The light at the end of a tunnel

Word count: 662
Written for the 17th May 2007 Writer's Cramp Prompt: Write a short story or poem seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. This doesn't have to be a religious story.


We saw them standing on the strip of a yellow-moon-lit highway. Their silhouettes fell on the road and merged with the sleek form of a black Maserati MC12. They must have been twenty-year-olds, spoilt rich brats with nothing better to do. They weren’t acting like lovers, but seemed to be itching for trouble as they simply stood there leaning against the car.

Me and the guys approached them in our turbo charged purring Toyotas, ready for a challenge. Street racing was what we did after our regular garage work. Drifting was something that you could say gave us a kick, and we liked to challenge anyone with four wheels that caught our fancy. And this was one hell of a car we were looking at.

Lance, took up our challenge, but his little girlfriend stayed back. I caught a glimpse of her in the rear view mirror, and for some reason, she seemed to suddenly disappear. Not even disappear, almost thin out you know, like she was some kind of vapor. Anyways…today me and the guys had decided to head for Break Neck point - the curviest and most dangerous mountain pass in the hilly terrain of our hometown. The pass ended at a tunnel that suddenly came up to an open highway, the size of an autobahn.

Whilst cruising to race point, Lance suddenly braked and swerved the car around a whole 360 degrees. His turn blocked our vehicles; he then got down from the car and started running. We were not going to take the car without a good race, after all, - fair’s fair man! Taunts of “chicken” followed Lance, as we chased after him on foot. For around ten minutes he had a head start, with none of us being able to catch up with him. Then someone spotted him heading down Break Neck Point and straight towards the tunnel.

The crazy kid just wouldn’t stop. He kept running. Then like an egg disappearing in a mud pool, the darkness of the tunnel enveloped him and we could see him no more. We hadn’t realized it as yet, but night falls faster when you are in the hills, and it was now getting darker than ever. There was no moon, and only a few stars gave off their light. As we reached the tunnel, we saw Lance at the other end. That tunnel is a good ten minutes away when you’re driving at top speed of 120mph, yet he had managed to reach the end of it in a few minutes on foot. He just seemed to stand there; behind him was a strange glow, a kind of haze, almost yellowish green.

Like moths we followed the haze. Lance stood rooted to the ground as we approached the light at the end of the tunnel. It took us a while to reach his side of the tunnel. Gasping for breath we reached the other side to realize that Lance was no longer there at the tunnel entrance. As the boys called out to Lance, with their favorite obscenities, we heard the powerful roar of a V12 engine coming from behind of where we were standing. This time the light at the end of the tunnel was not so alluring. The light grew stronger and blinded us as we froze in realization that this time we were not going to like what the source of this light was at the other end of the tunnel.

The next morning’s paper had the following headline – four teenagers killed by speeding vehicle in freak road accident at Break Neck Point. I guess that’s how the tunnel got its strange name, and all this while we thought it was the curves on the mountain top that had been the contributing factor. Anyways, if you like a good street race, we’re up for the challenge. Meet us at Break Neck Point anytime you want to see the light at the end of the tunnel.