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Thank you for reading Coop! If this tale caught your attention please read Coop’s adventure in The Hitchhiker. Below is a free sample for your enjoyment. If you enjoy any of my writing, please kindly post a review to show your support.
Best wishes,
Elle Bee
Prologue To The Hitchhiker
“Where you headed?”
“Anywhere but here.” I answered giving the driver a once over. His black hair was rather greasy, but then, mine probably wasn’t much better. Even though he was sitting, I could tell he was bigger than me, probably more like two of me put together after eating Thanksgiving dinner. His nose looked like it had been broken too many times in its life, but his smile was genuine. If I had to guess I’d say he was about thirty five.
“That’s exactly where I’m going, hop in. Hurry up now.” He seemed nice enough, so I went for it. I grabbed the door handle and pulled. The door made a light popping noise as I began to tug it towards me. It was not even open an inch when the memories of my first and only “hitchhiking” experience flooded my mind…
The day was partly cloudy and complete with a light breeze. I took long deep breaths of the fresh air as I waited for my ride from Trinidad, Oklahoma (my home) all the way to Kerrville, Texas. My only belongings were packed in the duffle bag on the curb beside me. Everything else I had once owned, except for my pet pig who stayed with my parents, was donated or given away.
My pastor’s mother, Mrs. Steward, finally appeared, slowly driving around the corner. She swerved into the middle of the street a good three times in the minute that I watched her before she slammed her gas pedal to the floor for 5 seconds then braked hard in front of my neighbor’s house, on the wrong side of the street. I stood and jogged over to her car as she honked the horn, disturbing my neighbor, Old Man Ebby, who was perpetually in a bad mood.
“Is the door stuck or something? Let’s go, boy!”
I shook my head, bringing myself back to reality. Pushing the memories of Mrs. Steward’s craziness to the back of my mind, I swung open the door to the rusty ol’ pickup and, as instructed, started to hop in. Immediately I noticed there was no A/C as sweat continued to slide down the back of my neck and soak my blue T-shirt. An overpowering air freshener stung my nose the first chance it got, causing a very loud, very unexpected, sneeze.
I plopped down onto the seat and was relieved to find it comfortable enough. It felt amazing to relax and get off my feet. I stretched out my legs as much as possible, which wasn’t nearly far enough. The floor was crowded with books, loose papers, rags and dirty work clothes making barely enough room to fit my chunky duffle bag between my feet, much less stretch out.
As my nose began to adjust to the air freshener, it started picking up other scents. The dirty work clothes produced the mixed aroma of sweat and sawdust. The loose papers on the ground must have had something spilled on them, because they were beginning to mildew, and there was fresh coffee in his coffee mug.
The smoke from his cigarette wafted up my nose next, catching my complete attention. The idea to light one up as well slid into my brain and my body responded out of habit. My mouth began to water as my hands worked together to retrieve both my cigarettes and lighter out of my pockets. The lighter was running low on fuel, but with some coaxing, it worked its magic one last time.
“Name’s Joe.” The driver said conversationally as he steered back onto the interstate. There was almost no traffic and it would be safe to say we were in the middle of nowhere. To our left were large fields and some cattle. To our right, the scenery was not too different. There were larger fields and some more cattle. And yes, the grass was definitely greener on the other side.
“Eh… Coop.” I extended my hand hoping he would see it. He didn’t seem to be paying much attention to what was going on inside the cab. His attention appeared captivated by the road and fields of cattle. However, I needed to shake his hand. It was one of the few ways I had discovered to nonchalantly come in contact with people and contact was the only way I could get a read. I needed a read on Joe just in case this guy was more hazardous to my life than he looked. The earlier you get reads on people the better, I repeated to myself, remembering getting into the car with Mrs. Steward and being too scared of her to try to read her. Her first words to me were along the lines of “You make people wait too long for you! Now you get to see where your mentor pastor grew up. The Lone Star State! Yeehaw!” With her last word, she lightly pressed the gas pedal.
Most of the ride consisted of people avoiding wrecks with her and then angrily exclaiming through their open window. She went through phases of driving slower than a snail and then faster than a racing cheetah, preventing me from ever getting used to her driving. I thought for sure we would wreck before arriving at our destination. Surprisingly, I was wrong.
Joe once again pulled me back to reality as he accepted the handshake. His sweaty palm connected with my shaky one. The first read is always a scary thing, you never know what you’re going to find. It’s like being put on a rollercoaster with a blindfold. Not knowing how fast you will go, if you will go upside down, how many hills there are or when the ride will even stop! The anticipation of the first read combined with my memories set my hands trembling and my heart thumping quicker than normal. The rollercoaster only lasted a quarter of a second as Joe’s emotions washed over me. Nothing seemed to be haunting him from his past, at least not at the moment. He was even in a reasonably good mood, excited about something happening later in the day. He appeared to have a song stuck in his head, an old country one. From what I could tell, he just wanted to be helpful and give me a ride. No bad intentions, no horror movie type things. And no noticeable evil driving plans, which was the important part.
When he pulled his hand away his emotions and the few thoughts I had picked up on went with it, pulling the ride to a complete stop and leaving my head with only my thoughts and emotions. The removal of Joe’s thoughts failed to calm my mind. As usual, instead, it sparked an abundance of thoughts of my own, way more than enough for one head. They bombarded my brain so much I thought it would explode. Questions wouldn’t stop coming. They were nothing new, always the same, always without answers. Were there others like me? Was I so unique that I was truly one of a kind? Did other people have slightly different gifts? Could anyone teach me about my gift? If other gifts existed, were some of them evil? Was there a way to turn the gifts off?
I had a slight adrenaline rush, causing my thoughts to move faster. Each and every question in my mind wanted to be answered immediately. I felt like a small puppy in a classroom, every child wanting my attention. Or like the president giving an important press conference. Parts of my mind told me I had just invaded this man’s personal privacy while other parts told me it was a gift and I should use my gift. Still, other thoughts wanted to know more about the man, and it was so much easier to just read instead of wait for answers and deal with lies. Something inside me always wanted to know more about the people I read. One touch and it felt like we were connected, like I would never forget them and should know everything about them.
To prevent the head explosion, I quickly finished my cigarette and started another. The thoughts were too much to control on my own. I needed my cigarettes to keep the stress of being a freak down. The stress of knowing more than anyone wants you to know but knowing nothing about yourself. I knew God had a reason for this. I just needed to find it.
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About Elle Bee
Elle Bee was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. Ever since she was a little girl, writing stories was one of her favorite things to do. After a six week trip in Bangkok Thailand, writing finally became more than a hobby for her, it became her career!
Other Titles by Elle Bee
The Hitchhiker
Safe: Cara and Hao’s Tale
Connect with Elle Bee
To connect with Elle Bee, visit her blog at https://ellebee.me.
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