Redemption Road (2) (1074 hits)
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Rating: 2 on 26 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Jack McCallum (View user info) at 2005-12-27 17:03:58 EST
(1) http://www.ubersite.com/m/79291
Redemption Road
2 - Tim Behind the Wheel
When he had first seen the man on the shoulder of the road, Tim Holts had been sure he was seeing things.
He'd been alone for days now, first waking up beside this empty road, then walking a day and a night until he found the school bus. He'd also found other things.
A massive, metal tub the size of a kiddie swimming pool on the side of the road, full of human teeth. A dusty, ragged feather that was longer than Tim was tall, and Tim was five and a half feet tall. A series of chipped and weather-worn mile-markers that had terrified him.
Tim was only fourteen.
It had taken him hours to figure out how to work the gear shift on the old bus, but Tim had been faced with figuring things out on his own before, and he found the challenge of learning to drive the bus a welcome diversion from the fear that made him want to curl into a ball.
The bus also shielded his view of the sky to a degree, and that was a good thing. The first time Tim saw that wavering oddity high in the blue sky he had felt like crying.
He had traveled down the road for two days and two nights. That was just a guess, of course. He wasn't very hungry, but there was an old Coleman jug full of tepid water in the back of the bus. The first day behind the wheel he has pulled over to piss ten times, a few of them more for a break from monotony than actual need. And although he had no watch, his body told him that each piss was a few hours apart. If his body was telling him the truth, he had driven the bus for a minimum of thirty hours before the sun started to go down.
The nights seemed to last forever, and Tim hated the dark. There was no moon at night, and the stars changed every time he looked at them. If he started at a cluster of stars for sixty seconds, nothing moved. The moment he blinked, there was a shift. If he blinked rapidly three or four times, the stars changed every time.
Tim slept inside the bus with the dirty, flickering overhead strip of lights switched on. He hadn't even considered he might be draining the battery.
Nights were bad here, but at least you couldn't really see that thing in the sky.
When Tim had seen the big bearded man on the side of the road he had whooped with excitement.
Tim had pulled over and opened the doors and asked the old guy if he needed a lift.
The old guy had scratched his bear and asked, "Where are you headed?"
With a shrug Tim had replied, "Down the road."
The old guy had climbed up the steps and settled in the front seat of the right hand row.
"Richard Addison," the old guy said, extending a hand.
Tim turned in his seat and shook, feeling very adult.
"I'm Tim Holts."
Addison nodded. "Any idea where we are, Tim?"
Tim closed the door and put the bus in gear. "Uh-uh. No sir. I sort of woke up lying on the side of the road a few days ago. I found this bus and some other weird stuff, and now I'm just trying to drive out of here. Got to hit a town sooner or later, I guess."
"You woke up here?"
"Yes sir," Tim said, eyes on the road.
"Me too," Addison said. "Where were you before?"
Tim looked down at his clothes, and glanced over his shoulder.
Addison saw that the kid was as white as a sheet. He could pry later.
"So tell me about this bus."
"I found it, after walking a while."
Addison nodded. Waited. Watched the emptiness outside pass by.
"It's weird," Tim said. "The gas gauge and the speedometer are all busted up, but I haven't run out of gas and I must have done a few straight days of driving all totaled."
A long glance over the kid's should showed him the odometer wasn't turning over. Addison looked at the rows of empty seats behind him and spotted the water jug. He went to the rear of the bus and shook the jug, hearing a faint sloshing sound. Nearly empty. He held up the plastic jug and opened the spigot. A trickle of brackish water filled his mouth.
"That's another thing," the boy said. "That water jug has had a little water sloshing in the bottom of it ever since a started drinking out of it a few days ago. It's just weird."
Addison slipped back into his seat.
"I'm trying not to think about it too much," the boy whispered. "Time is all wrong, and I've seen really strange stuff. And way back there I saw a bunch of the mile marker things. They all just said 'Death' on them, and it was like they were counting down. Eleven hundred miles. A thousand miles. Nine hundred miles. Last one I saw was seven hundred miles. That was yesterday."
"You're doing a good job, Tim." Addison left the rest unspoken. You're doing a good job holding it together. You're doing a good job not flipping your lid and going completely out of your fucking mind.
Addison put his head back. Closed his eyes. Forced them open.
"You want to sleep that's okay," Tim said. "My mom used to nap all the time. She used to work two jobs before—"
The kid fussed with the gearshift, and Addison let it go.
Don't worry kid," he replied, talking around a yawn. "I'm not gonna..."
When Addison opened his eyes, nothing had changed. They were still driving down the empty road.
"I guess I nodded off after all," he said.
"Couple hours," Tim said with a laugh, when he saw Addison's look of alarm. "You sure do snore. I slept a lot when I first got here. Before I found the bus."
"You mind pulling over?" Addison had to piss something fierce.
The bus rolled to a stop. Tim opened the door and Addison stepped out.
"You gotta go too, kid?"
"I can go after," Tim replied.
"Hey, I'm not shy," Addison said. "No reason we can't piss together."
More dust and sand and rock. Addison stopped, unzipped, and waited.
Tim stepped up beside Addison and let fly with an impressive stream.
"Damn, kid," Addison said, resisting the urge to jump up and down and try to force his own pathetic trickle to move faster. "Enjoy a good piss. When you get to be my age, pissing can sometimes be a chore."
"I guess I really had to go," Tim said.
"Too bad we didn't have any fires to put out," Addison mumbled.
Tim chuckled and shook off and zipped up, and stood beside Addison.
He didn't have any friends. No brothers. No dad. He'd had a sister, but that didn't count.
It was weird, but it felt good to stand beside somebody and just piss out in the open like this. The old man cursed and zipped up, and they headed back to the bus. Addison paused before climbing up into the bus, taking a long look at the front of the vehicle. The grille, the headlights.
When they were back on the road, Tim caught Addison's eye in the little round mirror over the door. "I'm glad I'm not alone."
They drove in silence for a half hour, maybe longer. Addison kept watching the window beside him for birds, bugs, any kind of movement. He hadn't noticed one fresh or recent bug hit on the front of the bus. That was impossible. You drive out in the open in a place like this and you're going to collect bug hits.
Addison saw movement on the shoulder up ahead and replied, "Things are about to get a lot less lonely."
They pulled over.
They took on a woman in her early thirties, and man a few years younger than Addison, and a little girl.
The man had hopped up the stairs first, saying, "Thank Christ. Get me out of this hell hole!"
"Oh, shut up," the woman said angrily, holding the little girl's hand. "You're scaring her again."
"She should join the damned club," the man said. He was wearing an expensive suit, and as he sat down across the aisle from Addison he slapped as his coat, chasing dust. "She should be scared. We're in the middle of nowhere, lady. We're screwed."
"Hey buddy," Addison whispered, "Cool it, okay? We're all in the same boat here."
"Up your ass," the man replied.
The woman still looked pissed off. She was wearing sweats, a light raincoat, and white shoes with thick cushioned soles that made Addison think doctor, or nurse. She helped the little girl up the stairs.
"Hey," Tim said, leaning close to the girl. "I'm Tim. You need anything, you come see me, okay?"
The girl gave a silent nod. Keeping her eyes on Tim, she took the aisle seat beside Addison.
The woman sat in the aisle seat behind the girl.
Tim closed the doors and pulled out onto the road again.
They drove on silence. Addison stood and squeezed by the little girl. He grabbed the water jug and made his way back to the front of the bus.
The man in the suit grabbed the jug with both hands and Addison pulled it way from him.
"You bastard," the man said, "I'm thirsty."
Addison ignored him. "Here, honey," he said to the little girl. "I'll hold this over your mouth. You push that little button there when you want a drink, okay?"
The girl took a few sips, and Addison passed the jug to the woman.
Jesus, he thought, glancing at the man in the suit. This clown looks like he's about to go homicidal.
"I'm Addy," he said to the girl. "What's your name?"
"Roberta," she said softly.
He gestured to the woman, signaling they should switch seats, and she shook her head.
"You're doing fine. "I'm Julianne."
She handed the water jug across the aisle and the man in the suit snapped it out of her hands.
"His name is David Garvin," she said, hooking a thumb at the man in the suit. "I'm sure he'll remind you of that very soon."
"I'm Addison. And that's Tim at the wheel."
Tim looked back and saw how scared the little girl was.
"Say beep-beep Robbie!"
Roberta scowled and shook her head.
"Come on, say beep-beep."
The little girl rolled her eyes and said, "Beep-beep."
Tim hit the horn twice. Roberta frowned and Addison grinned. The horn was in bad shape, and it sounded like a sick goose.
Wh-honk... wh-honk!
Tim bounced up and down in his chair. "Say beep-beep again!"
Roberta seemed to be fighting a smile. "Beep-beep!"
Tim hit the horn twice again.
Garvin muttered, "For Christ sake."
Tim shouted, "Say beep just one more time!"
Roberta called out, "Beeeeep!"
Tim opened his mouth and let out a rattling belch that made Addison and Roberta burst out laughing. Julianne smiled and shook her head, and Garvin grimaced.
"Impressive, Tim," the woman said, looking at him in the mirror. Tim glanced over his shoulder and she gave the boy a smile. His cheeks bloomed red.
It was then Addison realized that under the dust and sweat, this woman was lovely.
"Doctor?" he asked, between the gap in the seats.
"Registered nurse," she replied, shrugging off her coat. "Now that we know each other, does anyone know what's going one here? I woke up—"
Tim cut her off, his voice shaking with uncertainty. "Umm, guys?"
There was a sign up ahead. It was battered and faded, but the paint that remained was the typical green and day-glow white seen on highway signs across America.
Tim took his foot off the gas and they coasted by the sign.
Addison read words written in badly chipped and faded white paint and whispered, "Holy shit."
---A Horrifying Demise For One of Seven - 400 miles---
Roberta spoke up. "What does that mean?"
No one said a thing.
"Look," Tim said, as they passed the large green sign.
Up ahead, hanging from a metal pole, was what looked like the black and white U.S. highway signs of Addison's youth, but instead of a number on the sign there was a crudely-drawn symbol for infinity, and at the top of the sign, instead of a State name, was the word PURGATORY.
User Reviews
Submitted by wookie (user info) at 2008-05-09 13:59:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by X54 (user info) at 2008-05-07 23:15:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You are great with characters. A lot of "hads" in the beginning.
Submitted by St_Jimmy (user info) at 2007-11-06 20:01:49 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Only seven parts to this?!
Needs more, I'm just starting to get into it.
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2005-12-30 19:54:49 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
i worry about a lot of rules and structuring when i write...
and that tends to produce a sort of monotone forced drivel.
you obviously don't, and it works quite well for you.
Submitted by jack11058 (user info) at 2005-12-29 11:54:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
dude, this is going to be good.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-12-28 23:25:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Tiny women are scary.
All that fury, compressed into a smaller container. when the pressure blows, run for the fucking hills.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-12-28 19:13:06 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-12-28 01:41:47 (#)
Ranking: 2
Fuck you, Caes. I may be 5' 1 3/4" tall, but I can still ninja you into next week.
*********************
Of course you could. Who could fight anything that tiny? I'd have to bend down to punch you in the head. And while I'm doing that, KA-BLAMMO!! Ninja magic!!
Careful when you knock me down, so my unconscious body doesn't squish you.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-12-28 13:59:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Glad everyone is enjoying this.
Working on another Four Corners Hole installment now...
Dykeworld!
Sort of.
Already went off on a tangent about nipples and one (very tough) broad trying to seduce another woman... gotta scrap the naked, fighting babes and get back to writing a regular action sequence and get the story on track...
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2005-12-28 13:17:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
6'5 is awesome, and this story is creepy. i like it.
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2005-12-28 10:10:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-12-27 17:31:43 (#)
Ranking: 2
Side note: your fucking fourteen-year-old character is fucking taller than I am. By more than three inches. You're going to have to lose a few toes for that one, Jack.
By the time I was fourteen I was well on my way to 6', I ended up being 6' 5". If I were on my knees we'd almost be eye to eye.
Submitted by indoninja (user info) at 2005-12-28 07:49:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
nuff said.
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-12-28 01:41:47 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Fuck you, Caes. I may be 5' 1 3/4" tall, but I can still ninja you into next week.
Submitted by Bubba2341 (user info) at 2005-12-27 20:52:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by jagmcmanus (user info) at 2005-12-27 20:41:39 (#)
Ranking: 2
Truly awesome, but I feel a stephen king influence...?
_____________________________________________________________
You couldn't ask for a better influence.
Submitted by jagmcmanus (user info) at 2005-12-27 20:41:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Truly awesome, but I feel a stephen king influence...?
Submitted by joedaddy (user info) at 2005-12-27 20:24:30 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
for a minute there, i thought we had the makings of love at first type
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-12-27 20:09:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I like the manner in which this plot has thickened.
And I've learned that LadyPlural is wee!
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-12-27 18:50:53 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I hate you with the firey burning passion of ten thousand suns. And we're talking white dwarf suns, not the relatively balmy ones like red giants.
Would it help if I threatened to cry if you don't finish certain stories?
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-12-27 18:24:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-12-27 18:16:25 (#)
Ranking: 2
Well then fucking WRITE, damn you.
Finish or at least work on Allahtown, too. I liked that one.
--
Oops. I guess I should post the next chapter. The one where the big break-out begins and the evil True reveals his master plan and Samir realizes that to ensure the survival of his wife and child he will have to go against his nature and act according to True's plan, which means he has to---*
My muse just told me that if I don't shut up she won't give me any more lapdances.
Sorry.
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-12-27 18:16:25 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Well then fucking WRITE, damn you.
Finish or at least work on Allahtown, too. I liked that one.
Yes you should listen to me, because nobody else seems to be on Ubersite and (having nobody else to irritate) I shall bother you incessantly if you do not.
Oh yes that was an internet threat, bitches.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-12-27 18:09:22 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Shhh...
Trying to work on another Four Corners Hole chapter over here.
Women's World II.
Oy!
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-12-27 18:04:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
You teasing motherfucker.
You laugh now, but just you wait until I've got you in my claws. *Then* we'll see how well you deal with deadlines.
PS- I won't make Annie's mistake, either. Just in case you were thinking I would.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-12-27 17:39:52 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-12-27 17:31:43 (#)
Ranking: 2
Side note: your fucking fourteen-year-old character is fucking taller than I am. By more than three inches. You're going to have to lose a few toes for that one, Jack.
--
Intentional. He's just a kid, but he looks a little older. That mix makes it easier for Robbie to trust him, because she is afraid off.... well, just wait and see.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-12-27 17:37:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Addison glanc d at th kid and said, "You'v b n h r long r than any of us. What do you think w should do now?"
Tim hung his h ad. H was afraid to m ntion his d p st f ar, som thing h had susp ct d for som tim now.
*Oh shit, I've thrown my 'e'! Jesus, somebody find me a pencil!*
Submitted by horse87 (user info) at 2005-12-27 17:34:17 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-12-27 17:31:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Side note: your fucking fourteen-year-old character is fucking taller than I am. By more than three inches. You're going to have to lose a few toes for that one, Jack.
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-12-27 17:26:57 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
See, Jack old buddy, here's how it is. I love reading your stories, Jack, really I do. But I can't stand to have you not post anything new for a story that I'm already really into, for months on end. I mean, it just sets my teeth on edge, Jack, and we don't want that, do we? I think not. So what I'm going to do is, I'm going to hunt you down, 'Misery' style, and I'm going to *make* you finish your stories, Jack. Because I need closure, you see, and that seems to be the best way to do it.