The Last Ride

The last ride

         Another lonely night running down the highway and here I am in the middle of nowhere Georgia. Every normal person with any type of life would be asleep at this time of the morning, but there has never been anything normal about me. So here I am again holding this steering wheel, trying to stay awake , eating stale chips and wishing I was somewhere else.

         In the darkness, so many thoughts passing through my mind as I relive each and every one of these memories hundreds and thousands of times with every passing mile. Trying to concentrate on the road, I turn on the radio thinking that some music will alleviate the voices of my past. The music only reminds me of more bad memories and of a time that I would be better off to forget.

         Just ahead, I see a shadow of something or someone walking slowly down the edge of the highway. My headlights glowing off the white of what seems to be a woman's dress and as I get closer I notice that she is a very beautiful woman with all the right parts packed and fitted perfectly in all the right places. My mind tells me to keep on going, but my lonely heart wants to stop and find out about this highway beauty.

         Slowly, I move past her just as she turns and glares at me as I gently ease my truck off the side of the highway. Applying the brakes, I stuff my shirt back inside my pants and grab my hat and a flashlight off the dash as I exit the truck. Not knowing what lies ahead as my heart and mind are racing with fear and curiosity. I start walking toward this beauty, while I am shaking and fondling with a two dollar light that I just bought at the last truck stop, wondering what I am about to get into.

         Underneath the moonlight, I see her standing in all her innocence looking my way as though she is trying to decide whether she wants to run away or run into my arms. I move forward into the darkness trying to make eye contact with this beauty and trying to get the broken light to work. Looking up I notice she had determined that I was no threat and she began walking toward me again and just as we meet she stops and we stand on the side of the highway surrounded by darkness in perfect silence.

         My eyes focused on hers, I ask, “if she is stranded and needs a ride?”. Then all of a sudden, behind this beautiful woman, I hear leaves rustling, just as I turn I see another shadow that was much larger than her come out from behind a tree as man comes into view. He had a stern and cold dark stare about him and was as broad as a house. The man answers in a very angry voice, “ Yes we need a ride and we need whatever you have in the back of that truck! “ . Not knowing what to do, I take my flashlight and swing it just barely missing the man's forehead and just as I am about to swing again, he pulls a knife from his belt and I turn trying to avoid his attack and I feel a sharp pain of steel piercing my ribs as I crash to the ground in pain. My eyes darken as I roll over onto my side bleeding and groaning, just in time to see this beauty and her accomplice climb into my truck.

         Lying on the side of a deserted highway in nowhere Georgia, I lay bleeding with a knife stuck in my side while I watch this evil duo who did not seem to be new at stealing trucks drive off into the night. My mind racing with rage and my body engulfed in pain, I wonder is this how it ends for me, does my journey end for a few cases of cigarettes? Struggling with my mind somewhere between life and death while my bodies energy is draining, I try to crawl into the road and just as I reach the road I collapse wondering what I did to deserve something as violent as this?