Tuesday, September 29, 2020

"Night Commute" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Marcus wearily walked to his car after an incredibly long day at work. As the events of the past eight hours ran through his head he wanted to talk to someone, but there was no one else in the deserted parking lot.


After entering his old car, Marcus closed his eyes and dozed off for several minutes. A loud noise awakened him and Marcus was relieved to see it was just the parking lot sweeper.


Feeling somewhat better, Marcus started his car and began the 25 mile journey to his home. As usual the roads were deserted. One advantage to working late was that he never got stuck in traffic.


The road home cut through farms and pasture land, it was so peaceful that once again he started to doze off. A vision of something in the road bright him back to consciousness.


A massive giant creature stood in the road. Marcus stopped the car and got out. The giant must have been 50 feet tall. For several minutes, Marcus tried to figure out what to do and then without warning the giant simply dissolved.


Marcus resumed his commute and hope that it was just exhaustion causing him to see things.


Several miles down the road, another figure appeared in the highway but this one was a beautiful naked woman. "Can I help you miss?" Marcus asked the woman. In reply, she just smiled and slowly dissolved.


The next image appeared as Marcus was nearing home. This time the mirage was an ugly werewolf-type creature. Marcus exited his car and faced the beast. "I suppose you're just another mirage" he said to the animal. The beast smiled and grabbed Marcus by the arm. "Oh no, I'm quite real" he said.