Thursday, November 2, 2017

The End of the Road...

(today's fiction piece brought to you by the writing prompt: The End of the Road)

She couldn't get the song out of her head. "So we've come to the end of the road..." And because she couldn't get it out of her head she kept singing the few lines she knew over and over again.

"Could you please stop that?"

"Sorry. I just have it stuck on loop."

"Well keep it to yourself. It's not helping."

She tried. "And I can't let go..."

"Seriously. Stop it."

"Sorry." And she tried. She really did. But it kept leaking out of her mouth. A line, a verse, just humming. "it's unnatural, you belong to me..."

"I'm going to scream if you don't knock it the fuck off."

She whispered, "I belong to you..."

She bit her lips together as he glared at her.

"Do you have any phone signal?"

She shrugged, "My battery is dead."

"You didn't charge your phone?"

"Guess not. I thought it was fine, but it's dead."

"Why do you even carry a phone when you never remember to charge it?"

"Because you make me?"

"I don't make you carry a phone. And besides, if I was making you carry a phone it would be in case I needed to get a hold of you or you need to get a hold of me. That doesn't work if you don't ever charge it."

She tried not to smile and she really tried not to sing but it was too perfect, "You get a hold of me...I get a hold of you..."

"STOP IT!"

She grinned, "Sorry."

"You aren't, not even a little bit."

"I'm sorry you are mad at me, how's that?"

"I'm not even sure that's accurate. If you didn't want me to be mad you wouldn't keep singing that song."

She was quiet. Was that true? Not really. She really didn't want him to be mad at her but she couldn't help it with the song. It was stuck. It was like an itch she had to scratch.

He held his phone up to the sky trying to get a signal.

"Got it!" He quickly his auto dial and called the tow company.

She listened to the one sided conversation.

"Yes, Rural Route 42... We passed the entrance about 5 miles ago...Well I know that now...The GPS instructions...Yes, it did seem odd but...Mostly...Two tires...Can you help or not? Okay...we'll be waiting."

She hummed very quietly, "Right here waiting for you..." She didn't think he would be any happier with that choice in songs.

"There should have been a sign. Or something. I mean, this isn't my fault."

He was fuming now. Obviously the tow truck driver did not find his "following the GPS" excuse a good one.

"Why isn't there a fence? Or a barricade? Or something?"

She kept her mouth shut. After all she had tried to point out that maybe turning down a dirt road wasn't really the best way to get to the highway connection. He had dismissed her concern and trusted the GPS. Technology didn't let him down! Except when it did. She was not as big of a fan. She hadn't charged her phone in a month. She hated it. She didn't even own a smart phone, it was just an old flip phone. It didn't even text. But clearly she was stuck in a past decade. Then she smiled to herself again and hummed a little Time Warp.

He paced around the back of the car. "How long do you think it will take for the tow to get here?"

She shrugged, "We are fives miles up a dirt road, twenty miles from the last town, where is he based out of? Or does he hire out?"

"I don't know. It's the auto club number. I assume they use the tracking on my phone and hook me in to the closest location."

"But you didn't ask?"

"No, I didn't ask. I didn't think to ask. I should have asked. I should have not taken this road. I should have stayed home under the covers all day apparently."

She took a step back from him, "I just was asking a question. No big deal. He'll be here when he gets here. We just have to wait."

He sighed and paced some more. "At least you stopped singing that damn song."

She shook her head, because now, of course, it was back playing on loop. She walked away from him so he couldn't hear her.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? STOP IT!"

With that he slammed his hand on the back of the car.

"NO!" She could see it happening but couldn't stop it.

The car, which had come to the end of the road, and had been two tires right at the edge of the embankment, shifted. It rolled a touch then stopped.

He had been watching it all and when the car stopped rolling let out a sigh of relief.

Then the embankment gave way and the car fell.

They both scrambled backwards as fast as they could as the road they had been on disappeared.

He looked to the sky, "Shit."

She bit her cheek and tried her hardest..."Till a landslide brought it down.."




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