Arizona, six months earlier
What’s happening? How did this all spiral out of control?
The sixteen-year-old boy is confused. With the promises
of no rules to obey, eternal life, and sex anytime he
wants, with anyone he so desires; yeah, who wouldn’t
be tempted? Besides, no money need change hands.
However, payment was expected; of course, there was
a charge for Utopia. Deep down, he had known it was all
too good to be true. The price was non-negotiable, no
haggling, no cutting a better deal was possible. What he
had been asked for in exchange was priceless, and he just
wasn’t prepared for it. No, selling his soul to the Devil
wasn’t something he would ever be prepared for and
something he wasn’t going to do.
Therefore, he was now fleeing for his life, he needed
to get away from Wingate and fast. Luckily, for him, the
road was quiet. He had been driving for about an hour,
he had only seen one other vehicle in that time and it was
following close behind. It had joined the road about three
miles back; the driver had not attempted to overtake
and was unlikely to do so now, due to the byroad’s
narrowness. At first he had thought it was a police car
following. Somehow, they may have been alerted that he
had stolen his father’s car, but eventually he had decided
it was unlikely his father would notice it was gone before
morning.
The tailgating car suddenly closes the distance
between them and it’s headlights illuminate the rear-view
mirror of the boy’s vehicle; blinding him on every
turn and twist of the winding road. He presses his foot
down, hard onto the gas pedal, but the car’s response is
sluggish. The young driver is certain that the engine is
protesting at being pushed so hard.
The two cars reach the summit of the climbing road
and the fearful teenager knows that the ground drops
steeply down away from the side. He can’t see the bottom
of the ravine, it’s as though it’s lurking in the bowels of
the earth.
“What the?” the teenage boy yells with surprise,
as the pursuing car gently nudges the rear bumper of
his. He moves forward slightly in his seat, but his seat
belt clicks and saves him from being hurt in any way.
His foot is flat to the floor, but his vehicle continues to
struggle to pull away from its pursuer. The boy grips the
steering wheel as though he’s on a white-knuckle ride at
the fairground. The road widens around the last bend
and will start to drop downhill, towards Highway 87. He
hopes the maniac following him will pass then.
Both cars are now traveling at high speed and the
awkward curves of the road are hard to negotiate. The
inexperienced driver is finding the steering heavy and
he knows he is being pulled closer and closer to the edge
of the precipice. He’s finally approaching the last bend;
he glances in his rear-view, but what he sees causes
him to lose his concentration. Just for a moment, but a
moment too long. The car leaves the road on the bend
and the darkness swallows the teenager up like a whale
consuming a minnow.
The tailing car doesn’t stop; it drives on, no looking
back.
Nice! And I'm enjoying your FB page too.
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