- Black Lincoln -

He stopped at this car door and waved to his friends. A girl with blond hair smiled back.

“Be careful on your way home”

He nodded in reassurance and he waited for them to get into their car and pull out of the parking lot of the bar. He waved at the red fading into the darkness and sighed as he pulled his keys from his pocket.

His reflection looked at him. Tired, questioning, and unfulfilled.

“Dammit” he rolled his eyes and opened the door to his car. The bar wasn’t far from his place, but at night the streets seemed to stretch and bend longer then they did in the daylight.

It was late and he glanced at each parking lot and neighborhood entrance to make sure no vigilant cop laid waiting for him to pass and pull over. They were notorious on these winding roads.

He pulled slowly up and past some of the local business’s that were closed for the evening. Then he spotted it. In the middle of Tom’s Hardware was a car. A cop. He breathed in and slowed his speed. As he got closer he noticed something. It was not a cop car that sat in the middle of the parking lot, it was an old Lincoln. Phantom black, the windows tinted to be slates of midnight. It sat sleeping.

As he passed he looked straight at it. Just a glance. He thought he could see the driver through the windshield. Even if it was all black, he could feel his eyes connect with something. Only a fraction of a second, no! A fraction of a millisecond.

The Lincoln’s lights blazed on and the engine roared to life. The tires squealed as they spun and the car leapt from it’s slumber from the parking lot.

The sudden movement and roaring from the vehicle startled him. He slammed down on gas and flew through the darkness. Lights from the Lincoln illuminated his rear view mirror and they rapidly got larger as it approached with incredible speed. He tried to get out of its way, but each time he whipped his wheel to clear a path the Lincoln slowed and kept itself behind him.

He gripped the wheel with sweaty hands as he pulled the car around tight corners. Tree’s, speed signs and fences past by him in rapid succession. His stomach knotted and sunk as the speed was now setting in. His mind was signaling warning bells as each turn got sharper and sharper. The Lincoln still kept tight to him and he could hear the engine revving each time they skidded across the road. He didn’t honk, it didn’t even try to ram his car, it just rode a couple feet behind him, ever present. It was inhumane precision.

He finally rounded a bend and hit a straight away. His house was just around the corner. He couldn’t go home though, he couldn’t let this thing follow him. He drove past his entrance and deeper into the night. His car hit top speed and just as he was about hit slowdown, the Lincoln cruised past him like a phantom. It did not heave or roar, it glided effortless with amazing speed.

It’s tail lights gleamed for a second and then disappeared into the night. He let the car cruise and then hit the brake.

The cars engine hummed in the night. His face was splattered with sweat and he heaved breathlessly. He was drained as he leaned back into his seat, put the car in reverse and pulled back down the road towards his house.

He had seen no license plate when the Lincoln passed him. The only features that imprinted on his mind were the tinted windows and the feeling that he got looking at it.

He pulled down the road and turned into his driveway.

He turned off his car and sat for a moment. Eyes closed replaying the night and the chase. He looked through his rear view mirror at the empty street and fog rolling through the air.

Slowly he got out of his car. As soon as his door closed he felt it. The feeling that he had earlier. He turned.

The Lincoln sat silently behind his car. Lights off, engine off. Just there. Next to the drivers side door was an impossible tall figure. They stretched at least twelve feet into the air. A black hat brimmed, large black rounded shades stared down at him. A cowl covered the face of the figure that was attached to their black double breasted jacket which draped all the way to the ground where it pooled in waves of black.

“Please” he choked “what do you want?”

The figure pointed to it’s glasses.

“It was only a glance” he yelled.

And that’s all it took.

Inspired by the one night I saw a strange car in the middle of a parking lot. It was late at night and I was driving home. I watch out for cops at night, just to be safe.

I was driving past this bank and I thought I had seen a cop car in the parking lot, but at a closer glance it was just a normal car. As I passed I look pretty close at it and thought.

“What if I wasn’t supposed to pay attention to this car?”

As if it was supposed to be ignored, but i payed attention to it. What would happen if no one was supposed to notice, but did. That’s where this story was born from.

Strange things seem to happen when no eyes are there to catch them. I once thought that people who saw UFO’s and bigfoot were crazy. If they saw them, how come no one else saw them? Where was all the proof, the pictures and hi-def video? I used to wonder.

It was a sunny afternoon and I had just delivered some copy to an old orchid. I was doing their new Apple Times Newspaper that they handed out to passerbys and locals. It was an easy job, far less stressful then my other clients out of the big city. Usually I have the printing company drop them off, but this time I decided I would check out the place my self. I had been there ages ago when I first got their business, yet from that day I had been to busy to drive all the way out there. The sun was shining, a cool breeze blew across the arces and I thought to my self ‘what the heck, let’s go see those fellows out there’. I was greeted with smiles and warm apple cider and donuts. We talked about all the years of business and the newspaper and what else they wanted to do. With some extra cider and donuts they welcomed me back anytime. I waved good bye and traveled back home through those old country roads. They bounced up and down wooded hills, past farms and large arces of corn or wheat. I peered down at my dash and noticed that I was running low on gas so I started to look for a station. Out here that might be rare. Luckily through some trees at the top of a hill stood a station that lept straight out of time. I pulled in and waved to the man inside. He nodded and went back to his paper he was reading. I pulled up and started to fill my van up with gas. Across the street was a defunct gas station that stood against a backdrop of dark green trees and brush. The paint was peeling off and vines and bits of rust were crawling up the sides of the columns to the small roof over the pumps. A small one person building stood off to the side. A old black lincoln pulled up to one of the pumps and a tall man wearing a large brimmed hat stepped out. I wanted to yell over that the pumps were not working, but the man reached out for the handle and almost like it was there, took it from the station and inserted it into the back of his old black lincoln. He held an invisible gas handle, his hand squeezing something that wasn’t there. He was robotic and turned towards me as if he was on a swivel. I waved and he started towards me. A part of me told me to run, but the gentlemen in me told me to stay and not be rude. He crossed the small street and I met him at the edge of the asphalt. He moved in slow fluid motions, both arms swinging wide as he approached and stopped.

“Good afternoon” I said shielding my eyes from the sun with my hand. Skin slid back from his mouth revealing a sharp smile.

“Yes it is” his arm extended and he opened his hand to receive a shake. I didn’t immediately move and he stood frozen in position.

“Oh”I grasped his hand and we shook. His grip was strong and forceful. He let go and I withdrew my hand and returned it to my pockets. “You know mister, I don’t think that station is in working order” He nodded and turned to look towards his car and returned to me still nodding.

“Some machines run on a different kind of fuel then others sonny” he said taking off his hat, readjusting it and reapplying. His eyes were a deep amber that glowed when the sun hit them for a tiny fraction it was allowed. I heard my pump click as I was done fueling up.

I turned to look and shot a thumb back at my car “Looks like I am all set, you take care” I started toward my car.

“You too sonny. I’ll see you later. Give Jenny my best” I turned immediately. He was back at his car, door open waving at me as he disappeared inside. The engine started with a high pitch whirl and the wheels sputtered into action as the lincoln pitched up onto the road and head off in the opposite direction I was going. I watched it glide down the street until it rounded a corner. I could still feel his skin on my hand in my pocket.

I think in reality. Somethings are not meant to be seen. Those strange things, events, monsters that humans catch a glimpse of. Just a glimpse is all they can see. As if they saw more. Reality might seem to become fiction.

Inspired by old abandon gas station in the middle of nowhere (who knows who might still use them)