The child stares out of the window of the old '63 Dodge. He is sleepy and his mind is a blur. He looks over at his father, who is glowing with the sickly, pale green light of the dashboard. His father is as stone save for the steady flexing of his jaw muscle. His eyes are bloodshot from lack of sleep. The boy cannot remember how long they have been driving. He drifts into a dream.
      He dreams of a beautiful lady in white. Her head is graced by a fine golden halo of hair. She is sitting at her vanity, delicately putting on makeup. He sees his father run his fingers ever so delicately through her hair as he kisses her. They see him watching and they grab him and begin to smother him with kisses and hugs and...his mother's head turns red. She looks at him and as red liquid pours out of her mouth, she says, "RUN, TODD! RUN!"
      The boy awakes. He looks at his father. His father looks at him and then focuses on the road.
      "Hey! You okay, Sport?" The boy nods his head automatically. "Good. We're gonna be all right." He notices that his father's left hand is gripped tightly on the steering wheel. He follows his father's right arm and sees that it ends in a blur. He squints, but the hand is unrecognizable. He turns his attention back to the black snake of highway that stretches into the night. The steady drone of the Dodge's tires on the scales of the snake-like highway trigger another memory.
      He is watching TV. Wiley Coyote is chasing the Roadrunner and falls off a cliff. The coyote drops from the cliff, falls a terrific distance and becomes a wonderful, dust cloud -- poof! -- on the desert floor. The child laughs hysterically. All of a sudden the TV is drowned out by the sound of his parents arguing. He cannot make out what they are saying. It is like his dad has told him many times:
      "When me and Mommy are talking, you shut up! It's tall talk and none of your business!"
      He feels the spot where his dad hit him after that talk and the thought makes him wince. He places the couch cushions over his ears and edges closer to the TV to hear. He feels something wet on his hand and releases the cushion to examine it. A red liquid drips from his hand. He opens his mouth to scream and discovers he is in the car.
      He looks over at his father again. His father looks over at him and sneers, raising his right hand. The boy notices the object in his father's hand is long and curved. Yet it still is hidden behind a veil of mist.
      "What's wrong, sport? Bad dream? You just get those dreams out of your head, boy. Get sleeping. We have a long drive ahead." The child closes his eyes and reenters his living room.
      His parents' fighting has entered the room now. He sees that his mother's face is bleeding in several different places. His father is holding the object in his hand. The boy begins to cry. His mother's screams for help ring in his mind. His father roars with an animal-like rage and lifts the object over his head. The child's eyes widen. His father brings the object down and it strikes with a horrific thud on his mother's shoulder. She screams in agony and tries to run, but the shock of the blow sends her reeling to the floor.
      The young boy stands there in shock, not aware of the yellow pool of hot liquid forming at his feet. His father's face has taken on that of some monster. The monster raises the object again.
      Young Todd screams.
      He is in the Dodge again. The monster is saying things to him, but all he can hear is the sickening crunch of the crowbar as it crushes his mother's golden head. In his eyes he can see only the way her once life-filled body now lies slumped over like a broken porcelain doll. He can see the gray carpet, which his mother had insisted he not stain, turn dark red.
      The boy grabs hold of the door handle and pulls. The snake rears up and consumes him. The monster squeals the car to a stop and runs to find his child. He takes the little body into his arms and shakes it pleadingly.
      His father holds the lifeless body of his son as he drives. Ahead, a sharp curve in the highway is marked with a large yellow reflective arrow sign. He steps on the accelerator pedal. As the car crashes through the sign and into space, he holds the body of his son to his chest.

© CouncilWolf - June 14, 1998 as The Highway
Revised August 1, 1999