businesses. Surely a gas station or an ATM would be nearby.
As he approached the booth, he noticed this one only had one lane. It’s ok, he thought. If nothing else, this attendant has to have more sense than the last. He pulled up to the kiosk, rolling down his window.
A man about his age, but quite stocky-looking, sat behind the tinted glass. As Toby came to a stop, the man said, “Five dollars, please.”
Toby noticed the man’s eyes as he spoke. What is with these people and the freaky eyes around here? Maybe it’s a vitamin deficiency. He forced himself to smile.
“Excuse me. I seem to have gotten myself on this road without enough money for all the toll booths. It’s the first time I’ve travelled this road and did not realize it would be so much. I also noticed there are no Bill-Me-Later lanes. Are you able to take a debit card payment here?”
The man stared back at him for a moment, then dropped his gaze, and brought it slowly back up to meet Toby’s, making his skin crawl. Finally, he spoke.
“Sorry. We don’t accept card payments, only cash. Surely you can scrape up enough change.”
Toby sighed, reminding himself to keep his temper in check. “That’s the problem – I don’t. Like I said, I didn’t realize. I tried to call my girlfriend to help me out, but my phone hasn’t picked up a signal for a while now.”
The man stared. Toby cleared his throat and spoke again. “Look, I am assuming this road leads to civilization. Is there a gas station ahead somewhere? I would be glad to leave you my driver’s license while I go and locate an ATM.”
“Sorry,” the man said, never changing his expression. “I cannot do that. Rules are rules, you know?”
Toby could feel his temper building, his blood shifting from a simmer to a boil. His face was getting hot and he was seriously tired of this mess. “Look, surely your state highway department doesn’t intend to keep people on this road if they can’t pay up.
“I told you I would come back; I will leave my watch along with my license. The watch is worth $200. Can we work out a deal?”
Toby turned his head at a thumping sound coming from the back of the car. He didn’t see anything. That was weird. He turned back to the sound of the attendant’s voice.
“No deal. You pay, or you do not pass.”
“Okay, seriously? I am going to call and make a complaint to the state tomorrow. This is insane. You people can’t hold me here.”
“The state does not manage this road. It is managed by a private company. Your calling won’t do any good. Besides,” the man said with a slight smile, “you said your phone has no signal here, and you can’t even pay to pass.”
“You think this is funny?” Toby exploded. “This is ridiculous. I am about tired of dealing with you bunch of inbred, undereducated, absent-minded, bumpkins! I have money; I just need to get to an ATM. If someone would just work with me here, I can get the money, pay you, and get out of your hair.”
There was no smile now as the attendant stood and leaned forward through the window. He was almost snarling when he said, “You don’t pay… you don’t pass.”
“Fine!” Toby said, slapping his steering wheel. He grabbed the cell phone off the seat and checked again for a signal. There was still not even one bar. “Do you at least have a phone I could use to call someone to get me some money?”
“No, we don’t have public phones.”
“Then how do you expect me to come up with some money?” Oh, yeah, Toby thought. Someone is definitely losing their job over this.
“It’s not my problem,” the man replied.
“You are no better than the woman up the road,” Toby grumbled putting his car into reverse, yet again.
The man smiled, “I wouldn’t make my mother angry if I were you. She could make your payment slow and painful.”
Toby’s eyes widened. Was that a threat? This guy was that woman’s son? He heard the man laugh as he spun his tires, trying to put some distance between himself and this… this what? This idiot? This lunatic? Or is the “mother” the lunatic. He realized the similarities now. They both had a very large build, crazy eyes, and jowls like a bulldog. He wondered if the first freaky-eyed guy was related, as well.
As he turned his car around to head back to the turnpike, he noticed a boy standing in the shade behind the toll booth. His features looked no older than eleven or twelve years old, but the boy was tall and quite stocky. He didn’t notice him when he approached the booth. Why was that kid staring at him? Toby sped past the boy thinking there was really something wrong with the people in this area. Creepy did not even begin to describe it.
As he started back south, toward the pay station he had cleared earlier in the day, he turned his phone off. Maybe if he reset it, it would pick up a signal. The gas gauge was in the red now. This was no good. After waiting a minute, he powered his phone back up. After the phone rebooted, he checked for a signal - absolutely nothing. He dialed Kate’s number – still nothing.
He pulled onto the side of the road, shut off the engine, got out of the car, and walked around to the passenger side. He had been sitting way too long. He relieved himself on the side of the road. It’s not like there was anyone to see. When he was finished, he zipped up, walked to the back of the car, and began to pace. It felt good to stretch his legs. It was starting to get dark now. There was no sound out here except a bird call, or the occasional cricket.
After a couple of minutes of getting his blood moving again, Toby checked his phone one more time; no signal. He tried again to send a text message, hoping at least that would go through. After a couple of minutes of trying, the phone gave the message “Unable to send,” then another, “No network available.”
Toby balled his fist, and then screamed as loud as he could. The birds and the insects fell silent. At least someone respected him.
These idiots have ruined his plans, he was stuck out in the middle of nowhere with no cell signal, not a pay phone anywhere, because they barely existed anymore. What’s more, he had not seen another car for hours. Where were all the people? This was insane. As for the people who worked this road – some serious freaks.
Toby did not like not being in control. His life had to have order. As long as he was in control, he could insure he kept order in his life. As long as he was in control, he could be surrounded by the people he wanted around; he could build the life he wanted, climb the ladder, and make his own destiny. If he lost control over any aspect of his life, he could lose his grip on the whole thing. Everything he had worked so hard to achieve could unravel and he would be left with nothing.
Take this situation for instance. Because of this set back, Toby would not finish his reports tonight. He would look bad in front of the boss. Worse, if he could not find a way off this road, he would not make it to work in the morning, and he would be a “no call, no show,” at that. One of the guys drooling for his position in the company would jump at that opportunity. No, this would not do at all. Toby knew he had to find a way to get control of this situation before things went any further.
With new resolve, and blood circulating again, Toby rounded his car, heading to the driver’s side. He froze at the rear of the car. What was that hissing sound? He stepped back and looked down. His rear passenger tire was half flat.
Horrified, Toby stepped up to the tire, and knelt down to get a better look. A nail. There was a nail in the side of the tire. The words that spewed from his mouth would have embarrassed even the most indiscriminate. He stood and walked away from the car in long strides, raking his hand through his hair.
This can’t be happening. Toby could not believe his eyes. This is just beyond… beyond… How did the nail get into the side of the tire? He turned and walked quickly back to the car. It wasn’t even in the side, at the bottom edge. It was actually in the side wall of the tire. This made no sense.
He stood and walked to the front of the car. He opened the glove box and pressed the button to pop the trunk. He was sure there was a don
ut in the trunk. He had never had to use it before.
As he walked to the trunk, he remembered the thumping sound he heard at the toll booth. That didn’t make any sense, though. Nobody would intentionally put a nail in his tire, would they? Oh, he knew some neighborhoods in the city where it might happen - but out here in the boondocks? Why? The boy standing behind the toll booth… No, Toby thought. He may have had the opportunity, but certainly not the strength. He remembered hearing two quick thumps. No, he was just being paranoid. Obviously the stress of this trip was getting to him. He picked up this nail somewhere – some freak mishap.
Toby opened his trunk, moved the carpeted covering to one side, and began to extricate the tire tool, jack, and spare tire. He pulled out his cell phone, and once again checked for a signal – still nothing. He shook his head, and started removing the lug nuts from his nearly flat tire.
A few minutes later all the lug nuts were off, and Toby pulled the tire off, and let it drop onto the ground. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, and stood and stretched his back. He was not a manual laborer. He paid people to do this stuff for him. If he had a cell signal, he would have called for roadside assistance.
He huffed and puffed while he changed the tire. Beads of sweat began to roll down his face. This is fine, he thought. I needed the practice anyway.
A twig snapped from