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Pure Coincidence
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 Created on 10-24-07
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I hate stories where the heroine is beautiful and perfect, with some generic name like Ashley or Elizabeth or Samantha. Not that there is anything wrong with these names, but, let's be realistic. Not everyone is beautiful and perfect. Not everyone has a name that they share with half the world's population.
If I was telling one of these stories, I'd have to start by telling you my name, maybe writing a paragraph or two describing myself, how my long golden legs stretch on for days, and my sleek golden hair cascades over my shoulders and down my back. Maybe I'd set it in California, where I'd be driving down some winding highway along a beautiful turquoise coastline, in some expensive foreign convertible, with my shining, golden hair wind-swept, and a pair of giant sunglasses made by some Italian designer covering my perfect blue eyes and their long, luxurious lashes.
I'd like to start it with a laugh, a smile, or some deep, well thought out statement that would describe me and explain everything with only a few words. For some reason, I can't do that. But let's start over, at the beginning.
Ironically, when it all started, I was driving down the highway in a convertible. But it wasn't a shining new import car. It was more like a ten year old, somewhat beat-up Miata, which I had inherited from my older sister when she received a new car as a gift after getting her bachelor's degree. My hair was windswept, but not in the movie-star, sexy bed-headed kind of way... it was more like I'd just walked through a hurricane while simultaneously back combing random strands with a wire brush. I'm sure you can imagine the effect. The highway was in California, but I'm not going to let you get carried away, envisioning a beautiful, winding road along the coastline... it was a cloudy day, smoggy and dull with no hint of that gorgeous Cali sun between the clouds of pollution. I was wearing large sunglasses, but they were the five dollar designer knock-off kind that you buy on Hollywood Boulevard, and their only purpose was to hide my blood-shot eyes and obvious hangover.
My name is Carson Emerson. I'm an average-looking 20 year old college drop-out, with a slight drinking problem and a tendency toward the dramatic. I think that about sums it up, at least for this story's purpose. You see- it's the drinking and the flair for dramatics that really started it all.
Anyway, I was riding along, anxious to get to where I was going, and not paying attention to anything but my cigarette and my thoughts, which were not on the road. Smashing into something would have been an obvious conclusion to this scenario, but, for once, luck was leaning in my direction. Something smashed into me.
It felt like the end of the world. I'm no expert, but I'm going to risk saying that car accidents suck. Now, figure a raging headache accompanying a massive hangover into the mix. If you happen to have experienced all of these things, I'm sure you can appreciate what it feels like when they occur simultaneously.
Needless to say, I wasn't in the most amicable mood. Then again, I found out, neither was he.
I could see the owner of the other vehicle just slightly through his darkly tinted driver side window as he ripped off his seatbelt and whipped open his door. He slammed it noisily behind him, stepping out onto the street and coming toward me, his steps sounding angry against the asphalt.
Enter Kale Carson, stage right.
I may not have spent a long time describing myself, but to avoid a description of Kale just wouldn't be fair. Kale Carson is not the most beautiful man ever to walk the face of this earth. There is something about him though… something that makes it impossible to tear your eyes away from him.
His shiny new BMW had just smashed into my vehicle, and I had to stop and stare at him for a long second. He isn't tall really, but I wouldn't call him short either. His hair is some shade between dark blond and light brown, worn somewhere between short and long, and tousled perfectly, I noticed, from the wind. His skin is the color of clean sand. He had an effortless cool about him, a gracefulness. None of this is what made me stare, though. It was his eyes that captivated me, from the moment I looked into them. Eyes the color of ice, with streaks of gold and green, framed by long, dark lashes. The most unusual eyes I have ever seen.
"Is there a reason you are standing there staring at me like that, or are you in some kind of walking coma?" he asked. His voice sounded like satin feels… smooth, and cold. There was a biting sarcastic edge to it that I didn't like. This is the first time the flair for the dramatics comes in to play…
"I might as well be in a coma for all the remorse you're showing. You could have killed me! I could have been flung right off the edge of that cliff, down onto the beach and washed into the ocean to be found a hundred miles down the coastline!" I exaggerated, whipping my cheap sunglasses away from my eyes so that I could rest the full force of my glare on him. He snorted slightly, rolling his eyes and then glancing over at the Miata, which was barely dented.
"Well, I'm glad that didn't happen. Imagine how much that would have raised my insurance premium." At this point he started inspecting the Miata, walking around the entire car. I flinched a little when his eyes slid over the trunk. They didn't rest there for long though, and after a moment it seemed he was satisfied. He finally came to a stop right in front of me.
He extended a hand, "My name's Kale Carson." He said. I laughed at that, for obvious reason (well, obvious to me).
"Is there something funny about that?" he asked, his eyebrows raising.
"My name's Carson, too." I explained. This didn't seem to clear anything up for him.
"Do you mind giving me a first name, then?" Kale asked sarcastically.
"That is my first name."
"That's a stupid first name."
"Well, so is Kale." I replied defiantly.
His eyebrows rose again, and I found myself staring into those strange eyes. He let me for a minute, staring right back at me. It was as if like I could see some kind of internal struggle going on in his mind, like he was arguing with himself. He seemed to relax suddenly, and when he spoke there was an audible difference in his tone.
"I guess we should get the police out here, and get this over with." He said, sounding more resigned than angry. I panicked.
"No cops! I do not want to call the cops out here!" I was yelling when I should have kept cool. I didn't care at the moment. "The car is fine; I'm not worried about it. Let's just move on now."
The thought of police arriving at the scene made me sick to my stomach. I could imagine them asking questions, hearing answers that they didn't like. Searching the Miata, opening the trunk... I felt myself getting flush just thinking about what would happen after that.
His eyebrows rose again. "Alright, calm down. If you don't care then I guess I don't either. We won't call them." He looked at me a little strangely, as if he thought I was crazy, "You act like you just killed someone for crying out loud." He laughed a little at his joke, and then laughed a little more when he saw my face, with my eyes wide and my mouth open.
"What, did you kill someone?" he said sarcastically, still laughing a little.
Little did he know…
I felt myself stiffen at his words, the imagined scene from earlier coming back to life in my mind. His eyes were imploring, and I’m sure he would have started asking questions right then if it weren’t for what happened next.
I was so freaked out by the impending conversation, the quick lies that I would have to come up with, that I didn’t see the car careening around the corner until the last second. I’ve never considered myself the heroic type, but my instincts kicked in at that moment. The entire scene slowed down until time felt as though it were crawling. Kale was standing there, still giving me an amused, slightly puzzled look. The wind was blowing up from the edge of the cliff, moving his hair across his forehead in waves, his shirt rippling around him. He didn’t see the car. I lunged for him at the last second, smashing into his body and throwing us away from the road.
“What the…” he started, shocked at the sudden impact, but we were rolling off of the road and into the ditch to the side of it, our bodies a tangled mess of limbs. We landed at the bottom of a shallow ditch, surrounded by litter and standing water from the day’s earlier rain, just in time to see the coming car screech to a halt in almost the exact place we had been.
Kale’s words trailed off as his eyes widened, and he glanced at the road, at me, and then back to the road in amazement and confusion. Realization dawned on his face as what had almost happened registered.
I picked myself up as the sound of car doors slamming rang out through the air. Turning to see the people who had almost killed us, I got yet another surprise.
“Didn’t expect to see me, did you Carson?” Brett’s cold voice sing-songed at me, mockingly. “I must admit, it’s quite an unexpected pleasure to run into you. I was just on my way to pay you a little visit, after all. You left so suddenly last night.” My blood ran cold at the sound of his voice. Of all the people, I thought.
I glanced instinctively toward the trunk of the Miata, Brett’s eyes following mine. He smiled at me sickeningly, as if he could read my thoughts written on my face.
“We didn’t like you leaving in such a hurry, without even saying goodbye. It was really very rude.” He scolded, eyeing the trunk again, knowingly.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly feel welcome.” I said flatly as I watched Kale getting to his feet out of the corner of my eye. He brushed himself off while inspecting Brett, his further confusion apparent. How coincidental is it that she knows this person, he must have been thinking. I could tell that he wasn’t impressed with Brett’s appearance, and I couldn’t blame him. He stood only about two inches taller than my five foot four, short and wiry, with dirty looking blonde hair and about a week’s worth of five o’clock shadow. All together, it wasn’t to imposing of a figure that he put forth, but I knew better.
“Who’s your friend?” Brett asked me, eyeing Kale right back. Kale didn’t seem to like the fact that the question had been directed at me instead of him, and his confused look switched back to one of annoyance.
“I don’t think that’s any of your business, and maybe you should slow down coming around blind corners like that.” Kale snapped, ignoring the fact that we had both been sitting ducks in the middle of the road, standing outside of our cars. I flinched at his tone, becoming even more worried. I had to remind myself that Kale didn’t know better than to speak to Brett that way.
Anger registered on Brett’s cold features. “I don’t like your tone at all, buddy.” He said, his eyes shifting to Kale’s as he snapped his fingers at his side. The car he had gotten out of immediately roared to life, the person in the driver’s seat having obviously received some signal. It was quiet for a moment as Brett almost imperceptively moved his fingers forward into another silent signal. The car suddenly lurched forward, angling wildly into Kale’s BMW and making impact on the driver’s side.
Kale’s eyebrows shot up as he watched the shadowed driver of the car push his BMW to the edge of the cliff, where it teeter tottered precariously for a moment before dropping straight down toward the waiting surf. There was silence until the sound of it crashing into the ocean came, a spray of displaced water shooting into the air around it.
Kale moved to grab for Brett, but Brett was too quick. He already had the gun out before I could even say anything.
“I wouldn’t make any rash decisions if I were you, buddy.” He said, that sickening smile of his replacing the look of anger. Kale stopped cold, staring blankly at the shining gray metal of the weapon. The sudden sound of Brett’s laughter was frightening to me.
“You see, I had only intended on using this once today,” he explained, glancing with a meaningful, twisted smile to me, “But I don’t think some target practice would hurt.”
Kale locked eyes with him for a moment, and then turned to look at me. Our eyes met, and I somehow understood his message. Let’s get out of here. I nodded slightly, and then made a straight shot for the Miata, getting into the drivers seat just as I heard the first shot ring out.
I ignored the terrifying sound of the gun and started the engine, throwing the car into drive. I heard Brett yelling to the people in his car as he ran for it. Kale finally reached the door and ripped it open, falling into the passenger seat.
“GO!” he shouted. I pushed the gas pedal all the way to the floor without even waiting for him to close the door. We didn’t move for a long second, the Miata’s tires spinning wildly before taking off, the passenger door swinging shut with a loud bang.
Kale righted himself, putting his seatbelt on as I navigated the winding road at an insane speed. I could see in my rearview mirror that Brett had jumped into the driver seat and was taking off after us. I knew my old Miata couldn’t outrun the other car. Frantically, I tried to remember exactly how far from civilization we were, praying that I could make it to somewhere before he caught up.
Kale didn’t try to speak to me as I raced down the road, and I was glad. I needed to think, and answering his questions would only make me nervous. I glanced again through the rearview mirror, feeling sick as I saw Brett gaining on us. I needed to think faster.
I had just gone back to concentrating on the road when a loud shattering sound broke Kale and I’s silence. The tiny back window of the Miata lay in pieces on the floor and in our laps. Another look through the mirror revealed a man hanging out the passenger side of the pursuing car, his eyes squinting as he aimed the gun he held in his hands. Another bullet flew through the hole where the window had been, exploding into the console radio and barely missing my arm.
Kale’s eyes went wide as he jerked around to stare out the back. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as I swerved onto an on ramp, finally on the relative safety of the interstate. I let out the breath I had not realized I had been holding. They were still behind us, but there were other cars now, and there would be no more flying bullets.
I swerved through the traffic, searching the signs to the side of the road for anything familiar or promising sounding. They were getting closer again, and I had to move quickly if I wanted to somehow shake them.
There was an exit looming right before us, and I took it without looking at the sign telling where it would go. At the end of the ramp I pulled a hard right, followed by a quick left. I found myself in a broke down looking neighborhood, lined with palms. My eyes searched both sides of the street for anything I could get the car behind to hide. Finally I saw something. A dirty grey shed to the side of one of the houses, with just enough room to squeeze the Miata into.
I pulled the emergency break back jerkily, the Miata fishtailing wildly in result, but turning at just the right angle for me to careen right into that space between the house and shed. We came to a stop finally, after the front end of the car had destroyed an unseen chain link fence at the back of the space. The wheels smoked as Kale and I turned to look at the road behind us, holding our breath and waiting for our pursuers to find us. A short minute passed before we saw the car, and we looked at each other, panicked. The car drove slowly past without stopping. After another several tense minutes of silent waiting, we started to breathe easily again, and a few minutes after that, we both felt that the threat was passed.
Finally, after having been in silence ever since we had gotten into the car and begun this crazy race, Kale turned to me and spoke.
“So. You mind telling me exactly what is going on here?”
I sighed. This was going to take awhile.
(to be continued...)
Comments
Please Login to post comments| On November 27th 2007 onaipwolf Said : | |
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This is awesome. You had a great beginning, and kept the tension all the way through the chapter. It did seem a little cliche` to have a car chase with the bad guys shooting, but sometimes that's required to get the plot moving. In any case, I would love to read more of this. Let me know when the next chapter is up. ;) |
| On October 26th 2007 atavanhalen Said : | |
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Wow... I'm intrigued... Keep me posted if you could. I want really want to know what the hell is going on and what's in the trunk!! lol. |
| On October 24th 2007 HSandyI Said : | |
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omg I love it! |
