The Road Goes Ever On Novels & Stories

“Almost lost them.” Almost. The road stretches ahead. The trees are thin. The sky widens. For a moment, I think we are safe. Then the headlights behind us reappear. Closer. Aggressive. Ale stiffens. “They sped up.” The driver grips the wheel tighter. “Hold on.” He swerves hard, speeding down a dirt path I would never have noticed in daylight. “Where are we going?” I ask. “Anywhere they cannot follow easily,” he says. “This is old farmland. The road is rough.”

“I will be.” He doesn’t say anything, just nods, his eyes returning to the road. The silence between us is heavy, laden with the weight of our shared past and the fear of the unknown. I don’t know where we’re going, but I trust Ivan to get us there. The sun begins to set, painting the sky with hues of orange and pink. Ivan pulls off the main road, steering the car onto a narrow dirt track that winds through the desert. I glance out the window, the landscape a vast expanse of nothingness, the horizon stretching out forever.

“We’re on a highway, I think. There’s a mile marker sign coming up. Says 120. Lots of trees. Sun is setting on my left over some mountains. Oh, I see that peak that looks like a baby’s bottle.” “A baby’s bottle?” I could hear James muffling the mouthpiece and shouting at someone in the background. “Okay, good, Addie. Can you make out another peak to the left? Looks kind of like a scythe?” I looked. “Yeah, I think so. Hey, James? The road is really curvy. Does that help?” “Yeah, Addie, it does. I think you’re on the old Spiral Highway. We’re heading your way.”

I drove farther and farther away down the road, the breeze of the evening sending calming waves over me. ‘Mutual misunderstanding, after the fact, Sensitivity builds a prison, nah, nah, act’ I hummed the lyrics, tapping lightly on my steering wheel as I watched the sunset before me. I was miles away from the city, my destination still unknown. I was set on letting go of all my worries, hoping to find a solution at the end of the road. ‘No tears to damn you, when jealousy burns. Cold, cold heart, hard done by you Some things look better baby, just passing through.

I only had a year to find my answers, no distractions was a good way to start. "Venus, honey, are you ready?" My mom called me from the kitchen, as I opened my bedroom door. "Yes, mom be right there." I called back. Walking towards the kitchen, I was singing Famous Last Words out loud. "I am not afraid to keep on living, I am not afraid to walk this world alone, honey if you stay I'll be forgiven, Nothing you can say can stop me going home. Can you see my eyes are shining bright? Cause I'm out here on the other side of a jet black hotel mirror and I'm so weak..."

I lowered my gaze to the new studio contract on the table. The address was in the south of the city, by the river, a place where fog gathered more often than not. "I've paid my share too." … On opening day, Tristan came. He did not come inside. He only stood across the street, holding a paper bag. "Do you want to go over?" Wyatt asked. I shook my head. Not long after, the front desk brought up a package. Inside was the repaired fog lamp, and the line "Come home when the fog clears" on the base had been re-engraved.

and closes the door behind him. I hold my breath until I hear the truck leave, then walk to the window to watch it drive down the road until I can’t see or hear it anymore. Then I sink to my knees and cry until I can’t cry anymore. The mixture of thoughts and emotions is so hard to explain. Deep down, I know Rob"s full of shit, and at the same time, I believe I’m a lazy fat-ass, and everyone thinks so.

"There is no why. Find someone else. I can't do it." I headed for the exit. Celine followed, dragging both hands through her hair. "Mount Ashen gets worse every year. A few drivers tried that pass over the last couple years. None of them came back. "If you don't go, nobody will. Are you sick or something? Fine, I'll come with you. I'll handle the rescue. You just drive. "But you owe us an explanation. The team's broke. Everyone's been waiting for a chance like this. They deserve to know why."

Moving on is the only choice. The car glides quietly through the empty streets.

Nikolai “I missed this place.” Hope said as we entered the property on the aptly named Attitude Adjustment Road. It is immediately clear to even the most discerning connoisseur of life that you have crossed over into a different world. ‘Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both’ I said, absentmindedly reciting Robert Frost’s poem. ‘I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.’