A Voyage in the Near Distance 1: From Here to Nearly There by Alec Merta

Author:Alec Merta [Merta, Alec]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction
Goodreads: 23125124
Published: 2014-08-18T17:00:00+00:00

8

From York, we followed the A64 as it snaked east. That part of the journey was uneventful, and we soon found ourselves turning onto another A-road that would take us farther north and into the Moors proper.

As we glided through the wind and lightning of the ever-menacing weather, a strange calm fell over me. I was relaxed by the view outside. Thus, I nominated myself to keep vigil, scanning the skies for anomalous lights that did not belong. This was probably a rather futile effort, I must admit. The clouds formed a low ceiling that hung for miles in every direction. When the world lit up in brief flashes of lightning, I could see vast, swirling clouds rolling with natural hostility. To my eyes, the world above us was an intermittently lit ocean filled with magenta waves and crests.

The rain held back, more or less, until we made it to Pickering. From there until we reached the outskirts of the park, it came in waves. These would fall upon us without warning, blanking out the windscreen such that the wiper blades could barely keep up. Then they would subside as we travelled out of the reach of one storm cloud and toward that of another. Always, there was lightning. With each flash came another booming of thunder.

Exhaustion threatened to overtake me. I sorely missed the coffee I had purchased only, what was it now? An hour ago? Two? Was that all? In any case, I would have paid dearly for some caffeine. From time to time, I considered abandoning my vigil in favor of sleep. Each time I did so, I closed my eyes only to see a white shaft of light reaching out from the darkness to seize my body. Each time, my eyes snapped open, and I resumed my watch.

I knew we had reached the Moors when the foliage began to consume the road before us. Trees hung over and cast shadows in the headlights. Bolts of lightning made monsters of them all.

I marveled at how transformed the world was from only a few hours before. It was hard for me to accept that I had driven the very same road, in the opposite direction of course, only just that morning. How different was the scenery now. Gone were the bucolic and the pastoral. These had been replaced by murk and darkness. And cold. Even with the heater on, I felt the chill outside gnawing at the doors. It wanted in, and I shivered in anticipation of our inevitable venturing away from the safety of our stolen transportation. This thought made me look at Allie.

“It’s going to be cold out there,” I said.

“Yep,” she replied.

“You’re not really dressed for it.”

“That’s already crossed my mind. Why don’t you look around and see if the guy we stole this from keeps any warm clothes in the back.”

This was an unquestionably fine idea. I knew my immediate surroundings held nothing, so I turned around and began to look in the back seat.

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