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ride of his life


Tim Douglass, was a normal guy, with a normal mid sized sedan, and he hated his sedan, he always had hoped one day he would be able to afford a 69' Camaro SS with fuzzy dice in the mirror, so far he had only been able to afford the dice. it didn't help that the sedan had been having engine troubles, and no mechanic in town seemed to be in his price range. it was on such a night that Tim set out clunker car and all, to visit his sister who lived two towns away. the sedan had not broken down, and Tim had no reason to believe it would now, it seemed to be doing fine, sputtering sounds and smoking tail pipe aside. it was dark, and the trees waving in the august winds must have been the cause for the wrong turn, a turn taken that Tim would never forget, even to this day, though he never found a way back again....
Tim driving along still not recognizing the streets, the land marks, and had got about three miles, before he decided to turn back, in mid turn, the engines sputtering died out, and his headlights lost there shine, Tim Douglass's sedan finally died, right there in the middle of who knew where, and the head lights gleaming four feet high in the distance, now close enough to see their reflection made brighter by a massive steel front grill, the kind seen only on semi-trucks , made Tim suck in a breath and shiver like an electric eel, that's when it happened, out of nowhere a young Hispanic man reached in Tim's passenger side door, Tim never heard it open, but in that instant before he could think twice the man yanked him out and rolled him into the deep muddy ditch on the side of that mysterious road, the truck big and mighty smashed his already dead sedan into splinters, and never stopped. Tim turned to the man who was wearing a mechanic shirt, with the name Perez on the top left hand corner, Tim chuckled silently at the irony. the guy said his name was Jose, and that he had been headed home after a very long day, that his brother was still at the shop working on his car, which Jose had smashed into a tree a while back, but his brother had been so upset by it that he had put it off til just a couple months back, and the make and model was a 69 Camaro SS, Tim knew his mouth was hanging open and Jose smiled, but his smile was somewhat sad, he looked off and said, to himself, it was worth it," im glad i didn't head home yet, i met some one whose just as crazy about that car as me, i think, and he lived, because i was here." Tim realized that he would be dead if Jose hadn't saved him, and he was glad he did, but he couldn't understand why Jose was still so sad, Jose turned to him, pointing behind him he said, "if you walk four or so blocks that way, my mechanics shops there on the left side, my brother will give you a lift home, do me a favor and tell him i love him," Tim thought nothing of the request, it had been a scary day, and would make anyone a little more appreciative of the lives they had, Tim finally made it to the garage with cursive lettering in orange paint which spelled Perez auto shop, there was light coming from inside he stepped in seeing two dirty boots and legs sticking out from under a really ravaged hunk of metal, yet still distinctively his dream car, it was totally, well, totaled, Tim yelled hello over the noise, and a forty something year old man pulled out from under the vehicle, Perez tacked on his shirt the same as Jose, the man stood wiping most of the oil off his hands, as he said factually, "were closed," nervously not wanting to seem ungrateful, Tim stuttered "um, Jose said you could take me home, i had an accident back there on the road, i mean my car did. Jose pulled me out, or i would be dead," Tim looked at the mans shocked face as he started to shake his head slowly, "by the way" Tim said "Jose said he loves you, and he went home," the mans face was still shocked, Tim assumed it had something to with the wreck and said, "not a scratch on me, thanx to you brother" Tim looked up "no"said the man, Tim suddenly confused, afraid his ride was unwilling, stared as the mans shocked face turned into something close to sadness, it reminded him of how Jose had looked, then the man spoke, "thats impossible, my brother saved you, he couldn't have, my brother has been dead for 15 years, in a car accident, in fact 15 years to this day."

It was dark outside, the lightning flashing inconsistently like the ominous hand of an angry god was the only light that could guide Anna Hersely away from the monster that had haunted her for the last two and a half years.... when Anna grudgingly packed her bags to take the greyhound to Edmond prep school for girls, she swore she'd never speak to her father again. her mother had died in an car accident when she was three, and with the funeral cost and the fact that her father had to quit his job to take care of his little girl, money had been scarce. Anna never really knew her mother, and though it sometimes saddened her, she always had her dad to wipe away her tears, he was her one constant protector in the eye of the darkened storm of life, Anna and her father didn't have much but they had each other and they where a relatively happy little family, all other things aside. Anna started school and her dad started back at work. Years went by; days were filled with school, work, recess, diner and story time, then off to bed. When Anna turned 12 her dad sometimes didn't make it home for dinner, and Anna would heat up leftovers or eat TV dinners. His hours at work meant they spoke less and less, until almost never spoke at all... When Anna skipped school for the first time, to go to the mall with her friends when she was 14, she never thought her dad would find out. He did. For the first time in awhile her dad was paying attention her, not in a good way, but still. Anna found herself getting in more and even more trouble, just to feel close to her dad, even if he was yelling. then her dad started dating Roxanne, and the real trouble began.... Roxanne had money, not stinking rich, but pretty close to it as far as Anna could see, and Anna didn't want one red cent of that evil witch's dirty money, she just wanted her dad back. Roxanne was snide and more than just a little rude. her opinion of Anna wasn't high, and she never held her tongue on that, and Anna's dad never protested any of it. what happened next was eventual... when Anna arrived at Edmond prep, she just knew it was going to be the worst year ever, all her friend were back home, she didn't know anyone here and shes was pretty damn sure she didn't want to either. she shared a dorm room with a girl named Lauraine who seemed about as unenthusiastic about this arrangement as Anna was with the whole situation. days dragged by, boring lectures, nasty food, and sleepless nights was the sum of Anna's new life. until one day things started to get interesting, and weird. Anna went kind of unnoticed at the table adjacent to were the pretty girls sat. she overheard one of them talking about a fire that had raged and killed five Edmond prep students four years before, apparently where the new dorms had been built, were Anna slept her sleepless nights... Anna couldn't put it out of her mind that night, or the next, and then one night while a storm poured down heaps of rain, Anna saw her, for the first time. she was as real as real could be, but she couldn't, shouldn't have been, she was burned to the bone and surely dead as stone, and she was looking Anna dead in the eyes. Anna lay still and tried not to move a muscle, she didn't dare breath let alone scream, she closed eyes and squeezed them closed til they hurt, but when she opened them the dead girl was still there staring at her with her emotionless dead eyes ..... TO BE CONTINUED