...as the window rolled down Annalene realized she was already leaning away a bit. She would just ask for a phone, she decided, not accept a ride. "Where ya headed?" She had never seen the man before. He looked like a hippie from the 60's, his hair flowing from a receding hairline, his beard braided with a silver pony bead in the end. He was so tall he had to keep his head bent to fit into the compact car.
a thought flashed through her mind "i wonder if he has midget legs too..." she brought her self to her senses with a shake of her head. the hippies eyes began to wander, seemingly no longer with this reality. Annalene coughed to regain his attention with out being rude "excuse me but do you happen to have a phone" "nahhhhhhh, they give you brain cancer" long pause "and i need a brain to do my thinking....i can take you to a phone if you like"
What is it with these people? Did everybody just refuse to step into the 21st century? She would much rather use a phone on the go, but now she pondered the ride. The hippie might be her only chance to get to a phone. Appearances aren't everything, as evidenced by Ken, but the condition of the man's car didn't help her see the big picture. "Umm...
She balanced the weight of evidence, added it all up, and realized that she was having a really bad day. Trying her luck seemed like a suicidal thing to do. Yet, now that night had fallen the only lights were two in the building that Ken had tried to take her to and the blinker light above the car. There were no other headlights. "Fine," she said, going around to the passenger's side. It all came down to a creepy place with creepy Ken lurking around and no phone or the disquieting car and the oddball driving it. She supposed if things went as usual she could always throw herself out the door. It couldn't be much worse than her other options.
"So...," the hippie said. "Did you have a little trouble back there?" She didn't want to be rude, but she really wasn't in the mood to be interrogated. She sighed inwardly as she looked at the road ahead of her. He seemed harmless, so she opened a little. "Something like that," she said. I said she opened up a little.
He nodded slowly, his hands like tentacles around the wheel. "Heavy vibes back there, man," he remarked, "so where ya goin? I'm heading out as far as Warmarding but I'll stop wherever. Don't have anywhere I gotta be." Nothing about this guy was quick. He drove slowly, he talked slowly, he apparently thought a bit slowly. His car smelled like...not weed as she expected but 'New Car' air freshner.
lmao at that last paragraph... back to the story... Though he seemed harmless, many horror movies came to her mind with similar scenarios. She didn't want to be a victim in any part of this flick, so she thought fast. Much faster than he did. "There's a diner a few blocks from here, can you drop me off there?"
He nodded slowly. Maybe it was her imagination but he seemed a bit reluctant. "Yeah, man." He finally said and delicately twiddled the radio knob. An unfamiliar song came on and the hippie swiveled a blank eye in her direction, "Doobie Brothers, best band on earth." "Sure," she agreed, relieved to see the glow of a neon "EAT" sign lighting the fine mist up ahead.
roughly 500 meters from the diner enterence the hippie turned his car off and coasted in. "brakes arnt good for the soul man....rolling like a leaf in a river....thats how we shoul-" "thanks dude, umm man. peace out and all, thanks for the lift. i gotta, i umm yeah i gotta get out here" they haddent stopped yet, but even the brain fried hippie picked up on her subtly and pressed the rather shiny break peddle. he looked at her a bit disheartened and said...
"Aw man! now you remind me of young Jennadaya..." he half choked as the car came to a stop. Annalene stared at him, his lower lip actually quivered. Umm, OK, now what? She looked around her and spotted a phone booth around the corner of the diner. She turned back to the hippie, and... "Who's Jennadaya...?"
"Whose Jennadaya...?" "Jennadya? ooohhhhhh she was the hoopiest frood this side of the melon tree, you know what im saying? she could bend moon beams with her...oh her hair was like sun shining on spider silk after a morning dew...." Annalene noticed his eyes lose focus as his speech trailed off. "riiight well im going to have to call a friend of mine with the, arr, phone so thanks again for the ride" she then walked off in the direction of the phone...feeling a little touched by the hippies description.
As she reached the phone and searched for a quarter-rarely used nowadays- and punched the numbers. Momentarily, a familiar female voice was on the other line. "Yeah?" it said lazily. "Darma! It's me, Annalene." Annalene said, nervously looking around her. The hippie was still there, squinting at her from his car. "Yeah." Said Darma again. Annalene screwed her face, "Darma?" then let out an angry sigh, "Are you high again!?" "Yeah..." Darma yawned, "Who is this?"
Annalene looked at the AAA card in her hand. WHY had she called Darma? Oh yes, because her AAA membership was EXPIRED! She twisted the card in her hand and looked at it again. Still expired. Damn. "Hello?" asked Darma's voice over the line, getting that pissy tone. "It's Annalene, Darma, remember, your roommate from college? We still do the Mad Outlet Shopping spree every three months whether we need it or not and last time you got those killer shoes..." Suspicious silence. "I'M Darma," said the somewhat confused voice.
Annalene shut her eyes, and reluctantly hung up the phone. There was no use saying "Goodbye" anyway. It was getting dark and rain started to pour again. She sighed and turned to the hippie, who was still there. Annalene hunched her shoulders. She had no other choice. Stepping out of the phone booth, she dived into the shower of rain.
When she reached the car, though, she saw that his head was slumped down to the steering wheel. It figures, she thought. He nodded off while I was on the phone. She was about to turn away. But then she saw his face. Eyes wide open, frozen in terror. And blood, bright red, trickling out of his ear. She ran. She ran alongside the highway, back the way she had come, heedless of the rain, the passing cars, and the gathering dusk. And she did not look back.
Annalene ran until she couldn't run anymore which, considering that she hadn't run track since high school, wasn't very long. A stitch sliced her side and she was soaked to the skin, breathless, coatless, phoneless, AAA-less, and friendless. She looked every which way but only saw dark highway and the suggestion of scrubby grass beside the gritty berm where she stood. Her imagination was working overtime, too. Echoing in her ears was a growl that she had heard as she had stared into the Toyota at the hippie. "You're mine." A deep voice had said. It echoed corridors of terror in her mind now but she saw no-one. ((dang, carried away, sorry!))
She wasn't sure how long she had been running, but she suddenly realized she was near where the Civic had been overturned. It was there, right side up, parked in the breakdown lane, with a bright orange tag stuffed under the driver side wiper. She saw no sign of damage. Even in the rain and dark, she should have been able to see a crumpled roof or side panels. There was no sign of the dead creature either. At this point, she didn't care. She tossed the orange citation on the passenger seat, closed the door, and turned the key in the ignition. The car started immediately, and she drove home, exhausted. The next morning...
The next morning Annalene woke and lay still, simply enjoying breathing. Feeling safe. Maybe the night before was just a dream. One thing was for sure, though, she was clearly out of a job. She dressed anyway and yawned her way downstairs, noting the blinding sunlight and the mail that had been pushed through the slot. Leaning down she picked up a small brown envelope. It was addressed to her in copperplate script like a message from the past. Curious, she ripped it open and withdrew a rose-colored piece of paper, folded once.
"Yesterday was wonderful. I can hardly wait to see you again. Love, Ken" She dropped the note as if it were a Brown Recluse spider. A moment later, her cell phone - her dead cell phone - played out a song in tinny tones. It wasn't a ringtone she had programmed into it, and it took her a moment to place it. "Somebody's Watching Me," was the name of it. She grabbed a sweater and her purse. I have to get out of here right now, she thought.
Annalene yanked the front door open, looking cautiously out to make sure that Ken wasn't lurking on her doorstep, and gave her car an equally suspicious glance. The vicinity was innocent of Ken, though, and as she pulled the door shut and locked it she heard a miaow. Looking down, she saw Skillet. The tiny feline looked up at her and Annalene came as close as she had ever come in her life to kicking a kitten. Edging around Skillet she hurried toward the car.
Just when she had her hand on the door handle... "Did you read my letter, Annalene?" Her body jerked a moment, and she felt her eyebrow twitch three times before turning around to see Ken standing right in front of her. "...Um, no," she laughed out of nervousness. "A letter? I'm kind of in a hurry-"
"... I'm late for work, I..." Ken raised his finger stopping her with a questioning look, "I thought you said you were off the job?" Annalene found it hard to breathe. Good. So now he's gorgeous and has a perfect memory...what else? She found herself scanning him from top to bottom. He wore a beige rain coat, under which was visible a light-blue cashmir sweater. She gave herself a mental shake, and smiled shyly. "Yeah, you got me there."
He'd caught her in another lie and where had he sprung from this time? He was at her house for Pete's sake! His teeth flashed in one of those disquieting smiles. "How about a day out?" He asked, taking her by the elbow and ushering her toward the passenger's side door, "I'll play chauffeur and spoil you."
Out of character, she laughed and flumped onto the passenger seat. She nervously ran her hand over her forehead. This was moving too fast. She should have ran for it. But she's here, and so was he! Ken turned the ignition on and looked at her, "So, ready to surrender yourself to me?" Annalene gasped out loud and fumbled to open the door. He laughed and held her by the arm. "I'm just kidding," he grinned as she looked at him with disbelief. There's that grin again. "You seriously need to relax." And he drove away. Minutes later ....
Minutes later the car came to an uneventful stop by a grove of trees. The sparkle of a stream, swollen from last night's rain, could be glimpsed beyond them. Annalene, who hadn't taken her hand off of the doorhandle the whole ride, let herself out of the car as Ken climbed out of the other side. He went to the trunk and pulled out a picnic basket. When had he put that in there? He reached delicately into his pocket and produced Skillet, who ran in a lopsided kitten run into the trees. Ken gestured for Annalene to follow. "After you."
