Interval

The black van sat at the side of the long single-track road. The two men in the front seat were busy staring out the main window. An acqusation-filled silence passed between the two men. The driver, a tall black man, with dread-locks and a once-colourfull hat was resting his feet either side of the steering wheel. His passenger, a man dressed in black as a fasion statement, was turning the road map round and round in his hand.

“It’s simply not there” said the man in black.

“Uh huh”. the driver replied, the tinest hint of an accent hidden in his voice.

“How can we be on a road that isn’t on a map, having come off a road that isn’t on the map, and isn’t there when we go back to find it.”

“You act surprised. Like this was the first time things didn’t make sense.”

The noise of chains being pulled over the floor came from the back of the man, and a soft thud of a fist against a wall. The men glanced at each other, their argument forgotten.The driver took the map, and turned it in his hands. Eyes looking for something that might give them a clue as to what had happened.

“You know, man, perhaps were looking at this the wrong way. Perhaps dis isn’t all about what isn’t dere, but what we tink should be dere. ”

“I’m not following”

“Per’aps what we is not seeing, is the fact that were not where we tink we are.”

“I could have told you that. If we knew where we were we wouldn’t be lost. ”

“Nah, chill man. Per’aps what we’re missin’ is dat dere is no where for us to be. Per’aps for de first time in ages all we got to do is to chill ‘n’ drive. Put on some tunes and enjoy.”

The man in black raised an eyebrow. The soft clanking of a chain punctuating the silence. The man looked over his shoulder, knowing that he couldn’t see anything, just the metal panel that separated the front from the back. “Relax huh?”

The driver watched the shadow pass over his companions face. The man in black, James, hadn’t been off-duty since they met. “You should at least catch some shut-eye. It ain’t like we’re goin’ to get there for another few hours.” James nodded, and opened his door, and stepped out of the black van. He pulled open the side door to reveal a thick black curtain set a little bit back from the door. He stood in the space between the door and the curtain and the door, and slide the door closed behind him. The only light beyond the curtain was provided by a tiny yellow led light. Just enough to illuminate the bundle of blankets in the corner. Around it was a white line, glowing with faint-green illuminessence, and the far side of that line was a bed, placed as close to the white line as possible. James lay down in it and stared at the pile of blankets, his eyes picking out the dull glint of of the chains running from the pile to the re-enforced metal sides. The pile moved agitatedly, and a tear roled down his cheek. “It’s okay baby, it’s going to be okay. I’m going to make it better. Just like I promsied.” The pile murmed softly, and curled up smaller. There was a soft lurch as the van began moving again, and the muffled sounds of reggae comming from the cab.

James wanted so much to reach out his hand, to give some comfort, to try to explain what was going on. Yet what could you say? After all this time searching, they were no closer. They knew more, but no closer. It seemed like they couldn’t catch a break, like the odds were stacked against them. They were just two people in the wrong place, at the wrong time. He thought about Marcus, their strange driver. He had some beef of his own, his own reasons for being on this insane road trip. He hoped that there was some answers somewhere, some light at the end of the tunnel that wasn’t an on-comming train. The bundle murmmered softly. James couldn’t hold the tears back any more. He’d been holding them back for far too long. He sobbed quietly, and then it was like the flood-gates had been opened, and he burried his face into his pillow and cried.

Marcus tilted his head at the quiet sobs comming through the wall. He nodded grimly to himself, and glanced upwards. The dirt round rounded a corner, and joined an empty high-way. Marcus slid the van onto it, and began the long drive south.

~BlackXanthus