Doomed Planet- Chapter one- part two

Not only was he late for his vacation, he’d nearly died, and he hadn’t even left the city yet. This was not a good day. But it could have been worse, he reminded himself as he gazed upon the seemingly endless maze of smoking cars. At least the car is still in one piece. At least HE was still in one piece. He sighed and resumed whacking his head against the dash. This is going to be a looooong weekend, he thought. He had no idea.

A punctuated snap brought him back to awareness. He looked around for the cause of such a strange noise, but he couldn’t see anything that could have possibly made it. He brought his left hand to his forehead in a sign of confusion…and realized that he had somehow managed to pull it free from the duffle bag. He examined it for cuts or bruises, but except for a few teeth indent, his hand was whole. He glared at the offending canvas sack and schemed of a way to obtain his CD’s from within. He poked it with a pen he had procured from some mysterious place (most likely the ash tray) to see if the zipper would snap shut, but the metal teeth were crooked and misplaced and could not shut, with an air of caution he reached toward the bag, grabbed both sides, and pulled until the zipper snapped completely apart. Then he reached into the dark interior and rummaged among the work-out clothes and month-old Ziploc containers until his fingers closed around the smooth plastic disc that was his CD case. “I got them!” he yelled in triumph. He raised his fist in a show of testosterone-filled victory, knocking Madonna’s Sex book down from the overhead storage. It hit him in the back of his head and he fainted onto the grey cotton-weave covered in grease stains.

He woke to the sound of sirens. He had to close his eyes again against the blinking red and white lights that aggravated his pulsating temples. A small groan escaped his lips and he felt the back of his neck. There was some blood, but it didn’t feel too serious, probably just a cut from the sharp edges of the book. He let out another moan, opened his eyes, and tried to sit up. He felt something stopping him and realized that his belly had become wedged between the stereo and the thing in the middle of the car that holds things. He was too groggy to remember its name. He tried to suck in his gut but years of doughnuts and fish and chips had given it a solid disposition. He wriggled around for a while and finally managed to move far enough forward to reach the seat adjuster. The seat mercifully slid back and he was free from his petrol-chemical prison. He struggled into a sitting position, rolled down the window, and emptied the contents of his stomach (two cokes and a rice bowl) onto the pavement below.

Feeling much better, he started his car. The clock read 7:31; He had been out for two hours. A pile of smouldering cars still surrounded him. He looked around for a possible escape route and noticed that there was nothing immediately behind or to the right of him. He put the car in reverse and backed up slowly, then drove forward into the ditch. He glanced ahead, saw that there were no cars ahead, and threw the car into second gear. The car sputtered and stalled. Charlie swore and restarted his little Hyundai, then slowly accelerated over the dry brittle grass. He hit a downhill slope and began to pick up speed. The boy in him grinned with anticipation but he had a gut feeling that couldn’t be contributed to afternoon lunch. And not a good feeling either. He pressed on the brakes and the brake fluid light came on. He let out a sting of profanities to make a sailor blush and cursed himself for not having the car inspected last week like he was supposed to. He held tight to wheel, sweat soaking through his shirt and dripping into his eyes.

A rabbit jumped in front of the car and Charlie felt the vehicle rise off the ground as the front tire hit the long-eared rodent. For a few moments the Audi was airborne, then it fell to earth with a sickening crunch. Charlie let go of the wheel and the car began to careen wildly across the ditch like a rabid deer. He grabbed hold of the steering wheel and brought the car back under control and tensed his body for the sharp uphill climb in front of him. The car began to lose speed, and soon Charlie had to press on the gas to keep the car moving forward. He could see lights, red and white, cresting the hill like a halo, but until he came to the top, he couldn’t figure out where they were coming from. He came to the top of the hill, sighed in relief…. and was struck by a speeding ambulance.

His whole body was lifted from the seat and thrown forward into the windshield. In his last conscious seconds he could only concentrate with shock and regret on the fact that he had forgotten to buckle his seatbelt.