Rest Stop

The car coasted into the rest stop, dead. It started sputtering when Bob turned on the headlights, and had barely made it to the exit. Now it was sitting cockeyed to the first two parking slots. The restrooms were almost half a block away and most of the lights between them and the yellow brick building were out or sputtering, but the lights inside were on. The trees lining the parking lot were singed, unlike the burned and downed trees along the freeway that had made the trip in more eerie than Bob would have liked.

"Wonderful," Ginger said as a gust of wind rattled the car.

"At least we're not on the freeway, in the dark." The thought of sitting stranded among the dead burned trees was just a bit more than he'd bargained for and he could've sworn he saw eyes glowing behind some of those trees. Wildlife, or worse.

"We wouldn't be in the dark if the battery hadn't died in this classic."

"Alternator," Bob said.

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes. "And of course as soon as we get cell coverage back my phone dies."

"Even if they don't have a charging station inside there should be an outlet somewhere that we can use," Bob said as he opened the car door and was hit with a brisk North Dakota wind tinged with the smell of wood smoke. Ghost stories around the fire, he mused. Ginger gasped and he realized that her shorts and tank top wouldn't be much protection against the wind. "Head for the building and I'll grab a suitcase so we can change."

Bob took a breath to steel himself against the elements. His T-shirt and jeans would only give him marginally more protection, but he knew which suitcase would have the warmest change of clothes. The plan had been to get to the hotel tonight. Then they would deliver the cherry red '61 Chevy to the buyer and move on to their next delivery.

By the time Bob got inside the rest stop he was shivering, but he wasn't sure all of it was from the cold. The burned trees were closer to this oasis than he would've liked, and he thought he'd heard a wolf howl over the wind as he was coming in. The wind whistled eerily behind him as the door closed. The smoke tinged air still had him on edge. Ginger had found the charging station near the row of chairs that faced the row of nearly empty vending machines and was plugging in her phone. "There should be some warmer things in here," he said pushing the suitcase forward.

"I'm not the one who will be trying to jump that relic," she said.

Bob rolled his eyes. "You have to have two cars to jump start one, and ours is the only car in the lot."

"Then why do you carry jumper cables if you can't hook them to the battery and the what did you call it....alternator?"

Bob shook his head. "Just call us a tow. Even if we could jump it, we wouldn't make it to the next town."

Ginger looked down at her phone. "Limited coverage, and no internet," she spat. "So now what?"

Bob moved toward one of the chairs. His gut was beginning to churn again. Ginger's blonde ran in streaks, but she didn't appear to be concerned about the trees and wildlife...she was usually quite in tune to such things. Either way, without another car to jump them they were looking at a night here in this rest stop.

He looked around the room. The days of phonebooks and maps were gone, and even if it were something simple, he would be hard pressed to fix the car in the dark among all those dead trees.... Ghost stories. He looked up and noticed a security camera in the ceiling. Who knows who's watching that, he thought. His gut rumbled again as the wind rattled the windows.

Ginger moved next to Bob. "The food in the vending machines is pretty sparse, but we have some left in the car...."

"Don't you have friends that you can call?" Bob said. This oasis among the burned trees was clean and well kept, but it was also close to the edge of the fire lines and whatever wildlife might be lurking out there.

"And how am I supposed to figure out where we are?"

"The map on the wall over there," Bob nodded toward the back wall under the sign that pointed around the corner to the restrooms. It was faded, but would still be accurate enough for her friends.

Ginger smirked and snapped a picture of the map. "Give me a few minutes."

Bob knew if anyone could get information out of a cell phone without internet it would be Ginger. That was one place her blonde hair did not extend to. Then Ginger gave a frightened squeak.

"Sorry miss, I didn't mean to startle you," the bald man with one leg and pointy teeth said as he approached. "The recent fires destroyed most of the cell towers on the interstate, so it'll be morning before you can get a tow."

"Who are you?" Ginger said moving closer to Bob.

"I take care of this rest stop in exchange for quarters in the back," the man said. "I'm Elliot."

"Are there any tow services nearby?" Bob said.

Elliot shook his head.

Ginger looked down at her phone as it dinged. "What about this 'Greg's towing' just up the road?"

Elliot scoffed. "He's asleep by now, and even if he's not you'd be stuck there till morning, as there are no mechanics in that little berg and you'd have to get a tow to the next town anyway."

"Is there a hotel there?" Ginger asked.

Elliot shook his head.

Bob could tell that Elliot was trying to figure out how to help, but in a backhanded way. "I gather you don't have a car here."

"Never needed one."

As they'd been talking, Ginger's expression changed.

"If we get a ride into town, would there be a problem leaving our car here?" Bob asked.

"You'd have to beat the supply truck back, due first thing in the morning," Elliot said. "He's coming from the other direction and loves to have anything resembling an abandoned car towed to his shop and charge you triple what anyone else would charge you."

The thought of camping out on the floor of the rest area was not appealing to Bob, as the wind rattled the windows again. He was surprised when he realized that Ginger was considering it. "You're not seriously..." he whispered.

Ginger shushed him and nodded before he could finish. "Could we set up our air-mattress in the back corner?"

"I don't know why not," Elliot said.

"Thanks," Ginger said.

"They really leave you here without a car?" Bob said.

Elliot nodded. "They refill the vending machines every-other day, so it's not a problem."

"Let's go get the gear from the car," Ginger said grabbing a jacket out of the suitcase he'd brought in and pulling Bob toward the doors.

Bob was hesitant to follow her. She normally was sensitive to spooks, but she was too eager to approach the edge of this oasis and the legitimate dangers he imagined in the burned dead forest that surrounded them. The hoot of an owl urged him forward to protect her. "You're taking this far too easily."

"The ghost said he can help you fix the car in the morning, and Elliot is mostly harmless."

"What ghost?" Bob said as he looked over his shoulder toward the darkness, then quickly opened the trunk and pulled the bags with the air mattresses and bedding from the trunk. "You're imagining things."

"I know what I saw," Ginger said. "And heard. He said he could help you get us back on the road."

"A ghost."

"Yes, he was the caretaker here before, and there is a car in the outbuilding where he kept his tools that should have the parts we need for our car."

"You're dreaming," Bob said.

Ginger shook her head as she grabbed their goodie bag and headed toward the building. "I didn't imagine it!"

Bob hurried to catch up after one last glance over his shoulder into the darkness as Ginger raced toward the building.

Bob struggled not to jump as the wind slammed the door shut behind him. Elliot was gone and Ginger was busy setting up the air mattresses so Bob didn't press the issue. It was going to be a long night and an even longer day if what she said about the ghost turned out to be her imagination. He would get settled then press her for details.

As they slipped between the sheets, Bob felt his gut churn again as the wind rattled the windows. He wasn't sure he was ready to deal with a ghost, even a friendly one at this time of night. He finally took a breath and spoke. "Ok tell me about this ghost."

"He's taller than Elliot, and knows cars. Back in the day he had a small shop out back. When he retired they shut it down."

"Why is he still here?"

"He likes to keep an eye on his shop."

Bob was silent. The thought of having a ghost around still made him uncomfortable. He jumped as the wind rattled the windows again.

"Why are you so uncomfortable with a ghost? You seemed OK with Elliot."

"He reminds me of a librarian I knew in middle school." Bob jumped again.

"You're making too big a deal of it. Zeke is a friendly ghost."

Bob was silent again. He knew Ginger was more in tune to such things, but he still wondered why she didn't appear to notice the trees. He stiffened again as the wind continued to rattle the windows outside. Ginger put her hand on his shoulder.

"It will be fine, now relax."

Easy for you to say, Bob thought as a particularly loud gust of wind hit the windows. You can hear and see the ghosts.

As Ginger snuggled close, Bob considered their options. If the ghost was real and really did have the right part, they could probably be on the road before the supply truck got there, and have a shot at getting the car to the buyer within the delivery window he'd promised. If not the towing would chew up all the profit of this trip, and they would be late to his next three gigs.

"Damn," he whispered and tried to close his eyes. He would have to hope he could get that car back on the road one way or another. A moment later he sat bolt upright.

"What is it?" Ginger said trying to pull him back down.

"We're being watched," he said, gasping for breath.

Before she could respond, the lights went out. Bob let out a squeak and flinched. He felt Ginger pull him back onto the bed. "The lights are probably on timers."

"But they aren't all supposed to go out."

A moment later everything came back on and the sound of the vending machines powering back up filled the room.

Ginger took a deep breath then spoke. "Power outage, and it took a minute for the backup generator to kick in."

"And your ghost told you that."

"His name is Zeke, and yes. He's also been talking to the car, and yes, you should be able to have us up and running long before the supply truck gets here."

Bob took several deep breaths in an attempt to get his heart to quit racing. If he hadn't known Ginger for this long, he would think she was kidding, but they'd been together long enough that he trusted her gut feelings. "If you say so." Then he sat up again. "Wait he's been talking to the car?"

"Yes, and it wasn't the car's idea to break down."

"You're out of your mind," he said struggling to bring her back to reality.

She pulled him back down and began to massage his shoulders. "You've driven those old cars long enough to know that they have personalities."

"This is crazy," he whispered.

"Mmm Hmm," she nodded as she rolled him over and settled her head on his chest.

Bob struggled to relax, close his eyes and pull her close.

It seemed like he had just closed his eyes when he was in the car driving down the road between the burned trees when it took over and ran them off on a side road. The glowing eyes he'd seen earlier seemed to be closing in. He struggled to sit up but Ginger was on top of him. The more he struggled the tighter her grip on him got.

The sound of the car engine died and he could only hear Ginger's steady breathing beside him. He slowly opened his eyes, and the surroundings of the rest stop rushed back on him. He struggled to breathe normally and convince his heart to stop racing. He looked outside. It was still too dark to work. He looked down at Ginger.

She was sleeping soundly with her head on his chest.

He took another deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to focus on happy dreams. He forced himself not to flinch as another gust of wind rattled the windows.

He woke, sure that there was someone standing over him, but he saw no one when he opened his eyes. He looked outside and realized it was getting light. He gently shook Ginger.

"Time to get moving."

Ginger moaned and opened her eyes.

Bob could see the wheels turning, as she was trying to come up with some smart alec remark. "I can't sleep any more, and I need you to show me where Zeke hid the part we need."

Ginger rolled her eyes and rolled over allowing him to get up. "Can I at least scare us up a little breakfast?"

Bob nodded. He had to admit that he was also hungry.

A few minutes later Ginger produced a small plate of sweets that would pass as breakfast.

Bob noticed that the wind had died down a bit, and that with breakfast in his stomach, he was feeling a little less jumpy.

"Zeke is ready any time," Ginger said reminding Bob of the ghost that had haunted him all night.

"Lead on," he said as he grabbed his jacket.

The shop was hidden behind the main building, and Ginger walked right in. Bob hesitated as he swore he saw a glowing face on one of the burned trees behind the shop. He hurried in behind Ginger. Once inside, Bob forced himself to relax. There was the shell of an old Corvette in the lone bay. Ginger walked over and pulled an alternator off a shelf. Bob knew it was not from the 'Vette.

"Zeke tells me this is the part you need, and all he asks is that you leave the dead one here when you're done."

Bob felt a chill run up his spine again. He tried to imagine how a ghost would have the means of collecting a core charge, or rebuilding parts. He took a deep breath to settle his quivering gut. Put the part in and get on the road, he thought. He struggled not to look back at the burned dead trees behind the shop.

Whether it was the chill morning air, or left over anxiety from the night of limited sleep, he didn't know but Bob struggled to keep his gut from quivering as they approached the car. What if Zeke had told the car to break down again?

Bob popped the hood and immediately began working on replacing the alternator. He counted himself lucky that this car was one of the ones old enough that a good half inch wrench was all he needed. Ten minutes later he had the 'new' alternator in and moved to the driver seat.

"I thought you said it needed another car to start it," Ginger said as Bob got in the car.

"Sometimes the battery just needs a night off." Bob turned the key and the motor turned over once and then clicked. Bob's gut churned again.

"I gather this wasn't one of those times," Ginger quipped.

Bob glared at her until he saw Elliot moving toward them. "How did he know we'd be here?"

"Where else would we go?" Ginger said. "Besides he has the jumper pack we need."

Bob knew better than to ask how she knew that. He still wasn't completely comfortable with a ghost getting them back on the road, but it was too late to worry about that now. He suspected that Zeke had something to do with it.

"I forgot I had this," Elliot said holding out a small jumper pack. "I usually ask if people just need a jump, but last night it slipped my mind."

"No problem," Bob said as he took the jumper pack. "I wouldn't have wanted to try it last night anyway."

A moment later the car roared to life, and Bob handed the jumper pack back to Elliot. "Thanks for the help."

Ten minutes later Elliot had disappeared back into his quarters, they had their gear loaded, and the dead alternator was back in Zeke's shop. Then they were on their way. After the second time of Bob checking the rear view mirrors, Ginger spoke.

"Zeke said the nearest speed trap is just beyond the next town."

Bob was sure the gas pedal hit the floor without him pressing it, and he anxiously watched the burned trees around them become a blur. The trees didn't seem as scary in the daylight, but his gut continued churning as he wondered if he would ever be free of the dead trees and the ghosts his girlfriend didn't see.

qed.