I pull over to the side of the road and turn the car off. I thought I would be in Mobile lying on the beach, but instead I didn’t even make it to Nashville. I’m not even halfway there. I tell myself I’m in no hurry, but a part of me feels guilty for not making it farther.
I remind myself there is no set time I need to be there, no schedule I need to follow through on. It’s liberating knowing I’m free to do whatever I want, whenever I want tomorrow and nobody can stop me. Like most people, my workday consists of doing things other people tell me to do. I show up at a certain time, stay for a set number of hours, and leave at a set time. It’s depressing to think about how little control I have over my life. I get two days out of seven each week when I can do what I want, but even then I have to take into consideration what Abby wants to do.
I feel like a puppet with too many people pulling the strings. They tell me to jump, and I ask how high without considering whether I want to jump in the first place.
For the past three days, I’ve called all of the shots. I can’t remember the last day where I could truly do whatever I wanted. Even before entering the real world, there was school and only doing things my parents would let me do.
Never have I had complete freedom, and it’s not like I’m unique in this fashion; most people are the same way. No wonder most people are unhappy with their lives!
The plan for tomorrow is to go to Mobile, but I can go north, east, or west if I want to. I can do what I want on my own terms. Thinking about that brings a smile to my face – a smile that stays with me as I drift off to sleep.
Chapter 13
When I wake up I realize I slept with my car lights on.
I check the dashboard hoping to see the lights still lit up but they’re off. Great! I’ve killed my battery and I’m fifteen miles from Nashville. Doing the calculations in my head, that’s seven hours of walking I have ahead of me.
The keys are still in the ignition. I close my eyes and try to calm myself down. If I turn the key and the car doesn’t start, I can get through this. Sure, I’ll have to walk a good part of the day to the city and another good distance to find a car to break into, but I’ll survive it. It would really suck, but I’d survive.
I place my hand on the key and turn the ignition. The engine chugs for a moment then stops. I turn the ignition off and try again. Much to my delight, Abby’s BMW starts up this time. My day isn’t ruined –- well, not yet anyway.
The BMW must have some kind of stupidity feature built in that saves power if you leave it on. It’s moments like these when it pays to have spent a little extra. If I were here with my Cavalier, I would be out of luck and smashing something with my ax.
I get out of the car and stretch my legs trying to wake up. It’s unusually warm for this time of year, although I’m sure some of this has to do with being farther south.
I always wake up hungry, and today is no exception. Even though I’m getting sick of cereal, I can’t imagine fixing peanut butter and jelly for breakfast. I get in the car and pour myself yet another bowl of cereal.
Instead of eating in the car, I walk around and eat, soaking in some sun and the nice weather. The scenery is absolutely beautiful with rolling hills and the many colors of the trees’ leaves. Autumn around here must have photographers drooling. If you can’t capture beautiful outdoor shots here, you should pick a different profession.
I sit on the trunk and soak in the scenery. The only thing that would make this more perfect is a warm cup of coffee –- and civilization to return, of course.
I get back in the car and make my way to downtown Nashville. I’ve been there a couple times, once during a basketball camp and the other with Abby when we were on our way to Mobile for a cruise. I don’t remember much except that it looked like a nice town that was easy to get lost in.
Today I don’t have any reason to explore the city. The plan is to drive through to see if I can find someone and then leave. If I happen to run across a gun store or anything else that piques my interest, I’ll stop in.
The fifteen miles goes by fast, and before I know it I’m downtown. I can’t believe I didn’t have the energy to drive this much farther last night. Nashville is beautiful, and if I didn’t dislike country music I could see myself living here. The road I drive down has several restaurants –- burger-and-fries-type of places. There’s also clothing and other random shops on every corner.
I drive around looking for any signs of recent life. At this point, I don’t expect to see anyone. I just want some indication of why people left and where they went. If everyone wants to pack up and leave then so be it. I just wish someone had told me the plan.
I drive a few more blocks, mainly looking for a gun store but keeping my eyes open for anything else. When I continue to see nothing but abandoned restaurants and tacky-looking stores selling useless junk, I make my way back toward the highway.
I haven’t drifted far from the highway this time, and I remember exactly how to get back. Sure, this will involve driving down the opposite way on a few one-way streets but at least I won’t get lost.
Just as I’m about to make an illegal U-turn, I see it. A couple blocks ahead, a black car blazes through a stoplight and speeds out of sight.
Ditching my safe path to the highway, I hit pedal to metal and chase after the car. I turn onto the street the car was just on and to my surprise the road is long enough that I can still see the black car a few hundred yards ahead and moving fast.
The car makes a right turn behind a building, which takes it out of my view. I fly through intersections and stop lights. If a car happens to cross any of these intersections now I’ll be a dead man at these speeds.
I make the turn and, just as I do, I see the black car going out of view again. It’s moving fast but I’m getting closer. I see the highway up ahead and it looks like that’s where they’re going.
When I turn again I expect to see the black car, but it’s gone. There’s a left turn, which leads to the highway exit ramp. Or did they go straight into a series of apartment complexes? It’s a guess but an easy one; I make the left turn onto the spiraling exit ramp.
At the speed I’m going, I can feel the torque of Abby’s car. I slow down so the car doesn’t flip over. Once I get onto the highway, I’m overjoyed to see the black car again. It’s only a couple hundred yards away.
I drive Abby’s BMW as fast as it will take me. Inch by inch I gain on the car. I’m close enough now that they should see me and slow down, but why aren’t they? Do they not care that I’m here? Or are they scared and trying to get away?
I’m not going to let them outrun me this time. I don’t care if I wreck the car or run out of gas leaving me stranded in the middle of nowhere; I’m going to catch up.
As I inch my way closer, I can almost see the make of the car. At first I thought it was a black BMW like mine, but it looks a little different. I’m only fifty yards away now, so I start blasting my horn. If they haven’t seen me yet, my horn should definitely get their attention. If they don’t slow down now it’s because they really don’t want me to catch up to them.
Not that it matters now, but I just realize I’m not on I-65. Instead, I’m on I-40, wherever that goes. At first I think this is a mistake but the sign is clearly marked. I have to pause for a moment to remember if I-40 is what I’m supposed to be on to get to Mobile. I’m almost positive it’s I-65 but I don’t have time to look at the map. I can figure out where I-40 actually goes later.
The black car is in the right lane, so I start to move toward the left and get alongside them. I check the speedometer and see I’m going 115 MPH! Other than an airport runway, this is the fastest speed I’ve ever traveled on land.