To call the gas station dilapidated would be a disservice to the word. Dilapidated implied that the place had been used within the last century. This place was like driving into a post-apocalyptic world. The main building was boarded up and had graffiti written all over it, making Victor wonder who would come out this far just to write on something no one would ever see. The pavement was cracked with pieces of it jutting up where plants managed to break free, gas pumps were either missing or had fallen over, and the ceiling above them was rusted over.

While Victor observed this no man’s land, Piper continued her tirade. It was easier to let her get it out of her system. When she finished, Piper laid her head against the steering wheel and sighed. “What are we going to do?”

“Keep going?” Victor said.

“And get stranded on the side of the road?”

Victor shrugged. “There could be a random unmarked gas station. Areas like this have those sometimes.”

“I guess, but if we find one, we’re going back to the highway. I’d rather take my chances.” Victor agreed and they continued down the road.

Piper drove the truck at a snail’s pace trying to conserve what gas they had left. Piper and Victor kept glancing down at the gas gauge like it was a time bomb ready to go off at any minute. The shadows grew long and the miles grew short. Every new clump of trees or turn in the road was a new chance for them to get their hopes up and then be quickly dashed as they passed. The farther they went, the less civilization there seemed to be. Not even a wayward car passed by them.

There was a certain hypnosis to the slowness of the trees passing that Victor had some trouble keeping his eyes open. That became less of a problem when, sometime later, he was jolted by Piper swearing up a storm again. The sun was almost set, and their gas was now fully gone.

“Maybe someone will come by.” Victor suggested.

Piper stared at her dad. “Who? We're so far out that the word civilization doesn’t exist.”

“We could try the old CB radio.”

“I guess.”

Victor got up and went to the back bedroom area. They had a junk storage area where they threw things they didn’t need but might one day. Normally, all truck drivers used a radio for getting around and communicating, but Piper hated it, and refused to keep it on the dash, so it ended up in the junk storage.

He pulled out the radio while making sure not to disturb the mess that had accumulated in the small cabinet. It was wireless, with a charger that could go into the truck's lighter plug, so he untangled the receiver part and plugged it in. Static greeted them as it powered on. Victor pressed the receiver and began to speak.

“This V and P Transportation requesting assistance. We are several hours off of Exit 236, a few miles past the Lendo’s Gas Station. We are out of gas and stranded.” He let go and the static started up again. They waited for a few minutes but there was no answer. Victor repeated himself verbatim, and again there was no answer. After two more tries he put the receiver down and leaned back in his chair. “I’ll just have to keep trying periodically.”

Piper got up. “I’m going to bed.”

It was pitch black outside the truck. There were no streetlights and the moon was hidden behind thick clouds and the canopy of trees surrounding the truck. Victor had let the hazard lights run for a while in case anyone came, but no one did and he turned them off to conserve battery power.

The only thing left running was the CB radio. The static continued to hum in between Victor’s distress call. Unsurprisingly, no one answered back. He kept the receiver in his hand so he wouldn’t have to keep reaching to make the call. It was around, by his estimation, midnight when he decided to give up and switched off the radio. A lot of drivers didn’t travel at night unless they had to.

Victor figured that one of them would have to walk to find civilization while the other stayed behind with the truck. There was no way Piper would leave her truck behind, especially since it was a birthday gift from her mother and it replaced the beat up junker Victor used to drive. He groaned at the prospect of the many mile hike he would have to do. But then he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

Victor awoke to light shining in his eyes forcing him to blink furiously. As he tried to gain his bearings, he called for Piper, but she didn’t answer. If it was morning already, then surely she was already up. Once he was able to see clearly, he realized that it wasn’t the sun, but a headlight from a large vehicle. One that was parked right in front of them and had their light illuminating the entire cab.

There was a ripple in the light as a silhouette began to walk towards the truck. Victor grabbed the bat that he kept stashed in the corner behind his seat. Even someone who could do the things he could, benefited from having a plan B.

The silhouette kept moving and walked to the passenger side of the truck. Whoever they were, they stopped and stared up at the window. After a few seconds they began waving their arms above their head.

“Woohoo, can you hear me?” The man’s voice was muffled through the door. “Vicky, it’s Tim. You know Timmy Anchors?”

Victor carefully opened the door. “Tim, is that really you?”

“Better believe it.”

“What the hell are you doing out here?”

“Come out and have a smoke with me.”

Victor let out a deep breath and opened the door more so he could climb down. He put the bat back behind the seat before shutting the door again. The man known as Tim Anchors leaned against the truck and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He pulled one out and handed it to Victor. Lighting up, Victor took a long drag. It felt good but tasted sour. He scrunched his face at the flavor.

“I see you still don’t care for my brand.”

Victor shrugged. “Can’t help it that you don’t have good taste.”

Tim chuckled. “Well we can’t all have the pleasure of taking a drag off a tailpipe. Speaking of, what happened here?”

“Ran out of gas.”

“Yeah? How the hell did you end up all the way out here?”

Victor decided not to give too much away. “Let’s just say our map is outdated.”

“Still traveling low tech? They have it now so you can print off directions straight off the internet.”

“Well I’m glad you came when you did. How did you find us?”

Tim flicked away his used cigarette and lit up a new one. “Heard you call, garbled as it was. Not much of a good signal out here. Did some poking around the area and managed to find you. If I hadn’t been careful, I would’ve collided into you.”

Victor tossed his finished cigarette away. “Lucky you didn’t. Suppose it’s too much trouble to get some spare gas to get out of here.”

“It is.” Tim paused. “But lucky for you, I just dropped off a load, so I can at least pull you to the nearest stop.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem. Hey Piper.” Tim waved at the open window.

“I assume my father will be riding with you?” Piper said.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

“Sure thing. You could probably use the alone time anyway.”

Tim’s truck was smaller than Piper’s. The roof wasn’t as high, and there wasn’t nearly as much leg room. His seats were also lumpier compared to theirs. As soon as Victor climbed in, he felt like he was sitting in a doctor’s waiting room chair, only less comfortable. Tim slipped in on the other side. With the cabin light, Victor could also see him better. He was wearing a t-shirt with a band logo and torn up jeans, which gave him a trying-to-be-a-cool-uncle look. They were both about the same age, but Tim had more gray hair.

After buckling up, Tim hit the horn to warn Piper that they were about to pull out After a few feet there was a clang and the truck lurched and pulled the truck and trailer behind it. The engine started to whine a little bit with the new load, but a little more gas put an end to that. After gaining some speed to keep things steady, they were on their way.

“So,” Victor said, after a few minutes of silence. “How did you know to look for us?”

“Told you. Heard your message, and poked around.”

“You seemed to find us pretty quickly.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” Victor asked.

Tim drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Alright, alright. Some guy called me. Not sure how they got my number, didn’t really say much. But they told me you were hired for a transport job and were most likely lost. Lo and behold, as I’m looking I hear your call and I eventually find you.”

“Why didn’t you say anything back?”

Tim shrugged, “Figured it would be a nice surprise.”

“This guy give you a name?”

“No, it was my mother who gave me a name.” Tim chuckled before speaking again. “I’m sure he did, but I can’t remember it.”

The next couple hours flew by. Unlike riding with Piper where it was usually quiet, the two men chatted the time away. They caught each other up about their different adventures. Tim’s wasn’t as exciting since he did more normal truck driving things. He worked as a freelancer for different transportation companies and was usually busier during the Christmas and holiday months.

As Tim drove them farther and farther out of the back roads, Victor began to see actual cars pass them again. Not a lot, but enough to know that civilization existed. As night began to turn into the morning hours and light began appearing, Victor yawned a little more loudly than he meant to.

“I wouldn’t fall asleep yet,” Tim said. “Believe it or not, we’ll be at our destination before long.”

He wasn’t wrong. Once they hit the highway, it took only about ten minutes to pull into the truck stop, although that wouldn't be a good name for it. It was more like a small town or tourist trap. There was a large gas station at the center which was surrounded by stores, several of them souvenir shops, multiple restaurants and a hotel that looked more like an apartment building. Unlike Marty’s, which looked like something out of the 60’s, this place was sleeker and had a more modern look, like someone had taken a shopping mall and gutted it out into a small town.

The process of pulling into this place took a little longer than getting hooked up. They had to avoid other vehicles and wait until there was enough space at the gas pumps for both trucks. Victor filled up both trucks as his way of saying thanks.

—

Once the truck was gassed up and parked, and the cargo was checked on to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary, the rest of the morning and a good part of the afternoon was spent sleeping. He awoke groggy and felt like a zombie. It was the first time in a few days that he had gotten decent sleep, but it didn’t make him any less slow to move. The usual cigarette cleared his mind. Piper seemed to benefit from the sleep too, as she was in a cheerier mood when she awoke.

Gene, the client, also seemed to be in a better mood when Victor called and said they would be on the road again soon. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any news on who the people chasing them were. He theorized that someone in his group had leaked information. He hung up after saying he’ll try and drudge up any more information he could find.

Before Victor climbed back into the truck, Tim appeared. “Hey Victor. Get some good sleep?”

Victor yawned. “Well enough.”

“Well then, how about a meal? My treat.”

“What’s the occasion?”

Tim shrugged. “Just a couple of friends seeing each other after a while.”

“Can’t argue with that.”

Tim, Victor, and Piper, who had joined them at the prospect of food, sat at a table in one of the diners. They had chosen this one because Tim said it was his favorite and they had some of the best burgers in the area.

They sat there for a little while eating and enjoying each other’s company. Piper was surprisingly leading a lot of the conversations. Normally she read a book and kept to herself when one of her father’s friends were in the picture. There was also a round of dessert, which Tim had insisted on. Victor figured they still had a long road ahead until this job was complete, so he enjoyed the moment while he could.

Tim got up. “Alright, let me go take care of the bill.”

“Thanks.” Victor said. “At least let me leave the tip.” Tim agreed and left the table.

“We should leave.” Piper said quietly.

“We are, right after he pays.”

“I mean, hit the road. I don’t trust Tim.”

Victor pulled out his wallet and laid a twenty on the table. “Why, because he found us?”

“Yes.”

“Really? Come on, it's Tim. But I do agree we should at least get a move on. With the sleep and food we could probably keep going all night in case those people show up again.” Piper sighed. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell him we’re leaving.”

After bidding Tim farewell, and the assurance that they would see him in the morning before they left, Victor and Piper inspected their truck. From the outside there didn’t seem to be any sabotage or damage. The lock Victor had placed on the backdoor of the truck was still there. Piper opened the hood, climbed up and did an inspection of the engine.

“Anything?” Victor asked.

“Not from what I see.”

“See? Maybe you were just being a little paranoid.”

Piper closed the hood. “Being paranoid keeps us on the road.”

The truck started up just fine. Piper let it run for a few minutes just to make sure. After she was satisfied, she switched into gear and pulled out. As they moved forward there was a loud grinding sound that vibrated through Victor’s body. It was followed by a crash and a lurch from the truck. Piper put the truck back into park and launched herself out the door. Victor followed more carefully.

“What the living hell?” Piper screamed.

The truck had moved but the trailer hadn’t moved an inch. It had fallen off the hitch and was now laying forward in the parking lot.

“What happened?” Victor asked. He didn’t know the mechanics of the truck, he just knew that there was damage.

“Someone sabotaged our towing mechanisms.”

“Didn’t we inspect everything?”

Piper glared at her father. “It’s not something you can see from a quick glance. They did it so we wouldn’t find out until it was too late. I don’t know who did this, but I know who does.” Without another word Piper began marching down the parking lot.

If whoever had done this caused this much damage to the truck, Victor was surprised that no one had heard and investigated. Then again they were far enough away from the main part of the truck stop that it could’ve been drowned out by the normal noise of the day, or the culprits were quiet and careful. If they had been spotted by a bystander, it could’ve been chalked up to routine truck maintenance.

Tim’s truck was parked closer to the entrance and exit of the truck stop. His truck was white and had his company logo on the side which were two large T’s combined together. Piper walked up and banged on the door. She kept it up until the darkened cabin lit up and the door opened. Piper had to step back to avoid getting hit.

“Piper? Victor? What the heck is…”

Piper climbed up and pulled Tim out of the truck by his shirt collar. He almost fell head first, but Piper was able to control the fall and slam him against the side of his truck hard enough to leave a dent.

“What did you do to my truck?” Spit came out of Piper’s mouth as she screamed.

“What are you talking about?” Tim gasped.

“You broke my truck, so I’m going to break you.”

“I didn’t do anything. Victor help!”

“This one’s on you. Just answer the question.”

“I don’t know who they were. They just asked me to make sure you didn’t interfere. I’m telling you I had no idea what they were going to do.”

Piper let go of Tim. “We’re taking your truck.”

“You can’t have my truck.”

Piper grabbed him again. “As if we were asking.”

“That’s enough.” This voice was different. Both Piper and Victor turned to see a man with slicked back hair wearing a black suit and sunglasses. Behind him were several people dressed the same way, only they had guns. “You’re going to put the man down, and you’re going to come with us.” Piper was about to say something when the man put his hand up. “We’re not asking.”