Story #2: THE WRONG TURN
The Wrong Turn
A man realizes that his Uber driver is not who he seems
Thomas’s phone had picked the worst time to die on
him.
Standing outside his office in the pouring rain with
nothing but a flimsy umbrella as protection, he cursed his luck that everyone
in the office used Apple chargers, while he was stuck with an Android.
So he couldn’t
call an Uber, and the bus was late. Either that, or it just wasn’t coming. It was
just his luck.
Just when he was about to start praying to God for a
miracle, a white Toyota rolled to a stop in front of him.
The window slowly came down, and the silver-haired man
in the driver’s seat said, “Tom?”
No one called him Tom, except for his grandmother, and
she was dead. So this Uber had to have been for another man; a man who wasn’t there
yet.
Thomas didn’t have to think twice. “Yes,” he said
quickly, before the real Tom showed up. “I’m Tom.”
He heard the sweet sound of the backseat door unlocking,
and he closed his umbrella, and gratefully opened the door to slide in.
The leather seat made a squeaky sound when he moved,
but the car was nice and toasty.
“Thank you so much,” Thomas heard himself say, leaning
back with a sigh. “I was getting soaked out there.”
The man didn’t reply.
Thomas cleared his throat. “Please cancel whatever route
you’ve got programmed in there. I’ve changed my mind.” The lie easily fell from
his lips. “I’d like to be dropped off at the apartment complex opposite the
mall in Silver Lakes. Do you know it?”
Of course he
knew it. Who didn’t know where the mall was? But Thomas had to make sure.
When the driver nodded slightly, Thomas relaxed again,
closing his eyes.
His head was full of thoughts about his girlfriend,
Rachel, and how mad she would be that he was late for dinner. She’d no doubt
gone all out for him today, but he really didn’t feel like celebrating. Thirty
might’ve been a big deal for everyone else, but it was also the age at which
his father had lost his battle with cancer. Thomas dreaded going for a
check-up, but he’d done it a week before. The results were supposed to be out,
but he was too afraid to answer the doctor’s call.
The sharp turn the driver took made his eyes snap
open.
“Hey, bud,” he said, “you’re going the wrong way.”
The man was either ignoring him, or just couldn’t hear
him.
“Bud,” Thomas repeated, leaning forward to tap the man
on his shoulder, “you’re going the wrong way.”
Thomas’s heart started pounding erratically when he
was ignored once more. He looked out the window, not recognizing the street. The
roads weren’t busy, like they would’ve been in the daytime. No, it was after ten
on a Thursday night, and most adults were home with their loved ones preparing
for another workday.
Damn
it,
Thomas thought to himself. Even if he rolled the window down and screamed for
help, who would hear him? The streetlights?
“Stop the car!” he shouted at the driver, who paid him
no mind. “I said, stop the car right now!”
Instead, the driver took another turn, and that was
when Thomas lost it. The driver was either a human trafficker, or wanted to
kidnap him for a ransom—after all, Rachel’s family was incredibly wealthy. This
was his own stupid fault. Get into a car with a stranger who somehow knew a
variation of his name? He’d obviously been targeted.
“Stop the car, damn it!” Thomas tried to get through
to the man once again, and when that didn’t work, he did a stupid and dangerous
thing.
He boxed the man’s ear.
“Are you crazy?”
the man shouted, turning to glare at him over his shoulder.
“Oh, now you talk! Let me out of here. Now!”
The car continued to move, and Thomas suddenly saw
red. A crowbar was winking at him from beside his left foot, and he reached for
it. It was stupid, but he was angry. Angry that he’d never even considered the
possibility that his life could be in danger from accepting this ride.
What followed was a blur to Thomas.
He lashed out, as quick as a viper. There was blood. A
lot of it. And then the man slumped forward, his foot heavy on the gas.
This
is it, Thomas thought. This
is where I die.
He closed his eyes and braced himself. The car skidded
slightly, and when the impact came, Thomas’s head connected with the headrest
in front of him, making his ears ring.
But the car had stopped.
Thomas stumbled out of the car, his head pounding. There
was blood trickling into his eye from a cut on his temple, making his vision
blurry. He didn’t care. Staggering away from the car, he called out for help.
“Thomas?”
He knew that voice.
His eyes widened. “Sam?”
What was his girlfriend’s brother doing out here?
“Jesus, did you get mugged?” Sam wanted to know, tossing
his cigarette butt away. He put a hand on Thomas and looking at him. His eyes
drifted over Thomas’s shoulder, at the car wreck. “Jesus. No wonder you were late. Is the driver okay?”
“Late?” Thomas sputtered.
Sam let out a sigh. “Rachel organized a surprise
birthday bash for you. Everyone’s been waiting in there for an hour.” He jerked
his thumb behind them, at the tall, red-brick building that was the Silver
Lakes Convention Centre. “The Uber driver she sent to get you probably took its
sweet time.”
Thomas stood there in stunned silence while Sam jogged
to the Uber.
“Jesus, Tom!” he called back. “I think this guy’s dead!”
END
NEXT WEEK: Short story inspired by the tweet: 'If you want me to leave you alone, say that, and I won't'.
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