Night shift

NIGHT - SHIFT.

Not for the first time Darryl glanced down at the dashboard, the
fluorescent glow contorting his features into a desperate mask of
concern. He watched transfixed as the fuel needle flickered above the
red segment.
He was down to the last couple of gallons.
Gripping the wheel fiercely he stamped his foot down. He had to find a
petrol station, fast.
Ahead, his dazzling headlights illuminated a continuo flat expanse of
black asphalt, disappearing into a starless horizon.
Glancing in the rear mirror he noticed another vehicle trailing them,
its twin beams some distance away.
'Come on, come on,' he muttered under his breath. In the passenger seat
a figure stirred, its blonde tousled head emerging from a pile of
blankets.
'Where are we?' a woman's voice asked, her speech slurred with the
effects of sleep.
'In the middle of nowhere, that's bloody well where we are,' replied
Darryl.
'There's no need to get annoyed with me.'
'I'm sorry Hannah, it's because I'm tired.' He briefly wondered if he
should tell her about the petrol.
'Yeah, well it wasn't my idea to travel through the night, was it,' she
said sarcastically. Before he could make a witty riposte back she
yelled, 'What's that light flashing next to the fuel level?'
Checking again, the vehicle, an arctic by its size was swiftly
approaching. He could feel the tremor of its wheels, bumping along the
slick tarmac behind.
'It means we could be spending the night on the hard shoulder.'
'Can't we stop at a filling station and get some?' she asked seriously.
It was through by just saying the words a filling station, complete
with a welcome rest would materialize beside them.
'The next twenty four hour is more than a hundred miles away.'
'Well I'm not spending a night cooped up on an eerie motorway,' said
Hannah. 'We're be knifed by a loony serial killer whilst we
sleep.
Darryl chuckled, before checking the mirror again. The arctic was
nearly upon them. It resembled some mammoth beast from prehistoric
times, with glowing dual headlights blazing burnt orange. Its engines
were raging with anger, steam gushing from its heart in an endless
torrent.
Suddenly the car interior was flooded with a harsh blinding light.
Steering blind, screamed, 'What's your problem mate?'
An air-horn shrieked in response, its earsplitting double blast
sounding like an alien death rattle.
Hannah spun round, her eyes transfixed on the apparition behind. It was
only a few feet away. She could make out scraps and dents on the
gunmetal chassis, as its intense hulk bore down on them.
'Its going to ram us!' she screamed. Darryl wasn't prepared for the
impact that came, his body flying forward as the arctic slammed into
their bumper. His head thumped against the window, the car swerving
erratically across two lanes as he momentarily lost control. Coming
round he grabbed the steering wheel two-handed in a desperate battle to
drag the car from an uncontrollable skid. They collided with the
central reservation in a shower of sparks and burning rubber.
They were still travelling at more than sixty miles an hour when the
arctic overtook them on the inside lane. Hannah watched in horror as it
spun sideward in an obvious move to crush them. It was so close she
could see a figure behind the smoked glass side window peering down at
them.
'Oh my God, he's trying to kill us!' Hannah screamed, closing her eyes
and frantically holding her seat.
The Arctic's horn howled with triumph as it closed in for the
kill.
Darryl shut his eyes, his body rigid and tense as he waited for the
inevitable smash. All he could hear was Hannah's screaming and the
throaty roar of the Arctic's engine bearing down on them.
Looking up he watched as it came within three feet.
Two feet.
He could almost touch the side now. Still it came, its tyres spinning
like jet -black monolithic moons.
Six inches.
Darryl heard rather then felt the moment of impact. A screeching that
hurt his ears, as the two vehicles scraped alongside each other.
Putting his hand in Hannah's, he looked over to her. She was still
crying, the tears cascading down from a glazed disbelieving
expression.
Then suddenly it was all over, the arctic moving away at high speed, a
plume of thick smoke bellowing from its exhaust as it powered down the
middle lane.
'I don't believe it. He was just toying with us!' cried Darryl with
delight.
Hannah's only reply was a couple of loud sobs.
'Did you get his plate?'
Hannah burst out laughing. 'No sorry, I was too busy trying to stay
alive.'
'Well he's not going to get away with this,' said Darryl.
'You're not going after him. The guys a lunatic,' said Hannah, her
voice thick with fear.
Crunching the gear stick into fifth he slammed his foot down. Darryl's
eyes were focussed as he chased after the arctic, the car fish tailing
down the empty road in a dense spiral of burning rubber.
Up ahead the arctic turned off, taking the next slip road. The pair
watched it disappear over the horizon.
'Come on Darryl, let's just go home, leave him,' Hannah pleaded.
But Darryl was resolute. 'No way! Just because he's a lorry driver he
can't act like that.'
'But what about the petrol?' she said indicating the needle.
Shrugging he said, 'Better to run out here than on the hard shoulder,
especially with them serial killers roaming about.'
They both burst out laughing.
Turning off the motorway they witnessed the twinkling of brake lights
as the arctic entered the outskirts of a town.
Squeezing Hannah's hand reassuringly, Darryl navigated his way across a
murky roundabout in a determined effort to catch his attacker.