Lucy moved forward from the back seat and spoke softly so as not to disturb the sleeping lovebirds in the seats next to her.
“I’m wide awake, I’ll make sure he stays on the road.”
Nick looked at Stephen and then at Lucy and said with a knowing smile, “Sounds good to me,” adding, “I’ll be right over here if you need me.”
Nick settled in and angled the seat back a little bit. He shifted slightly to get more comfortable. Surprisingly, sleep descended upon him quickly but before he nodded off he said quietly, “There was no one at the gas station.”
“What?” Stephen said.
“There was no one at the gas station,” he repeated. “There was no one working that I could see. There were no cars on the streets. I slid my debit card, pumped my gas, went to the restroom, and left and didn’t see a sole. I know I was in a small town late at night but it was a little bit eerie.”
“We are in the middle of the desert you know.”
“I guess so,” Nick replied as he drifted off to sleep.
Stephen drove on as the clock passed midnight and a new day was born. As he stared at the highway stretched out before him as far as the beams from the headlamps would allow, he realized that there were no headlights staring back at him from the other side of the road or any headlights in his rear view mirror. Come to think of it, he had not seen another car since he started driving.
There is only one rest area in the entire state of Texas on I-40 and it’s just outside Amarillo. No gas, no food, no information booth, just a bathroom and places to park. The sun had fully risen by the time Stephen had pulled the car into the parking lot and let his weary passengers out.
Despite her promise to stay awake with Stephen, Lucy had fallen asleep somewhere in New Mexico. Nick, however, had awakened at the Texas border and had helped him fight off sleep the last two hours. Everyone else started to stir when he put the car into park.
“Everyone out,” Stephen announced.
“Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em,” Nick added.
Actually, no one in their group smoked. This made for a smoother, cleaner ride. As a matter of fact, smoking among their peer group, had decreased dramatically over the last twenty years. This had, of course, been replaced with other addictions; namely, the Uni-phones. That is why they all agreed the shut them down for the trip. Forget about school, summer jobs, and other friends for the week and a half they would be together. Calls or texts to parents for any unforeseen emergencies would be allowed.
“Whose idea was it to drive all this way, anyway?” asked Emma.
“We all agreed,” Stephen answered. “Your boyfriend is up next anyway, the faster he drives, the sooner we get to a hotel and a nice comfy bed.”
Dave came up from behind her and picked her up at the waist and said, “Stop your whining.”
She turned around and began playfully hitting him in the chest with her palms. “I’m not whining, I’m asking a question.”
“We could strap you to the roof if you’d like more room,” Nick offered.
“Have you really been to all the Six Flags parks except this one Stephen?” Lucy interrupted.
“Um, yea, the first was when I was six years old,” He replied. “There are technically 17 parks but some are grouped together like the ones in New Jersey. I think there are about a dozen or so actual cities you’d have to visit.”
“My goal is to one day visit all the rest areas on I-40,” Nick chimed in. “So, let’s get a move on.”
The girls once again went to the rest room together and the guys went one at a time so that at least someone stayed with the car at all times. Stephen said he would go last. He stood in front of the car and looked out onto the highway he had come to know so well the last eight hours or so. Traffic had picked up a little bit, not much, but some. He glanced over to his right, across from where they were parked, at the only other people and car in the lot. They were too far away to hear exactly what they were saying but it sounded like they were having an argument. It appeared to be a family of four. The dad seemed to be hurrying everyone along to get back into the car. He was standing at the back of the car looking into what appeared to be a jam packed trunk. It did not appear to be luggage or duffel bags but blankets and maybe camping equipment. Stephen could not be sure. All he could be sure of was that after slamming the trunk as hard as he could, he heard the man shout, “We need to leave now, they say it’s heading this way!”
Dave had assumed the driving chores even though Nick said he had rested plenty and could take over, but Dave convinced him he was perfectly capable. Another concession was allowing Emma to sit shotgun while her boyfriend drove. That now relegated Nick to the back seat of his own car.
He was not too sure how he felt about that, but thought to himself, “Maybe I’ll get to sit in every seat of my own car. How many people get to say that!”
Stephen did not mention the conversation he overheard at the rest area. Mainly because he didn’t really know what to make of what he heard. “What’s coming this way?” he thought. Perhaps a storm, it was beginning to cloud up.
They got off the next exit to fill up on gas because the rest area did not have a gas station. Pulling into the station Stephen noticed a significant increase in activity than at any other time or place since leaving Los Angeles. As a matter of fact, they had to wait in a short line for gas. It was a full service station which might have been the reason for the line.
Upon reaching the pump, Nick handed Dave his debit card which he in turn handed it to the attendant and said, “Fill it up, regular please.”
“Cash only,” the attendant said.
Dave turned around and said to the rest of the car, “Cash only.”
He gave Nick his debit card back and collected a total of fifty bucks from the car’s occupants; turned to the attendant and said, “ Fifty dollars regular please.”
The attendant pumped the gas and when had he finished he came back to the car window to collect the money. Dave handed him five tens which the attendant counted and then said, “Good luck.”
Dave considered a response to that odd statement but before he could come up with one the car behind him beeped its horn. Dave put the car in drive and pulled forward, and headed back to the highway.
“What did the guy who pumped the gas say to you Dave?” Stephen asked after they were back on the road.
“He said, ‘good luck’.”
“Good luck?”
“That’s what the man said.”
“Good luck with what?” Emma asked.
“Hell if I know,” Dave said.
Just then the clouds opened up and it began to rain. Actually, it began to pour. The raindrops were hitting the roof of the car so loud one could barely hear oneself think.
“Maybe he was wishing us luck making it through this storm, looks to be a doozy,” Nick said.
The subject was dropped as the group’s attention turned to the powerful rainstorm that was now enveloping them. Dave naturally slowed down as the driving became more and more treacherous. Most of the other drivers, however, did not. Cars passed them going in the opposite direction as if they were standing still. Stephen looked out the window and watched as the cars passed by. All of them were filled with people and belongings with little room for any more of either.
“Good luck,” he thought to himself, “it’s coming this way?”
The rainstorm lasted on and off for most of the day, it seemed to be following them. Each tried to call their parents but was unsuccessful, they blamed it on the rainstorm and that the part of the country they were traveling through was notorious for poor reception. After more than 24 hours in the car they were all exhausted. All any of them could think about was sleeping in a bed. It did not have to be a nice bed; any would do right about now.
Taking his cue from the group, Dave took the next exit and they found themselves in the small town of Wheatley, Arkansas; population 326. There was an Econo Lodge right off the exit which satisfied
two requirements; they had beds and it would be cheap. Dave had done yeoman’s work. The heavy rains had severely slowed them down. He had driven the better part of twelve hours. Perhaps preparation for those long shifts at the hospital when he became a doctor. It was now a little past eight in the evening and almost dark.
Dave parked the car and Stephen got out first. “I’ll go see about rooms, one for the boys and one for the girls,” he said.
There were two other cars in the lot. Stephen was not sure if they belonged to fellow travelers or employees.
After they were all out of the car, Nick yelled in Stephen’s direction, “I thought I was rooming with the girls.” Lucy and Emma both hit him with their handbags simultaneously.
“In your dreams,” Emma said.
Dave tossed Nick his car keys and he opened the hatch and everyone searched for their luggage. As Stephen emerged from the office a short while later, he had a strange look on his face.
When he reached the car Nick asked, “Was the penthouse suite available?”
“I booked you in the broom closet,” Stephen countered. “Actually, I was able to get two rooms but they’re not next to each other,” he continued. “The guy was a little strange; said he only had a few rooms currently available. He said he was the owner and has apparently had staffing problems the last few days and very few of the rooms have been cleaned recently. Just about his entire staff has been no call-no shows.”
“Did he mention anything else?” Lucy asked
“Yeah, that the TV’s aren’t working in the rooms but everything else works fine and, I quote, ‘that doesn’t bother me none because I don’t watch TV anyhow ‘cause there’s nothing on there but bad news and worse shows’.”
“Ohhh … Kaaay …” said Nick.
Stephen grabbed his duffel and the cooler, in case anyone wanted something to eat, and shut the hatch. Nick pressed the auto lock on the key chain which produced an electronic beep that echoed throughout the parking lot.
“The girls get room 206 the guys get 214; like I said, not next to each other but on the same floor,” Stephen said and handed Emma the two keycards for the girls’ room. He kept the guy’s room keys. “What do you say we meet in the girls’ room in 20 minutes and have a bite to eat?” Everyone agreed.
The rooms were neat, clean, and had beds. Stephen threw his duffel on one of the beds and went into the bathroom to splash some water on his face. As promised, the TV’s weren’t working. They turned on but all you got was snow. “Probably didn’t pay their cable bill,” he thought.
The group met in room 206 as planned, had a bite to eat and engaged in some small talk but it was clear that they were all very tired and by ten it was time for bed. Stephen, Nick, and Dave went back to their room and left the girls in 206. Stephen got the one bed and Dave the other because they were both taller than Nick, who was able to fit on the couch. Nick did not mind at all because he was asleep before Stephen even turned the light off. Stephen pulled his phone out of his bag before nodding off and tried his mom one more time and this time it rang and rang and rang and then the connection was lost. He was starting to think this trip may not have been the greatest idea he ever had.
Chapter 3
The Park
Stephen was awakened by a loud noise outside in the parking lot. It sounded like a garbage can falling over. He rolled over and looked at the turn of the century alarm clock on the nightstand; it read 9:42 am. “Slept for almost eleven hours,” he thought. He looked up and saw Dave still sleeping in his bed as Nick began to stir on the couch. Stephen got out of bed and went to the window. Looking out, he tried to discover the source of the noise that woke him up.
Located halfway across the parking lot, off to the left near a chain link fence separating the property from some dense woods, two large metal garbage cans were rolling back and forth after having obviously been just knocked over. The perpetrators, if any, were nowhere in sight.
“What time is it?” Nick asked groggily.
Stephen turned around and saw Nick sitting upright on the couch, “About a quarter to ten,” Stephen replied. “How was the couch?”
“Lovely, like sleeping on a bed of fluffy white clouds.”
“Wake sleeping beauty up,” Stephen said nodding in Dave’s direction, “and get in the shower, I’ll go check on the girls.”
“What? You want me to get in the shower with the girls?” Nick said with a grin.
“You heard me,” Stephen said as he opened the door and headed down the hall towards the girls’ room.
After everyone had showered and dressed they met downstairs in the lobby. Stephen settled up with the owner, whose name he found out was Jeremiah. Stephen also found out that he lived in one of the rooms in the motel and that he could cook a mean breakfast. Since they were the only guests at the hotel, he cooked all of them scrambled eggs, ham, and French toast. He offered to make grits but there were no takers.
Satisfied after the huge breakfast, they packed the car and headed back toward the highway. It was a little after noon and they were about sixteen hours from Six Flags. Nick was in his rightful place behind the wheel. Their first stop was a gas station on the other side of the highway overpass. Nick pulled in next to one of the two pumps. It was one of those old fashioned ones that operated automatically by lifting the handle and then pumping the gas. No need to pre-pay. When you were done you would lower the handle and replace the pump.
“I didn’t think anyone had one of these anymore?” Nick said as he got out of the car.
He went into the small office located on the other side of the pumps.
“Anyone here?” Nick called.
There was no answer. He peered behind the counter; nothing was there except a couple of empty open boxes, their previous contents probably on the shelves.
Shouting a little louder this time he said, “Hello!”
Still there was no response. There was a small garage attached to the main office. He entered through a side door connecting the two buildings and saw a car up on the lift but no mechanic. Giving one last look around, he returned to the office and then exited heading back to the car.
“What’s up?” Dave asked.
“Nobody home,” Nick said.
Nick thought for a moment and then opened his gas tank and removed the gas cap. He reached for the pump and lifted the handle and started pumping gas.
“What are you doing?” Stephen asked.
“Fillin’ her up. I’ll leave enough money on the counter and we’ll be on our way. If we play our cards right we should have enough to get there without having to stop for gas again.”
Nick put the handle back in its holder after he finished and went back inside to leave money for the gas. He was about to turn around and leave when he thought about leaving a note to explain the money on the counter but unfortunately did not have a pen on him. He quickly looked and could not locate one but he did spot a Kit-Kat bar in a small candy holder next to the cash register. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a two dollar coin and threw it on top of the cash and grabbed the Kit-Kat. Opening it, he took a bite and then threw the wrapper into a small garbage can wedged between the wall and a Coke cooler, scoring two points. He turned to walk out of the door without noticing the blood-stained work boot sticking out from behind the cooler.
Nick drove them back onto I-40 east leaving Arkansas behind them and crossing into Tennessee by early afternoon. The storms from yesterday had yielded to sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-seventies. Stephen, back up front riding shotgun, took the opportunity to roll the window down and breathe in the fresh air. Looking back over to Nick who was driving, he noticed the heavy traffic over in the westbound lane. Significantly heavier than the eastbound lane they were traveling. As a matter of fact, the eastbound lane was nearly deserted.
“At least we’ll make good time,” Stephen thought.
The delicious breakfast prepared by Jeremiah had filled all their bellies and they decided on one last bath
room break before heading on to Six Flags. They had enough snacks and sandwiches to last the rest of the trip if anyone was hungry. By this point in the trip everyone was sick of driving and anxious to get to where they were going. At present course and speed, they would arrive very early in the morning, well before the park opened. Stephen figured they would find where it was, get the lay of the land, and then find a motel to crash in.
The last stop turned out to be a rest stop on I-81, just outside Wytheville, Virginia. This would leave them a little more than five hours away from the park. Nick steered the Hyundai into one of the parking spots and cut the engine.
“Last chance saloon,” he called out.
Everyone got out and hung around the car for a minute looking around. Nobody wanted to say it but Emma finally did.
“There is no one here.”
She was right. There were two cars other than theirs in the parking lot but no activity; nobody walking to or from their cars, no voices, no screaming kids. It was nearly ten at night on a Thursday but this was a major highway. It was unusually dark as only a couple of the street lamps were working to illuminate the rest stop. Most of the rest stop was cast in the deep shadows of a summer night.
Dave added, “Did anyone else find it weird that most of the traffic on 81 was headed in the other direction?”
“Yea, I did,” Stephen agreed.
“Me too,” said Lucy.
“And why haven’t our phones worked the last two days?” Emma asked. They all looked at her. “I know we agreed to turn ‘em off but you know, old habits die hard.”
“I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation for everything,” Nick said. “We’re all a little road weary. Personally, I think it’s great that we made it this far without killing each other.”
There was some nervous laughter from the group but they were not totally convinced.
“The sooner we get back on our way, the sooner the real vacation begins,” Stephen said.
The Zombie Principle Page 3