Highway to Hell
Highway to Hell
Written by William Jones
I struggled to keep from blowing chunks all over Mark and Tony as the ride kept spinning faster, and faster. My thoughts were all jumbled up as the lights streaked by one by one, and my head was spinning. I wanted to puke, but I tried my best to keep from it, because I knew they would be on my case if I did. I kept my eyes closed hoping the spinning would stop before I made a complete wuss outta myself, but the ride kept going... Finally, it began to slow down, and I heard the click of the levers as the ride operator pulled them back. Finally it's over, I kept repeating in my head that is, until the ride started to spin the other way. My stomach churned at the thought of the awesome G-force I was about to have to endure again. I looked over at my friends before the ride began to spin very fast, and I saw they were having the time of their lives. I sighed and said to myself, Poor Bobby, you've done it again as that familiar force of gravity tugged at me once again, and I felt like my head was going to explode. I closed my eyes again hoping that it was a dream, and that I wasn't going to puke, but I could feel it coming forward, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I felt it coming forward the putrid repulsive liquid was in my mouth I could even taste it. I couldn't take it anymore the vile taste too strong to hold in. I released it from my mouth, and it sprayed forth like a waterfall, and other people screamed as the vile, disgusting, and liquid found it in their mouths.
I'm dead, I thought as the operator saw the mess and other people riding began to puke as well, the vile liquid then hitting me in the face and causing me to blow chunks again. I had never been good at holding my lunch in rides that spun past the ratio of thirty-five miles an hour, but tonight was different. This time I tried my best, but my body having been exposed to the vile air near the restroom complexes, gave out on me and ruined my night completely. As the ride was slowing to a hush, I looked over at my friends who themselves also, were puking because of my accident. I knew they were going to be pissed off at me but did I care?
No.screw'em all, because this time it wasn't my fault, and it pissed me off royally that no matter how hard I tried; I wasn't manly enough to last on "the accident". That's what the kids at school called this ride because of one thing; this son of a bitch could make anyone puke at anytime. I felt relived when the ride did stop, and the operator finally took off the belt that had held me prisoner for what seemed like an eternity. I looked down at my shirt as I stepped off that nightmarish piece of living hell, and noticed that my shirt was soaked in my own puke. Screw it! I'm never riding that damn thing again I said to myself as walked toward a crowd of people just anxious to get on, and lose their lunch like I did. I wasn't surprised that the people crowed around in a line that was the size from Antarctica to Alaska could do nothing but voice their hatred towards me as I staggered off the platform in almost a drunk-like state. I'd reached the bottom of the platform with my knees beginning to burn like fire, I stopped for a second to rub my right knee when a guy from the crowd stepped up and said;
"Hurry up and move your ass it's our turn to ride it." I should've seen that coming, but for some reason it came as a complete shock, almost as if someone had stuck a live wire to my ass.
I looked at him and gave him the finger saying;
"You tell me to hurry up once more, and you'll be picking your bloody carcass up off the floor after I beat the hell out of you got that you little punk?" He said nothing, but I could tell he was frightened, and he backed up and let me pass.
I felt satisfied with that small victory and savored every last second, as I took as long as I could to walk by; my wet shirt clinging to me like freshly wrapped plastic. I kept thinking about the embracement I would suffer the next day at school, what’s wrong Bobby, can't tough it out like a real man? I could hear their taunts in my head as kept walking forward surveying my possibly ruined shirt. Damn it, it looks like I took a shower in puke. How totally screwed up! I thought as I turned around, and waited for my execution to begin when Mark and Tony spotted me, and came running over.
"Hey Bobby, why the hell can't you keep from puking your guts up on that damn ride?! I mean this is like the third year in a role, that you have caused an accident. If you can't take it, then stay off from now on OK?" Tony said as he wiped his mouth and checked his shirt; he hadn't landed any on his shirt, because when he threw up, he did it on Mark, who was still looking like he was sick. Tony looked at his watch for a few seconds and then looked at us.
"The party starts at 11:P.M. and goes till tomorrow, so we had better get going if we want to make it before all of the beer is gone." He said as he pulled out a black comb and ran it through his long black hair as Mark stopped wiping his mouth and looked up.
"I need a change of clothes, and I think Bobby does too." He said as he stared at my shirt, but saw that his was worse then mine. He looked back at Tony and gave him a look of confusion and anger.
"Why of all the damn places you turned your head, why was I the one who got nailed?!" He shouted as Tony began to laugh, and placed the comb in the pocket of his black leather jacket. Tony started to walk towards his car and motioned for us to follow him, like a dog follows his master. I sometimes wondered why I hung out with Mark and Tony. They seemed to cause me nothing but trouble, and they both liked to get drunk off their asses and laugh about it. Tonight they were taking me to a party being held by a popular jock at school, even though we had just blown fifty bucks on the stupid fair. I ripped off my armband as we walked out of the gates; a chill ran up my spine when I saw a black cat ahead of us, hissing as we walked by.
We walked for what seemed like an eternity, reaching Tony's 68' Red Mustang with sweat rolling down our faces. We were almost blinded as a big black van pulled onto the street heading down toward the fair. Tony rubbed his eyes and cursed at the van, but it didn't get the driver's attention. Tony kept cursing as our vision returned to us, the blinding light seemingly from hell behind us.
"OK guys, hop in, and let’s get the hell out of here!" Tony yelled as he opened his door and pushed the key in the ignition. We practically jumped in the back, and I moved up front, Tony scolding us for almost scratching his "sweet" ride.
"Hey you dumb asses, stop trying to hump one another and settle the fuck down." Tony said, laughing his head off at our stupidity. I felt like a total loser when he said that and we both gave him the finger and tried to situate ourselves in the seats. Tony must have been doing at least 85mph in a 50mph zone, his car like a black lightning streak in the night. We rounded the street corner, Mark beginning to feel sick in the back seat.
"Guys, we're gonna have to make a pit stop, because I'm about to puke all over myself again." He said as Tony, and I turned around to see how bad he looked. His face told the story, his expression like that of a drunken man, and he was holding his stomach as best as he could to try and keep the putrid liquid from escaping its prison.
"I hear ya man. I wanted to pick up some liquor any way before we got to the party. The Liquor Store is about a half of a mile away, can you hold it in until then?" He asked looking back at mark, his face almost that of child trying to get his way.
"Sure, I guess I can hold it for another half of a mile." Tony said as we hit a bump in the road, he grabbed his stomach in pain. Tony saw the flashing sign up ahead, the lights flashing like a symbol from heaven, or a disguised message from hell, LIQ OR ST RE. A few of the letters were missing, property of a local thief or the homeless no doubt, but at the same time a sign of things to come, possibly a warning.
"I'll be right back and Mark hurry your ass in there and vomit if you need to." Tony said, disappearing into the dark shadows of the entranceway, the lights not shining for unknown reasons.
I helped Mark out of the car, being gentle not to jar his stomach for fear he would puke all over his clothes. I put his arm over my shoulder, and carefully, cautiously, made my way toward the dark entrance. I pushed open the doors, I could see Tony at one of the shelves, pulling open the glass and grabbing three big liquor bottles. I helped Mark over to the bathroom door and closed it behind him. Staring back at Tony, I approached the front counter. There was nobody to sell us the liquor; hesitatingly I pressed the small black bell that rested on the dirty counter top, and it rung out in the shadows like a screaming banshee. I looked across the corner as something stirred in darkness, sweat rolling down my forehead, as an old man came out, one of his eyes were black and menacing.
"Hello, my friend is getting three bottles of hard liquor, so I'll go ahead and pay for it while I'm waiting for my friend to come out of the bathroom." I said reaching into my pockets for what money I had stored away for a rainy day. I began to pull out my license, the old man's hand stopping my own,
"No need my boy you look old enough to accept the consequences to come." He said grinning as he reached his other hand out for the crumpled money I held in my hand.
"The deal is done." He said grabbing the money, a grin on his face as he placed it in the cash register. He smiled at me, his teeth reeking of rot, and decay;
"Come back real soon." He said, walking back into the darkness. I meant to ask him why half the lights in the store didn't work, Still wondering why he said what he did. I started back to where the old man had disappeared into, my heart feeling like it was in my throat. Suddenly, I was blinded when every non-working light in the store came on. I could feel the hairs on the back of neck stand up as, I walked towards the compartment the old man had gone into, still feeling a chill, and walked in. It was empty, he wasn’t there, and there was no back door to go through. How did he escape? I thought for a second, but my thoughts were interrupted when Tony walked up to me, bottles in hand and smiling,
"So you paid for the liquor already? Hey man thanks I'll pay you back when I get paid on Friday OK?" He said opening a bottle already, still smiling.
"No don't worry about it. Consider it my thanks for being my friend, and giving us a ride." I said staring at him as he turned around, liquor dripping from his mouth as he drank.
I stood there thinking about what the old man had said as a chill ran up my spine, and I heard his words again, the deal is done. Mark appeared from the restroom, a look of relief on his face, and began to walk towards me. I kept trying to piece together how the old store clerk had disappeared like that, but nothing made any sense. Mark grabbed my shoulder, and pulled me back towards the car. Tony had already finished half of the bottle before we arrived, liquor staining his shirt, and mouth.
"What took yall so long?" He asked, rubbing his chin to wipe off the liquor.
"I had to wait for Mark." I said, pointing at him, and smiling. I hopped in the backseat, letting Mark take the front, and the car sped away, heading towards our escape from the horrors of life, our homes. I looked at Tony, and started to get nervous as he picked up another liquor bottle, and began to drink it.
"Hey man, slow down, or you won't be able to drink anymore when we get to the party. Look at the speedometer; you're going 85mph in a 55mph zone. You need to slow down man, OK?" I said, looking into his eyes. Mark turned around, and laughed;
"Look man, he's been drinking since he was fourteen, I'm sure he can handle that puny shit." He said, grabbing one of the bottles himself. He picked up the remaining one, and handed it to me, a big grin on his face.
"Show us that you're a man, and drink what a man drinks." He said, taking another big gulp of liquor himself. I grabbed the bottle and began to unscrew the top. The deal is done. I heard the old man's voice again almost a whisper in the wind, the car a blur of lights in the dark night.
"Hey Bobby, lighten up man, you look all sullen, and shit." Tony said, reaching back to nudge me in the shoulder. I looked up at him, and told him about the mysterious old man, and what he had said before disappearing. He just looked at me, and began to laugh;
"Is that why you look so depressed, and worried? Hell we're only six minutes from your house man. Tell you what; I'll take a short cut through highway666 OK?" He said smiling, his breath reeking of the liquor. He switched the radio on; "Highway to Hell" was being played.
"No man, I got a bad feeling about this. That Highway is in the middle of nowhere. There is no neighborhood, houses, or anything near it. The number itself is scary, but the fact that it's in a practically deserted part of the countryside is creepy as hell." I said looking into his eyes with worry, and concern.
"Awe, c'mon man, what's the worst that can happen? You said that it was deserted, so we won't have a wreck, because there will be no one on it but us." He said smiling.
"We could shave off three minutes by taking that short cut besides we could have some fun being on the highway all by ourselves you know it?" He said, and looked over at Mark who was smiling from ear to ear. I knew arguing was useless, and decided to let him do it, because quite frankly, I was tired of arguing with him about it.
"Fine," I said looking at them both, and they turned around, and gave me thumbs up for deciding to be brave.
I saw the road sign Highway 666 dead ahead, and I prayed that nothing would happen. I looked at my liquor bottle, and chunked it out the window, Mark and Tony turning around when I did;
"Why'd you waste that perfectly good liquor? He said, staring at me strangely, a drunken grin on his face.
"I don't think we should be drinking." I said, staring at Tony, a big grin on his face as he turned the wheel. The car swerved a bit to the right, and then back to the left, Tony laughing and having the time of his life.
"Hey man, watch it, or you're going to miss the exit you idiot." I said, poking him in the shoulder, the car swerving back into our lane. Tony saw the exit, and spun the wheel, a black crow landing on the sign, as I watched. I felt a chill crawl up my spine like a little spider; No one else was on the highway. No one but us, we were alone. I looked out of the window, and saw the dark clouds in the sky cover the moon, as Tony got excited and began to swerve the car back and forth.
"Stop it man, that's not funny anymore!" I yelled, nearly falling out of my seat. Mark began to laugh, and I realized with horror that they were both drunk.
"Stop the damn car Tony!" I screamed, the car sliding right, causing me to bump my head on the window. I made a move to grab the steering wheel, a sudden shine of light blinding me, causing me to turn it too much. The car swung a very hard left, and collided with the vehicle that had blinded me. The vehicle was forced off the highway, hitting a ditch, and flipped from the force of impact. I could hear their screams, as Tony's car spun completely around, and came to a dead stop in the middle of the highway facing the ditch.
"Oh no, what have I done!" I screamed, looking out the window, and saw the destroyed vehicle right side up, but with every window broken, and a body hanging on the bloodstained hood. It was a white, Pontiac Grand AM. I just committed vehicular homicide. I'm going to be thrown in prison, along with my friends! WHAT HAVE I DONE!! Tony and Mark were in shock, their mouths dropping open when they saw the gruesome sight in front of them. I was the first one out of the car, losing my balance, and fell at first, but I got up and kept running towards the totaled car.
I saw the body hanging on the hood, as I approached. It was a girl, from the looks of it; she was about in her mid-twenties, or early thirties. Upon closer inspection, I saw a child in the back seat, his upper body smashed through the window, blood dripping down to the ground from his headless corpse, I screamed when I saw his head a few feet away. He looked to be about nine, or ten; he was wearing a white and yellow soccer uniform. I lost it right then, oh my god; I just killed a mother, and her kid!! No this can't be happening! Nooooooooooooooooo! I yelled in my head before screaming at the top of my lungs;
"Noooooooooooooo!!" Tony quickly grabbed me, seriousness in his eyes, and said;
"Calm down! OK calm your ass down Bobby." Mark looked at the car, and the two bodies, a look of absolute horror on his face. He puked, the vile liquid streaming from his mouth, and hitting the black pavement. The sound of Tony's radio filled the air, as "Highway to Hell," suddenly, stopped playing, and the radio went off. Tony looked at me and Mark and said;
"Look no body saw us hit them, let's leave them here, and let someone find them in the morning. I'll get rid of this car, or have it repaired, in order to keep us from going to jail OK?" I wanted to refuse, I wanted to take what I had coming to me, but I couldn't stand the thought of being in prison. Mark and me agreed, got back into the car, and drove away.
We kept driving down Highway666 for what seemed like an eternity, sweat rolling down my forehead I nudged Tony who had been cool and calm after seeing the horrendous gore that unfolded back there.
"I'm going to turn myself in. I can't go on with life, knowing that I killed those people back there, and then left them there. Drop me off at the police station, I'll tell them it was all my fault, and I'll take the jail time." I said looking at Tony, tears rolling down my cheeks. Tony looked at me, and his face grew red with anger;
"Look here fuckface! You may have caused that, but the fact that we have all been drinking will be enough to hang us! I'm not dropping you off at the Police Station, you're going to go home, changing clothes, and then instead of going to that fucking party, we are taking this car upstate, and getting it fixed to hide this event, you got that!" He said, as he pressed the break, and stopped the car. He grabbed me by my shirt collar, and almost lifted me out of my seat;
"If you tell the fucking police anything, I will kill you myself! That goes for you too Mark!" He said, pulling out his pocketknife, and putting it to my throat.
"You're not going to say a fucking word are you?" He paused, and waited for me to answer.
"No I won't say a word." I said, the knife finally pulled from the base of my throat, and Tony started up the car again. We drove for about four minutes, and noticed that the highway seemed to be getting bigger.
"What the hell, I can't even see the end of this damn highway! I'm pressing the gas pedal as hard as I can!" He said, looking at the speedometer, it was at 120mph. I happened to look behind us, a light blinding me. Oh no, we're caught! I thought as two black crows screeched in the darkness. I looked back, and the car that was behind us, was actually going faster than we were! I watched the bright lights creep up alongside of us, and nudged Tony and Mark to look out the window. The bloody face of the woman we'd hit miles back stared at us with a grin on her face, glass sticking out of her neck, and blood trickling from her still fresh, wounds. I heard someone laugh, and looked back, the child's head smiled at me, it was upside down, and being held by his headless body. I looked closer, saw the bloody soccer uniform, and screamed. The mother spun her steering wheel, and forced her car into us, causing me to fly backward, and smash into the window.
"Tony!" I cried pulling myself up,” Do something!" Mark was screaming, as the child's headless corpse waved at him, and smiled. The mother turned to face us, sparks flying as the cars scraped together.
"YOU SHOULDN'T DRINK, AND DRIVE!!" The mother screamed, as the child cheerfully laughed. The mother's eyes glowed with evil intentions. She swerved away from us, and then swerved to hit us again. Tony, terrified beyond rational thought, saw this coming, and hit the brakes. The White Pontiac screamed out its fury, and missed us, sending it flying into a ditch.
The car spun, and stopped with our backs to the ditch. We all looked back, our hearts in our throats. We heard the roar of the Pontiac, as it reversed itself out of the ditch, the mother screaming at the top of her lungs;
"YOU SHOULDN'T DRINK, AND DRIVE!!" The car spun, positioning itself at us, and the tires screeched, as it chased us again.
"Go Tony!" We yelled, Tony stepping on the gas pedal, almost putting his foot through it. I could see Tony's face, pale as the blackness of death, and we swerved to drive straight. Mark was panicking, his face was pale, and he was covering his eyes. I looked back; the car was about seventy feet away from us. I turned back to Tony, whom's expression told the horrifying emotions he was experiencing.
"Keep this up, and we'll lose them!" I yelled, blood beginning to trickle from the right side of head.
"Where are they, Bobby!" He yelled, sweating bullets. I turned to him, wiping blood off of my face;
"They're about seventy feet back!" I said, and turned around to see the bright flashing lights, as the Pontiac slammed into the back end.
"Fuck!!" I screamed flying forwards, and hitting the gearshift, Tony screaming, and Mark shaking with fear.
"Hey man, get off the fucking gearshift! I can't keep this speed up!" He cried, and tried to yank me off of it. The Pontiac kept slamming into us, jarring Tony, and me while Mark was lying in the floorboard screaming. I looked up, and saw the mother grinning at me from her shattered windshield, her face totally covered in crimson red, blood. The little boy in the backseat was singing happily, as she hit us so hard we began to spin. I screamed along with my friends, as the car tipped over, and started to roll. We rolled for about thirty-seconds, and then we heard the Pontiac back away.
We had landed right side up, and Tony, now a bloody mess from shattered glass, was still able to slam on the gas pedal. I looked at Mark, he was still alive, but his leg was broken, and turned completely around.
"Arrghhhhhhhhhhh!!" He screamed in pain, the movement of the car jolting him backward striking his leg. I felt warm liquid on my face, and wiped a massive amount of blood away. The Pontiac had resumed its chase, the mother hell bent on killing us, and the child's head singing happily. I tried frantically to come up with a plan to stop the Pontiac but I didn't think any of them would work. Up ahead of us, I saw the edge of a cliff, and suddenly got an idea.
"Hey Tony, Get off this highway and head for that cliff! I got a plan!" I yelled, grabbing Mark's left arm, and pulling him up in his seat.
"Listen to me! Take the car up to the edge, and then stop, that bitch will ram the car, but we can jump out!" I yelled, as Tony nodded his head, and turned off of the highway. The Pontiac was getting closer, the Mother still screaming at us;
"YOU SHOULDN'T DRINK, AND DRIVE!!" She was less than forty-feet away when Tony slammed on the breaks, and stopped at the cliff's edge. The Pontiac didn't stop, and was closing in for the kill.
"OK Jump!" I yelled, grabbing the door handle and forcing it open, the sound of the Pontiac's engine almost drowning out my voice. Mark rolled out to the ground, followed by me, and Tony looked back to make sure she was still coming before he rolled onto the ground. The mother screamed with rage, as she connected with the car, and went flying off of the edge, an eighty-foot drop. The child grinned, and chunked his head out of the window, as the car flew over the cliff. His head landed right in the middle of us, his eyes staring accusingly at us.
"YOU PISSED OFF MOMMY." He said, and began to laugh. We backed away in horror, as blood began to trickle down his mouth.
"YOU PISSED OFF MOMMY." He said one more time, before I ran up and gave his head a swift kick, sending it flying over the edge, before collapsing to the ground.
We got up, putting both of Mark's arms around our shoulders, and began to walk away. We had reached the side of the highway, and I was wiping away blood from my forehead, as our faces were suddenly stung by bright light. I couldn't see who it was, but I heard a car door slam, and then a soft, and gentle voice;
"Are you guys OK? Do you need a ride to the nearest hospital?" A voice asked us, as we agreed, and helped ourselves over to the back doors of a black Mini van.
"The hospital is about twenty-five miles away, so I'll do some speeding to get you boys there. Your friend there looks like he needs some medical attention, as do all of you." He said, and chuckled. I didn't really think I liked his chuckle, but he was a ride to the hospital, so I wasn't about to complain. We drove for about five minutes, when flashing lights I looked up, and saw an ambulance, followed by police cars up ahead of us on the side of the road, startled me. I tried to look in closer, but the van stopped abruptly.
"Get out." The driver said. For some strange reason I thought I'd heard his voice some where before.
"Why?" I asked, my other friends just as puzzled as me.
"OUT!" Yelled the driver, his face still hidden. We got out of the car, and took a look; Tony's car was about three feet away, flames dancing, as the fire fighters tried to put it out.
"What the hell is going on!!" I cried out, as Mark and Tony looked on in horror. I turned around just as the driver got out. It was the old store clerk! His red eye stared it me as he looked at me and said;
"The deal is done"
"What are you talking about old man?? Why are you repeating that fucking phrase?!" I screamed however, Mark and Tony were scared that they didn't utter a word.
"Look into the flames my boy." The old man said, a dark, grin forming on his face. I looked harder into the burning car, and that's when I began to scream.
"Noooooooooooooooo!!!" I cried, seeing the charred bodies still smoldering in the flames. The old man began to laugh, as Mark, and Tony looked in and saw themselves, in the car, burning to ashes. I looked past the car, and saw the Pontiac destroyed, but the mother, and child didn't come back to life. The sound of "Highway to Hell" filled the air from the old man's car.
"What the fuck is going on!!" I yelled not seeing the horror taking place. The whole area was no longer a silent place by the countryside; it began to turn to nothing, but a wall of flames. I looked around, and saw the walls of fire slowly closing in on us, as Tony and Mark began to scream. I saw the flames engulf their bodies, as the old man snickered at me.
"The deal is done my boy, so now I welcome you." He said, and pulled his black eyeball from its socket, revealing a red fiery one hidden underneath.
"Welcome us to what?" I said fear growing in my heart, as I heard Mark, and Tony scream from the pain, the smell of burning flesh filling the air.
"TO HELL!" He yelled, as horns sprouted from his forehead, and fire engulfed him changing him into the demon we all know and fear. I realized my fate, and cried out one last time, as the inferno reached me and I burst into flames. My soul cried out for forgiveness, but it was too late, and the fire engulfed me for what would be all of eternity.