A Long and Lonely Mile

Chapter 11

The evening forecast for Waterford, South Carolina was bleak to say the least. Marigold considered stopping by the café on her way to the hospital, but Tavington still had another hour of work when she headed that way. She felt a pang of guilt knowing that he would have to walk four blocks in the rain only to return home to an empty house. So, she trusted Tommy to swing by his aunt's café to let him know that all was well. In retrospect, this probably wasn't the best idea, but the unnatural events upon which Tristan had disappeared (and now, reappeared) caused her to be more than a little bit frazzled.

Rain pounded aggressively on the roof of her car as she drove from the quaint downtown district and into greater Waterford. A series of roadblocks and a crew of rain-soaked construction workers with tractors and hand-held stop signs took her on a detour through a mid-town development that she was not familiar with. She rolled down her window in frustration as a young worker directed the line of cars that she was in onto a freeway ramp.

"Excuse me, Sir. I'm trying to get to the hospital to visit a friend," Marigold hollered against the wind. "It's urgent. Not only do you have me going in the opposite direction, but through Pembroke. I don't mean to discourage you in any way, you guys are doing a fine job catching up to them. But Pembroke is like... the unnecessary road construction capital of the universe. I won't be able to see my friend until next week at this rate-"

"-Sorry, Miss," The presently antagonistic, but polite young worker interrupted what was going to be a classically lengthy rant from Marigold Casey. "If it's the hospital you want, take Exit 5 onto Meridian when you get to Pembroke. It's an extra thirty minutes, but a straight shot."

Several impatient drivers started to honk their horns. After raising a quick peace sign out her window to everyone involved in the conundrum, Marigold proceeded to the onramp. Exit 5 was a ways off, so she merged into the fast lane and preoccupied herself with NPR. She also stole occasional glances of the rainfall as it splashed into the coinciding river. Her phone rang a little over halfway through the drive and she peeked into her tote on the passenger seat. She was compelled to lower the volume of her radio and pick up when she saw the name flash across her screen: Tristan Stone.

"Tristan!" Marigold practically yelled into the microphone. "I've been so worried about you! It's going to take an extra half an hour, but I am on my way. How are you!?"

"Miss Casey," her voice was different, void of all its natural exuberance, but undeniably Tristan's, "that man. The one that we met on Sunday. I saw him again. I saw him do terrible things. When they found me in Pembroke..."

"Pembroke? Why Pembroke all of a sudden? What were you doing there?" Tristan would have answered, but Marigold saw the exit that she sought approaching on the righthand side of the road and was distracted yet again. If she wanted to make it, she would have to change lanes quickly. Once it was clear, she turned on her blinker and floored it. The slick road caused her to lose control and before she could realize her error, the little yellow Subaru Baja was airborne. Marigold ducked behind her wheel. The car twisted and turned like a corkscrew and yet, everything was in slow motion. She wanted to take it back, to go back in time if only for a second. But there was no going back, her fate had been sealed in the blink of an eye. Within moments, dark waves of water from the river below approached, swallowing her whole.

There was no darkness, no void after the she hit the water. The only thing that Marigold knew for certain was that she had been submerged in the shallow depths one moment and wading towards the surface immediately after. The interior (and exterior) of her car had vanished, leaving her to face the undertow alone. To her relief, however, the undertow of the storm-riddled river was not the monstrosity that she had feared. Once she blinked the water out of her eyes, Marigold realized that it was no longer raining and the sun had yet to set in the distance. The exit ramp and guardrail were gone along with the city limits of Pembroke that she had just passed through.