Broken Part Three

Broken Part Three

Jed and Erica finally returned to the car and headed up higher the mountain for more promising views that were surely ahead. The day was absolutely beautiful for a drive through the foliage of Maine but Jed still could not quite get the incident out of his mind as the trucker just had a look in his eyes that bothered Jed. Something was not quite right about that man but he convinced himself that he would never see him again anyway. There was no way they the trucker would catch them and he likely would calm down anyway. Erica was not bothered by any of it that Jed could see as she primped in the mirror while he drove along the twisting road higher into the mountains. The Height of the Land was their next stop and it was only a few minutes further. Jed was determined to have settle himself down by the time they arrived at what was bound to be a beautiful site.

Ronnie was pushing his truck hard to make up ground and quickly reached the first set of overlooks and did not see the Saab. He felt his stomach sink as he had hoped it would still be right here waiting for him. He tried to push the rig harder but it had nothing more left to give him and he realized that he may not even make it there if he didn’t drive with at least a little caution. Crashing while trying to catch them would only lead him to more embarrassment and he was about to crack already. He eased up on the truck and she settled comfortably back on the road. He drove it within its limits and headed higher up the mountain. He remembered the last time he pushed it a little too far driving up this road chasing another tourist who had crossed him. It had not quite turned out the way he had expected that day. He slowly reached his hand to his forehead where he felt the scar that was left from that incident. The scar was a reminder that everyone else saw more than he did unless he looked in the mirror which was not something he did often. His fingers slid from just below his receding hairline past his right eye and down towards his right ear. The pain though of the headaches was what he got to feel almost every day since the crash. He knew he was lucky to be alive but he couldn’t get past the remarks he heard form the other truckers and Skeeter, yes, Skeeter, he was the worst of em. He kept teasing and teasing Ronnie about the crash as if it was funny and not a thing that could have killed him. The other drivers teased him because of his crash but it soon faded with whatever new gossip found its way to the CB radio or truck stop. The memories of that day seemed to return to him so vividly every time the headaches came to him. He remembered the car, a little red corvette with Texas plates. He was closing on it fast from behind as was almost always the case this time of year as the sightseers were not in any particular hurry to get anywhere. He knew the road and pulled to pass the corvette as was normal for the truckers to do on the roads. He made it to the side of the corvette before the driver sped up to stay beside Ronnie’s truck. A corner was coming and Ronnie sped up to try and get the pass done but the corvette matched his speed. Ronnie had no choice but to back off before the corner and he did that just in time as another truck was heading around the corner when they got there. It would have been a horrible accident if the two rigs had crashed at the speeds they were running and that just added to Ronnie’s irritation with the corvette and its occupants. Ronnie sped up and was only inches from the bumper of the corvette and then the corvette sped off and pulled away from Ronnie. Then the driver stuck his finger out the t-top giving Ronnie the bird as he sped away. Ronnie pushed hard on his gas pedal and soon the truck was gaining on the car. He bumped the back of the corvette and the driver seemed startled as he swerved from the bump of the big rig. Ronnie pushed him again and this time the corvette spun out. Ronnie laughed as he sped on and was quite pleased with himself as he had just taught them not to mess with a trucker on the trucker’s road. His patting himself on the back quickly faded as he was going faster then he remembered and the turn was there before he thought it could be there. He was going too fast and the short time he spent looking back at the corvette proved to be too much time indeed. Ronnie tried to jam on the brakes and steer the truck around the corner but the weight of the wood had shifted towards the edge of the road. Once it shifted it was almost impossible to get it back going the direction you needed it to go and Ronnie couldn’t snap it back. The truck was out of control and soon it was heading over the edge of the road and down the hill with Ronnie on board and nothing but a passenger now. He remembered seeing the sky and then the ground before everything went black. He awoke in the hospital and soon the guys poured in and gave him their best wishes and support. The teasing didn’t start till he returned to work except for Skeeter ribbing him at the hospital. He knew eventually it would pass but it would not be soon enough for him. The rig hit a bump in the road and he suddenly snapped back to the present with instant white knuckling on the steering wheel. Sweat eased from his brow and slowly slid down his scar. Ronnie gained control and wiped the bead away.

Jed and Erica finally reached the Height of the Land on the long twisting road. They pulled off the side of the road so they could get out with the other tourists and enjoy the view. They walked over hand in hand to take in the stunning scene before them. Vivid reds, yellow, and oranges were before them as far as their see could see. At the bottom of the mountain was a dirt road and Jed could see the logging trucks down there getting loaded up. That for some reason sent a chill up and down his spine.