Anthrofiction Stories Web Site

Chapter 7

I don’t know how long we were at Megan’s. She woke me up as she was about to leave, and I drowsily walked out to the bus and strapped myself into bed. We stopped back at her house and helped a short, stocky man who looked like a painter from his coveralls load the refrigerator into the back of a rusted out Ford Ranger. After that I went back to bed and didn’t wake up until after dark. When I did, Bark was tickling my face with a dirty sock of hers and the ceiling glowed red from the internal running lights.

“Pleck,” I spat, grabbing the sock away, “What is it?”

“Get all your beauty sleep? I’m done taking care of things around here. Winona is all fueled up and ready to go. Your the only one who knows were we’re going though.”

“All right,” I yawned, “I’ll get up. Where are the maps?”

“In the pocked behind the Nav. seat,” she said, undoing her pants.

“Wait a minute, what are you doing?” I asked, pausing in my undoing of the safety harness.

“Taking your spot. It’s almost eleven and I’v been up sense six. Not to mention shifting takes a lot out of you, so I’m worn out. Thanks for warming the sheets.”

I sat up, a bit surprised that I hadn’t undressed at all before I climbed in. Oh well.
The atlas was where she said it should be. I paged through it before finding the correct page and dog-earing it before shutting off the interior lights and climbing into the driver’s seat. Bark had topped off all the fuel tanks, and with the amount we had I could make it to almost Illinois before we would need to refuel.
I was well awake by now, my nap seeming to flood me with newfound energy. I gunned the engine, pulled back onto the road, swung through the turning lane and onto the entrance ramp, probably a bit faster than I should have.
The structure groaned. Rebecca’s basket full of clothes could be heard skidding across the galley. There was a loud thud followed by a grunt from the bedroom area.
“Sorry there,” I called back, “everyone all right?”

“Yes,” replied a sleepy voice, “I understand why you insisted on seatbelt for this thing.”

I laughed to myself. “Good,” I said, “use it. I don’t think it would look good introducing you to my family all black and blue.”
If there was a reply the steady growl of the engine drown it out.

****

Red flamed across the horizon, burning through the starboard windows and giving the dashboard a warm hue. A deer dove for cover off the highway that lay stretched out for miles through the corn fields of Indiana and southern Illinois. The road curved a bit, allowing me to chase the retreating moon while drifting in my thoughts. The light touch of a hand on my shoulder brought me back to reality.

“Good morning,” I said, keeping my eyes on another deer that had wandered precariously close to the freeway. “Sleep well?”

“Once I stayed on the bed, yes” she replied, “I enjoyed your singing last night too.”

My guts combusted with embarrassment and fought to keep it from moving to my face. I had thought I was the only one awake and wondered just how much she had heard. I utterd an excuse.

“I was getting drowsy and had to find something to keep my alert.”

“I liked it. It sounded like a cadence some of the time and a regular song at other times.”

Uh-oh, some of those running songs weren’t fit for human ears, much less one of the opposite sex. I hoped she realized “Napalm Sticks to Kids” was a joke and not my life dream.

“Please know that... uh... some of those are, how should I say this...”

“I know they’r for entertainment only, and I thought they were kind of funny in a sick way” she said. “and the one you sang about me-”

I diverted all of my attention to the road again, unable to listen anymore. She must have heard the whole thing, all of it. It would be a mirical if I could look her eye to eye again.
I had forgotten I wasn’t alone and spoken my mind freely, as I often did when I sang alone to keep awake while driving or on post. It was then I usually poured out my heart soul. My questions to heaven, myself, and others had all been asked to Winona and the moon. At the end of it I always felt better, as if relieved of a burden.

I was tapped on the shoulder again, involuntarily snapping my attention back.

“Don’t worry about it,” she smiled, “I have hormones too. Although some of the things you said I have to say flatter me. Copilot huh? I assumed I had gotten onboard when I agreed to go with you, but never thought I was a member of the crew. I’m honored.”

Why had I been so corny? Mabey I’d get lucky and a stray bullet would plow into my cranium, sparing me from my pain.
She bent over and spoke low in my ear, “Why don’t we switch for a while. Pull over somewhere, we can cook some breakfast, you can show me the maps and then I’ll drive for a while.”
I submitted to the suggestion and pulled of at the next wayside. A pair of flatbeds hauling steel rolls and a chemical tanker were parked side by side, but other than that the place was completely deserted. I undid my seat belt but continued to sit and rub my eyes. Bark opened the door, allowing a beeze to puff fresh air into the bus.

“Whoa!” she exclaimed, “It’s a bit nippy out!”

The breeze made it’s way to the driver’s seat, giving me goose bumps.

“And it’ll get colder,” I said, “at home it’s probably another twenty to thirty degrees cooler.”

She shook her head, “If it’s that cold now I’d hate to feel what it’s like come winter.”