The following is a recollection of events that took place between 8:30pm on Thursday July 15th and 8:30am on Friday July 16th, 1993. I offer this narrative as evidence, not proof. I have little proof that the described events actually took place, but being that I am still alive while the town of Lund, Nevada no longer exists, I feel justified in attempting to explain how and why I survived.
I was traveling down route 93 hoping I was going right. The map I was using was a bit out of date, so I was constantly passing roads that were not listed. Consequently I had to backtrack several times, believing myself to be lost, only to find that I was correct. It was with this attitude that I approached the junction between route 93 and route 318. According to the map, and I trusted at least that distances had not changed; I should be only twenty or so miles from my destination.
I first saw her from about 1,000 yards away. The sun was low on the horizon to my left, preparing to set in the glorious style I had witnessed during my sojourn west. I was not enjoying it quite as much this evening though, since I was hoping to make it to town before darkness fell across the landscape. I had learned how quickly the sky shifted from blue to pitch-like colors in this flat, arid land. Driving alone at night was never popular with me, especially out here where so much of the sky is visible. This reluctance to be alone probably made me more disposed to stopping for her.
She wasn’t exactly hitching; at least she did not have her thumb out. She was the first human I had seen, perhaps the first living thing I had seen, in at least three hours. I pulled over without a second thought.
“Hello,” I began opening the passenger door. “Can I...”
She surprised me by hopping right in and slamming the door. “You’re late,” she said, a statement of fact indeed, but one that seemed unlikely for her to make.
“I beg your pardon,” I replied thinking I had misunderstood.
“You’re late,” she repeated. “We’ll have to hurry now. I’ve been waiting for almost two hours. You should have been here much sooner.”
I shook my head and wondered if I’d made a mistake stopping. She appeared normal enough, at least for the area. Brownish—blonde hair fell to her shoulders, and she was wearing moccasin like suede leather boots. Her dress was long, and seemed to be made of denim. She wore an oversized jacket with a hood and a scarf. She was attractive in an unglamorous way. I wanted company, and she seemed to want, even need a ride, so I tried to ignore her apparent “eccentricity.”
“Where to?” I asked.
“Keep going on this road for awhile. I think we’re close, but I won’t know for sure ‘til we get there.”
“Where do you want to go?” I repeated thinking I had not made myself clear the first time.
“I’m not really sure,” she said. “But I’ll know when we get there.”
I was reaching to put the car in gear when her reply came. I stopped and gave her a closer look. She had turned her face towards me and I finally saw her eyes. It wasn’t that the color was unique, I’m sure I’ve seen eyes that color before. It was more how clear and piercing they were. My eyes, with all the staring at computer screens and printouts, were hardly ever clear. There was always the bloodshot effect, the bags and puffiness. Her eyes showed no signs of strain or burden. The whites were as pure and bright as a single cloud on a sunny day. When she returned my gaze, I felt a sense of urgency within her.
“Are you in some kind of trouble or anything? I’m happy to give you a lift, but I don’t need any complications right now.” I tried to sound friendly, belying my inner tension.
“We’re all in danger. All living things, but particularly you and me if you don’t start driving right now.” She seemed calm, almost serene, while saying this, as if she had knowledge or an awareness that I didn’t possess. Maybe it was the serenity, the self-confidence that seemed to ooze from her. I wasn’t sure. But being that I’m defenseless when a beautiful woman asks me to do something, I put the car in gear and headed down the road.
“What’s your name?” I tried to start a casual conversation.
“It’s not important,” she snapped. “You should be driving faster along here, we aren’t close yet.”
I pushed the accelerator down and that seemed to satisfy her. I tried again at conversation. “My name is.. ,“ but before I could finish she countered.
“I know your name, and where you’re from, and why you’re here. It’s not important right now. We’ll have time for that later. Right now we must hurry.”
I was starting to get a little spooked at this point. I didn’t really believe her, but she did pique my interest. With all modesty I still felt if push came to shove, I could always push or shove her out of the car. If she started getting really weird I mean. It somehow figures that I would rely on my physical abilities at this point. It seems ironic now. Not knowing what else to do, I continued driving along route 318, getting closer and closer to Lund.
The sunset was beginning to reach its culmination. The colors were magnificent and seemed so much closer than sunsets in the east. I slowed the car a little unconsciously as I stared in awe at the spectacle. She must have noticed for a sharp voice interrupted my viewing pleasure.
“Would you please speed up? We really are cutting it close with you being so late already. I’ll tell you when to slow down.”
“Okay,” I started trying not to sound too perturbed, but being so nonetheless. When I turned to face her I noticed that I had missed something about her hair when she first entered the car. It was still brownish blonde, but now I saw a distinct streak of white. It began above her right temple and cascaded through the rest of its length.
“Okay,” I said again, this time pressing on the accelerator to reach 65 MPH. “Is this better?” I was trying to humor her. I planned on ditching her as soon as I could, but she really hadn’t made me think of leaving her alone out here, 20 miles from nowhere. Not yet anyway.
“This is fine. Now, please remain silent for a few moments. I need to concentrate.” She said this without turning her head. Her legs were now under her on the car seat, in a lotus position, and her eyes were closed. It looked as if she were beginning a meditation pose.
“Okay,” I almost said, catching myself at the last moment. It was quiet in the car for the next 5 minutes or so, long enough for me to ask myself a few questions. Like, what was I doing here in the first place? Would I ever find what I was looking for? What would I do if I did? So far the quest itself had been enough. Would I change if I attained my goal? I let my thoughts drift like the clouds above. At least I was getting closer by the minute to....I wasn’t sure what really. Either it was just another false trail, as had happened so many times before, or the end, the finale of a long, strange trip.
Suddenly she dropped her legs to the floor with a thud, and shouted, “Stop! Stop the car! Now, right here.” I was looking for a place to pull off the road, but she reached the ignition, turned off the engine, and yanked out the keys.
“Hey, c’mon now.” I was finally getting irritated with her behavior. “Give those back. I was going to stop.” I tried to reach for the keys, but she had already exited the car. She was standing by the scrub grasses that came right up to the roadside, head down, and arms stretched out. “Hey,” I started again, but she held her hands up to silence me.
“We’re very close now, but we can’t reach it in the car. We’ll have to walk the rest of the way.” She said this and took right off walking.
“Hold it,” I said with a tone that would have frozen a deaf person in their tracks. She stopped, turned slowly around, and fixed her gaze upon me. “I’ve got to make it to town. I’ve been driving all day and a hike into the desert is not on my agenda right now. So please, give me back my keys and I’ll be on my way. You can go hiking or whatever you want.”
I had tried to sound cordial, but in control, sure, but not sarcastic. She took a few steps closer and for a moment I thought she was coming back to the car, the joke over. Instead she stopped about 6 feet away from me and threw the keys high into the air over her head.
“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I screamed. “Why did you do that? It’ll take me hours to find them in this light. Dammit.” I was not pleased, but she showed no signs of remorse.
“You won’t be able to use them in a few hours anyway,” she said softly.
“What are you talking about? What is your problem? If you want to rob me, you just threw away the keys to the only thing I have of any value.”
“What I value is your life. That’s what I’m doing here. That’s why we have to hike now, to save our lives. Is that a good enough reason for you?” Her hands were on her hips and she appeared serious.
“Save my life? How? You don’t even know me. And what is threatening my life? Besides you that is.” I placed my hands on my hips to show I was just as serious.
“Your name is Whitman Joyce. You are 35, married, no children, currently employed as a computer systems analyst in Cincinnati. You’ve traveled out here to locate your paternal grandfather, a man you’ve never met, a man whose name you never knew.” I was stunned so said nothing. “You got a tip from an uncle who died recently and left you his old photo album. In it you found photos of a man who no one claimed to know, until you pressed them, and then some truth came out.” She stopped. At first I thought she was waiting for me to make some comment, but instead she was listening to the breeze.
Go to Part 2 of "Into the Light"
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