Author: Daniel Wilson (---.ci.morganton.nc.us)
Date: 05-15-08 22:01
This is the first chapter of my first novel that I am hoping to submit for publication one day. Thanks for any help that you can give me. It is entitled DODMEN. Thank you for reading
Jeremy Watkins struggled to keep his eyes open as he drove along the nearly deserted interstate, at ten miles per hour above the posted speed limit. He hadn't seen another car in over an hour, and the lines on the marked pavement were beginning to blur dangerously. He blinked and squinted his bloodshot eyes, and the road came back into sharp focus, only to begin dimming again a few moments later.
The digital clock on the dashboard showed that it was nearly three in the morning, and he had been driving for the past 8 hours in his blue Subaru Forester. Beside him, his girlfriend of two years, Erica Johnson, slept soundly, her head resting lightly on a white pillow propped up against the window. Her red sandals lay in a pile in the floorboard, while her feet were curled underneath her petite frame, which had a pink throw draped over it. Her head bobbed up and down slightly as they went along, and a thin trickle of saliva could be seen flowing steadily from her red lips to the white cotton fabric of the pillowcase.
He smiled slightly as he watched her and wished that he could safely take a picture, so as to possibly black mail her with later. This was how they had unofficially decided to keep their relationship interesting. From day one, they had been trying to one up each other and get the upper hand in trivial matters by using whatever underhanded means were necessary.
It had led to some interesting moments. Such as the time he had finally introduced Erica to his parents, only to have her quietly state during casual conversation that she was a recovering sex addict. She broke the resulting stunned silence by giving Jeremy's father a meaningful look and stated that she hoped his son was half as handsome when he was getting on in years also.
Consequently, when she had finally brought Jeremy home to meet her folks a week later, Jeremy was struck by the incredibly diverse amount of Christian memorabilia that decorated the old fashioned house from one end to the other. As Erica's father, who was also a pastor, finished saying the blessing at the large meal that had been painstakingly prepared for the occassion, Jeremy quietly muttered, "All hail the Dark Prince" under his breath. Not a word was spoken for the rest of the meal.
Right now, the two were on their way to the beach for a relaxing week of sun, surf, and sex. It had been nearly three years since Jeremy's last vacation, and he was anxiously awaiting the feel of the sand between his toes and a cold beer in his hand. He couldn't afford many trips on his salary as a firefighter, but he loved his job and was determined to make this vacation a special one. Erica only worked part time in a local supermarker, but would be graduating from nursing school next year.
As they sped down the darkened asphalt, a sudden gleam to the right caught Jeremy's eye. It was just another set of dark reflective taillights, sitting just off the shoulder of the road. He slowed down slightly as they passed, in case someone were to walk out in front of him carelessly. But the vehicle was apparently abandoned. No sign of human presence could be seen, aside from a white shirt that dangled from the drivers side window. Jeremy could see that it was a newer model 4 Runner and appeared to be in good condition. It was the sixth such vehicle that he had seen on the side of the road since they had taken to interstate.
For no particular reason, a slight feeling of uneasiness began to manifest itself in the pit of his stomach as he watched the pale headlights fade into the darkness through his rear view mirror. As always happened when he saw such a lonely vehicle residing by itself in the night, the same question entered his mind. Where was the driver? Jeremy knew that the T-Shirt in the window was the universal sign for a disabled vehicle. But he couldn't help but speculate that perhaps the vehicle had somehow become carnivorous and had hungrily devoured its helpless owner, leaving nothing more than the shirt behind as evidence.
Jeremy forcefully pushed the fantastic thought out of his head with a slight chuckle and resumed his train of thought. He had more important matters to occupy his mind right now, not the least of which was where could he get a strong cup of coffee this early in the morning. For the tenth time since they had departed, he felt the front pocket of his denim jacket to make sure that the small black box, which was the sole purpose of this trip, was still securely in place. His heart skipped a beat when he didn't feel it, but settled back down into its normal rhythm as his hand closed around the familiar velvet container.
His buddies at the fire house had done everything in their considerable power to jokingly discourage him from buying the small diamond ring that had forced him to eat ramen noodles for the past three weeks. But neither dead road kill in his trunk or firefighter gear encased in a solid brick of ice could deter him from his course of action. He knew a good thing when he had it, and was more than ready to take the plunge with the woman who had captured his heart from the moment he saw her.
It had been at the bake sale that was held every year in front of the firehouse. It was mainly a charity event, with the proceeds going towards the new children's hospital that was under construction. It was a jot July day and he had been busy peddling various cakes, pies and pastries when she had come up wearing a white tank top and cut off blue jean shorts. her short black hair hung down just past her neck and her brilliant blue eyes offset her tan skin. She flashed a smile at him as he stood behind the table, handing a choclate eclair to a pudgy little boy who took it without giving any thought to saying thank you. Her white teeth sparkled in the sunlight and Jeremy noticed two cute little dimples on either side of her mouth. The immediately struck up a conversation and before she left with her box of complimentary doughnuts, they had a date for the following Friday. The rest was history
Now, two short years later and a mere six months past the date when they had moved in together, he was ready to make an honest woman out of her. He pictured again how he was going to pop the question. They would be dining in one of the fine seafood restaurants, possibly on their second or third night there. He didn't want to ask too soon on the off chance that she turned him down and subsequently ruin their remaining vacation. By letting one or two days go by, he was assured of at least that amount of time for fun and merriment.
After desert, he would take her by the hand and gaze deeply into her eyes. In his head he had a list of things that he wanted to tell her, and he would recite them in his deepest and most romantic voice. He would especially recall the times when his grandmother died and she was there for him at every turn of grief and sorrow. He would also speak of when the blizzard knocked out their power for four days and they camped out in the living room of their small apartment, eating cans of cold beans and sandwiches. Then he would take out the silver ring that had one small diamond in the center, and get down on one kneee as she gasped in surprise and, hopefully, excitement.
His fantasy was cut short, however, as the Forester began to sputter and cough loudly. Although they had been cruising at a comfortable 80 mph on the deserted stretch of highway, he noticed that they were now decelerating quickly, although his foot remained steadfastly pushing the gas. All the other gauges appeared to be normal and no telltale wisp of smoke could be seen coming from under the hood, which would signify classic overheating. He had changed the oil himself just before they left, and had immaculately gone over the other fluids and operating systems. They had all checked out, which meant that the problem had to be something more serious than he could catch.
Cursing under his breath, he guided the struggling vehicle to the side of the road and came to a stop, his emergency lights blinking brightly behind him to warn any oncoming traffic. Erica woke up as they haled and blinked her eyes in confusion.
"Are we there?" she asked groggily. Jeremy shook his head in frustration as he unlatched his seat belt.
"Something's wrong with the car. I'll check it out." He climbed out of the now useless vehicle and popped the hood. Using the flashlight that he kept in the glove box for emergencies, he began going over the engine. The oil level was good, as he had known it would be. No leaks could be seen in the darkness and no excessive amount of heat assaulted him as he bent over for a closer inspection. He checked to make sure all the connections were nice and tight, but was unable to find anything amiss. In the back of his mind, a vision of the homicidal 4 Runner eating its unwary driver began to take shape again.
"Find anything?" a female voice from behind him asked. He jumped in surprise and banged his head on the underside of the upraised hood. Rubbing his injured cranium, he turned to see Erica standing behind him, trying her very best not to laugh at the angry expression on his face.
"I told you to stay in the car," he said gruffly.
"No. You said you'd check it out. You didn't say anything about staying in the car. Besides, I have to pee. He knew from past experienced when she had him, and this was one of those times.
"The T.P. is in the back. I don't think anybody will see if you just go behind those trees over there." He pointed to the nearby wood line, just beyond the metal guardrail. While the look on her face told him that she wasn't crazy about the idea, she wisely realized that she had very little choice in the matter.
"How's the car looking?" she asked as she fished around in the back seat.
"It looks finem" he said as he shook his head in disbelief.
As far as I can see, we should be boogying down the road right now, not stopping while you water the poison ivy." She stuck her tongue out at him as she retrieved her prize from underneath one of the heavy suitcases. "Be careful," he called after her as she half ran and half walked towards the sanctuary of the trees.
He leaned back over to inspect their only means of transportation again, hoping that the problem would jump out at him. Although he was no mechanic, as the rookie firefighter he had been responsible for the preventive maintenance on all of the fire engines that he worked with. He could usually pin point a problem before it happened, but he was at an utter loss to explain why they were stranded on the side of the road, three hours from their destination.
He straightened back up and wiped the small beads of perspiration from his forehead. It had been rather chlly when they had left their apartment, but it was getting progressively warmer the farther south that they went, towards their rented condo. He turned his head up and gazed at the stars, letting the brilliance of the night sky wash over him and hoping that they would bring some fresh ideas with them.
His head began to swim slightly because of the sudden movement from horizontal to vertical, and he closed his eyes a moment to steady himself. The vertigo didn't go away as he had expected, but instead seemed to intensify. Opening his eyes, the headlights of the Forester began to flicker and sway in his field of vision. He reached forward to steady himself against the upraised hood, missed, and fell to the hard asphalt in a crumpled heap. Nausea erupted in his gun and he spilled the contents of the hasty dinner that he and Erica had shared together, earlier in the evening.
He managed to bring himself up to his knees, and prepared to be sick again as fresh waves of nausea rolled over him. Suddenly, he gasped in pain and surprise as a thousand white-hot needles seemed to penetrate his body to its very core. He rolled over onto his back in agony, as his muscles began to cramp in protest to the vicious treatment that they were receiving. Through the haze that coulded his mind, he heard Erica screaming in the distance, obviously enduring a similar sensation.
He started crawling towards her, but stopped again as a new round of torturous pain and sickness resumed their assault on him. His surroundings twisted and contorted into grotesque images and shapes, sometimes rushing towards him while at other times seeming to fade away into the night, which now had a faint red glow to it. Suddenly, there was an explosion, like a thousand claps of simultaneous thunder, and everything when dark.
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