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Out of Gas – What Pegman Saw

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I almost didn’t participate this week and then a little window opened up 😉  I was going to go my usual “route” and share a memory but decided to try my hand at a real fictional story!

 

There is a road some fifty-three miles NNE of New York City with a strange reputation. This week, Pegman has stranded you there.

Volumes have been written about Clinton Road in West Milford, NJ, but you only need to write 150 words. The only limit is your imagination.

Feel free to capture your own streetview. If you’re not up to a weird tale, feel free to wander anywhere within the state of New Jersey for your story.

Once your 150 words are polished, you can share with other contributors using the Linkup below. Reading and commenting on others’ work is part of the fun!

Out of Gas

How far is the next gas station?  I look at my GPS, hit “nearest gas station”.  5 clicks.  Shit!  I dunno if I can make it.  I have to make it.  This is NOT the road to get stuck on.  Stop it!  Those are just stupid myths.  I’m being ridiculous.   Still.  I don’t want to be stuck here at night so I better start praying I make it.

I laugh at myself. How stupid to scare myself that way.  I’ve got a cell phone and a membership to AAA.  They are just a phone call away.  I relax.

The car sputters and I steer it towards the shoulder.  I grab my cell phone and dial AAA.  The phone rings and rings.  No answer. Really?  I glare at my phone and see it is still more than 75% charged.  I press redial when a text pops up:

“Where do you think you’re going?”

 

68 thoughts on “Out of Gas – What Pegman Saw”

  1. OH NO! You left me gasping. That would not be the road to run out of gas on for sure. Crackling with tension and now I’m stranded out there!

    So great to see you this week, glad found the time!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. You made it!

    This tale is fraught with fear, despair, and a palpable sense of foreboding. Lemme guess . . . this is an allegory for ‘Murica. Isn’t it?

    Signed,

    A ‘Murican

    Liked by 1 person

  3. The secret to writing a story in 100 words is that you are trying to make it feel like 1,000 words to the reader. And you have done that. So ease up on your inner writing critic. And keep on keeping on . .:)

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you Penny. My sister is the Queen of imagining stuff and getting us all into her scared feeling and mind!
      Glad you enjoyed.

      Like

  7. Dear Dale,

    Glad you went this route. I had memory covered. 😉 That last line sent shivers through me. You stepped out of your comfort zone and did it with style. Next time she’ll…or will there be a next time?

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Rochelle,

      Thanks. That you did (and so well, at that). I did step out of the zone but then realised that I entered the same zone as most everyone else! Ah well…
      Will there indeed….

      Lotsa love,

      Dale

      Like

    • Talk about working oneself up into a frenzy… and not for naught! Thank you for taking the time to read mine. I’m off to finish reading everyone else’s take on Clinton Road… 😉

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    • I dunno, Kelvin. Neil over at FF is one of the men who do. I try to most times. Don’t always succeed. Life and all That!!

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        • Hey! Who you calling “Old”! But yeah, I know. Not all the men are as participative…
          And I miss you at FF but totally understand.
          You do what you can. The important thing is to write, no?

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  12. Argh! That’s terrifying. Really nice tension there, us thinking our narrator is over anxious, them talking themselves round, trying to be calm. And then wham! at the end. Very effective Dale

    Liked by 1 person

  19. A terrifying nightmare – running out of gas (petrol!)….. One of my 1st experiences, when I needed gas in Canada (and after we just bought a VW bus, 4th or 9th hand), was me stopping and saying to the guy: I need benzine, as in CH you either drive with Benzin or Diesel…. He then asked for how much money I needed gas and I told him, that, NO, I needed no gaz but benzine, and why ‘for how much’ as in CH you fill up when you’re empty…. Oh, it took forever and I remember being embarrassed for ages about my total ignorance of everything! 🙂 GREAT story-telling.

    Liked by 1 person

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