Five Seconds

No Goodbye

Andy

It was the rumbling on the road that awakened our senses. We sat in the little orange car, as a mighty semi-truck rolled by, the glossy red trailer shining proudly. The driver blared his horn in salute, and continued on past us to the city. Life. The first life we had seen in a long time that wasn't out to steal ours.

The Coquihalla was the answer.

We continued up the noble road. A river roamed beside us; sometimes it slowly meandered, other times it rushed by, decorated by whitecaps. Trees were abundant, and seemed to stretch on for forever and ever. It was a stark comparison to the grey concrete city, and my lungs seemed to fill with oxygen easier.

Parker piloted us along the smooth pavement, and made great time. That was, until we reached the first road block. There had been a rock slide. A blue car was crushed under a menacing boulder the size of a whale. More stone of varying sizes littered the road, but there was just enough room to pass through on the far side for a semi to pass through, as proof of what we'd seen not so long ago.

The only problem was that there was a slight unforgiving drop at the edge of the road. If Parker wasn't careful, he'd send us down the hill and into a cradle of trees.

He crept up slowly, positioning the car just right. An uneasy feeling bubbled in the pit of my stomach as we passed through. The left end jerked up without warning, giving me a greater view of the treacherous side.

"Watch it," I growled.

"Sorry, didn't see that rock," Parker replied.

"As long as you didn't damage the vehicle," I breathed.

We continued on, passing over a bridge that didn't give way, and two more rock slides, both of which shrank in size. This was good. The damage was subsiding, and it was getting easier and easier to pretend that things were okay again, and that perhaps they already were.

Parker, Newt and I... we were a storm front rolling through the valley, tearing up the world as we rode on. We survived. We faced all the odds and survived. I could smell my aunt's cooking from here. I could feel the oak table, hear the plates being set. I imagined, by the time we got there, the smoke would finally have dissipated, and the lake would be crystal clear. We could go swimming, float on the oasis and let sweet time slip by because it wouldn't matter anymore.

But then the wonderful vision came to a grinding halt.

"How in the -" Parker yelled, slamming on the breaks.

The car came to a standstill, the sudden change in momentum threw me against the seatbelt and it pulled tight. Several metres ahead of us, the whole road was gone. Swallowed by an unseen force. Newt's hot breath blasted against my ear.

Parker shut the car off, and we both climbed out. Newt followed behind. We walked to the edge, careful that the road might slip away. The sinkhole was at least several metres deep, and flowed out into the valley. The gap stretched out further than our car was long. Perhaps double the length.

Suddenly, all of my hopes and dreams were crushed, and that light airy feeling that had embraced me before was obliterated. Misery now clasped my shoulders instead.

"You've got to be kidding me," Parker mumbled.

We were so close. We had already left Merritt in the dust, and were almost at the outskirts of Kamloops. The air didn't feel so clear. It pushed against my eardrums, and solidified in my lungs. My heart was crushed.

I just wanted to be home. To see Aunty again.

"There's no way we can get across Parker." The words were mechanical, and grinded against my tongue like an engine with no oil. I felt about as crushed as that blue car we saw back a ways. We had reached a dead end.