The instant she opened the car door, the rain started pelting her arms and face. She was not dressed appropriately for a nighttime adventure through a thunderstorm. Her T-shirt and jeans were little protection against the rain and wind, and her canvas shoes were already feeling damp. Her long hair whipped into her face and was plastered there by the rain, getting caught in her mouth and eyes.
When she’d started driving a few hours before, it was still light out, and the threatening clouds on the horizon had seemed so distant. She thought for sure she would outrace them, outpace the dwindling fuel reserve -- it was all supposed to come together! None of this was supposed to happen! She slammed the car door shut just as it occurred to her that her purse was still inside. Her purse with her phone. And her keys. Right there on the passenger seat, where she could just barely see it through the window of the now-locked door.
She kicked the front tire a few times to let out a fresh surge of rage, but her canvas shoes were no protection at all. So now my hands and my toes hurt. And I’m probably going to be murdered. Fantastic.
She took a few deep breaths and leaned against the car, closing her eyes and taking stock. Okay, so. I’m on a deserted forest road in the dark. In the rain. My car is out of gas, and I’m locked out of it. If I don’t make it to Adam’s within the next hour, I might as well dig my own grave. That about summed it up. Miriam’s only choice, as far as she could tell, was to start walking, and fast.
She had only been to Adam’s once, and that had been years ago, but this back road had come back to her as if she’d driven down it yesterday. If she was remembering correctly, she was just a few turns in the road away from Adam’s at this point -- not more than a 15-minute walk. She hoped.
She opened her eyes to the rain and the dark, set herself in the direction she had been driving, and squinted her way down the side of the road. She could just barely make out the trees on either side, which helped keep her on the verge and out of the forest itself. Her shoes were soaked through after just a few steps, and her clothing clung to her uncomfortably. But she wasn’t going to get any more drenched or uncomfortable, so she put it out of her mind.
At the first turn, she stepped into a rushing rivulet of water before she realized she’d wandered away from the road and was entering the forest. She squinted some more and reoriented herself against the treetops that were faintly distinct from the dark sky, and continued on. For the second turn, she saw the wall of trees approaching and managed to turn with the road without mishap. And by then, she could see the yellow-white glow of artificial light shining in the near distance. Adam’s house.
(This post is part of the 500 Words short story project.)
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