Hitchhikers Read Online Free PDF Page A

the night, a smoother
ride than most trucks that deafen you with the sound of their own
motors. The fields fall back; we pass by isolated gas stations and
through dark, silent towns.
    Up ahead, the word “VACANCY” glows red in the
night.
    “Hey, I’m gonna stop in here,” says Paul.
“You’re welcome to share my room if you want.”
    no no no no no
    I say nothing. There’s not much else around,
nowhere to go unless I keep on walking and hitch another ride.
    He pulls in, parks in front of the brightly
lit office.
    “Just wait here. And crouch down a bit.
Sometimes they like to charge by the number of people in the room.
I’m just going to pay for a single then we can sneak you in.”
    I nod and he jumps out.
    The familiar roiling starts up in my
stomach.
    you know why he wants you to hide
    I watch him inside, chatting with the night
clerk of the motel, laughing easily. Everything about him looks
safe and friendly. Everything about him makes my body scream
    RUN
    As he thanks the clerk and turns to come back
out I reach for the door handle. I’ll tell him I can’t stay. I’ll
walk off into the night without a word. My legs have rested; maybe
I could run.
    The door handle doesn’t work.
    The blackness pulses, heavy and strong,
pressing into my eyeballs
    RUN RUN RUN
    “Oh, yeah, that door doesn’t quite work.”
Paul hops in, restarts the van. “I’m gonna park closer to our room.
That way he won’t see you.” He jerks his head to indicate the night
clerk, and gives me a wink with his flash of teeth. “Remember?”
    hands clammy, cold sweat dropping down my
sides
    Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. I can do this.
    He parks in front of room 7, climbs out, and
comes around to let me out.
    When I move to slide out he doesn’t get out
of the way. He’s close enough for me to smell his aftershave and
the sour smell beneath it, nervous under a cool demeanor. No, not
nervous. He leaves me trapped there between the door and the van as
he reaches behind my seat for a suitcase.
    Not nervous.
    Excited.
    He slings his arm around me like we’re best
buddies after our three hours on the road. Pulls me toward the door
marked “7.”
    The taste of bile in my mouth becomes a
flood.
    “Hey, it’s okay.” He’s noticed how badly I’m
shaking. He pushes me through the door and sits me down on the bed.
His suitcase at my feet and he’s peering into my face. “When was
the last time you ate anything?”
    I’m panting now. “Yesterday.”
    the door’s still open run RUN
    blackness swimming in
    “Okay. Why don’t you lie down? Come on, it’s
okay, just lie down.”
    can’t see anymore, just his voice sounds so
nice but under it I can hear it that greedy sound of anticipation,
of GLEE
    He gently makes me lie down. “It’s gonna be
okay. You stay here and I’ll go grab some food, okay?”
    His hands are gone. I’m safe.
    I hear clicking sounds then his hands are
back, gripping my wrist.
    Click, clank click.
    A cold bracelet biting into my wrist.
    fuck no NO NO NONONONO
    “You stay right here and when I come back
we’ll have some fun…”
    Even that cold shock gone now in the rush of
darkness –
     
     

 
-12-
    My first thought is, I’m still handcuffed
to the bed.
    My second thought is, I’m not hungry
anymore.
    It’s hard not to open my eyes with all the
sunlight streaming in. Gauzy white curtains cover the windows,
allowing only a vague picture of the parking lot.
    The van is still parked out front.
    It looks to be noon or later from the direct
shadows beneath the cars.
    My uncuffed arm is in front of my face. It’s
cold. No sleeve. I don’t have on a shirt anymore. My right arm is
cold too, colder, dangling from the handcuff that is attached to
the bedpost and serving as a pillow.
    My feet are cold but my waist isn’t. A sharp
breath and I see it. The arm encircling my waist. A hairy arm,
wearing a cheap watch.
    With that breath I am suddenly aware of the
warmth at my back.
    Am I wearing pants? I move one