on something that loud, or something that produced that much heat.
Gabriel was still standing there, covering his chest with his crossed arms. She almost felt sorry for him. After dropping the truck into reverse, she pulled the rifle inside and closed the door. He didn’t even chase her as she pulled away.
# # # # #
The road was a nightmare. The truck was capable. Even with its high clearance, she felt the bottom of the vehicle scrape a couple of times. She saw evidence of Gabriel’s trip up the mountain. Trees had been divided and jerked out of the way. A stray rock had been rolled to the side. It was impressive work for the old man. She glanced over her shoulder at the bed of the truck. His tools were back there. Gabriel had used mechanical advantage to compensate for withering muscles.
Madelyn put the window down and let the wind blast.
It was amazing how it all came back to her. Speed was so alluring. She didn’t realize how much she had missed it. The road got better as it descended. She found a patch of pavement and smiled at how the tires sung. She dropped the transmission to take some of the strain off the brakes. This was the farthest she had been from the cabin in decades. As she imagined the distance, a light, panicky flutter passed through her chest and zipped down her legs. This was the real world that she was headed towards. Regardless of the condition of things, she was going to experience something new today. The idea was intoxicating.
Madelyn lost track of time as she drove. The sun, the wind, and the sound of the engine all conspired to hypnotize her. Her mind wanted to wander back to the cabin where Jacob would have discovered her absence. If he even existed, he would discover her absence. She still wasn’t sure. That was all in the past. She needed to allow herself to focus on the future.
She slowed as her access road joined back into the highway.
The truck seemed even harder to control as she kept it between the guardrail and the rocks. This truck wasn’t meant to be corralled by civilization. Madelyn smiled. She empathized.
She slammed on the brakes as her eyes locked on the horizon.
There was smoke.
It wasn’t haze, like from a wildfire. This was a line of dark smoke rising into the sky. This was from a bonfire.
“Hot damn,” Madelyn whispered. She smiled and slapped her leg. She stomped on the gas and the back end of the truck did a little dance as the tires caught traction. Madelyn sped downhill towards town. Her hopes grew as she descended out of the hills.
# # # # #
Madelyn slowed to a stop and shut off the truck. It was hot down in Fairbanks. The warm air blew in through her open window. She could smell the fire. The smoke was rising from over near the airfield. Madelyn stepped down from the truck and slung her rifle over her back. She began her trek down through the park. She knew a path that led from Birch Hill to the north side of the airfield.
The fire was an amazing sight, but she would still approach with caution.
Still protected by a line of trees, and at least a couple hundred meters from the fire, Madelyn stopped to listen. If it was a party, there would be music. From what she remembered, people in Fairbanks went nuts for music.
She didn’t hear a thing.
Turning her nose to the air, she smelled something under woodsmoke. They were using some sort of synthetic fuel. Maybe that’s why the smoke was so dark. She broke from the path and used a thick patch of growth as cover as she approached.
Madelyn crept forward until she found the old fence. The poles were rusted and tipped. She moved through a gap and dropped to her belly so she could get close enough to see. The foliage ran out at the cracked pavement of the airstrip. Madelyn parted leaves and looked.
Someone had rolled a big tanker truck to the middle of the runway. On the other side of the bonfire, a front loader was parked. Madelyn pieced together the evidence.
Gabriel was still standing there, covering his chest with his crossed arms. She almost felt sorry for him. After dropping the truck into reverse, she pulled the rifle inside and closed the door. He didn’t even chase her as she pulled away.
# # # # #
The road was a nightmare. The truck was capable. Even with its high clearance, she felt the bottom of the vehicle scrape a couple of times. She saw evidence of Gabriel’s trip up the mountain. Trees had been divided and jerked out of the way. A stray rock had been rolled to the side. It was impressive work for the old man. She glanced over her shoulder at the bed of the truck. His tools were back there. Gabriel had used mechanical advantage to compensate for withering muscles.
Madelyn put the window down and let the wind blast.
It was amazing how it all came back to her. Speed was so alluring. She didn’t realize how much she had missed it. The road got better as it descended. She found a patch of pavement and smiled at how the tires sung. She dropped the transmission to take some of the strain off the brakes. This was the farthest she had been from the cabin in decades. As she imagined the distance, a light, panicky flutter passed through her chest and zipped down her legs. This was the real world that she was headed towards. Regardless of the condition of things, she was going to experience something new today. The idea was intoxicating.
Madelyn lost track of time as she drove. The sun, the wind, and the sound of the engine all conspired to hypnotize her. Her mind wanted to wander back to the cabin where Jacob would have discovered her absence. If he even existed, he would discover her absence. She still wasn’t sure. That was all in the past. She needed to allow herself to focus on the future.
She slowed as her access road joined back into the highway.
The truck seemed even harder to control as she kept it between the guardrail and the rocks. This truck wasn’t meant to be corralled by civilization. Madelyn smiled. She empathized.
She slammed on the brakes as her eyes locked on the horizon.
There was smoke.
It wasn’t haze, like from a wildfire. This was a line of dark smoke rising into the sky. This was from a bonfire.
“Hot damn,” Madelyn whispered. She smiled and slapped her leg. She stomped on the gas and the back end of the truck did a little dance as the tires caught traction. Madelyn sped downhill towards town. Her hopes grew as she descended out of the hills.
# # # # #
Madelyn slowed to a stop and shut off the truck. It was hot down in Fairbanks. The warm air blew in through her open window. She could smell the fire. The smoke was rising from over near the airfield. Madelyn stepped down from the truck and slung her rifle over her back. She began her trek down through the park. She knew a path that led from Birch Hill to the north side of the airfield.
The fire was an amazing sight, but she would still approach with caution.
Still protected by a line of trees, and at least a couple hundred meters from the fire, Madelyn stopped to listen. If it was a party, there would be music. From what she remembered, people in Fairbanks went nuts for music.
She didn’t hear a thing.
Turning her nose to the air, she smelled something under woodsmoke. They were using some sort of synthetic fuel. Maybe that’s why the smoke was so dark. She broke from the path and used a thick patch of growth as cover as she approached.
Madelyn crept forward until she found the old fence. The poles were rusted and tipped. She moved through a gap and dropped to her belly so she could get close enough to see. The foliage ran out at the cracked pavement of the airstrip. Madelyn parted leaves and looked.
Someone had rolled a big tanker truck to the middle of the runway. On the other side of the bonfire, a front loader was parked. Madelyn pieced together the evidence.
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