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The Drive

I sat listening to the two beings in the front seat of the car. I knew they were talking; however, I could not fully understand them. I just sat there; watching the scenery pass by. I did see the home and the people at a quick glance, heard some commotion and what sounded like an auction of some sort.

From the front I heard, “Good luck with that one. You’ll get Football and Baseball Games all night long. The lights are bright.” Then I heard, “That’s a big house”. As I turned to look, I could see the field where the games would be played. Something about it looked very familiar. The home began to come into view. It was big. It was a brick house; brown brick, not red, a typical one level home built in the early 70’s.

As I looked from one end of the house to the next, I noticed boards on the windows; such a beautiful home to be boarded up. Then the back of the home came into view. Even through the block wall, I knew it had a pool. Then I realized I had been there before. In fact, I spoke out loud, “I’ve been there before.”

The passenger in the front turned and spoke to me. “Oh yes, I am sure that idiot boy was there.” “He was” I spoke. “He’s not as stupid as you think. In fact, we had an interesting conversation when we gave him a ride.” “Oh really? And where were you going?” asked the passenger. The driver then shifted positions so his head was between mine and the passengers. I could not hear what he was saying; however, knew there was concern about the conversation. The passenger laughed. He then asked what I had done and who all was there at the house.

I told him there had been a party. A lot of people were there. I could see them in my mind. I knew them all; yet, did not remember any of them. It had been one of those strange memories. People changing identities and what seemed like total chaos; but, there was complete control. Then I spoke a name. What was the name? Chloe? Zoie? I said this name to the man.

At that very moment, I was in the home. Standing in what was the kitchen. There were a few pans on the sink. It was empty other than that. No table or chairs. I turned to look at where the couch had been. It was empty. My heart felt heavy.

I then stepped out of what seemed like a closet and into a back room. There were two windows in the room. Crank windows. The kind you turn the handle to open. I reached down and shut the television off. That was strange. Had I been watching it? I then reached in front of the beach chair on the floor and picked up the pack of cigarettes. I don’t smoke. I had to get these though, as not to leave them behind. I noticed the ashtray with three butts in it. That was all that was in this room; the television, the chair and the ashtray.

I had what I needed and felt an urgency to leave. Some feeling that the owner would be coming home soon. I looked down in my hands. I had the car keys and cigarettes. I was now in a washroom, or a mud room. I could not tell which. I opened the side door and stepped out shutting the door behind me. I then re-opened the door and turned the lock from inside. Being careful to shut the door and making sure it was locked.

When I looked at the car, I saw the black truck parked behind it and a larger utility one toward the front. They were trying to block me in. I could see a space that would allow me to escape. I jumped into the car and stared at the front panels. Where was the key? I must have dropped it in the home; but, I had locked the door and now could not get back in. I seemed to recall another way to get into the home.

I opened the car door and began to step out. At that moment, two men appeared in suits similar to those that a painter or fumigator would wear. The one with the dark hair walked to the home and began to spray a liquid around the lower edges. The lighter haired man stepped up to me and started talking as if we knew each other. I knew this was wrong.

I walked toward the house looking at the ground to see if I had dropped the key outside. The dark haired man started dropping dust from a large bag around where he had sprayed. The light haired man told me to not cough. I thought that was weird. He should have said not to breathe; shouldn’t he? As I turned my head, I saw a figure dressed in white, pass the home on the street. They stressed urgency to “get away”.

The next moment, the light haired man was looking out the window of the home at me. How did he get in there? Wait. That was not the real washroom/mudroom. It was a deceptive room. He was calling for me to “come in”. Suddenly, the dark haired man yelled to his friend, saying he should see what he found. They were at the side door. The one I had locked.

The light haired man said they should just kick the door in. The dark haired man said that would not work. They needed to unlock the door. Just as the light haired man raised his leg to kick, I looked in my hand and saw the car key wrapped around my middle finger. I turned and jumped in the car; starting it up. The engine was cold and did not want to run. I had to move fast anyway. I shifted the old car into gear and started moving.

All around me turned dark. How had evening arrived so quickly? I threw the car into neutral and revved the engine to try and warm it up. I saw a figure on the road. Was that the same person who I had seen before? It was not. This person was moving toward the home, not away. They were wrapped in a black cloak with sparkling red fibers. As I passed, I could see the fire red hair beneath the hood.

I drove past the person and could see the road made a “Y’ in front of me. There was a stop sign just before the “Y”. To the right was a group of building. I had been there before too. I couldn’t stop this time. It was too dangerous. I only hoped that no one noticed, or if they did, that they did not understand what the building was. I just kept on driving to the right of the “Y”…
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