The Road

Charles looked out of the car’s window for something familiar. It was about three in the morning and he was hopelessly lost. There was not a single road sign or landmark that he recognized. Charles anxiously tried to remember his route, but he could not figure out how he became so lost. He was sure that he followed the directions his friend provided, at least he thought he was sure. But the further he drove, the less certain he became.

Charles had been driving for over an hour when he finally decided to call his friend for help. He pick up his phone and a look of disgust grew on his face. The battery must have died while he was at the party.

“That figures,” Charles thought while dropping his phone into the passenger seat. Frustration started building as the reality of his situation set in. “I should have never went to that damned party. This whole day has been a nightmare.”

Charles began thinking about how everything went poorly that day. Being lost was the icing on the cake. While he reflected through, he continued to drive down that strange road. Charles was so lost in thought that turning around never occurred to him. He became so immersed in his own misery, that he did not notice that there were less street lights the further he drove. He never noticed that buildings grew scarce, replaced by fields and the occasional wooden fence. He didn’t even notice that the road was no longer paved

.
The combination of frustration and fear began to fill his body. He gripped the steering wheel tighter as his vision became tunneled. He convinced himself that, if he just kept going, he would eventually find something he recognized. No matter how many wrong turns he had taken, he believed he would see some sort of sign that he could use to get him back on the right path. Charles clung to that thought and tried to reassure himself that nobody stays lost forever.

Charles lost all sense of his surroundings as panic crept up his spine. He no longer paid attention to his surroundings or even to the road itself. He just drove, foolishly believing that the only way out of this mess was to keep going. He drove increasingly faster with each passing minute. His heart raced and his breaths grew short. Charles tried to keep his composure, but he was losing control of himself. Then he noticed how dark everything was had become.

Charles looked out of the windows but could not see anything. The moon and the stars were completely hidden. There were no buildings or structures of any kind. The only thing Charles could see was a dense, intimidating darkness that he had never experienced before in his life. Charles was terrified, and that terror only worsened when he realized that his headlights were being consumed by the darkness. Charles could no longer see a thing.

The panic began to overwhelm him. He thought about pulling over to the side of the road to collect himself. He thought that maybe he was just tired and needed to calm down. He thought that the rest would help him clear his mind. He thought all of these things, but he could not force himself to pull over. He tried to slow down, but he could not force to go toward the brake. Charles could not stop driving. It was as if something was pulling him along that road. By now he was squeezing the wheel so hard, his fingers were going numb. Every muscle in his body tightened to the point he could not move. He told himself to pull off to the side of the rode. He thought this over and over. Just when he was about to lose all control, Charles screamed and lurched the wheel with everything he had. Dirt flew into the air as the car sharply veered right. Still screaming, Charles closed his eyes as the car dove off of the road.
When Charles opened his eyes again, he found himself laying in what appeared to be a field. He sat up slowly and began to look around. He had no idea where he was or how he got there. Charles sat there confused until he suddenly realized that he was no longer in his car! The last thing he could remember was veering off the road, but everything after that was a mystery. He quickly climbed to his feet and began to search for any sign of his car, but it was still too dark to see anything.

Charles was now frightened beyond description. He just stood in the middle of the field and shook. He wanted to cry and scream and run away, but all he could to was stand there and shake. Then Charles heard something echo in the darkness and a chilled wind started to blow behind him. Charles turned around sharply to see what caused the noise. Though it was dark, he thought he could see figures shifting in the distance. His mind might have been playing tricks on him, but he swore they were walking towards him.

Charles began fighting to take control of his body. The first step was the hardest, but quickly managed to start running. He ran from the figures with everything he had, but he could still feel them closing in on him. He ran blindly in the darkness hoping to get away from whatever was behind him. The wind picked up as Charles ran and the air grew colder with each step. Charles knew that they were gaining on him, whatever they were.

Charles finally worked up the courage to look back to see if they were still coming. But as he turned his head, his foot caught against something and he stumbled to the ground. Charles then slid into what felt like a large rock. He lay there stunned for a few seconds before using the rock to pull himself up. As he stood up, he noticed the rock had a strange feel to it. It was as if the rock were shaped purposefully. It was then he realized that it was not a rock he fell into; it was a tombstone. Charles was in the middle of a graveyard.

His heart plummeted into his stomach as he tried not to think about what was chasing him. He took off running again but found himself tripping and stumbling over more and more graves in the unrelenting darkness. He staggered on as best as he could, desperate to escape that place. He struggled blindly through the ever increasing amount of tombstones hoping not to be caught. Charles moved slower and slower as fatigue started to claim his body and hopelessness claimed his mind. He was determined to get away until he tripped and fell one last time.

Charles panted as he lay on the ground. He couldn’t run any more. Tears began to fill is eyes as he thought that this was it. There was no going back now. He could feel himself starting to cry when he caught a glimpse of light not too far up ahead. Suddenly he felt a sliver of hope inside and he managed to get back to his feet.

Charles now pushed himself toward the light. He didn’t care what it was. All he knew was that it made him believe that he still had a chance. He no longer looked back as he worked to get to the light. As he got closer, he saw where the light was coming from. He could not believe his eyes; there in front of him was his car. Charles then picked up his pace, overjoyed and relieved to have found his car. He now knew that he was going to be okay. But as he approached the car, he thought he saw someone sitting inside. It looked like a young boy, and like he was smiling at Charles. Charles rubbed his eyes and looked again, but the boy was gone.

Charles instantly convinced himself he was seeing things from being in the dark for too long. He got inside the car and began to follow his tire tracks back toward the road. The wind began to howl as he drive off, and he swore it sounded like it was saying “don’t go.” But Charles didn’t pay attention and eventually found the road.

By now the sun was starting to rise and the darkness lifted. Charles felt much better now, though he was exhausted. Maybe that was the reason he felt compelled to continue in the direction he was going last night. He no longer was worried about being lost; he was simply glad to be alive. So he continued going down the road, not really paying much attention to anything. His eyelids began growing heavy as everything caught up to him.

Suddenly Charles sat up with a start. He must have dozed off for a second, but that’s all it took. He didn’t see the boy run out in front of him until it was too late to top. The only thing he could do was swerve to avoid the child. When he did, he sped straight into a tree. The car crumpled like tin foil and entombed Charles. The airbag never deployed. Blood oozed down his face and into his eyes. Charles found it difficult to breath and began to feel faint. Slowly, he turned his head and saw the child that ran out into the road. He began to cry. His vision was hazy, but he could tell that it was the same boy from the graveyard. The same boy that was sitting inside of his car. He could tell because he recognized the smile. That smile was the last thing he ever saw.