Nothing But Silence

Allie saw the old detour sign and breathed a sigh of relief, at least she wasn't lost. But this detour isn't to lead her back home...

Allie exhaled loudly through clenched teeth. Her aggravation showed clearly on her pinched face. "This is ridiculous," she muttered to herself. She had turned off the main road over an hour ago. Prompted by a detour sign, she now found herself on a lonely country road looking at nothing but cornfields. The scattered farmhouses had disappeared a few miles back. She squinted at the road ahead, looking for a place to turn around. The only sound in the too quiet car was her own frustrated sighs.
The silence was suddenly broken by the shrill ring of her cell phone. The unexpected noise made Allie jump in her seat. "Hello?" She barked into the phone, her nerves shot.
"Allie? Where are you?" Her father's voice came over the line.
"Lost," Allie said angrily. She clenched her teeth to the point of pain.
"What do you mean lost?"
"I'm lost dad." She shook her head at her choice of words. "The road was closed, so I had to follow the detour signs. I must have missed one." She rolled her eyes at her own foolishness.
"How convenient," he said dryly.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Everyone is here waiting for you." There was a pause. "Jim is here too."
The silence stretched awkwardly. "I'll be there," she said finally. "I'm on my way. I just have to find the road." She tried not to let his words upset her. She was already to the breaking point.
"Allie, it's been a year. You have to let it go. I'm sure..."
"Dad," she cut off the words she knew were coming. "I'm on my way. The detour sign..." she finished weakly.
"The road wasn't closed earlier Allie," her dad said softly.
"I know!" Desperation inched it's way into her voice. "Anything could have happened though," she fought to remain calm. "There could have been an accident." Her lips twitched at the sudden memory.
The silence again hung in the air, accusingly. She heard her father sigh heavily into the phone, causing static. She could just imagine how his face would look right now, sad and worried for her. She fought over the lump in her throat. She wouldn’t cry, not today.
Just then, seemingly out of nowhere, Allie saw the sign. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Dad , I see the detour sign. There it is!" The relief was evident in her voice. "Don't worry, I should be there soon now dad." Nothing. Silence. She took the phone from her ear and glanced down. No signal. "Of course," she exclaimed, not really knowing if she was relieved or irritated. It was then that she took a better look at the detour sign. It was a small wooden sign with letters painted crudely in black. Allie looked down to check her gas tank just before turning onto the road.

"Quarter of a tank," she said out loud. " I sure hope this takes me back to the highway fast."
On first glance Allie thought the road looked to much like the road she had just turned off of. For a brief moment she considered turning around and going back the way she came. She quickly discarded that idea as a useless waste of time. And so she began driving down this new road of cornfields. Eventually the silence lulled Allie back to a different time. The memories invaded her so strongly that everything else ceased to exist.
Allie was driving that day too. Jim was in the passenger's seat. They were talking about the new house that they couldn't afford to buy. Elizabeth slept in the back. Elizabeth.
Allie jolted back to the present. Her face was wet. Elizabeth, the baby daughter who was so very perfect. Why hadn't she been paying attention, Allie thought, not for the first time. She shook her head, as if that would dislodge the memories of that night. Allie leaned down and flipped on the radio. Nothing. Silence. She pushed the buttons angrily, as if pushing them all would somehow make it work. She sighed, what a wonderful day this was turning out to be.
The scenery flashed by as Allie drove down the deserted road. She passed another scarecrow. Odd, she thought, looks like the same scarecrow she had passed just a few miles back. All scarecrows probably look the same, she rationalized. But a short time later she passed yet another twin scarecrow. When she passed the scarecrow the fourth time she could feel the panic start to rise. She glanced at her watch - 1:17. "Impossible! I have been on this road longer than that,” she hit the steering wheel in frustration. Another scarecrow. Still a quarter of a tank. She fought hard to control the fear that threatened her senses. "I'll just turn around," she said to the empty car. Still 1:17. "What in the world?" She brought the watch up to her ear. Nothing. Silence.
Her watch was dead. Her phone was dead. The radio was dead. "Oh, stop," she told herself. As she passed another scarecrow she made up her mind. "I'm getting off this road." She made a sloppy U-turn and began re-passing the scarecrows.
"11."
"12."
"13."
She slammed on her brakes. She tried to swallow over the thick lump that had formed in her throat. All of a sudden she felt completely alone and she wished Jim was there with her. "Jim," she whispered, wiping the tears from her face. Allie opened her door and stepped onto the road. Her eyes searched for an answer. The road seemed to not end. All she could see either way was cornfields.
As she stood there, Allie began to notice things with growing alarm. There was no wind here, not even a small breeze. No clouds hung in the sky and, although it was daylight, she couldn't see the sun. There were no birds either. She couldn't hear a single bird. In fact, she realized, she couldn't hear anything. Nothing. Silence.
Tears streamed down her face as she brought her hand to her chest. Nothing. Silence.
"Twenty-eight year old Allie Ferguson died in a car accident this afternoon just a little after one." The reporter's voice came across the radio. "Ferguson died on impact after her car struck a tree. Just last year Ferguson's six month old baby died in a car accident as well. Police are still investigating the accident that took Allie Ferguson's life today."

Reviews

[Christy Sargent]

Wow! What a thriller from beginning to end Amy. You caught me up right away and I was not sure how this was going to go until the last sentence. Very well written piece. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I got lost in a cornfield while along with a boyfriend hunting one fall when we were in college. It was frighteneng for a while. I screamed out for him to find me.