#1: Confrontation
Excerpt from The Finding Road, by Jenny-Ann
Fresh ice glistened on the rim of the side mirror. For a split second the corner of Lillian’s eye caught the light and she remembered what it was like to feel awake.
The moon was still pinned above the far right of the hood of the truck, which meant, to her disappointment, that she hadn’t been asleep for more than an hour.
As Lillian lifted her ear from her right shoulder she accidentally let out a groan. It was muffled but she was sure Oscar had heard it. She refrained from further movement and let the tingling return to the top of her head. Releasing her clenched jaw she knew her neck would be agonize her for days.
As the softness of dusk lifted Lillian was left with a sour taste in her mouth. She was reminded of the fact that she had not had a smoke or a decent cup of coffee for two days.
The nights this far north were the longest anyone had ever known. Lillian included. The further they traveled the longer the darkness hoovered. Even with hundres of miles between her and her old life Lillian couldn’t help but feel as if she hadn’t escaped yet.
“You gotta go? We be comin’ to a special spot soon.”
“Yeah, uh. Thanks Oscar. I could use a stretch.”
Lillian straigtened one leg. Then the other. They blended into the night as if they had been taken by depth of her dark dreams. “Any chance of getting a coffee?”
“Hmmmm” and a side smirk was all acknowledgement Lillian got from her lone traveling companion. Lillian wasn’t insulted. Oscar, a robust grandfather of 12, had been transporting outsiders like Lillian across this frozen landscape for 25 years.
“You gotta watch out for wolves along this stretch but it is still my favorite place to go. There’s nothing like an exposed rear in minus 40 with the shadows of wolves on your behind.”
“I can’t wait” Lillian warmly responded as she attempted to set herself upright again.
No coffee and death by wolves. She wasn’t sure how, but this drive was going to kill her.
