Mr Highway is Thinking About The End

It was night by the time Charlie’s car broke down. He was driving for more than seven hours before his dilapidated little Peugeot finally broke down by the side of the road in Scotland.

‘Shit! Fucking, shit!’ He wacked the dashboard several times before slumping back in his seat.

‘Seriously, why? Why is this happening to me? Why do you always make things happen to me?!’ He sighed and stared at the roof, trying to collect his thoughts. He tried to remember the last town he’d passed, but found his recollection of the past few hours were blurred. How he’d made it to Scotland in the first place he wasn’t entirely certain. All he remembered was this sense that if he got far enough away, things might make sense. They did not.

Charlie checked the time on his phone. Long past midnight. No missed calls. A couple of texts. No group-chat messages. He was kicked out of most of the group chats. He read the first text: “You really messed up. Best keep your distance for a while (Disappointed face emoji).” He read the second text: “I don’t want to see you right now. I need space (Angry face angry face angry face!)”

‘Yeah, no shit Olivia.’ He mumbled, swiping away the texts. He opened Google Maps on his phone and looked up the closest town. One hour by car, six hours on foot. He zoomed out. Damn! He’d driven close to the Scottish north coast. These were the real highlands, no one around for miles, and surrounded by mountains and valleys. No signal or data out here. He was on emergency calls only. Well, this wasn’t exactly an emergency. Yet.

Through his car window, he couldn’t make out much, but he knew he was high up in the valley and to his left lay a vast swathe of nothingness. Pure wilderness. He sighed. Nothing to do but sit in the car until morning, when he’d walk to the nearest town, ask for help, and find a place to stay. Somehow, he’d find a way back. But why? Why did he need to get back? He’d lost his job, his friends, his girlfriend, and with her his flat. Even his family moved away to New Zealand last year. He didn’t even have them. He sighed again, trying to dislodge the immense weight that settled itself against his chest and held him there.

He got out of the car. The night was cold, dark and still, no howling winds, just stillness. He walked out to the side of the verge that separated the road from a drop down into the valley below. And sighed again. His eyes were adjusting to the dark now, and he saw in the distance vast hills and mountains that loomed above like giants. He became unnerved, waiting for one of them to shrug its shoulders and walk away. When they did not, he just stared at them.

Eventually, he turned to look at where the road ahead curved around to the left. A man was watching him from the curve. Charlie felt his insides curl up, as a sense of dread overcame him. He was alone, in the dark, miles from anywhere, and a stranger was watching him.

Wait, no… not watching him. He was looking out over the same view as Charlie. It was dark, but he could tell his head was not turned towards him. Even so, Charlie was too afraid to move and stood there for a few more minutes before he even dared raise a hand in greeting. The man did not respond but kept looking out over the abyss.

‘Hey!’ Charlie finally managed. The man did not turn to look at him, but raised a hand in greeting. The sense of dread was fading, replaced but a deep sense of unease. This man may not be an immediate threat, Charlie’s brain decided, but there was something odd about him. Then he realised he couldn’t see a car. This man was either dropped off here or was walking. Perhaps he needed help too? One foot in front of the other, Charlie made his way across to where the man stood.

‘What’s your name?’ They were less than ten metres from each other now. Charlie could make out that the man was wearing a raincoat and walking boots.

‘Mr Highway.’ His accent was not Scottish. In fact, Charlie wasn’t sure he could tell what type of accent it was.

‘Okay, uhmm… I’m Charlie. What are you doing out here?’

‘Contemplating the end.’ He said.

Charlie’s sense of unease turned to fear again. ‘Uhh…’ Was all he managed as he took a couple of steps back.

‘Oh, don’t worry. I’m just a traveller.’ His voice was calm and level. ‘I mean neither you nor anyone else any harm. Not even myself. I just want to see everything.’

Charlie turned to look out at the dark valley again. ‘Okay, sure. Where have you travelled from?’

‘All over.’ Said Mr Highway. ‘Started off in America. Walked all the way down to the southern continent, then walked my way back up again. Walking from America to Russia, that was probably the toughest bit.’ He trailed off and resumed his staring. Charlie knew some people did this from TikTok and Instagram. People who set themselves the challenge of walking long distances across the world on foot. Some of them did it for years. He was beginning to get a picture of who this man was and why he would be up a Scottish mountain in the middle of the night. As he got closer, he saw the man was not clean-shaven and had the look of someone who’d spent months alone on the road.

‘How long do you stay in each place?’

‘Depends on the scenery, I suppose.’ Said Mr Highway with a shrug.

‘And Mr Highway, that’s… like your Instagram name, or something?’ Charlie was now close enough that he could have touched the man.

The man looked confused. ‘No, it’s my name. Haven’t always had this one. But it stuck around.’

Charlie felt more confused with each question. ‘So, how long have you been out walking?’

The man sucked in air through his teeth. ‘Must be getting onto about my second century now. Not so long, really. I do these little trips every now and then. But things started heating up two hundred years ago, so I figured it was time to take in some sights.’ The sense of dread and unease rose again as Charlie’s brain sent off alarm bells. He was struck by how close he’d gotten to the man and moved to take a few steps back.

The man’s arm darted out and grabbed Charlie’s arm. He tried to break free, but his grip was tight. As he struggled, his mind became awash with images: revolutionaries shouting as they charged at their oppressors; a quiet church and a woman praying in Spanish; a huge bear charging towards him in the woods; a Chinese man who looked as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks begging on the street; British soldiers marching to surround a market square; an open savannah with all types of creatures wandering by; a wall being pulled down as people cheered and clapped. The visions ended abruptly.

Charlie reeled away. His mouth hung open as he tried to formulate his thoughts into words.

‘Who are you?’

‘I told you; I’m Mr Highway.’ He put his hands in his pockets and looked out over the highlands again. ‘And I’m thinking about the end.’

‘Okay.’ Charlie was not sure whether to laugh, cry or run. He might do all three. ‘And what is: The End?’

Mr Highway shrugged. ‘I don’t actually know. Not sure when, where or what it will be. But it will come. I’m not the one who brings it, if that’s what you’re thinking. I merely supervise. It would be nice if management could give me an idea of what I’m supervising, wouldn’t it? And once it’s done, I expect they’ll want me to help with the reconstruction.’

Charlie was still trying to make sense of everything he’d just seen. He’d witnessed almost two hundred years of history going past in a flash, from revolutions in South America to Siberian wilderness, and this man apparently lived through all of it. Yet his job, his mission, his journey, he didn’t know why he did any of it. He just existed to watch. Until the end.

‘But you haven’t got an idea of how things end? Do we destroy everything ourselves?’

‘I’m afraid I honestly don’t know. Perhaps we’re waiting for you lot to wrap things up yourselves, or perhaps we’ll intervene. But I know this: most people assume that the world ends in a flash of light or a loud explosion. Yet, that’s not how it will go. The world will end, not with a bang, but with a witty remark.’ He chuckled to himself. Charlie could not see why that would be even close to being funny.

‘But are you, like, God or the Devil or something?’

The man laughed again, louder. ‘My word, no. No, I’m no preacher or messiah. That’s not my department. I leave others to try and talk you lot into being more polite with each other. I’ve met quite a few of the ones who’ve tried. Honestly, I think they’re a little disappointed in how they did. Often, I think they need a larger team around them to ensure things don’t all fall apart once they leave. Not my area though. So I don’t judge. I just watch.’

He turned towards Charlie, who got a feeling as if some unknowable force was searching for him. ‘And you, Charlie. How are things going for you? Not well, I take it?’ They had never met before this night, yet Charlie felt as though he’d known this impossible, terrifying man had walked with him all through his life.

‘I’m alright, I…’ He trailed off. There was no point lying to him. He hung his head. ‘I’m a mess. I’ve lost everything. And everyone. I gambled it all away, even what wasn’t mine to gamble. I’ve hurt so many people, I don’t know how I’ll go back. I don’t have a home anymore. I’ve come this far because I couldn’t stay there and yet… and I don’t know what to do anymore.’ He sat down on the grass, a gentle breeze soothing him.

‘I just thought, you know? One more time, this time it’ll be legit, and I’ll be one of the people who win in life. I just wanted a win, you know? I just wanted a win. And now I’ve found out it’s all going to end anyway.’

Mr Highway bent down and looked at him with soft eyes devoid of judgment. ‘I know exactly what you mean, Charlie. You need something to get you back on your feet.’ Charlie nodded.

‘In that case, Charlie, would you like a job?’ Charlie stared at him. Of all that Mr Highway had said over the past few minutes, the idea that this man could offer him employment might just be the most bizarre.

‘I’ve been taking a lot of time off these past few centuries, but I need to get back to work soon. And I could use someone to help me. The pay is excellent, all expenses paid, and you’ll get to travel, but not too much if you don’t want to.’

Charlie blinked. ‘But, you’ve just told me all of this is pointless, that it’s all going to end anyway. What’s the point?’

‘Oh dear, I’ve been rather pessimistic, haven’t I? No, no, don’t worry about that. The end isn’t coming for a long time yet. Well relatively. You see, a few thousand years is a relatively short amount of time to me, but to your lot, that’s a lot of time to get things done.’

Charlie still did not understand. But as Mr Highway stared into his eyes, he felt instantly the dark and bleak feeling inside begin to lift. As if all the feelings of hopelessness that had just been weighing on him lifted all at once. He felt light, lighter than he had in years. As if all the worries of the world were lifted at once. Mr Highway witnessed some of the best and worst of everything life had to offer, and yet he kept going, kept wandering, just to see it all happen. Perhaps, Charlie thought, there was something he could learn from him.

‘Sure.’ He said. ‘Why the hell not?’

‘Oh, don’t worry about that, we don’t work with Hell in our department. Just remember this: things are fragile in life. But don’t spend all your time thinking about the end. Leave that to me. You’ve got a long and successful career ahead of you, Charlie, I do know that. Who knows, maybe you’ll become a traveller yourself one day.’

It was midday in spring when Cole’s car came to a stop on the roadside. ‘Oh shit.’ He swore. He should never have ignored those engine warning lights.

He got out of the car and took a look around. The scenery was stunning: a wide-open valley, with mountains that stretched on as far as his eyes could see. There was something on the road just ahead of him, like a small structure barely taller than his shins. As he walked up, he found a small collection of rocks that were evidently stacked there deliberately.

On top of the small structure was a book. It was a weathered and beaten-looking old thing, but he could still make out the writing on the front cover: Mr Highway and his Contemplations on The End, and the Beginning.