The Road Home by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 13

After spending twenty minutes on the phone, Maya informed Dave’s parents of the accident that had taken their son’s life. Joining them in their grief, she stayed on the phone for as long as they were able. Continuing in their sorrow, Dave’s parents had become too exhausted to stay on the phone, and thanking Maya for doing what many could not, they hung up. The conversation was so painful that it would stay with her for weeks. But at some point, her studies would push it to the back of her mind and she would eventually be able to get on with her life.

Walking back out to the living room, she found her friends standing at the windows, staring out at the scene that continued to unfold. Dave’s body had been removed and, disappearing into an ambulance, was whisked away to the local hospital. But something else was transpiring in the street below and in spite of how long the five roommates watched, they were unable to understand what was happening. However, Eli was suddenly struck with a feeling that left him suspicious as police and firefighters removed the corpse from the car that Dave had been examining. In spite of being covered by a tarp, Eli noticed a hand that had slipped out from under the heavy yellow covering. His eyes widened as the suspicion within him grew stronger. “Guys,” he began. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

Nathan turned towards him and with the mind of a journalist pressed him for more information. “What do you mean, a bad feeling?” he asked. “What are you talking about?”

Eli was vaguely familiar with what he had only caught a glimpse of—perhaps it was something he had read about or seen on television. But it, nonetheless, left a dramatic impression on him. “I’m not sure,” he replied. “But there’s just something about it that scares the shit out of me. I just wish I could remember.”

The next morning found them preparing for class. Although they were in no condition to focus on lectures and reading, they knew that missing classes could result in being dropped. So pushing forward, they again carpooled to the campus and, driving onto the usual access road, found a parking spot close to the edge of the lot. Stepping out, they retrieved their day packs and walked the short distance to the campus. Finding it usually quiet, the group came to the belief that they may be late for class and began rushing to arrive on time. Arriving at their respective classes, each noticed a significant lack of attendance and inquired to other students about it. No one could offer an explanation. Even the instructors were at a loss for why so many students were missing. It was suggested that the flu might be especially virulent that year, and it was best that any infected students should stay home without the repercussions of being dropped from class. Everyone seemed to be satisfied with this rationale except Eli. He had heard the same explanation, but his suspicion remained that this was not the flu, but something far more serious.

Due to the fear of further exposure, classes ended early--but not before each professor was handed a note, written by the president of the college. It had been determined that classes would be suspended until further notice and all students were to leave immediately. To the ears of young students, this was heard as something ominous and imaginations ran wild with apocalyptic ideas. Of course, there were those who didn’t seem to be taking the notice seriously and saw the suspension as a vacation, so long as their grades were not affected. Rushing to their cars, those caught up in the panic of what felt like an evacuation hurried out of the parking lots, snarling traffic moving in from outside the city. Tempers flared as doors opened and voices rose in frustration. In one car, Maya kept a cool head, refusing to pull out into the access road. Everyone wanted to go home, but not at the expense of their sanity or the risk of someone getting hurt. Unfortunately, there was no other exit from the parking lot, and the roommates would have to wait for traffic to clear. The police soon arrived and after an hour, the streets were far from clear. Between both cars, everyone was becoming increasingly frustrated, and Maya had grown tired of waiting.

“God dammit,” she began. “Fuck this, there’s got to be another way out of here.”

With only one access road, she got out, and walking back to the second car offered a course of action. Jackson was in the driver’s seat and with a devious smile agreed. Getting back in the car, she announced her intention and suggested that everyone buckle up.

“I’ll probably get my hand slapped for this, but I really want to get the fuck out of here.” Backing up, Maya turned sharply and drove over the curb. Once the car was on the grass, she pushed the gas pedal and hastily proceeded across the grass in spite of the many signs that read ‘keep off the grass’. In her rush to get off the campus, both she and Jackson ran over several such signs, pressing them into the ground.

“Whoopsie,” she said. In Maya’s mind, almost anything could be seen through the eyes of humor, even vandalism to some extent. “Oh, that really sucks.”

The car filled with laughter as the others found her comments equally amusing. Looking in the rearview mirror, she saw Jackson with a broad smile, as if he had stepped back to the age of twelve when an act of vandalism was nothing more than recreation.

Within minutes, both cars reached the back access road but found that the exodus of students had also tangled traffic. The most talented Boy Scout could never unknot the chaotic interweaving of steel that lay stretched for several blocks in each direction. With frustration catapulting into anger, Maya stopped and, getting out, walked back to Jackson.

“This is fucking insane,” she said. “Is there any other way out of this place?”

After a moment’s thought, Jackson suggested they avoid the access road and drive across the campus to the maintenance road.

“Great idea,” she said. “Remind me to give you a blow job later.”

Jackson knew she wasn’t serious, but couldn’t help fantasizing about it as he watched her walk away. Moments later, they turned away from the access road and driving towards the maintenance building turned onto a single unpaved lane. To Maya’s surprise, it was free of traffic, allowing them to bear right and drive away from the campus, avoiding the tie-up pointed towards the city.