The hum of the Jeep's tires, as she drove on U.S. 50, was an accompaniment to the smooth jazz that played on the radio. Jesalyn Masters drove with the windows down to feel the warm air of the Nevada mid-day sun. The air whipped her long blonde hair away from her tired eyes that were shielded by her driving glasses. She looked in the rear-view mirror to check the U-Haul her Gladiator Rubicon was towing. The drive from Virginia was a long one, but a welcome escape for her, though the interstate she now drove on had another more famous moniker that echoed her soul. The Loneliest Road in America.
As she drove, her mind drifted back to thirteen months ago when she learned about her family's death. Jesalyn took a deep breath to center herself as the mixed feelings of anger, sadness, and despair all vied for control to fill the void in her soul. To be told about their deaths two months after waking from a coma was maddening. The most important thing in her life had always been her father and brother. It wasn't until later after she had joined the Marine Corps when she met Nathan Guerra, that she had become complete as a woman. Now she felt lost in a world that seemed to be against her at every turn. The fact they blamed her for their deaths added insult to injury.
Jesalyn slammed her fist against the steering wheel in frustration as she recalled enduring interrogations by her superiors in the C.I.A. Then the inquiries by the Senate Judiciary Committee for almost a year. Only when the relative truth came out that her immediate supervisor Jason Albrecht broke dozens of protocols that led to her family's deaths and others; did she even process anything resembling grief. She again took a deep breath to center herself to contain all these feelings so she could focus as she took up the rest of the large coffee she got three hours ago.
Her well-focused mind reeled between events of the past and the current mysteries she needed answers to after reading both the wills of her father and brother. The biggest quandary she now headed towards. Her father's property is in his hometown of Nowhere, Nevada. All she knew of his life before the Navy was, he was born there. The thought he would have made poor dad jokes about his hometown's name came to her mind. Jesalyn chuckled out loud at his inability to tell a joke. The slight pleasant thought soured as quickly as it ushered forth to her mind. The memory of her last words to her father echoed like a cacophony of maddening chaos in her head. They were neither nice nor loving, and now they reverberated with shame and guilt.
Shaken from the painful reverie by a large black blur that raced in front of her Jeep. Jesalyn's heart jumped," FUCK!" she swerved to the right to miss whatever it was. The wheel shook in her hands as years of honed training took over. Fighting the rising panic to swing left, she eased her foot off the gas and let it coast. The Jeep jostled her body as hit a rock and bounced, the U-Haul following suit. The vehicle jerked dangerously to one side on two right tires before righting itself with a squealing bounce.
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Fortunately, she was in the desert, and there weren't many obstructions on the flat dusty road. She tapped the brake again, and the jeep still bouncing along came to a reluctant rumbling stop, the steering wheel reverberating under her hands. Burned rubber filled her nostrils as she sat in place, registering that the vehicle had come to a complete stop.
Jesalyn exhaled the breath she had instinctively held at the moment, then exited the Jeep quickly to look across the road to see a four-legged animal racing to a tree line. "Fuck! Who let the dog out!", then the sudden howls of what sounded like wolves came from the tree line. With practiced precision, she lifted the front of her white linen shirt with her left hand and drew her modified Staccato C2 with her right. Quickly she brought it up to her eye level to scan for... A pack of Dogs? Wolves? Do they even have wolves in Nevada? Her thoughts raced as she listened intently as she surveyed where the animal had run to.
She turned to look at her Jeep to see if she had clipped the animal with it. It was then she was greeted with the sight of a flat tire. "Effing great, Jes!", she exclaimed to herself. "Outstanding way to start a new life." Jes shifted her focus to her immediate surroundings to make sure no other animals were in her immediate vicinity before she replaced her firearm into her appendix holster. Frustrated, she took off her driving glasses and chucked them into the vehicle. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples to get back into focus. Jesalyn's anxiousness and frustration threatened to overwhelm her as thoughts flooded her mind at a maddening pace. She took a deep breath and did the only thing she knew to do to combat them. Order the thoughts and prioritize.
"Ok. You need the jack, and the spare tire, and a with a little luck you should be fine," she said to herself. It was then her bladder, reminded her it had been a while since she relieved herself. "But first I need to pee," she snapped her fingers. Jes looked around for a discreet place to relieve herself. She found it odd that trees and foliage were abundant on this stretch of road. Given all she knew of Nevada was from television shows based around Las Vegas so, she expected an arid desert landscape everywhere.
Just off the road about fifteen feet from the Jeep was an enormous boulder with a lot of tall bushes spread about around it. She grabbed a couple of napkins from the console of the Jeep, but as she retreated out of the vehicle, she heard a vehicle slowing down. Jesalyn pivoted her head to see an ancient GMC Jimmy with police lights in the window, driven by a man with some sort of law enforcement shield on it.
Jesalyn's thoughts went into overdrive. How many horror movies started like this? She thought as she fought the fight-or-flight response. Jes hung her head for a second in dejection. Jesus, can this day get any worse? I'm probably going to get a reckless driving ticket. The self-chastising thought came to mind. It was then she saw she didn't cover her weapon. Yep! I'm going to jail. Great!