Keep goin' bro.

I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Not because I wouldn’t cross that line but because I don’t know how to steal a car. Do you actually “hotwire” it? What, take two wires under the steering wheel and touch them together?

I don’t know anything about that kind of stuff.

And also I slept until 2pm.

Why hasn’t he come crashing through the door yet?

I peeked through smoke-stained curtains into the courtyard. Just a few cars in the parking lot. My rental and his SUV were parked about 50 feet apart. I dashed. As I ran, I clicked the key chain to unlock the doors and the trunk opened. Clicked another button and the car alarm went off. Come on.

Hammer down, ripping out of the parking lot and I saw the effer in my rear view bombing towards his truck. I had maybe 30 seconds on him.

And then things just…got…quiet. There was no racing engine, no car horns or tire shriek, just trees and telephone poles blurring past me and a kind of humming vibration in my head.

How on effing earth did I end up here? What seeds did I sow to be reaping all of this? I haven’t been living recklessly. I try to make good choices. I work hard. I try to do the right things.

And all of this…

And all of this.

I was snapped back into time by a flash in my rear view mirror. A deer, I think, making a run for the other side of the road thought better of it and froze. In the middle of the street.

It stood statue-still and I saw my guy bank hard to the right to avoid hitting it. For a moment, all of the momentum and weight of his truck balanced on the front drivers side wheel. Then the back of the truck lifted into the air and he went over.

Holy shit. My heart raced. My mind raced. Fate finally throws me a bone.

I drove a few miles, slowed and pulled a U-turn. I pulled onto the shoulder and lifted the hood of my car. Just a guy with engine trouble. The first car that passed pulled over and offered a ride.



All of my instincts told me to go the other way. Get far away fast. But I noticed something about myself. Something new. I was thinking clearly. Hyper-focused. I was going to ride right past this guy and head back into town. The last thing he would ever expect.

It’s time for me to go home.