Your car was about halfway down the long, dark country road when you made a wrong turn and ended up in the middle of nowhere, in pitch dark. You had hitching up your SUV so no one noticed, and hoped no one would notice, either. You were far enough into the countryside that you could see the area that bordered the grass and woods to the west, and you thought you heard the sounds of a farm in the distance. That was probably someplace, however; you could make out a faint light in the sky.
You looked up and down the road and saw nothing, but there wasn't anyone to stop you, so you kept driving.
You didn't know what to do next.
You drove a mile before you decided to turn around and go back the way you came. There wasn't much you could do in the dark, anyway.
You turned the vehicle around, and left it with the motor running and no lights on. You closed the windows, locked the doors, and shut off the engine. You went back and hid the vehicle behind some bushes and trees. Then you went back under the hood of your SUV and made sure the keys were in the ignition, and also set the car so it would wait to run, no matter what.
It was almost as though you had heard it before, in a movie or something, but you shrugged it off and went back to the SUV.
You got in and decided you better wait inside for a second; it felt safer in there. You scrolled through the radio dial functionality, but you didn't even know what it was you ended up listening to on a strange station, or if there actually was a station you could hear. You opened the doors and sat in the car with the engine turned off and windows open, the air conditioning on.
You listened to the traffic on the highway and to the quiet outside, and waited.
Finally, you grew tired of the same old song and switched the radio off. As you did, you heard a noise in the distance, and your heart leapt. You pressed your face against the window, listening carefully. For a second you thought you saw some headlights, coming your way, but there wasn't any other vehicle in sight, and so the headlights had to be coming from the opposite direction. You made sure the switches were unlocked, and even delayed the vehicle's engine until you were satisfied. Still, no one was there. You looked out the window for a long time, but all that did was give you a headache so you finally went into the car again.
You ran your fingers through your hair and frowned. You decided you should go outside and find a place to hide while daylight was still around but the sun had already gone down. At least underground. There was a town close by, but you weren't sure if that town was open for business, and if it was, whether you could walk in unnoticed. The town was also probably full of people and cars, which probably would give away your presence. You didn't want to explain to someone how you got in; you would rather people not notice you.
You thought it over, and decided you should look in the glove compartment. You then realized you didn't know the car's current location. You had been driving on a highway at a time when the GPS would have gone out. So you simply forgot to look and kept pressing on, assuming you were headed west. So you looked around until you saw a sign, which hung on the side of a building about fifty yards away, blinking. You went outside and carefully opened the glove compartment. You searched until you found a map, and a flashlight. You shone the light on it and saw a primitive map indicating a town, in the middle of nowhere. You were surprised how modern and up-to-date the map was, but you simply assumed all cars were equipped with a DVD navigator or a portable DVD player, whichever they may be.
You looked at the map, and you figured out which way the entrance to the town was, then made your way to the back where you saw a huge hill. You groaned and thought you wouldn't be able to get up it. It was getting late, though, and your GPS was now useless. You hopped in the SUV and drove up the hill to the town, figuring it'd be well-lit in the daytime.
You turned the engine on, put the SUV in reverse, and backed up the hill. You found yourself skidding over the dirt, but somehow the vehicle didn't move so far you couldn't turn around. You tried again, and managed to back up some more. You nearly flipped the SUV over, but managed to go back about fifty yards and make your way to the entrance, which was a little ways into town. You brought the vehicle around to the two guards standing out front, who were smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. You guessed they were there overnight. You cautiously opened the door, and got out of the SUV. The guards saw you, instantly, and did not react at all. They didn't even stop their smoking and drinking, as though they had seen a deer there. One of them cocked his head to the side oddly and commented,
"It's about time someone showed up. I was about to go on a five-hour smoke break. In case you're wondering, there are no cigarettes on the premises. You must be confused."
You closed the door, got back in the SUV, and drove out of the town again.
It was a little after midnight, and you had looked around and seen absolutely nothing, so you headed back to your vehicle and went inside. You looked around and saw nothing out of place. The GPS was now useless, so you looked for a street map to find the best way to return home. You looked at a street map and figured you had driven way out of the area. You figured it'd be better to start heading southward than jumping into an entirely new area. You didn't know where you were, what to do, or what your next move should be.
You drove back to the car and went back inside. You figured you should take a long break, but then you wondered when you would be able to go back. If you were ever caught and suspected of anything, how could you explain how you got there, what you were doing, and why there was a camera crew inside the vehicle? You began to think that even if you could get out, it certainly wouldn't be worth it. Better to not get out at all.
But then you didn't know anything about where the camera crew was, and why they were here. Your thoughts were scattered, and your spirits were anxious. You thought you would use the time to write or to read in between pulls at the wheel, but you couldn't get into the story you wanted to write. You were stuck, and every minute made everything more confusing. You were never one to read while driving, but you found yourself taking notes in the story you were working on, completely spaced out, in case you ever had to write out any part of it later.
You decided to drive out of the area. You didn't know where to go or how to get in touch with anyone, but you figured you would go south, because you imagined west to be a longer route. You didn't want to go in any direction but south, and in the south there were basically no towns, but with nothing to what was known as civilization. At least, no cities. You pulled out of the car and got out, the palm tree rustling. You looked around, feeling a wave of loneliness wash over you.
You looked at the trunk and spotted the GPS. You went over to it and pressed the center button. You had to type in something to tell the GPS your location, and you were thankful you had taken notes. At least you could remember some of the words and phrases you had written. You were lost, because the street map didn't have the most recent roads or cities. You were slightly worried. You wondered if you would ever make it back alive. You hadn't told anybody where you were going, but then again you hadn't told anyone you were even leaving in the first place. At least it was a road trip, and you knew that if anything were to happen, you could probably get out. The car was equipped with one, conveniently. You would have failed at everything else.
You drove down the road and was startled by how many signs and messages there were. Normal street signs, billboards, and stickers were in abundance. You took the first turn to the left on the highway that had a large blue exit sign. You took it to the first rest stop you had spotted and went inside. As you entered, a man stopped you and asked where he was. You pointed to the exit sign and whispered,
"South."
He assumed there was nowhere to the south, and you had to correct him. The man was thankful that you had stopped and let him rest, and you were grateful, too.