Lyft after Dusk

“Where too?” Elena, the Lyft driver asked.

“Straight to the point huh? Not even a sir or hello? Talk about fucking manners!”

           Elena tensed up. She knew that voice, although when she turned, her amygdala hijacked her brain immediately.

“Shit!” she squealed, quickly whirling around and flooring the accelerator.

But the car didn’t move, as the man had already engaged the parking brake beforehand. Then a sudden pop made her jerk backward into her seat with a scream. It was her windshield-mounted phone, which exploded after a bullet was fired into it.

“OK! OK! OK!” she cried, surrendering, with her jeans soaked in shame.

“And she wets herself!” he boasted with hysterical laughter. “Not such a tough kid after all huh?”

“W-w-what do you want?” was all she could stutter out. 

“The phone, if you please.” Mr. Black, her former automotive teacher from high school replied.

           He was one of the many teachers she had roasted and pulled pranks on, to avoid being bullied by other students. But he was rather unfazed by her antics compared to other teachers and would often have a wise comeback to set her straight and have the students laughing at her rather than the other way around. At least until her latest antic, towards the end of her senior year.

           Elena immediately obeyed and handed him what was left of her phone.

“Samsung huh? You know these tend to be quite…explosive.” Mr. Black said, tossing it out the window.

He then ordered her to hand over her purse.

“I’m s-s-sorry! I really am!”

“No, you’re not kid.” Mr. Black said, pressing his gun against her side, making her flinch. “Not yet you’re not.”

           Elena gasped when she heard it click, but fortunately for her, the chamber was empty this time.

“Well, that’s enough Russian roulette for now.” He chuckled sarcastically. “Head north onto the freeway. We’re going for a drive.”

           Elena tried to drive, but the car only revved in place again.

“Parking brake stupid! Seriously who the fuck did you blow at the DMV to get your license anyway!?”

Elena’s face fumed with embarrassment. 

2

“Do you drive this slow with all your customers? It’s a wonder you have a job at all!”

“I’m trying to go the speed limit to not attract attention, okay!?”

“You’re not even going the speed limit! Not that this piece of shit can accelerate worth a fuck anyway! Seriously, a Mitsubishi Mirage!? You’d have to be huffing glue to think this was a good car to buy as a commuter! At seventy-eight horsepower it makes a Prius look like a race car!”

“It gets forty-three mpg on the highway and thirty-six in the city.”

“Ha! So, fucking what? A Prius can get fifty-eight in the city and fifty-three mpg on the highway. And best of all, doesn’t take thirteen fucking seconds to go zero to sixty! If you paid attention in class instead of being a little dipshit, you wouldn’t have bought this shitbox!” 

           Elena reached the exit for the freeway as he said this and pressed down hard on the accelerator, fueled by her anger. But the engine merely revved loudly as the car putted along, fueling Mr. Black’s amusement.

“Told you it was a piece of shit! Talk about anticlimactic! You should’ve at least bought the five-speed rather than settling for this continuously shitty transmission!” 

           Every word from him was dissolving what was left of her ego. She was getting roasted to shreds and she knew if she talked back, he would pull out his gun again. The traffic lessened the further north they went, and he directed her to a local What-A-Burger. She had no idea what he had in mind, but at least this could buy her some time for now.

“When you pull up to the intercom make sure my window is aligned with it. If you try giving them signals of any kind, it’ll cost the cashier their life. Got that?”

“Y-yes.” Elena stumbled out.

“Welcome to What-A-Burger, how may we help you?”

“Perhaps you can get my daughter to stop being a spoiled little shit for starters. That would certainly help me.” Mr. Black said.

This was followed with laughter on the other end.

“And how do you suppose we may do that sir?” The cashier chuckled.

“Give her a plain hamburger, nothing besides a dry well-done patty and two buns. Half-assed, just like her effort at school.”

           This was followed by more laughter on the other line.

“And what for you sir?”

“A medium sweet and spicy bacon burger, so she can sit and stew with envy.”

“Ah, perfect choice sir. I’d be envious as well. Is there anything else you would like to order?”

“Just two waters for us. That will be all.”

3

           Then, they moved forward in line, behind two other cars. Elena held her tongue, but her face burned with embarrassment the whole time.

“I’m really sorry. For everything. I was just a kid that didn’t know any better.” Elena said as they waited.

“Well, welcome to adulthood. Where actions have consequences.”

           Elena gasped as an impatient horn blared from behind.

“Expect the world to wait for you princess?” Mr. Black piled on.

           She immediately drove to the window without saying a word. Mr. Black paid for and retrieved the food, then they were on the road again.

           All that stood on both sides of the road were trees, with an occasional HPS streetlamp to illuminate them, making Elena even more nervous.

“Wh-where are we going?”

“Just somewhere quiet for us to eat dinner.”

“Please, I know you’re mad at me for what I did in class, but can we work it out somehow?”

“Shut up and drive!”

           Elena swallowed her fear and continued on, but couldn’t fight back the tears beginning to trickle down her face any longer

“Take a right on the street ahead and drive until you reach the dead end, then park.”

           She did as she was told and after parking, she anxiously turned around to see him grinning at her.

“Are you crying!?” he snickered.

“N-no…” she lied, sniffling, wiping her tears away.

“I knew you were soft. Only acting tough in class to get attention.”

“I said I was sorry…” she whimpered.

           He tossed the bag with her half of the carry-out into her lap, then handed her a cup of water that came with it.

“So, what was your plan after graduating anyway? Shuttling around village drunkards from sixth street?”

“Um, I, I’m not really sure what I plan to do yet.”

“Of course, you’re not. Because you spent your school years being a little dipshit instead of trying to learn something.”

“I was bullied for being too quiet before my senior year, so I was only making jokes in class to stop it. I’m sorry some of them were at your expense. I really am.”

“So, what you’re really saying is that you treated your teachers like your bullies treated you, instead of standing up for yourself. Coward.”

           A lump filled in Elena’s throat. This meal felt like it would be her last. It seemed at this point she would not get any mercy from him, no matter what she said. She turned away and silently ate, starting to tear up again.

           A piece of her burger dropped onto her jeans, so she took a napkin out from her take-out bag. As she wiped over the stain it left, she pinched the napkin, taking hold of what was in her left pocket, a skill her father taught her when she was a kid. She kept a few with her everywhere she went after he passed away. With a click of her seat belt release button, she immediately flung it at him. A throwing knife, which punctured into his right shoulder blade.

           Mr. Black cried out, firing a shot as Elena stumbled out the door with glass hailing on her. She quickly made a break for the woods as more shots rang through the air.

“Get back here you little shit!” she heard him screech before tripping on a rock and collapsing into a patch of tall dead grass.

           She quickly crawled behind a live oak tree with a thick trunk.

“You think you won haven’t you little piggie!? But the big bad wolf is always two steps ahead!” She heard his voice echo in the distance.

           Her stomach growled as her knees drew up to her chest. Running on a full stomach likely would take its toll on her. She looked up at the moon, illuminating the surrounding woodland of Live Oaks and Ashe Junipers as she took deep breaths to calm herself.

“I’m sure you remember the latest antic you pulled in my class as well as I do.” His voice echoed.

           It took her a second, as she tried her best to ignore the nuclear reaction beginning to radiate in her stomach, but she remembered. Mr. Black had left to use the restroom. She stood up to turn in a worksheet and slipped something into his unattended cup of coffee. After the argument they had the previous day, Elena was poised for vengeance. She had cracked a joke in class, and Mr. Black’s patience with her had finally broke. “I wonder how your father would react if he saw what an insolent little snot you turned out to be.” He had said. That had rendered her into a sullen silence the rest of that day.

“The school had quarantined me for two weeks thanks to that. It was a precaution in case I had come down with measles. Now talk about a load of shit. That little measles outbreak seems dull in comparison to our current pandemic, doesn’t it?”

           His voice had gotten closer, quicker than she had anticipated.

“Speaking of a load of shit, I’m sure you’re feeling rather queasy now, aren’t you?”

           Elena’s nerves went numb as a corpse. Her stomach growled impatiently, making her panic. This was a mistake; she never should have run out this far. Something suddenly rustled in the bushes nearby and she made a break for it. But she screamed and fell backward when she saw a figure emerge just a few feet in front of her.

“Here’s Johnny, you little shit!” Mr. Black yelled.

           He had heat-seeking goggles on. Two steps ahead indeed. Elena’s eyes grew wide, and her bowels released as he approached.

“Sounds like someone needs their diapey changed!”   

           Warm sludge ran down her legs as she crawled backwards in fright. It wasn’t long before she backed into a tree, startling herself. Her knees drew up to her chest.

“What was the plan here, really? Running into the woods on a summer night? You’d be dead within hours from dehydration after the laxatives do their work. Your stupidity continues to amaze me.” Mr. Black said.

           Elena swung at him with another knife from her pocket, but he caught her by the wrist.

“One twist, and you’ll lose your wrist, get the gist?” He said with a grin.

           A desperate whimper escaped her mouth as she struggled to free herself.

“Suit yourself.” He said.

           She cried out and dropped the knife immediately, and he pinned her hand against the tree, above her head. With his other hand Mr. Black scooped up the knife from the ground. He rested the frigid blade against her stomach.

“Please…y-y-you don’t have to do this!” Elena pleaded.

“I wonder if the end is really like the story Tobias Wolf wrote. Like memories unraveling themselves on a projector.” Mr. Black said.

4

“What you fellas doin’ here on my land?” A voice boomed through the woods.

           Elena grimaced when she felt Mr. Black’s knife press against her side, daring her to scream for help. A man with a black rancher hat emerged from the fog. Elena didn’t recall seeing fog a moment ago. There must be a swamp nearby.

“This little dipshit thought she could bail on her Uber ride for free!” Mr. Black said.

“That true miss?” The rancher asked.

           Elena’s voice cracked when she tried to speak, and she swallowed hard.

“Sure smells like you scared her shitless, mister. Seems this generation ain’t used to facin’ consequences for their crimes.”

           Elena’s stomach growled again, and she grimaced through the pain. She couldn’t believe it. This man was actually taking Mr. Black’s side.

“What’s your name, miss? You’re lookin’ awfully pale there.”

“Elena.” She spoke hoarsely.

“Bill Jones.” The rancher replied. “And what be your name, mister?”

“Mr. Black. I teach at a high school in town, and drive for Uber in the summertime.”

“And she was a student of yours I take it? Heard you pitchin’ a fit from miles away.” Bill Jones said.

           A hiss from behind the oak tree startled Elena and Mr. Black.

“That there’s my swamp puppy. He don’t take kindly to trespassers.” Bill Jones said, pulling out a revolver and thumbing the hammer back on it before Elena could blink. 

           The alligator from behind the tree waited patiently with hunger.

“Put the knife down and be on your way mister.” Bill Jones said.

           Elena yelped when the knife sank into her thigh. The revolver struck Mr. Black with a bullet to the knee. He shrieked and the alligator snagged him by his ankle. Elena’s hands shakily reached for the knife.

“Keep the blade in miss, don’t want ya bleedin’ out like a Thanksgivin’ turkey.” Bill Jones said, carefully picking her up.

           He walked her back to his cabin as Mr. Black wrestled his Glock 17 out of his pocket and fired at the alligator. With that, it let go and scampered off into the woods. Elena gasped when she heard the gunfire in the distance.

“Hold your water, he ain’t goin’ nowhere fast.” Bill Jones said.

           Mr. Black crawled to a nearby live oak and rested his back against it.

5

           In his cabin, Bill Jones stitched up Elena’s wound while she sat on the toilet, disregarding her pleas to be taken to a hospital instead.

“Drink your water and zip it!” He snapped, startling her to silence. “Now, stay put miss. Won’t be long.”

           Bill Jones grabbed a wheelbarrow from his shed and pushed it through the woods.

“Nap time’s over.” Bill said, startling Mr. Black awake.

“Your pet lost his appetite.” Mr. Black said.

“Didn’t like the taste of lead, I reckon.” Bill Jones said.

“Neither will you.” Mr. Black replied, quickly taking out his Glock 17 and firing it.

           A cloud of fog exploded from the chest of Bill Jones. Bill inhaled the fog through his nostrils and grinned.

“Can’t kill what’s already dead, Jack.” He said, revealing the scars on his chest, from where he’d been shot in a previous life.

           Mr. Black emptied the magazine of his gun, and was still clicking the trigger when the fog regenerated into the phantom standing before him.

“Cool it. You goin’ wake the neighbors.” Bill Jones said, prying the gun from his hand and tossing it aside.

           He picked up Mr. Black by the collar of his shirt and dropped him onto the wheelbarrow.

“Goddamn it!” Mr. Black cried out.

“He sure as shit ain’t lettin’ you in.” Bill Jones said. “But you can tell the devil who sent ya.”

6

“Get on up miss. Got business to settle.” Bill Jones said in the doorway.

           Elena winced as she stood up. She whimpered in pain and was covered in cold sweat after a few steps.

“You got stitches, so walk it off miss.” Bill Jones said.

           Elena gasped at the sight before her in the front yard. Mr. Black was standing on top of the wheelbarrow. His right leg was taking all the weight while his left was disfigured from being shot and his duel with the alligator. Wrapped around his neck was a rope. One shove of the wheelbarrow, and he was a goner.

“Anything y’all want to say before his sentence is carried out?” Bill Jones asked.

“Please don’t do this.” Elena said.

“A sentence on this land cannot be revoked.” Bill Jones replied.

“When he disappears, you’ll get the needle for my death. And I’ll haunt you every day until then, you little dipshit.” Mr. Black said to her with a grin. “And ghosts do exist, just ask your friend before he hangs me.”

           The moon shone through the oak trees, and the light only revealed two shadows instead of three. Elena looked up at Bill and her nerves went numb as a corpse. Those black eyes were not human.

           She yelped when she felt something cold touch her. Elena quickly whirled around. There were several familiar faces standing there, who once went to the same high school as her. The last time she saw them were on missing posters hung throughout the school.

“They’ve all been buried out here by this sum of bitch. Pollutin’ the land of the Jones family.” Bill Jones said, looking up at Mr. Black. “Now ye shall pay.” He said and shoved the wheelbarrow out from beneath him.

           Elena quickly pressed her hands over her ears when Mr. Black’s neck snapped. She didn’t bother looking up at him to confirm his death.

7

           They were all watching her now. Elena’s skin went pale as the moonlight and a frightened moan escaped her mouth, along with tears from her eyes.

“Bout’ time you went on your way miss. This land ain’t for the living.” Bill Jones said, making her body shudder.

           It may have been summer, but the air felt like it dropped well below freezing. The alligator sauntered toward her, rousing a startled gasp out of her. It followed as she limped through the woods until making it back to the road. In the grass it watched her, ensuring she would never return. Thunder rumbled, and rain began to pour down as she stood in the middle of the road, watching a trail of red and blue lights heading her way.