14 Degrees

The Car Ride

A/N: Welcome to chapter 2! My goal was to make this story have at the very least 10 chapters, but I'm not sure if I can extend the story that long without it getting super boring. The plot in this story is pretty simple, so I think it might end up shorter than I planned. Oh, well. The story must go on!

Also, I forgot to mention that I own this story. I also own the cover because I drew it. In addition to that, I own the idea and the cover to A Sergeant's Sketches (which is a separate story I posted on this website that you should totally read). We good? Okay.

I fasten my seatbelt while Daniel fastens his. He inserts the key and turns it, starting up the car instantly.

"Now, I was thinking of that Chinese restaurant not too far from here," Daniel says. "Unless you wanna go some place else."

"Chinese sounds great," I say. Daniel nods and begins to pull out of my driveway. Even though I shoveled the snow this morning, the driveway now has a fresh blanket of snow again. Great, I have to shovel it again tomorrow. I need to get a snow blower. That would make my life ten times easier.

"So..." Daniel attempts to spark conversation as he switches the car from reverse to drive. "How's that book that was so much more important than our date night?" I know he's not mad. He's just teasing me.

"It's great," I answer. I begin explaining what's going on in the story. I already told Daniel about the concept a few days ago. "So, the plane engine broke down and now it's falling from the sky. Sam has to jump out of the plane and land in the ocean on a raft before the plane crashes."

"Wow. You know, that sounds kind of like a spoof from Indiana Jones," Daniel comments.

"How so?"

"In one of the movies, Indiana Jones had to jump out of a plane with an inflatable boat."

"Which one?"

"Honestly, I forget. I haven't seen the movies in a while."

I giggle a bit. The Indiana Jones movies-which I haven't seen in a while either- are filled with action and adventure. But I remember a few scenes that just cracked me up.

We talk for several minutes. Daniel doesn't take his eyes off the road. He has to really focus. It's snowing and it's pretty dark outside because the sun set about a few hours ago. Eventually, we arrive at the restaurant and Daniel finds a good place to park. I glance out my window and notice something odd. Nobody's here.

"Huh, maybe they're closed," I shrug. Daniel unfastens his seatbelt and opens the car door. The cold air seeps in again and I shiver. He steps out of the vehicle. "Wait here," he says to me. "I'll see if they're open or not." I nod and he slams the car door shut. I watch Daniel walk through the snow, leaving footprints behind him. He heads toward the restaurant, leaving me-alone.

I figit with my fingers. My muscles are tight from the cold. Daniel didn't leave the car running, but I know he won't take long. I become pretty bored already, so I reach into my pocket to pull out my phone.

It isn't there.

I groan. I'm starting to become slightly concerned. I forgot about my date night, and on top of that I forgot my phone. I prop my elbow up on the car door and I rest my head on my hand. I stare out the window, and then I scrunch up my face in confusion. In the distance, someone is staring back, and it's definitely not Daniel. In fact, I don't think I know the person at all.

A/N: Okay, originally, this chapter was not going to have some random person staring at Tracy, but then I thought, "What if there was some random person staring at Tracy?" So I plugged it in. Also, I wanna thank the people who worked so hard to make every Indiana Jones movie. The movies are great! Anyway, the random person plays a somewhat important role in this story. Don't worry.