Soul Pills

Chapter 4

Lloyd took a long drag off his cigarette and idly scratched at his beard. His fingers found a small piece of bread which he plucked out and inspected. He turned it over several times before he finally flicked it out onto the road. He looked back at his truck and muttered, "Piece of shit."

The logo on the side of the trailer flickered red in the darkness, illuminated by a series of road flares set up to warn oncoming traffic. The trailer was typical cargo container, 13.7 meters long and more than a little battered. The slogan splashed across the side read, "Maypole Pharmaceuticals, Bringing Peace to Your Spirits".

Lloyd hopped back up into the cab of his truck and picked up the radio handset, "Janet, you there?  Any word on when we can get someone out here to look at this truck?  I've been sitting here by the roadside for ages."

The voice that responded was gravelly but definitely female, "Yeah baby, we've got someone on the way out. You getting' lonely out there?"

Lloyd laughed, Janet flirted with all the men in the fleet but not many of them had ever met her. "Yeh, a bit darlin'. You want to come down and keep me company?"

It was Janet's turn to laugh, "Lemme just git on my hooker boots, I'll keep ya warm," she purred.

A huge grin split Lloyd's frazzled beard as he said, "That'd be nice, hell of a night tonight. I was afraid the flares were going out, it's damned windy tonight. You know how much longer Bella's gonna be?"

"She left the garage about an hour ago, so she should be practically on top of you now."

Lloyd's entire frame shook as he laughed out loud, "Between your boots and Bella being on top of me, I'm likely to end up in the hospital, girl!"

"You behave, Lloyd! I've gotta get off though, we've got other trucks coming in tonight that need unloading, they'll need me on standby. You stay out of trouble!"

Lloyd said, "All right, good night," and set the radio handset back on it's stand. The evergreens by the roadside bent and swayed and tiny shards of ice assaulted Lloyd's face. His beard closed around his mouth as the edges of his mouth turned back downwards. Lloyd hauled himself the rest of the way up into the cab and slammed the door closed.

It had been a while since Lloyd had run the engine to warm up the cab and the cold was beginning to seep in. He checked his fuel guage, it read three quarters full. Lloyd turned the key in the ignition and the truck roared to life. Lloyd turned the heat all the way up and leaned back in the driver's seat, listening to the steady rumble of the engine. Darkness tugged at the edges of Lloyd's vision. He checked his rear view mirror and then looked at the clock on the dash. Lloyd leaned back and closed his eyes.

A moment later the world shook and spun onto its side. Thunder crashed outside and the world went red. Lloyd was tossed around the inside of the cab, thudding heavily first into the steering wheel and then into the passenger side door. White hot pain ran down his arm and across his chest. Glass exploded inwards as the cab twisted like a dishrag being wrung out.

Over and over the cab rolled down the hillside, pieces being torn free as it glanced off the pines. A large shape flew out from the windshield and smacked into a tree trunk with a wet cracking noise. The truck continued on for ten or twenty more meters and then groaned to a halt. For a long time the entire forest was quiet except for the tinkling of glass.

The first sound was the hoot of an owl. It was followed by a warning chitter from a squirrel, and then silence set in again.

A shivering form groaned at the base of a tree. Lloyd tried to open his eyes and was only partially successful. His head throbbed and another pitiful moan escaped his lips. He could see out of his right eye a little, but it offered little in the way of information. All he could see was darkness and bark. He tried to wipe the blood out of his left eye and discovered that his right arm was pinned beneath him in between a rock and the tree. He tried to move his other arm and his moan suddenly became a scream.