The twelve o'clock sun was beating down on the orange sand next to I-40 just outside of Needles, California. About two hours ago, he could feel sweat trickle down his tan back; now it was dripping down his forehead leaving little dark brown circles on the orange sand as droplets of sweat fell from his chin and nose. A seldom breeze would blow tumbleweed across the road for some brief entertainment as he sat on his backpack praying for a car to become visible in the distance. He was hot and tired of waiting, and he was soon going to be dehydrated if he didn't get lucky before the sun set.
He barely sipped on his eighth bottle of water. Not once did he think it would take eight bottles of water before he was picked up, he didn't think it was possible. He slowly drifted off into a place between sleep and lack of consciousness when he heard the slightest sound of a rumbling engine off to the east. His brain was so alert but his body couldn't quite keep up. The rumble gradually grew closer and closer; his brain was racing one hundred miles per hour, trying to get his body to be at least half as alert as his mind. As the rumble became clear enough to recognize it was a sports car and not a semi-truck or a motorcycle, his eyes opened, his head lifted from his knees, and his arms began waving in the air. The rumble slowed as it became even clearer, but he lost consciousness, tipped off of his backpack and fell to the ground in the fetal position before the car reached his campsite on the side of the road.
He remained unconscious as a woman in her mid-thirties got out of her car and approached him. His tan skin, dark brown hair, and stocky body type made him appear to be a strong man. His backpack was laying on the other side of him and the woman stepped around his body on the ground to look inside. There was a dead cell phone in the side pocket, and seven empty water bottles, a book titled “Carsick,” a keychain with a compa** attached, and a scrap of paper with Oak Island, SC scribbled on it in a blue faded ink.
His body slowly awoke and he licked his lips and tasted sweet syrup, what he eventually recognized to be Dr. Pepper. A woman stood above him, shielded his eyes from the setting sun. He was very confused.
He began to realize the significance of who was standing in front of him, and his memory reminded him how much he prayed for a car to come down that highway. Now a car had come.
“I have no idea what happened. I was just sitting out here, waiting for a car to come down the road. Well, actually hoping a car would come down the road before sun set. I ran out of water earlier this morning and I knew I wouldn't make it much longer,” he confessed to the woman.
The woman starred at him, trying to determine his intentions, why he was out here waiting for a car, where he was trying to go. She had so many questions.
“Do you feel okay? Should I take you to a hospital? There's not a bit of cell service out here for me to call someone,” she asked.
“No, no. I really don't need to go to a hospital. I just got a little too hot out in the sun this afternoon. I feel great now,” he quickly replied. The hospital is not the destination he was trying to reach.
“Are you trying to get somewhere?” she asked.
“Well, actually yes. I am. I'm trying to get to South Carolina. Oak Island to be exact. Where are you headed? That direction?” the man asked curiously as he started to come to and get all of his senses back in working order.
“I'm headed in the opposite direction you are trying to go. I've got to get home to,” her voice drifted off. “Well actually I guess I don't have work tomorrow, so I really don't have any reason to get home,” she said.
He was caught off guard when the woman offered to put his backpack in the trunk and take him out east. He didn't think hitchhiking was that easy.
“My name is Colby,” he offered up. “I'm not dangerous or scary. I don't have any weapons, or bad intentions. I'm just trying to get to South Carolina, and I appreciate however far you want to take me,” he replied, with a surprising amount of kindness in his voice.
“My name is Natalie,” she replied as they both got into the black sports car. “We can drive until we get tired of listening to each other talk,” Natalie said, with a little bit of sarcasm in her voice.
“I'm glad I have a credit card for gas money,” Colby laughed. “Because if that's the case then I will never stop talking.”
Colby asked Natalie about herself, and the lonely life she mentioned. It surprised him that she was a beautiful lady with a nice car, obviously some money, and a kind heart to stop on the side of I-40 for a dirty looking man. He couldn't imagine she didn't have anything to go home to.
“Well I have a fish named Bubbles,” Natalie laughed. “I live by myself in a little white one bedroom house. My parents were k**ed in a car accident when I was eight years old, so I grew up with my aunt and uncle. Once I graduated high school, I was pretty much on my own. I haven't had much luck dating either, and my life wasn't anything other than alone, so I decided to change my job and travel a little bit to see where I ended up. And, well, here I am. Helping a hitchhiker across California.”
“I am so sorry,” Colby said sympathetically. I'm really surprised you haven't had much luck with dating though,” Colby spit out before really thinking what he said.
“Yeah, well and I got laid off this morning, actually, so now I'm going to have to sell my little house,” Natalie finished. He noticed her face immediately showed sadness.
Colby felt kind of awkward. He didn't know this lady. How was he supposed to feel such emotion towards her? He looked out the window. The cacti among the desert ground pa**ed quickly in the pinkish-orange horizon of the setting sun. He wondered if Natalie was going to drive through the night. He saw a sign that read: Flagstaff 202 miles. He figured he would hope for the best, and not ask. She seemed like the type of lady that would kick him out when she was ready to turn around.
“So, enough about me,” Natalie jumped to break the silence. “What about you? What in the world is taking you to South Carolina?” she asked.
Colby looked in her direction, his mind raced. He wondered if he should tell her what he was doing, why he was depended on other people to help him travel across the country. He decided she was kind-hearted, and the worst she would do was laugh.
“Well,” Colby hesitated. “I'm going to be honest, and brace myself for your response,” he said. “So my life wasn't going anywhere, I hated my job. I worked downtown San Francisco at a coffee mill. I don't have the greatest relationship with my family, so I figured at 27 years old I needed to figure something out, so I went and saw a psychic,” Colby told her.
He heard her chuckle a little at the sound of the word psychic.
“Yeah, yeah. I'm sure it sounds ridiculous, and it is kind of seeming like it might be, but I felt like I didn't have any other option. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired in San Francisco. I sold my house, my cat, and my car,” Colby continued. He rubbed his palms down the tops of his thighs to try and ignore the sweat that was developing.
“That makes sense of the hitchhiking,” she laughed. “So what? The psychic told you to try again in South Carolina?” Natalie asked.
“Um, well, I guess, yeah. That's what she said,” Colby stuttered.
“I'm sorry, but that is very comical. I have always heard about people visiting a psychic, but I have never met anyone who has done it, let alone anyone who listened to one of those crazy people,” Natalie laughed.
Colby sat in thought for a minute, wondering if he was really doing something stupid, if South Carolina didn't have what the psychic had told him.
“I know this just makes it sound even worse, but she told me my soul mate is in Oak Island,” Colby said, shyly.
“Your soul mate, huh? That sure is interesting,” Natalie replied. She began thinking about how great it would be to hear she had a soul mate somewhere, given, hearing that from a psychic is a little crazy. She hadn't ever met a man she could stand living with for more than a month.
The two sat in silence for a few minutes. Colby looked out the window to the interstate, recognizing some of the landmarks of Phoenix.
“So, um. How are you doing on gas?” Colby asked.
“This baby gets some pretty good gas mileage,” Natalie said as she pat the steering wheel. “We've only used about a quarter of a tank.”
“Really? Wow, that's impressive,” Colby replied. “I was used to my truck, having to get gas every few hours.”
He looked out the window again, recognizing in the darkness that they are through Phoenix and headed towards New Mexico now. Time is pa**ing so quickly, he realized. He didn't even know this woman who stopped to check on him on the side of the interstate, and they have talked like they have known each other for months. He wondered if she felt the same way.
“So how far are you expecting me to take you?” Natalie asked, breaking the silence yet again.
“Are you sick of hearing me talk yet?” Colby asked with a chuckle.
“Surprisingly no,” she answered. “I find it pretty interesting that you are letting some lady who claims to be a psychic change your life.”
“Well it's also pretty interesting that I'm letting a strange woman drive me across the states,” Colby returned the joke.
“Fair enough,” Natalie laughed. “But really, how far are you expecting me to take you?”
“Well I hear Kansas City is a pretty cool place. If we make it that far, I can take you out somewhere to thank you for the lift,” Colby suggested.
He observed her as she adjusted in her seat and moved her hands from the top of the steering wheel, down to the bottom where her arms could rest in her lap. “Kansas City, that's quite a ways. It's probably like another 9 hours.”
“It was just a suggestion, don't feel obligated,” Colby said. I really appreciate you bringing me this far.”
“I'm a**uming you will be hungry in less than 9 hours, right?” Natalie asks. “We could stop here in the next few hours for a bite to eat and I will decide before then if I want to keep going or turn around.”
“Yeah, that sounds good to me,” Colby answered. “You seem like a great lady,” Colby complimented. “I mean, not to sounds too negative or anything, but what do you have to turn around for? What is back in California for you? I have a pretty good understanding of what it's like to live without family, and it's not all that great.”
Natalie looked at him. In the time she looked away from the road, an animal ran up to the side of the interstate, Colby caught a glimpse of the large elk and was able to get an expression across his face for Natalie to jerk her head back to the road, see the animal but have no idea what it was, just enough logic to slam on the breaks and bring the sports car to a screeching halt on the interstate. Before they could both take in a deep breath and relax their muscles enough to look outside for the animal, it had run back out into the darkness of the eastern New Mexico terrain.
“I am so sorry,” Natalie stammered as she pushed herself back up into her seat and began to accelerate back to the 80 mile per hour speed limit. “I wasn't very smart for to look away from the road. Your comment just made me get lost in thought for a minute, I guess.”
“It's fine, we didn't hit any animals, and we didn't wreck. But I might volunteer to find a different ride when we stop to eat,” Colby slyly joked.
Natalie gave him a glare without looking away from the road.
“Anyway, I am getting pretty hungry since you mentioned it. Let's stop in Texas. We aren't too far from the border,” Colby suggested.
The two looked out ahead and they continued to move steadily down the interstate, and at about the same time, they were able to see bright lights in the sky.
“Surely that's a town, right?” Colby asked.
“I would a**ume so. I'm not sure what else would be so lit up at this time of night,” Natalie replied.
As they continued on, Colby read a sign for Amarillo. After a little bit of bickering, they decided to stop in the middle of the city at a McDonald's.
The two squired out of the car, as their joints were slow to straighten after sitting in the same position for so long. As they walked up to the restaurant, the listing of hours on the door was halfway rubbed off, and the writing that was left was covered with dirt, along with the rest of the windows on the brick building. When they walked inside, they discovered that it isn't the cleanest, best-looking McDonald's they have ever experienced. There were dead beetles and spiders on the floor, the rugs looked like they haven't been vacuumed for months, and there were napkins all over a majority of the tables.
Natalie looked at Colby, and he let out a laugh.
“Oh come on,” he said. “It's fine. We will be here for like 20 minutes anyway.”
They walked up to the counter. The dark-skinned man taking their order was very polite for the setting of the restaurant. Natalie ordered a strawberry-banana smoothie and a grilled chicken sandwich with apples while Colby ordered two Big Mac burgers and a large fry.
Natalie reached for her water cup and walked over to pick a table. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a group of people walking up to the side door of the McDonald's. They all had their hands in their pockets, which she found odd.
“Colby, come over here,” she called, trying to be quiet but loud enough for him to hear.
“Hold on, our food is almost done,” he answered as he turned back around.
“Just come here really quick,” she persisted.
Colby didn't listen; he stood at the counter starring at their tray, patiently waiting for his large fry to complete their order.
The group of people outside approached the door, and once they stepped into the light, they had black and red ski masks on and all black clothing, all the way down to black shoes. Natalie slid back in the booth, pressing her back firmly against the cold hard plastic material and her hands instinctively moved to her mouth. Several of the men still had their hands in their pockets. She sat in silence as she watched one of the men in the group step up behind Colby and pulled his hands behind his back like he was being arrested. At that instant, two male workers noticed the group, and Natalie picked up on the signal between the workers to call the police. One of the workers walked up to the counter and couldn't even push any words out of his mouth. One of the masked men pulled his hands out of his pockets and had two pistols, one in each hand. He pointed them at the cashier, and said “money” is a grim, taunting voice. The cashier froze.
“Open the register,” the voice from behind the mask said.
Colby turned to try and look at Natalie, who hadn't moved a centimeter from her position when she saw them walk in. The masked man holding his hands jerked him back. The man with the pistols still had them pointed among the store workers. The cashier had opened the drawer, and another masked man was emptying the cash into a red drawstring bag.
Colby tried to jerk away from the man holding his arms behind his back, as one of the masked men walked over to approach Natalie. The man threw Colby to the ground and put a black shoe on his back, holding him down.
“Don't you dare touch her,” he screamed from beneath the pressure of the man's foot.
“Shut up, or a bullet will find your head,” that same taunting voice echoed from behind a mask and through the silent building.
Natalie scooted across the booth as the masked man tried to sit down and slide next to her.
“Get away from her, you son of a b**h,” Colby hollered from the ground. “Leave her alone. Do not touch her. I will k** you if you hurt…” Colby stammered as the pressure on his back increased.
Click. BANG!
He heard Natalie let out an ear-piercing shriek as the masked man with the pistol co*ked the gun and pulled the trigger with the barrel pointed at the ceiling.
The masked man sitting next to her tried to reach out and grab her, but Natalie had jumped from the booth over toward the door. She saw Colby struggling to get up and she caught his hand in hers as they both held steady on their feet and ran out the door towards the car. It didn't appear that any of the masked men chased them out of the store, but instinctively Colby ended up in the drivers seat of the car and spun the tires all the way out of the McDonald's parking lot.
Colby looked over at Natalie, tears rolling down her face.
“Are you okay? I am so sorry that happened,” he said softly. “I'm not sure how I ended up driving, but is it okay with you? At least until we get out of here?” he asked.
Natalie looked up at him, catching her breath. She nodded.
Colby took a right hand turn back onto the interstate.
“Things like that, people like that, are why I had never ventured out of California. Traveling for that job I had was the most exposure I had ever had, and I was always around business-cla** people,” she stammered out in between sobs. “People like that terrify me.”
“I completely understand. I am so sorry that happened. I feel awful, like it's my fault,” Colby replied.
“No, you had no control over those people, and that's why they are so scary. They just do whatever they want, whenever they want, to whatever people they see,” Natalie continued.
Colby moved his hand over to Natalie's thigh in a comforting way. His hand seemed to fit perfectly over her leg, and no awkward feelings.
“Would you have any interest in getting some food at a drive-thru?” Colby asked. “I'm sorry to seem like I'm over that already, because I'm not, but I am starving.”
Natalie smiled a small smile. “Yes, we can get food. But can I request any place other than McDonald's? I'm probably scarred now,” she answered.
“Absolutely,” Colby replied as he gently squeezed her leg.
An exit sign approached with several fast food options listen on the sign. Natalie commented about Wendy's, so Colby drove off the interstate to the Wendy's in northern Texas. All of the letters on the sign were illuminated in the slowly rising sun. The hours on the window were cleanly visible and all of the windows were clear and clean. Colby and Natalie went through the drive-thu and ate their food in the car.
“Would you have any interest in getting a hotel for the night?” Colby cautiously asked. “I don't mean to be creepy or anything, I know we hardly know each other but we have had a heck of a day.”
Natalie gave him an odd look. “It's so weird how easily we can have conversation,” she laughed. “I feel like I know more about you than the guy I dated four years ago.”
“What can I say?” Colby asked sarcastically. “I'm a sly guy.”
Natalie shook her head as a smile creped across her face.
“Sure, let's stay somewhere,” she finally answered.
Colby and Natalie found a nice looking Sleep Inn. A large waterfall outside the front of the lobby gave a good feel, and the inside of the hotel was very clean and modern, with a very sweet front desk attendant. The two new acquaintances found their room and got comfortable. Colby showered, and by the time he was finished and crawled into the cold sheets, Natalie was fast asleep, exhausted from the adventurous day of helping a hitchhiker.
Natalie rolled over in her sleep and nestled her head under Colby's shoulder.
He smiled.
“Maybe I won't need to go all the way to Oak Island, South Carolina to find my soul mate,” Colby thought out loud.
Natalie, half asleep yet half awake, smiled too.