192 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
192 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
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OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO oOOOO OOOO. OOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" .OOOOOO OOOOOo OOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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OOOO oOOOOOOO OOOOOOO. OOOO oOOOO
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OOOO .OOOO OOOO OOOOOOOOo OOOO OOOO"
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OOOO oOOOO OOOO OOOO "OOOO. OOOO OOOOo .OOOO'
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OOOO .OOOO" OOOO OOOO OOOOoOOOO "OOOO. oOOOO
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OOOO oOOOOOOO..OOOO OOOO "OOOOOOO OOOOoOOOO"
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OOOO .OOOO"""OOOOOOOO OOOO OOOOOO "OOOOOOO'
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OOOO oOOOO ""OOOO OOOO "OOOO OOOOOO
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| There Ain't No Justice |
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| #117 |
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- Roadkill -
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by Laura Lemay
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It was more than thirty miles from where Carol lived to the city; forty by the
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mountain highway. Carol worked in an office in the city, and commuted the
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distance willingly every day. It would have made more sense for her to live in
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the city, or at least in a suburb closer to work, but she liked the
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neighborhood she lived in, and the commute didn't bother her. In fact, if she
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traveled on the mountain highway it was almost enjoyable. Often while
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commuting, the rolling sweep of the road through the hills had a calming
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effect on Carol, helping her to relax after a long day, hypnotizing her to the
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point where she didn't even mind the time she spent on the road. With the
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exception of the occasional deer which wandered out onto the road, there were
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few other disturbances on the long trip from the city to home, even during
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rush hour.
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On this night Carol had stayed in the city long past rush hour. She had a date
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tonight, dinner at a little restaurant and coffee at a cafe next door. The
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gentleman she had been with worked in the office next to her; they had seen
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each other almost daily in the elevator and exchanged jokes and polite
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comments for months before she got up the bravado to ask him out. She had been
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more than impressed with him tonight as he revealed himself to be literate and
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outspoken, easy to talk to and quick with a joke. She had had a wonderful
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time, and had he offered to let her stay at his place, she would have gone.
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But it wasn't altogether disappointing that he hadn't; there would be future
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dates, and future chances.
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It was almost midnight when she started home, and on a midweek night there was
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almost no one else traveling on Carol's route. It had been a wonderful
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evening, and she felt relaxed and happy. It was dark on the freeway, foggy and
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cold, and she drove with the window open, the wind blowing in her hair, a tape
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on the radio blasting into the night. She sang along, off key, missing some of
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the lyrics and volunteering both lead and backup vocals. She drove fast and
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messily, with one hand, staying only marginally within the lane, and watching
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the fog roll over the freeway as if someone was standing by the edge of the
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road and blowing it out into her path. If she unfocussed her eyes she could
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almost see ghosts dancing in the fog before her, illuminated in the brights,
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running to hide as her car tore through them.
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Suddenly, a dark shape appeared before her on the road, and Carol's eyes
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snapped back into focus. She couldn't tell what had wandered out into the
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freeway, she came upon it so quickly, but it was big, and black, and made no
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attempt to get out of her way.
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She was going much too fast to be able to avoid it, but she wrenched the
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steering wheel to the side to try, slamming her weight down on the brakes at
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the same time. Agonizingly, she heard a thud, her car rocking on its tires in
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rebound, and she let out a short scream as her car came to a sudden halt.
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Her car had stopped in the middle of the freeway some distance beyond where
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she had hit the creature. Carol's heart was beating in her ears, drowning out
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the sound of the music still blaring. She reached over angrily and snapped it
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off. Breathing hard, she gripped the steering wheel in both hands, took
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several deep breaths to calm herself and looked behind her in the rear view
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mirror. There was only darkness behind her, dimly lit by the red glow of her
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brake lights. She could not see far enough behind her to see what she had hit.
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Carol pulled over to the side of the road, and got slowly out of the car. Her
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knees were weak under her and she supported herself with her hands on the side
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of the car as she crossed around the front to the corner where she had hit the
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creature. The fender was dented, but it was a strange, even dent. She had hit
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a dog several years ago, and the dent on her car then had been smeared with
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blood and bits of fur. This dent was clean, as if she had hit a wall or
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another car, rather than a creature with flesh and bones.
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Carol looked back along the road, into the darkness. Leaving the keys in the
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ignition, she got a flashlight out of the glove compartment, and began walking
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along the shoulder of the freeway back towards where she had hit the creature.
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She had to see what she had hit, to see if it was still alive, to see what she
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could do.
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It was quiet and cold as she walked, slightly foggy, with no wind. She noted a
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call box along the side of the road; if she had killed whatever she had hit
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she could call for help. Twenty-five yards, forty she walked, flashing the
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beam of the light all along the shoulder and into the first lane of the
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freeway to try and see what was there. If when she had hit it the creature had
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been thrown out into the other lanes of the freeway, she would not have been
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able to see it.
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Finally, far ahead, a dark shape lay huddled on the shoulder, and Carol
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squinted, focussing her flashlight on it as she walked closer. She drew up
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next to the creature and stood looking at it. It was black, whatever it was,
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big, and covered with long matted fur. It wasn't a deer, and it didn't look
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like a dog. Carol stepped still closer and played the beam of the flashlight
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over it. It was lying on its side, its hindquarters pulled up into its chest.
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It looked slightly ape-like. It was unlike any creature Carol had ever seen or
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read about. Puzzled, she nudged it with the toe of her boot. It did not move.
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Holding her breath, she reached with her foot and turned it over onto its
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back. Its arms, long, hairy, with thin spindly fingers, fell to either side of
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its body. Carol stood back up again, her heart beginning to beat heavily again
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as she looked over the creature.
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It was short, and stout, with long arms and legs. Its head appeared to be
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joined directly to its body without needing a neck. The head was the only part
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of its body not covered with hair; the skin on the scalp was scaly and pink.
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The eyes, which were closed, were huge. Its jaw, slightly agape, was full of
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sharp teeth. What was this creature? Where did it come from? What had she
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found?
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Bending even further forward over the body, Carol realized that the body was
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unhurt, that there were no signs that it had ever been hit. There was no
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blood, nothing broken, nothing out of the ordinary, at least for a creature
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that was as odd looking as this one was.
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Maybe its playing dead, she thought to herself, and as the thought crossed her
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mind, the creature opened its eyes and looked up at her, the beam of the
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flashlight reflected on its black eyes. Carol drew a breath to shriek but the
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creature reached up faster than she could pull back, took the front of her
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clothes in one hand and then ripped the scream and her throat out with the
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other.
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The flashlight fell to the ground, shattered and went out as Carol fell
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heavily to her knees. On her knees she was about the same height as the
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creature, who now climbed up on its hind legs, her clothes still clutched in
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its hand. Carol's vision faded in and out as the creature looked at her;
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surprisingly the pain was not as bad as she would have expected. The creature
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frowned, or at least, it made a face. Carol could not fathom the thought or
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intention behind the expression. Loosening its grip, it pushed Carol sideways,
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letting her fall to the pavement, her legs too weak to support her body. She
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landed on her jaw, and it splintered, and then she felt the pain, but she
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could not open her mouth wide enough to scream, so the sound she made was more
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of a pitiful moan. She had fallen on her side, and she could feel the warmth
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of her blood as it ran down the incline of the pavement past her cheek. She
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tried to gasp, but she could not draw air into her lungs. She looked up at the
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creature who was still looking at her with the big eyes, eyes with no irises,
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just endless fluid black. The creature looked at her impartially, and then
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turned away from her, walking with a low shamble back along the shoulder the
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way she had come, back towards her own car.
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Carol's vision darkened, and the pain overcame her. Tears formed and blurred
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in her eyes as she blinked to try and see what was going on She tried to push
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herself up onto her hands, but her muscles were frozen. As she died, she heard
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the engine start in her car, and watched as the lights in her car came on and
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it pulled off of the shoulder and vanished down the freeway road into the fog.
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Copyright 1991,1992 Laura Lemay lemay@lne.com
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