the empty road - 40. the end

by bofa xesjum

part forty of forty

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john prester fell asleep at the wheel, and delilah ran off the road and down a bank and flipped over. when john woke up he could not move and did not know who he was or what he was. it was between three and four o'clock in the morning and the sky was filled with threatening clouds. where are the highway patrol now when you need them, john might have thought but did not. he was riding through the same night he always had. looking for something to look for. he wanted to be a strange man, because that was who he wanted to be. to have men point at him and say, brother, there goes a strange man. to have women whisper to each other about him in their mink coats walking down the gangplank of the haunted house in malibu or marseille. smoking a cigarette in a holder like the king of greece. no orchestra - just a gypsy to toss a coin to. a gold coin from the tomb of a pharoah. whom he had been in a previous life. i am afraid it is closing time. yes, even for you, my lord. the good times are over. how quickly, how quickly. they went by. good night. night. the end

the empty road - 39. the plain

by bofa xesjum

part thirty-nine of forty

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the creature ran and ran and ran across the plain, chased by another creature about three times bigger than itself.. the creature was fast, and the bigger creature was equally fast, but might tire quicker , the smaller creature hoped. they ran and ran, kicking up dust, past rocks, and past shrubs that might be good to eat. but the big creature was not the least bit interested in stopping to eat the tasty shrubs. the smaller creature had no choice but to hope the bigger one got tired and quit. suddenly another, even larger creature appeared from behind a large rock - all three creatures froze. the third creature snarled at the first larger creature, apparently ignoring the small creature. this is my chance, the small creature thought, and he ran off sideways. the small creature did not look back , and gave it his all. he ran and ran until he dropped on to the sand. because that was all there was - sand and more sand . where am i, it thought sadly, , as night fell. it could see nothing to eat in sight. it had escaped the large hungry creatures. who might return at any instant. only to die of hunger? it was not fair. and getting cold. very cold. cold. next

the empty road - 38. the king

by bofa xesjum

part thirty-eight of forty

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gilgamesh was born with a kingdom of his own to rule, but, strangely enough, he did not like it much. i would give up my kingdom to be free, he told his friend bud as they watched the sunset. i do not see that as a problem, bud replied, your brother bill would happily take your place. do you really think so, gilgamesh cried, let us see if bill is willing to do so. bill proved quite amebable, and gilgamesh and bud set out on their travels the next day. on the second day they met a girl named sal, and she bewitched them both. she belongs to me, gilgamesh told bud, do not forget that i am king. you are king no longer, my friend, bud retorted, and she likes me. enraged , gilgamesh picked up a rock and bashed poor bud's head in. so now i am all yours, sal whispered huskily to gilgamesh. a cloud passed over the waning moon, and gilgamesh wept. get away from me, you evil creature, gilgamesh cried. you have made me kill my best friend. i thought you liked me, sal expostulated. gilgamesh turned away and left her. he headed down the road. the long empty road. to his destiny. without bud. alone. next

the empty road - 37. the trail

by bofa xesjum

part thirty-seven of forty

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despite the best efforts of highway patrolmen, a few wandering souls continue to walk the roads of this great land. such a one was jeremiah jackson jones, who thought of himself as the last of the truly free men. jeremiah had no memories, only dreams and stories, and his appearance counted severely against him with the authorities. true to his roots, he had a new dream every night, and a new story every day. on monday, if it rained, he was born on a distant planet in a distant galaxy. on tuesday, if it was sunny, his father was the richest man in the world. wednesday, rain or shine, he was born to be hanged under a bad sign. and on thursday, if he had a drink, he forgot who he was. on all seven days he wandered from road to town to road. leaving behind a trail of broken dreams and empty wine bottles. he guessed he washed his clothes in a muddy stream. the last of the truly free men, yes sir. but all good things come to an end. all bad things, and bad men, too. on a midnight railroad track between - between somewhere and somewhere else - can you hear it? right behind you. at last. free. next

the empty road - 36. the sky

by bofa xesjum

part thirty-six of forty

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standing outside the kentucky fried chicken store, sheriff pete poole suddenly realized he had no idea what he was doing. he did not know who the man in the store had been, and had no reason to chase him. much as pete despised the new crop of self-styled crime fighters, what had the man said or done? i guess i must have been letting my imagination run away with me, pete thought somewhat disconsolately. with a sigh, he got back in his car, and sat there looking out the window. there was nothing much to see - just the mcdonalds and the street and the sky. pete sat there for a few more minutes, contemplating the street and the sky. and they did not change -, they just stayed exactly the way they were. finally, pete started the patrol car, and pulled out onto the street. pete was neither young nor real old, or fat or thin. but he was in more or less reasonably good shape. he wished his life was a little more exciting. but then, so do a lot of people. maybe they all watch too much television. that could be the reason why. it is just a thought. i have these thoughts. how about you? do you? thoughts. next

the empty road - 35. the world

by bofa xesjum

part thirty-five of forty

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the name of the colonel sanders afternoon girl was barrie and she did not consider herself to be particularly unfriendly. she just did not much care to make pointless conversation with old men like john prester or pete poole. after john and pete had both left, barrie returned to her thoughts, which they had so rudely interrupted. murderous thoughts of samantha sinclair, the richest and most popular - and supposedly the prettiest - girl in town. if poor barrie had belonged to her grandmother's generation, she might have had dreams of escape. but, unfortunately for her, she was stuck in the modern world, with nowhere to go. she could work at colonel sanders in minneapolis, or paris france or abu dhabi. where she could watch the exact same videos on tik tok or youtube. maybe you are one of those people who do not even care. because you see this is what the world has come to. i apologize for the unnecessary digression, it won't happen again. i just get carried away sometimes, it's my way. anyway, barrie was left alone with her thoughts. some people might not call them thoughts. but what do they know, huh? another customer finally came in. he looked at barrie. opened his mouth. closed it. hesitated. next

the empty road - 34. the usual

by bofa xesjum

part thirty-four of forty

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pete poole was getting mighty sick and tired of these characters filling up the countryside in their trucks and campers. calling themselves wandering righters of wrongs and getting themselves in the way of real officially authorized lawmen like pete. that fellow who just hurried out of pete's favorite kentucky fried chicken place - was he one of them? at first glance he had not aroused pete's suspicions, but on second thought he just might be - blueberry pie, eh, was that all he wanted?, pete asked the little girl behind the counter. that was all he said he wanted, the girl replied, i couldn't read his mind. this was the afternoon girl, she was not very friendly, not to pete anyway. pete much preferred the morning girl, gloria jean, who always wore a smile. well then, i guess i will just have my usual, pete said. the girl handed him a paper bag which she had ready. it contained three legs and two breasts and a roll. you want coffee with that? the girl asked pete. sometimes pete had coffee, sometimes he did not. like most people, he had his routine. no coffee this afternoon, pete smiled. the girl did not smile. but she never did. unfriendly little cuss. pete left. determined. next

the empty road - 33. the badge

by bofa xesjum

part thirty-three of forty

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you are a strange girl, john says, telling people you don’t even know to their face that they are liars. not half as strange as people who come into a store and start spouting ridiculous nonsense like insane creeps. i am not a creep, i am a dedicated fighter for the forgotten forces of justice and decency. i see, so is that what you are, why didn’t you just say so to begin with? the door opens behind john and an ordinary looking man wearing a cowboy hat walks in. he does not wear a badge, but john thinks he might be a law officer. can i help you, sir, the girl says to the law officer looking man. the girl does not act as if she knows the man, john thinks. john finds himself back behind the wheel of delilah, wondering what happened. whatever it was, it did go the way he had dreamed. back on the highway again, he takes a deep breath. i have to be more careful, much more careful. that fellow sure was in an awful hurry. we just didn't have what he wanted. and what might that have been? some kind of blueberry pie. made with special blueberries. people are strange. he was. whatever. next

the empty road - 32. the girl

by bofa xesjum

part thirty-two of forty

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the little girl with the ponytail stares long and hard at john prester from behind the counter, sizing him up. like wyatt earp sizing up billy the kid when he pushes through the door of the last chance saloon. we get a lot of people in here, she finally says, i suppose most of them have friends. that is a very intelligent observation, john prester counters brightly, you must be an intelligent young woman how about you and your friend, how intelligent are you? she shoots back, apparently enjoying herself. don't you want to know what my friend looked like? john replies with a laugh. was he wearing a dodgers cap snd a t-shirt saying don't tread on me? that does not sound like tommy - that's his name - tommy., john prester laughs. this is not going as smoothly as it might, john thinks ruefully. then what was he wearing, the girl persists - this tommy person. i do not know, i didn't see him this morning. i just know he headed this way, john adds. the girl stares at john without saying anything.. do you want to buy something, mister? oh, i have to buy something? you don't have any friend. how do you know? i just do, john laughs uncertainly. next

the empty road - 31. the excitement

by bofa xesjum

part thirty-one of forty

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here looks like some excitement outside, carlene johnson said, looking out the window of the mcdonalds into the parking lot. you and your excitement, her daughter marlene replied, there is no excitement outside, so just drink your smoothie, please. there is always excitement, carlene responded calmly, you have to know where to look for it, that's all. this is really very nice and cold, said marlene, sipping her strawberry smoothie, you should drink yours . carlene kept looking out the window, there are two police cars out there now, she said. they are probably just coming in here for a protein fix, the way they do. no, they are parked on the highway, it looks like some real excitement now. marlene sighed mildly and made no reply, and continued to sip her smoothie. carlene had led an uneventful life, as most people do these days. she had worked in a small insurance agency and raised marlene. the apple did not fall very far from the tree. marlene was content to also lead a quiet life. she married blll brackett, a barbecue grill salesmsan. actually, bill called himself a marketing representative. marlene did not see the difference. but she never said so. that was her way. just her way. agreeable marlene. always. next

the empty road - 30. the highway

by bofa xesjum

part thirty of forty

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escape. nobody following. down the highway. into this great land. on the road to adventure. i must be patient, john thinks. be patient, and the adventures will come. he drives for miles, and miles, and miles. no hitchhikers - he had thought there would be some. morning turns to afternoon, and afternoon to night and darkness. john gets off the road just to get off the road. he is in a small town in ohio or maybe west virginia . he does not see any small diners like he has seen in movies. just a mcdonalds , a burger king, an arby's roast beef, and a colonel sanders. he has always been a mcdonalds person, but on impulse parks outside the colonel sanders. he has a feeing that this nothing in his life will ever be the same again. but at first glance the colonel sanders is empty - no customers and nobody standing behind the counter. a small teenaged girl, whose ponytailed head barely rises above the counter, appears and looks at him impassively. suddenly john has a flash of inspiration - he will create his own adventure - and see where it leads him. i am looking for a friend of mine, john says, i think he passed this way a few hours ago. next