Friday, September 16, 2011

GPS

My cell phone buzzed.

Finally, I thought, opening it to check my text messages. I was running late for Stacey’s party, but I hadn’t been able to leave until Rachel texted me the address. Quickly, I typed it into my GPS – double-checked that I had put it in correctly – and drove off.

The computerized British voice of my GPS lead me out of town and down a rural street. I began getting anxious, watching my ETA. It comforted me, saying I would be there in only a few minutes. Putting my faith in the GPS, I relaxed, thoughts turning to the party. Stacey’s birthday parties were legendary. Rachel assured me that there would be plenty of guys there worth meeting, and that it would be a night to remember.

“Turn right in .5 miles, then arrive at destination, on right.”

Arrive at destination? But… there wasn’t anything around! I was in the middle of nowhere.

I switched on my blinker, deciding to follow my GPS to see where it was trying to take me – maybe Stacey’s house was really out in the middle of nowhere? I checked my blind spot before pulling to the right – an unnecessary precaution, as there was no one else on the street. I made the right turn.

“Arriving at destination, on right.”

There was nothing to the right – nothing at all, just a stretch of empty field. The same held true for the left. I pulled over. To my surprise, my headlights fell on a car, also pulled to the side of the road.

From the other vehicle stepped a man, dressed in jeans and a black leather jacket. He approached my door and knocked on the window.

I didn’t move. I was terrified. There was no way for me to defend myself from this man – I had no weapon, besides my keys. The man outside my window was tall and broad-shouldered, I had a feeling he would have no problem overpowering me. Locking my doors, I turned my key to start my car, feeling my best bet was to drive away, running over him if necessary.

He raised his hand in a strange motion. My car died -- all power just gone. I cried out in frustration.

The man knocked on my window again.

Pulling my cell phone out of my pocket, I hastily dialed 9-1—but before I could dial the one again, my cell phone shut off. I tried to turn it back on, but it was dead.

Knock, knock, knock.

I whimpered, not sure what to do. I sat there in the darkness, a strange man outside my car.
There was a soft click as my car doors unlocked. The man walked around and opened the passenger side door as I tried in vain to lock the doors again.

“Sorry I had to rig your GPS,” the man said, settling into the passenger seat, “But this is urgent.”

I couldn’t say anything. In another moment, I was going to faint.

In the dark, I could just see the man raise his hand in another strange movement, and the car came back to life, the dome light flickering on. Being able to see the man in my car was not particularly comforting. His features were rugged. He had a day’s worth of stubble on his chin. His hair and eyes were dark, as was the look on his face.

“Stop gaping at me,” he ordered, “You look like a dead fish.”

This annoyed me into speaking.

“What are you doing in my car?”

“I needed to speak with you.”

“I don’t know you.”

“No.” He said. “But I know you. Marcia Brown, aged 24? Parents deceased?”

“How do you know who I am?”

“That doesn’t matter now.”

“It matters to me!”

“I will take you to headquarters and they will explain things there.” He opened the door, “Follow me.”

He got into his own car and pulled onto the street. I sat still, wondering what I should do. Before I could come to a decision, my car started and, acting under its own power, pulled out behind the mysterious stranger and followed him down the dark, empty streets.



/Kat!e


Today's Novel Idea Prompted by: "You had planned to attend a friend’s birthday party and plugged her address into your GPS system, but the system guided you to somewhere else. Oddly enough, there was a man waiting for you at this mysterious place. “Sorry I had to rig your GPS, but this is urgent,” said the person." Courtesy of Writer's Digest.

2 comments:

KelsieT said...

I like this one! It was really good.

The Hot Girl in the Comic Shop said...

Thanks! I really appreciate that ^_^ It was a great prompt. Sadly, like with all my prompts, I haven't yet got to the cool part....