Drive...

Written in just under 22 minutes, no editing.

The road through the two mountain peaks was winding and, to the unfamiliar or the timid, both treacherous and intimidating. Tight turns unwelcomed by unseen bends and an attitude that bullies you into turning back. The narrow roads, slender and curvaceous like a burlesque dancer, an invitation to both directions to climb aboard without assuming the risk of an offer too good to be true. By day, the path excuses its temporary inhabitants and permits the pulsating Simi Valley sun to try its hand at playing guide. At night, however, she is less forgiving, allowing the multitude of stars in the sky to play tricks on whoever chances driving through by blurring the midnight sky with the unforeseen road ahead.

It was essentially the dangers of the midnight sky that lured in Benjamin, the angry orange glow at the end of his cigarette the only light emanating from his car. His arm draped over the side tapping his fingers against the outside of the door to the tune filling his ears.

On the roof top where she climbed when all the laughter grew too loud
And she bowed and curtsied to the man who reached and offered her his hand...

Benjamin leaned his head out the window to gaze up at the sky and decided his best vantage point to explore the beyond would be from outside of the car. Pressing the rewind button on his car stereo to start the song over, he lit a new cigarette with his old one and stubbed it out in an old coffee cup lid laying helplessly on the ground of the passenger seat. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped out into the crisply chilled air customary for late November nights. The open window became an auditory funnel as the music pushed hard and seemed to evaporate once it reached the open air.

As she lay there 'neath the covers dreaming of a thousand lovers
Till the world turned to orange and the room went spinning round.

The crunching underneath his boots hindered the soothing sounds of nature mixed with the melodies seeping out the window prompting him to remove them. Climbing aboard the hood of his car, he let his head rest uncomfortably against the front window, feeling the muffled vibrations of the music from inside. Eyes wide open, he gazed out towards the empty void covering the sky and whistled in admiration, pulling out the crushed pack of smokes from his breast pocket. One left, somewhat crushed under the weight of his upper torso. Pulling it out, he tried his best to straighten it out without ripping any of the paper. Bright lights shone in the distance and, at first glance, approached at a snail's pace, but as it got closer it was noticeable that he underestimated the speed.

“Woooosh....”

Whoever was driving paid no heed to the man laying on the hood of his car on the side of the road. Either they didn't notice or were too concerned with the tribulations of the road. The brake lights went on in the distance and vanished around a corner.

And he led her down to the long white car that waited past the crowd.

His stare returned to the freckles of light above, fixated on one particular clump reminiscent of a bullet swaying through the air in slow motion. The gun was nowhere to be found, but that's life. You rarely see the gun, you just hear the shot. If you're lucky, you're able to avert from that as well.

“Thump, thump thump!”

The faint banging combined with the vibrations stirring from the trunk returns Benjamin to the present. The muffled voice could be heard in the vicinity, inaudible, but the tone and demeanor resonated a sense of desperation and terror. “Right,” he muttered to himself as he hopped off and sunk his feet back into his exaggeratedly unlaced boots neighboring the front wheel. Taking his time to lace up, he guided the damaged cigarette to his chapped lips and tossed the empty pack into the dark. Checking his pockets for any form of fire, he sighed in resignation and defeat, plopping back down into the driver's seat, starting the ignition and rewinding the song.

On the roof top where she climbed when all the laughter grew too loud
And she bowed and curtsied to the man who reached and offered her his hand...