A road through the hinterlands. You're not going back yet, not after that argument. So you keep driving. But the hours are getting long now. A service station looms out of the pines. You pull up. Coffee would be good right now. You park. Lock the car. Go up to the cafe. The lights are on. The door opens. But nobody is home. You check the counter. Clear your throat and say 'Hello?' Back outside. You walk to the petrol station. No on behind the till there either. Strange. The rumble of a car engine. Weird, because you haven't seen any cars for a while now. Your heart sinks when you see the back of your black sedan pulling out onto the road. You run to catch up. You yell. But by the time you get to the road it is long gone. Then, looking back at the car park, you see your car is where you parked it. Relief floods you. A moment of panic, that was all. There must be millions of black sedans. You get in. Turn the key. Time to leave this strange place. Maybe they're struggling to staff. You pull out onto the road. As you do you hear a noise. A muffled yell, maybe. But more likely just a grumble of your engine. You pull away, back down the road. You start to wonder how long you've been on the road now. Up ahead, a service station looms out of the pines.
Paddy Dobson
25th July 2021