A Cautionary Tale of The Road

An alarm went off at 10:30. Paul hits the snooze button. The room was bare, only the essentials. On one side of the bed a copy of the complete works of Oscar Wilde, The Old Man and the Sea, and the complete works of Shakespeare. On the other side a copy of Howl,On The Road, Junky, and a couple of Hunter S. Thompson books.

The alarm goes off again and again Paul turns it off then gets out of bed, takes a shower and combs his hair. He knows this will probably be the last time for a couple weeks. He grabs his backpack and throws in some clothes, a pen, a notebook, the books on his bed, a carton of cigarettes, and his fully charged Ipod. He takes a shot of whiskey then grabs his empty wallet with no money or credit cards, just his I.D. That says:

Paul Cassidy

Age: 21

Height: 5'9

Eye Color: Brown

Austin,Texas

Paul loved Austin. He had always considered it his hometown but he needed to get away from it sometimes. He knew he would come back, eventually. He takes another shot, walks out the door and lights a cigarette.

He had been walking along the highway for a couple of hours and nobody was stopping for him, so he decides to take a break.

He went to a coffee shop and sat outside reading On The Road. As Paul read the book he wished he could live in the 50s. It was not just about his desire to become a beatnik; life was much simpler less than a century ago. People seemed nicer, more respectful and trusting; they actually picked up hitchhikers. People were not crazy like today. Not so many mass murderers and child rapists. At least it was not blown up in the media like it is now. Everybody is scared now but maybe with good reason.

"everyone is a savage these days" he thought to himself.

He was hungry now, so he lit a cigarette and went off to find some place with a minimal amount of people and no security cameras. "We've got to cut down on the cost of living" he said to himself remembering the quote from his favorite Jack Kerouac book.

Paul walked around the city until he found a run down looking building that said "Juan's grocery store" on it; some small store that had just what you need. A local business that was just getting by no doubt. He felt bad about stealing from the store but he had no money. He could not go to a chain store and risk the fact that too many people would see him.

He walked into the store and went straight for the bread. He grabbed a loaf and stuffed it into his backpack and walked to find some peanut butter. When he was going to leave the store with his booty (Wonder bread and off brand Peanut butter) "I would be a terrible pirate" he thought to himself. He then spotted one of his favorite snacks that he had not had for a while, beef jerky. He walked over as casually as he could and grabbed it. He started to stuff it in his backpack that was already way too full. He heard the voice of the clerk at the counter. "Hey, what are you doing?" Paul said "Oh shit!" then slung his backpack over his shoulder and ran out of the store, beef Jerky in hand. The clerk ran after him but Paul was too fast (that is what Paul would like to think but really the clerk was around 40 and looked out of shape).

He did not want to stick around for long. He feared that the "pigs" would come and take him away for a long time like he was some kind of child molester or gang rapist. He made a beef jerky and peanut butter sandwich then walked back to the highway hoping to not have to walk anymore.

As he walked along the highway he found a bible laying on the side of the road. "Savages and swine are all that's left in the world except for me, Paul Cassidy, America's last hope in this world. Everyone is too sensitive, either a hipster or a shitty parent. No values or beliefs anymore. The world has gone mad with some shitty disease and it's going to kill us all in the end" he thought and tried to remember so he could write it down later.

He walked about a mile and looked up at the sky to see the sun was beginning to set. Just as he went back to reading The Bible he heard a truck stopping. He put The Bible in his shirt pocket and stepped into the cab of the truck.

"Hey there, my name's Dale. Where you going?"

"The name's Paul. I'm trying to get to Washington state."

"I can take you as far as Oklahoma."

"Perfect."

Paul stared out the window for a minute then remembered his thought from earlier. He pulled out his notebook and wrote it down.

"What you writin' there?" Dale asked

"I'm a writer or at least attempting to be one. I was writing a thought down that I had earlier"

"So what are you going to Washington for? Girlfriend? Wife?"

"Nope just trying to gain some experience. I'm hitching there then I'm staying with a friend and hitching back. What about yourself, any family?

"Yep. I got a wife and 2 girls, 17 and 20"

He handed him a picture of three women. The oldest one looked around the same age as Dale, she was probably wonderfully beautiful in her younger years but the years seemed to have taken a toll on her. The two daughters were beautiful girls. Thankfully they took after their mother. The girls would make some rich douche bag a great trophy wife someday. He handed the picture back to Dale.

"Great looking family you got there."

"Thanks. Just going back to them now in Georgia. I'm glad I picked you up you seem like a nice kid. You run into some crazy people out here sometimes. Hell, to be honest I thought you were a queer when I picked you up."

"I am crazy but I like women."

"Ha you're alright."

"Listen do you mind if I go to sleep for a bit. I'm tired. Been standing out there all day." pointing to the side of the road.

"No problem. I was going to stop and get some food. Do you want me to wake you when we get there?"

"I ate already. I'll just stay in the truck and sleep if that's alright by you."

"Sure."

Paul drifted to sleep relatively quickly and woke up sometime in the early morning. He lifted his head and looked at Dale.

"Good Morning." he said barely awake

"Mornin to you too. We're almost to where I need to exit to get to Georgia, so I'll have to drop you off in about an hour."

"Sounds good to me."

The two make small talk for the rest of the hour then Dale pulls over. They say goodbye and Paul watches Dale drive off into the distance. He opens his copy of On The Road and continues down the highway.

Paul came up to a town and found a coffee shop close to the highway. He lit a cigarette and started reading some Oscar Wilde. He thought about how weird it was to be in the middle of Oklahoma reading The Picture of Dorian Gray. The people here probably didn't know art unless it was a painting of The Last Supper or The Virgin Mary. He started to the next chapter then noticed a girl who was one of the most beautiful that he had ever seen. The best looking one in Oklahoma for sure, he thought, and gave a little smile. He went back to his book and tried to get the girl out of his head. A few minutes later he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw the girl from a couple minutes ago.

"Hi, my name is Lindsey."

"Hi, I'm Paul."

"Well Paul what brings you to this little town? I've never seen you before. Are you just passing through?"

"Yeah. Just passing through."

"Why do you have a backpack with you? It smells like old beef jerky and moldy bread."

"Sorry. I'm hitching to Washington, so I have no place to stay."

"Oh really? I live not too far from here, maybe you could stay at my house if you play your cards right."

"That sounds amazing, but I think I'm going to try to find a ride soon."

"My brother and I are going to Wichita tomorrow morning. We can take you and you can sleep over tonight. In my bed."

Paul was surprised that he had actually found a beautiful women who wanted to sleep with him. He couldn't pass up the offer he thought, but it seemed too good to be true. To hell with it, he thought, these are the things I'm supposed to be doing on this trip.

"Sounds good." he said happily.

"Well let's get going. I still have to make dinner. Lucky for you I'm making my famous chicken fried steak tonight."

"Sounds amazing." he said following her out to the parking lot.

"I am never lucky." he said as they got in the car.

"It looks like you hit the jackpot, because you're gonna get lucky tonight."

They arrived at Lindsey's house about fifteen minutes later. It was a house that looked slightly run down and it was down a long dirt road in the middle of the woods. Paul was too happy about the fact that he was getting a good meal and a nice girl. Being on the road is not so bad, he thought to himself. He had met an interesting trucker and a beautiful girl and it had only been a little over 24 hours. Why did everyone think hitchhiking was dangerous?

Lindsey grabbed Paul's hand and took him inside. When they walked inside nobody was around, yet the house looked like it had been cleaned recently.

"Does anyone else live here with you?"

"Yeah, my brother Clarence. Hold on."

"Clarence!" she called down into the basement.

"Get up here we have company."

A weird creature that looked like it had just crawled out of the black lagoon came walking out of the basement. She introduced it as her brother, Clarence.

"Hello there." the creature said in a voice that sounded like a hillbilly demon screech

"Would anyone like a drink? We have Sweat Tea or Whiskey." she said in a sweet angelic voice. Quite the opposite of her brother.

"Whiskey." Paul and the thing said at the same time.

"Good." she said as she ran off to get the drinks.

Lindsey cooked dinner and all three of them sat down. This was Paul's fourth glass of whiskey and he felt it. He finished it off and hoped that the delicious meal in front of him would sober him up a little bit for later. Lindsey grabbed his glass and poured another drink for him before dinner. Paul begins to dig into the food but Lindsey stops him.

"We have to say grace first."

They all fold their hands and pray. Paul then starts stabbing at his food like a hawk. He takes a drink of his whiskey then continues eating.

As he eats the food he begins to feel tired. He can't even keep his head up. He passes out right into his food.

He awakes several hours later. He can feel that he is tied to the chair he was sitting in. There is a mask or blindfold over his face.

"Hello." he says cautiously

"Oh good you're awake again." He hears Lindsey's wonderful voice.

The blindfold is lifted up and Paul can see that he is in another room. He sees stairs and assumes it's the basement.

"What the hell?" he says violently trying to break free but to no avail.

"Oh well you see we are going to kill you. That's our thing. I attract boys with my stunning face and body. Bring them back home and then we kill 'em."

"What the fuck?" Paul says angrily.

"It's just business, honey."

"You are the biggest piece of shit that I know."

Paul starts to feel the rope around him loosen. He knows he can get out, now he is waiting for the right time to make his move.

"So, what do you wanna talk about now?" Lindsey says. Paul realizes he no longer hears her voice with the angelic quality it had before but instead it sounds like a demon hissing at him.

"Go fuck yourself." He yells.

"Well it looks like this one isn't much for talking anymore. I guess you can just shoot him now."

Clarence points a revolver at his head.

"No. In the chest not the face. It's too pretty."

Clarence points the gun at his chest.

Paul closes his eyes expecting to be dead within seconds. He hears the gun go off. He feels pain but not like he is dying. He opens his eyes and sees the bullet was stopped by the pocket bible he found on the road. He remembers that his hands are loose. He takes this opportunity to strike. He stands up and the ropes fall off of him. He grabs the chair and throws it at Clarence. The chair knocks him down.

Paul grabs the gun and shoots him in the head. Still enraged, he points the gun at Lindsey. She cowers in fear. He tries to squeeze the trigger but can't seem to do so. He hits her across the face with it and knocks her out. He drops the gun and rushes up the stairs.

Paul sees his backpack sitting by the door where he left it. He throws it over his shoulder and runs out the door as fast as he can.

He stops running when he hits the main road. He walks the remaining way to the town where he first met Lindsey. When he gets to town he manages to beg the money for a bus ticket back to Austin.

He lights a cigarette as he waits for the bus. Before he gets on the bus he looks back in the direction where he nearly lost his life.

"Nothing but savages in this country. Everyone is a murderer or a rapist. The country has gone to Hell. I just wish it could be the 50s again." He writes in his notebook as the bus is pulling off.

He arrives in Austin the next day and goes directly home. He takes a shower and cleans himself up. Pours a glass of whiskey and sits down to write.

At the end of the story he writes. "Not everyone in this country is morally bankrupt, there's just more of them than there used to be."

He ends the story, sends it to his publisher and gets ready to try again.

"Hopefully I can actually get to Washington this time." he says as he walks out the door. He lights a cigarette and walks toward the highway.