Desert Drive

Desert Drive “I can’t believe we’re arguing over this, if you had just listened to the directions we wouldn’t be lost!” Sally said in anger. Jeffrey took a deep breath, “Sally I told you, I know where I’m going,” 

“How do you know where, we are Jeffery? We have been driving to Las Vegas all day, it’s now night time in the desert and we can see a damn thing!” Sally screamed now feel stuck and out of breath. “Don’t worry about it, I’ve taken this trip like five times through childhood,” Jeffery said gritting his teeth. 

“That explains everything,” Sally said sarcastically. “I promise, I can get us there,” Jeffery said smugly. “Well wake me up when we get there or you finally came to your senses and stop for the night,” Sally said, while she started to close her eyes. 

Sally drifted off to sleep for maybe thirty minutes before she was awoken by Jeffery’s scream, the car breaks screeching, and a loud thud. “Jeffery what is it?” She said sounding groggy. “Oh god oh god oh good,” Jeffery said now panicking. This forced Sally to wake up quicker, “What, what?” She said shaking his shirt. 

Jeffery was silent, Sally than looked ahead and saw red goo all over the windshield. They were both speechless for what felt like hours, but was only seconds. The two of them were clearly traumatized, and both felt frozen solid. “Was it a deer?” Sally said nervously. “Sally, we’re in the desert I don’t know what it was,” Jeffery said with a blank stare on his face. 

The two of them look out the rear window almost in unison. What they saw behind them was no definite no deer. Whatever it was had a lengthy skinny body, and radiated some sort of light. Sally audibly gulped, “Is that a a person Jeffery,” Sally questioned sounding even more terrified. “Should we get out, and look together?” Jeffery asked. 

“You hit whatever that is, not me,” Sally said. Jeffery sighed, and got out of the car. He left the driver side door open, and the car was now making an annoying beeping noise. “Forget it,” Sally said, and decided to join Jeffery. 

Jeffery was already standing next to the body when she arrived, and he stood with his mouth dangling open. Sally’s eyes slowly panned down to the body, it was just a scruffy looking mid aged man. The man’s skin clear was a pinkish red with patches of dead skin peeling away. “What was he doing out here?” Sally asked. “I have no idea, but here’s what the light was,” Jeffery said now moving a flashlight away from the man’s body. 

“God Jeffery, what do we do?” Sally asked. Jeffery pulled out his phone to call 9-11. “No bar,” he said with disappointment. “Alright, listen to me,” Sally said. Jeffery looked at her, and it seemed within a matter of minutes she turned into a completely different person. Sally’s hair looked as if she had been electrocuted, and the bags under her eyes were giant. 

“We put his body in the back of the car, and we bury him in the desert,” she said. Jeffery could not believe what he just heard, “Sally what?” He said with bulging eyes. “We have both been working so much, and we’re really looking forward to this vacation,” she said with now little short winded. 

Jeffery looked down at the body, and back up right into Sally’s big brown eyes. “Ok,” he said. Sally had not expected for Jeffery to agree, but knew not to question it. “I will take the legs if you grab his arms,” Jeffery said now walking toward the bottom half of the stranger. 

Sally made her way to the top half, and glanced down at the man’s face. He was at least forty years old, big bushy grey beard, hair to his shoulders, balding in the back, and bloodied from the impact. For a moment Sally thought she was going to lose her dinner, but find a way to hold it in. 

“On the count of three we are going to lift him up together,” Jeffery said. There was no verbal response from Sally on a head nod which Jeffery could barely make out due to the desert darkness. “One, two, three,” he called out. The man’s body was surprisingly light and neither had a hard time with their end of the body. 

After getting all the way to the trunk of the SUV the two gently set the body down on the black pavement. Jeffery open the trunk of their SUV, and push some luggage out of the way. “On three we lift again,” he said. This time was no different than last the old man’s body slide into the trunk with ease. The couple got back into the front of the car, and began to drive off.

The only sounds that were made for the next thirty mintues were of the tires gliding on the black pavement, and slight movement of the body being slung around in the back. The two were not sure why, but the surrounding noises made them feel calm and relaxed. Even though they had clearly just killed a man, and were on their way to bury his body. 

Jeffery was still in the driver seats even though his eyes were now very heavy. “Hey sally can we trade off in getting pretty tired,” he said looking over at Sally. Jeffery noticed her eyes were already closed, and her snoring soon became audible. Jeffery knew he had to have some energy, he reached in the back for a cooler they had stocked with water, soda, and energy drinks. 

Jeffery felt around for the energy drink, and for a moment he thought his fingers meet another set of fingers wiggling around in the cooler. This gave him a volt even an energy drink would not. He decided to not dig around anymore or look in the review mirror. Jeffery’s arm hair started to stand up, and his skin was now covered in goosebumps. 

“Hey Sally wake up,” he said with some boom to his voice. “Leave me alone I’m dreaming,” she replied in a slurred voice. “Sally wake up, I think something is going on,” he said a little louder now shaking her and taking his eyes off the road. “What, what,” she said now starting to open her eyes. 

As Jeffery redirected his vision back to the road, he had to react fast. Jeffery slammed on the breaks, and heard the body in the back roll around. Sally had hit her head on the dashboard due to unbuckling her seat belt when going to sleep. “Ow what the hell!” She cried in anger and pain. Jeffery was silent, Sally then looked up into the night to see the lights as well. 

“Wha wha what are those,” Jeffery stuttered. Sally was speechless, and could not respond. In front of them were about twenty men standing in the road all with flashlights pointed in the couple’s direction. “Oh god,” Sally said now deep in her mind what they are, and what they are there for. 

The couple suddenly began to hear the old man moving around, and moaning the back. There were a couple times the couple looked front and back, going from the now not dead old man to the lights in front of them. The lights were moving closer to the car every second. 

“We have to get out!” Jeffery screamed. While the couple was trying to exist the vehicle they heard the men with lights laughing and mocking them “Oh look at that them go!” A man called. “There legs won’t be moving around much longer!” Another called out. Once the couple was from free the car there relief washed over jeffery. What Jeffery did not know was that relief would be short lived. 

Within a matter of seconds the twenty men with flashlights quickly swarmed upon them like a pack of hyenas. The men devoured the couple like a buffet, one man bit Jeffery’s lip which began to slowly bleed out. Another went for Jeffery’s rib cage, leaving Jeffery winded as a rib broke and punctured his lung. Other men turned their attention on Sally who was shrieking as the men were bitting her ears, and licking the blood that oozed out. 

The finishing blow for Sally had been several of the men chopping down on her throat, complete collapsing her windpipe. Soon after the meal was done the old man the couple hit came around to the front of the car. “Told you boys I’d get us food,” the old man said with a wink. “Now let’s get this hunk of junk out of here!” The old man said, and in unison the pack of men made humanized howling.