done lost your sense of car tellin'..."
"Maybe I 'ave and may I ain't... but if'n it was that Volvo that passed by - hell, we just must of put it out of its misery, is all."
"I reckon maybe we did, at that, fer sure. I ain't hearin' no whining from the bad wheel bearin' it had."
Sharon stared into the darkness of the of the road ahead. "Its tough to even see where the road leads. No moon, no lights, no nothing - except bugs..." she moaned, swatting at an unseen arm, knowing it would have no effect on the biting flies buzzing around their ears.
"The flies are almost as bad as those damn flies in Australia, remember those?" Jess asked asked as he spat and said 'They keep flying into my mouth every time I open it, so I'm shutting up."
"Those at Ularu? Yeah, they swarmed around your head and landed everywhere... where's the black hat net or orange t-shirt now when you really need them?" she laughed, remembering Jess with his oversized bright orange t-shirt wrapped around his head in a futile attempt to keep the flies away. "But at least there we could see where we were walking..."
Jess didn't respond except to reach out and take her hand in his and increase his step. They both were in good shape - for attorneys. Avid outdoors-men and hikers, one of their favorite pastimes was to hike the remote trails of southern Utah - the area around Brice Canyon especially. The more rugged the landscape, the more at home they felt. They were making good time toward the light, but the size of the yellow glow didn't seem to be increasing the nearer they got - opting to remain the same small spot as they marched closer and closer.
********************************************************
The only sound was the crunch of gravel as the nearly-flat tires rolling slowly rolled over it. The tires slowed as they neared the now-deserted Volvo and pulled onto the shoulder in front of the car. There was no sound from the darkness as the occupants of the truck sat silent. Even the flies seemed to notice the stillness and settled onto the heads and shoulders of the occupants, neither of which moved or even twitched as the flies made their home in ears and noses. Ten minutes later, one hand moved quickly and then appeared through the broken truck window. A fist opened and three dead flies fell onto the gravel like stones.
"Dang... thay done made good time.."
"Fer sure..."
"I figger'ed we'd hear 'em fussin' and fightin' up 'n down the road, fer sure..."
"Maybe they are, jest quietly... there was two of 'em in the car, wern't there?
"Fer sure. Two. A man and a woman. The woman was sleepin' I think."
"Then they's out of ear shot - or lost in the woods..."
"Fer sure."
"Alright, I knows you is anxious to git your hands on that lady, but let's see whats we got here that we can use from this rollin' wreak..."
The darkness hid the shapes of the two as they open the doors of the old truck and stepped onto the shoulder of the seemingly deserted road. The absence of any squeaking or other sound from the vehicle belied the external condition of the truck. The hinges and springs were well oiled and silent.
The Volvo sat silently shrouded in total blackness. A pin light flashed on and swept quickly thru the interior of the car.
"Dang."
"Fer sure..."
"Ain't even a suitcase in there..."
"Jest our luck to git passern-bys..."
'We might get lucky with the trunk... they's must not a spare or they'd be here..."
"Fer sure." the other said, his voice fading as his eyes turned to look through the darkness of the road. "They's be out there ... might as well get it on.."
"Now you're talkin..."
"Fer sure…"
********************************************************
Jess was the first to hear the sound of the truck as it eased up the road behind them He whipped around shouting "Hey! I think I hear something!" and scaring Sharon out of her wits. "What the hell are you doing, scaring me like that?" She shouted at him and took a playful swing at his head. He ducked and swung around to look behind them. He could make out two headlights slowly growing bigger as they approached the couple.
"Hey!" he shouted and started waving his arms. "Hey! Can you give us a ride? Do you know where a gas station or place we can get a flat fixed might be around here?"
"Pipe down." Sharon grabbed his flailing arms and held them to his side. "They're too far away to hear you and if they see you jumping and bouncing they'll think we're Psychos escaping from the local mental ward..."
"Wha...? Oh, yeah... right." Jess kissed his new found friend. "Maybe if you were to sand here with your skirt pulled up and a lot of leg showing..."
"What skirt, little boy? I haven't owned a skirt since middle school. And even if I did happen to own one - and be wearing it - I wouldn't stand here with my ass showing... who knows who's in that car..."
"Well, you'd be better hanging our of your skirt than I would be hanging out of my jeans..." Jess retorted "And who are you calling a 'little boy' you tom-boy you...?"
"Its a truck." Sharon jabbed Jess, causing him to yelp. "Here it comes. So stick out that thumb..."
Jess turned and saw that it was an old farm truck coming slowly down the road toward the couple. The truck looked rusted and well worn, but moved silently and smoothly on the grooved old road. He thought about jumping out in front of it but then remembered Sharon's admonishment and thought she just might be right - if he did that then whomever was driving the truck would probably think he was crazy and not stop. So he clasped his hand into a fist and stuck his thumb out... and started waving it around to ensure the driver saw him.
The truck didn't stop.
"Hey!" Jess yelled. "Hey! Wait! Wait! Can you give us a hand? HEY YOU! WAIT!"
"There were two guys in that truck. Where in the hell is a skirt when you need one..?" Sharon teased Jess. "I guess they just don't like guys around here..."
"Yeah, well, maybe they're already attached and aren't looking for someone new...” Jess.
********************************************************
It ain't much, killin' people that is. Some seem t'think it takes a special body t'go round' killin'. But I aim ta' tell ya' - it ain't.
Boody and I was the first that did. We was just about thirteen when we kild our first. We found them on the freeway ramp jest down the road from an Acura with a flat tire. He was sweating and she was a hollering.
<more to come>
