Sidetracked

Sidney and her son get stuck in a gas station where not everything is what it seems to be.

Sidney's car was so incredibly slow, it was tearing the last of her nurves. She'd had it with this "gosh-darned" thing. It was spitting oil and starting to smoke from one side of the front hood. 

But wait, there was salvation ! Right in front of her…and a bit to the left. A small gas station that looked to be no less than a hundred years old was situated just outside the town, Sid and I were trying to reach. Maybe if someone could sell it as a whole to an antique shop, they could make a fortune, but this is not where my story goes. Now everytime I try and replay everything in my head, I keep noticing new things, details. 

My mother pulled over and the old piece of metal died on the spot. That would have been it's last breath, if cars could have a breath, let's say it's a metaphor, for the sake of the story. Anyhow, she opened the door and small cloud of dust flew in her face. She waved her hand and coughed it out.

"Stay here, Jimmy, I'll be five minutes," she said in her most comforting voice.

"But mum, I want to go inside, I want to see it !" my enthusiastic eyes stared at her form the passenger seat. I'd been sat in that car for five hours, my muscles were twitching threateningly.

She twisted her foot in the durt some, looked towards the door of the decaying gas station and just nodded her head in its direction. I jumped out of my seat and ran to get her hand. The one place, a seven-year-old boy could get comfort in such a deserted place. 

As we walked in, the smell of stale…something, hit me in the face. It did more than that �" it smacked me, I wished I'd stayed in the car, where the wind could fill my nose with the smell of the dirty rode, which in this case was better. I looked up and saw thet Sidney was crunching her nose, she'd felt it too. 

The inside had a wooden desk in the middle, the paint of which was almost entirely chipped off, there were some shelves of random unpopular products that I guessed only the locals new about. Behind the wreck of a desk stood a man. Old. His skin had the look of an old rug, used one too many times. He was skinny and more than eighty in my estimation. 

"Wha c'n I 'elp ya wiv ? " he managed to yell in the most unwelcoming way I'd heard. 

Ever.

"We were wondering if you have a mechanic. The car outside is broken and we need someone to fix it. We've got plenty of mon…"

"We don't want yeh mon'e " he interrupted and spit something red in a metal bucket next to the desk. His toothless mouth was chewing something invisible and that made my body shiver.

"I'd sure appreciate it if you mind your tone, sir" my mother was a tough nut, she wasn't going to budge.

"I think I told yeh to leave, we don't want yeh kind up 'er. " He came out from behind the only barrier that kept me calm. I clenched Sidney's hand. 

"You just lost two hundred quid, old man ! And I'm not letting this go !" she was stubborn, but I had already began tugging on her sleave. Even the slightest budge from her side would comfort me now. "Just move, mum !" I thought.

The old station keeper took another step towards us, "I think someone needs to teach ya sum manners, eh ?" he spat again, but this time it hit the floor. The slimy substance didn't even move, it wasn't leaking in any direction. It had stuck.

Sidney finally turned around. She tried to open the door, but it was locked. How ? There was no one else in there ? Who could have locked it ?

"Where'd ya thing ye're goin'? " s grotesque smile shun on his face.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Reviews

[Sibt-e-Hussain]

beautiful write up, it kept me hooked till the last i appreciate your work.. keep on writing please. Thanks