Gale
Ipumped the gas in intervals until the Jeep was gently rocking. Each time, I encouraged it forward a fraction of an inch more. When I was comfortable with the steadily pulsing motion, I waited for the forward climb and pressed harder on the pedal, hoping the momentum and acceleration would pull me out of the muddy ditch.
For a heartbeat, the tires gained traction, but it was a tease, and after a few inches, they spun out in the muck. The Jeep slid the wrong way. I released the gas and slammed on the brake, trying to stop the backward slide.
It was hopeless.Iwas hopeless.
Each time I failed to reach the edge of the ditch, I ended up farther down the slope. With the angle of the Jeep, I couldn’t be sure all four tires were connected to the ground anymore. I didn’t know what to do. With the storm raging, I had no signal on my cell phone to call for help.
Olivia would be pissed. Not only had I taken my own vehicle—getting stuffed in her tiny car the previous week was enough for one lifetime—but I’d refused to stick with the group.
“And look where that got you.” I smacked the steering wheel.
Frustrated and out of options, I threw the emergency brake. The Jeep was in a semi-stable position. It had quit moving backward, but the mud beneath me was treacherous, and I didn’t trust it to hold much longer. The relentless rain hadn’t given up, and at this rate, I was more likely to end up at the bottom of the ditch than back on the road.
I opened my door and glanced to the rear of the Jeep. The bumper was nearly kissing the dirt. Great.
Slamming the door, I tipped my head against the headrest and closed my eyes, listening to the rain pummel the windshield and carbon fiber roof. Thunder rumbled. As one storm system moved out, another blazed through on its tail. I’d studied the radar long enough that morning to know the activity wouldn’t cease for at least another hour, maybe longer.
A strange vertigo hit me out of nowhere.
I popped my eyes open and braced as I studied the wet world beyond the window. Was I moving? “Shoot. No, no, no.”
My tires were definitely slipping. I disengaged the emergency brake while delicately pressing the gas with every intention of building that rocking motion again, but the Jeep wouldn’t move forward. For every lost inch, I tilted further.
Four-wheel wasn’t doing shit, and even though Jeeps could climb mountains and go off-trail, I had no skill or knowledge for those situations. Hell, I couldn’t parallel park to save my life.
I lost a few more inches, and the back bumper struck the bottom of the ditch with an unforgivingclunk. I cringed. My angle was such that I wasn’t sure a front tire hadn’t lifted off the ground.
Nothing but a tow truck was going to save me now. Killing the engine, I sighed. Amazing photographic opportunities notwithstanding, storm chasing was not my thing.
I checked my phone again, found half a bar, and tried to call my sister.
She answered, but the connection was so broken, I had trouble hearing over the storm.
“Olivia? Olivia, I’m stuck in a ditch.” I gave her the name of the road, but I didn’t think she heard me. “Hello? Come find me. Hello? Can you hear me? I need a tow truck.”
“We can’t get… the road… tree down in… blocking… dangerous.”
“What? There’s a tree in the road? What did you say?” The call dropped, and when I tried again, I had no signal.
Was there a tree in the road? Is that what she said? And with the road washed out on the other side, she couldn’t go around either.
Now I was really stuck.
It would be a long wait for a tow truck if they had to clear a tree first.
A flash of lightning lit up the wet world beyond the windshield. I was at an awkward angle, my ass end halfway in the ditch. Pressed into the seat, I stared mostly at the sky. The roiling clouds moved quickly, several layers deep, and I studied them as thunder crashed and boomed.
If it wasn’t raining so hard, I might have gotten out to take pictures, but even though my camera was weatherproof, I wasn’t ready to test it in a torrential downpour.
I debated what to do, though I had few options. Getting out and walking was pointless. I was miles from Newton. I could venture to the farmhouse I’d seen along the road a quarter mile back, but that meant conversing with strangers.
I could walk to this supposedly downed tree and hope Olivia was on the other side waiting. Was that what she wanted me to do? How far back was it? Would she wait, or would I hike the distance in the storm in vain? She wasn’t too happy with me, so I didn’t have high hopes.
A sudden pounding on the passenger window made me jump out of my skin and scream. The seat belt cut into the side of my neck as I flailed in panic.
Heart in my throat, I peered through the rain-washed window at the figure of a man on the other side, hood drawn up and face pressed to the glass, peeking in.
