The Gray Truck

The gray truck floated in behind her like a ghost on the morning mist. She'd just checked her rear-view mirror seconds ago, and it hadn't been there. The blasted rain made it hard to tell if she knew the driver or not. She felt a twinge of apprehension in her chest. The truck seemed like it had picked up speed. Yes, she was sure- it had sped up. It was getting close to her. Her heart began to drum in time with the windshield wipers. She hated driving these lonely roads early in the morning or late at night. They were eerie and she always got these terrible feelings when someone got in behind her this way. She chided herself for being such a chicken-s**t. She tried to laugh at herself, then got angry: she had lived here for five years now. When would she stop being such a silly-goose-city-slicker? It was ridiculous, she told herself over and over again- just plain ridiculous.

Looking again into the rear-view she saw the truck had moved in even more. My God, were they trying to mow her down? No one drove that fast on these roads. It was too dangerous in some areas and the folks around here never got in much of a rush anyway. Ah, maybe they had some kind of emergency. She thought maybe she should pull to the side of the road then thought better of it because she was so frightened. 'Okay,'� she thought, 'let them pass if they must.'�And she slowed her car just a bit.

The truck moved in ever closer. 'Now what?'� she asked aloud. She realized the truck wasn't going to pass. What could they be doing, driving like this? What was going on? 'My, God, I don't know what to do!'� she cried. She didn't know why, but she was frightened to the point of panic. She had a terrible feeling about this truck. This ghost-truck. This speed-demon. She grimaced. Her mouth tasted like pennies. Her breath was hot and moist with fear. This frustrated her even more. 'All right, girlfriend, get it together before you s**t your damned pants!'�

She felt herself slowly relax as uneventful minutes passed. She felt like an idiot. What kind of grown-a*s woman got the heebie-jeebies because a vehicle pulled in behind hers? That truck could have came from any number of driveways along the road. Didn't it look almost familiar? Yes, she was quite sure of it now, it was a neighbors truck. Maybe old man Walters or that new guy that just bought the Martin's farm? She thought she almost had the name when- 'beeep...beeeeep'� blasted the horn of the gray truck. She almost jumped out of her skin. Why did the common sound of a horn blowing seem so utterly un-common? Suddenly goose flesh broke out along her arms and the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood straight out. 'Damn, I am jumpy. I think I'll cut back on coffee and scary movies!'� she said.

The gray ghost, as she had come to think of it, began to speed up and move as if to pass. 'Ok,'� she though, 'now they will pass- and good riddance!'� She smiled with relief and shifted thinking to turn the radio up. The truck floated beside her car and she looked up at the driver. He was smiling and holding something- 'Hey... that's my damned purse!'� 'How the hell...?'� The driver signaled for her to pull over. She nodded with a look of bewilderment on her face. Hadn't she just seen her purse on the passenger side of her car? Maybe that was yesterday. No matter the good Samaritan in the now not-so-ghostly-truck was going to give it to her as soon as she found a place to pull over. 'Well, what a stupid girl you are! Afraid of someone trying to return your own purse. Hah, this'll be one to tell the girls at the bar tonight!'� She could almost laugh at herself now.

She found an old gravel driveway and pulled into it. The truck came in behind her. The driver opened his door and stepped out. She gave herself a smile in the rear-view mirror, checking her face for any food or other little nasties. She unbuckled her seatbelt and began rolling down her window. 'Oh, be handsome and single, please!'� She whispered with an almost inaudible squeal.
The driver slowly approached her car door. He was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt smeared with what might have been mud. Well, that could be forgiven; she was in farm-country now, wasn't she? 'Oh, hey,'� she said. 'I must have left the silly thing on the roof of the car. Thanks so mu....'� Her flirting smile faded into a doubting frown then into a frightened grimace. No, there wouldn't be any story-telling at the bar for her tonight.

Reviews

[Forest Green]

Nice storyline Carrie...interesting twists from the beginning. Creates suspense with a teaser then moves to the next phase in a smooth fashion. Very interesting reading...I enjoyed it much.

Keep it going...;)

Daniel