Road Kill Chapter 10

The Meeting

She hadn’t slept well that night for she tossed and turned all night. As much as she’d known that she needed the sleep, she had too much on her mind, finally she’d fallen asleep sometime after 4:00 AM.

She’d awakened to the sounds of birds singing and glanced at her watch. 10:00 AM. After taking quick shower she’d walked to the cafe to grab a bite to eat. Since she’d been the only person in the place, she sat down at the bar and had said. “Hey can I get something to eat?”

“Sure hold on a second, I’ll be right there,” a voice had said. A few minutes later the owner had shown his face. “So what can I do for you on this fine day?” he’d said.

“Well how about a sandwich or something?”

“Sure, how about a burger and fries?” he’d replied

“Yeah sure, sounds great, how about some lettuce and tomatoes with the burger?”

“You got it,” he’d answered.

She sat there and had looked around the small bar and café. It’d been nice and cozy, but today it had lost all of its charm. She’d noticed the taxidermy heads of the deer and mountain goats that the owner must have bagged. She’d smiled. ‘I’d love to see Sid’s head up there on the wall next to that mountain goat.’

In a few minutes the owner had returned. “Here you go,” he’d said as he placed the burger in front of her.

“Looks great! I am sure it will taste as good as it looks.” She’d started to eat the taste warm and juicy burger.

“Weren’t you and your boyfriend here last week,” he’d said.

“Why yes.”

“I remember you came back here the next day and asked me if I’d seen him,” he’d continued.

“Yeah that’s right.”

“Well it was the damnedest thing,” he’d said. “I usually close about 9:00 PM, you know there isn’t much late night business up here. Well anyway, last night I was about to close up when 5 guys from Denver stopped in. Seems that they are up here on a fishing trip and wanted to have a few drinks. So I obliged them. Well I had to throw them out about 2:00AM, they just kept drinking and drinking. Well any way, as I was closing up I saw your boy friend running away from the front of your Rover over there. I must’ve frightened him when I was coming out of the bar. He looked up and seeing me he ran away. Normally I wouldn’t have noticed him, but I was about to throw out the trash and I’d turned on the lights over there in the dump area. I didn’t want to get surprised by a stay bear that may be out for a midnight snack.” He’d stopped and started to laugh. “Some times the bears like to come down here from the hills and eat the garbage, but they’re frightened of the lights, so I make damned sure I turn them on before wandering of there to throw out the trash, don’t want to be surprised by one of those critters.”

‘Very interesting,’ she’d thought.

“Well thanks, he must’ve dropped his keys or something I guess. Hey the food, it’s great. Thanks for the great lunch.”

“Sure no problem, any time for a pretty lady like you,” he’d said with a wink and a smile.

She’d finished her lunch and gone back to the cabin. She’d glanced at the truck for a note, but there had been none to be found. She’d wondered what Sid had been doing by the Rover last night?

The time had dragged by so she’d decided to go for a short walk through the woods for she needed something to occupy herself. Aimlessly she’d wandered though the pristine forest, the events of the last week running through her mind. She’d been trying to make some sense as to why Sid had faked his own disappearance, it really had made no sense, no sense at all.

By the time she’d gotten back to the cabin it almost had been time for her to leave. She’d checked her backpack for needed items; a flashlight, about 2 dozen energy bars, matches, a knife, a compass, a few small bottles of water as well as some Gatorade and some extra cash. Yeah all set. If they’d planned to drop her off in the woods, this time she’d be a bit more prepared. She’d be able to live for a few days until she could find her way out. But would that be the plan?

Throwing on a down vest she’d grabbed the keys for the Rover and walked out of the cabin. She’d seen the owner by the trash area and given him a quick wave good-bye. She’d seen him smile as he’d returned the wave. She’d made her way up the steep mountain road that lead to the area where she and Sid had left the Rover on their last visit. She’d had little difficulty in finding the spot where they’d parked before. It’d been exactly 4:00 as she’d pulled into the secluded area off the main road.

Turning off the engine she’d lowered the window and waited. She’d not been waiting too long when she heard a voice calling to her. “Loy, Loy,” it’d been Sid!

“Oh Sid my love.” Cautiously she’d opened the door and stepped from the SUV. “ What’s been happened to you? Where have you been? My god I’ve so many questions.”

“LoyAnn my love,” he’d said. “ I’ve missed you so, I’ve so many things to tell you.”

She’d been looking around but hadn’t seen his newest flame, however she could have been just a few yards away hiding in the thicket. He’d moved toward her with his arms out as if he were going to hug her. ‘There's something wrong here, something very wrong,’ she’d thought.

“Oh let me give you a hug,” Sid had said.

Cautiously she’d taken a step toward him, then another. Without any warning he’d tried to hit her in the face, but her training finally had come in handy. Instinctively she’d tried to block his punch. He was strong, very strong, but at least she hadn’t felt the full force of the blow to her face. He’d tried to hit her again, but this time she’d been more prepared and successfully blocked his second blow and given him a quick stiff arm to the chest which had taken him by surprise.

“Tough bitch eh,” he’d said. “So you think you’re a tough bitch?”

Before he’d regained his balance, she’d given him a quick knee to the balls. “Yeah, you fucker, I am a tough bitch.”

Grabbing his balls he’d bent over in pain. She’d begun kicking him in the knee and momentary he’d lost his balance. Pushing him to the ground her first instinct had been to jump on him, but she though better of that. She’d been standing…He’d been lying on the ground. She had the advantage so wildly she’d tried to kick him in the head, but the blow only had glanced off the top of his head and he’d been on his feet in an instant.

“You fuckin bitch,” he’d said. He’d pulled a switchblade knife from his pocket and with one single smooth movement opened it and had come at her. “Ok babe, let’s see what you can do against this.”

Instinctively she’d jumped back, for she’d known that she wouldn’t have been match for him even without a knife. His blows to her head had hurt and she’d become a bit on the dizzy side. ‘Better to live and fight another day,’ she’d thought
.
Turning she’d run toward the Rover. Sid had tried to grab her, but had been unsuccessful for she’d slammed the door in his face. The window however still had been open and he’d attempted to grab her by the collar of her down vest. She’d bitten him. “You bitch,” he’d cried.

Starting the engine she’d thrown the Rover into gear and had peeled out of the small secluded parking area throwing some loose gravel in his direction. “I’ll get you you fuckn bitch,” Sid had been screaming. “I’ll get you!!”

She looked in the rearview mirror and had seen him brandishing the knife. “That was close, too close for comfort.”

This time of the year in the mountains it’d be getting dark very quickly. The sun just dips behind the highest peak and bingo it’s night, and today hadn’t been different then any other day. She turned on her lights and franticly had driven down the winding mountain road. She’d attempted to apply her brakes as she entered a rather sharp turn but there’d been no response. NOTHING! “Oh fuck, that jack-off fucked up the brakes. He didn’t intend to kill me at all back there.”

The SUV had been picking up speed as it headed down the sleep slope of the winding road. The curves had become sharper and sharper and she hadn’t been able to slow the Rover down. As she’d rounded a sharp turn a deer had darted in front of her, she swerved trying to avoid it, but it’d been too late, she lost control of the SUV and had run off the embankment. After careening off of a few trees and turning over a few times the Rover had come to rest at the edge of a steep ravine. The SUV had been teetering on the brink. Luckily the air bag had inflated, that probably had saved her life. Her face had been covered with blood from a large gash on her forehead and her nose hurt like hell. “I have got to get the hell out of here and now!”

Slowly and painfully she’d tried to open the door but at first it hadn’t budged. However after giving it a quick kick, it’d opened and painfully she’d pulled herself from the wreck. She’d known that she may still have been in danger. If she hadn’t been killed in the accident Sid may still have been looking to kill her, or at any moment the SUV may have burst into flames. She’d grabbed for her backpack. “Yes, got it.” Slowly she’d pulled herself from the SUV and reached solid ground. For a short time she’d laid on the ground, she’d been in extreme pain, but she needed to move and move NOW for she’d known that Sid would be looking for her and the Rover. She’d tried to stand up, but at first hadn’t been unable to do so. She’d dragged herself for a few yards and stopped. “The fucking pain!” Her face had been in pain, her entire body reeked with pain. “Got to move.” Again she’d tried to get to her feet and this time she’d been a bit more successful. Just then the SUV must have shifted its weight and it went crashing into the ravine below, hit bottom, and had burst into flames. She’d been lucky to be alive.

Loy had known that she needed to find some place to hide, for if she stayed out in the open, she certainly would perish. She hadn’t yet known the extent of her injuries, but if the pain had been any indication, they’d be severe. She’d have to find shelter, slowly she started to crawl along the ledge on which the SUV had landed. She had a flash light, but hadn’t wanted to use it for Sid would certainly have spotted the light and would come down to make sure that his handy work had been completed. So she’d felt her way inch by inch along the rough ground.

Within a few dreadfully painful minutes, she’d found small opening in the face of the hill. Putting her hand in she’d felt around the opening, it’d seemed like it would be OK so slowly she crawled in. There hadn’t been any other place where she could have gone and she hoped that she hadn’t found a den of one of those bears that the owner of the café had mentioned to her. But as luck would have it, it’d been a nice small cozy cave free of any wildlife. After she’d pulled some brush over the entrance of the cave, she crawled back a few yards from the cave’s entrance. She’d tried to relax, but she understood that she must keep alert for Sid would still me looking for her.

However Sid and his bimbo girlfriend wouldn’t be fooled so easily, they’d most likely be looking for her to see if she’d survived the crash, for if she had, they’d be sure to put her out of her misery.

“Loy! Loy! Baby where are you?” It’d been Sid who’d been calling her. “Are you OK? Everything will be OK. Loy! Loy! Where are you?”

His search had been limited by darkness and it’d been a good forty or fifty foot drop to the area where the Rover had landed. Sid most likely wouldn’t attempt to climb down there in the dark, so she’d felt some what safe in her cave.

In about an hour he’d given up and must have thought, just like they’d planned, that she’d been killed in the crash. In the distance she’d heard Sid talking to someone on his cell phone, but he’d been too far away for her to have heard him clearly, then she’d heard the rev of an engine and the car sped away down the hill. At last she’d felt safe.

Lying on the floor of the cave she’d reached into her pack, pulled out some energy bars and jammed one or two bars down, then taking a gulp of water she passed out.

It’d been light out when she’d awakened from her sleep. She’d glanced at her watch. 10:00 AM. She’d ached from head to toe. She’d been a sight, but of course she hadn’t been able see herself; her face crusted in dried blood from the gash on her forehead, her nose broken in two places and her cheek bone had sustained some very bad damage. Her arms and legs had seemed OK except maybe for a minor sprain or some contusions. She was weak for she’d lost a great deal of blood due to her injuries. She’d groped for her pack, grabbed an energy bar, consumed it, and thrown down a Gatorade. That at least had taken away the hunger pains in her stomach. Well at least that’s what she’d hoped that it had been only hunger pains and that she hadn’t sustained any internal injuries. Luckily she hadn’t.

She was sleeping when suddenly she’d been awakened by some voices on the road above. It’d been Sid, but this time he hadn’t been alone, he’d brought the State Troopers back with him to the scene of the crash. They’d talked for a few minutes and the Trooper had made a futile attempt to climb down to the pile of smashed plastic and metal that’d once been the Rover. Then she’d heard a car door slam and heard them drive away. ‘God knows what story Sid had told them,’ she’d thought.

“Better stay ‘dead’ for awhile and see what is really going on.”
.
It was dark when she’d awakened, instinctively she looked at her watch. 3:00 AM. Her pain had become excruciating, she’d thought that perhaps she was going to die. “Focus!! Focus!!” Again she’d passed out.

This time the birds had been singing when she’d awakened from her pain induced sleep. 6:00AM. She’d felt herself growing weaker by the hour and had known that for her own good she’d have to get some medical attention . Stuffing her face with the last food which had been in her sack and she’d drunk what had been left of the Gatorade and made an attempt to move.

“Now or never.” She’d started to crawl to the opening of her small ‘home.’ After she’d removed the underbrush from its entrance, cautiously she poked her head out from the small opening. Taking a deep breath she’d found the air had been in sharp contrast to the urine and feces smelling air of the small cave. Taking another deep breath which had seemed to invigorate her, she climbed out into the daylight. Now would be her greatest task; getting up the hill in one piece..

Surveying the cliff face directly in front of her, she’d seen why the Trooper had given up, it’d been a straight wall. She’d needed to find an easier way up if she hoped to reach the top. Even if she’d been in her best condition she couldn’t have made that climb up the steep face of the cliff. After walking and sometimes crawling along the ledge for an hour or so she’d suddenly seen a small path which had lead down from the road above. Certainly it couldn’t have been as steep as the cliff face but in her condition it wouldn’t be a piece of cake either.

Sometimes walking, some times crawling, slowly she’d inched her way up the path. “Focus!! Focus!! Don’t loose Focus!!” again and again she’d shouted. Inch by inch. First her fingers, then her hands had become worn to the bone as she pulled herself up the narrow path. Inch by inch!!

She’d been forced to stop often in order to rest and regain her strength. Only a single bottle of water had remained in her pack so she’d been forced to take only small drinks trying to ration it as best she could for she’d no idea as to how long it would take her to reach the road above. She’d been getting closer! She’d been able to hear an occasional car driving bye.

Finally she’d been able to see the top. Reaching the edge, desperately she’d pulled her aching body to the top. She’d made it!! “Thank god! Thank god.” Thank god indeed. But now there was another task that’d lain before her, she’d needed to get down the mountain road. She’d been lying on the shoulder of the road for a few minutes when suddenly she heard an approaching vehicle. ‘What if it’s Sid!’ was the first thing that had shot through her mind. As the car had rounder the corner the driver had seen her and had stopped the car. It’d been the café owner and his wife. “Oh thank god. Please help me.” Attempting to stand up she’d passed out at his feet.

When she awakened she’d been in a small cozy cabin and there’d been a fire burning at the far end of the room in a rather small, but efficient, fireplace. It’d given her a feeling of safety. Initially she hadn’t been able to recognize where she was, but after a few moments she realized that she was in the cabin that Sid and her had shared a few days earlier.

“Hey, look who’s awake,” a woman’s voice had said. It’d been the café owner’s wife.

Over the next few weeks they’d nursed her back to some semblance of health.

“Your boyfriend came around here looking for you last week. But we didn’t say a word. We thought you might want to surprise him yourself.” They’d told her.

“Thanks, I really want to surprise him in person.”

Looking at the ring quietly under her breath she’d said. “Fuck you Sid!” Fuck you!”