Big Leather Couch

OK Kiddies, it has happened...Yesterday began four different scenarios and none of them took flight. So, as not to bang our head on the table any longer, we went back into the archives to June 14, 2006. This was out first work of fiction here on THE COUCH.

As such, even though we looked at it, we could not put the Manic Monday word "BLOW" into the first sentence.

Don't forget to visit over at MORGEN'S for all the participants this week.

Now, hope y'all enjoy..."THE DRIVE"


The fog rolled across the highway obscuring the lines down the center and along the edge. White fingers grasped the steering wheel willing it to stay centered in the lane and not to wander.
Eyes stared straight ahead trying to make out the next 10 feet of roadway and hoping to not see anything unknown.

Why had you decided to leave this late? What compelled you to think you could make the drive after hearing the weather? Well who listens to the weatherman anyway these days? The only job where you can be wrong more then a weatherman and not be fired is in direct response where a 5% success rate is considered excellent.

Was it that important to get to the destination tonight and not tomorrow? Did it really matter to anyone else? Probably not, but you am compelled to reach the goal and not be swayed by things over which you have no control...like the weather.

That is when the shadow crossed over the road. Your foot lifts off the accelerator and hits the brake...maybe a little too hard, and the back-end of the car begins a slow fishtail to the left. Remember the lessons...turn the wheel into the turn...do not hit the brake again...do not jerk or over-react.


But the car is not responding... the backend fishtails further to the left over the centerline. The car is almost perpendicular to where it should be and the chalk white fingers are turning harder now...turning the wheel...urging the car to realign itself to the road.

Slowly, control of the car is regained...the pounding of your heart in your ears is drowning out the music which had been playing on the radio. Your chest feels as if it is about to explode and you ease the car to the shoulder, pulling off a bit more then normal to ensure the next car down this road does not plow into you.

As the car rolls to a stop, you put it into park and only then realize there are beads of sweat rolling down from your hairline along your forehead and dripping onto your face and into your eyes. You wipe your face with the back of your right sleeve and will your heart to return to a normal rhythm...

What was that back there? A deer? It was too big for a deer? A bear? No, it moved too fast. A large black shadow...nothingness. Now you are thinking crazy...it must have been an animal...that is all.

Reaching down to the center console, you grab the 1/2 bottle of water left and lift it to your parched lips. Drinking steadily, you do not stop until you see the void bottom of the bottle in your vision.


Putting the car back into drive, you pull back onto the road and immediately realize the fog is now denser then before. Your hands grip the wheel even tighter...you know you should just pull over and let the fog lift, but you are being driven by unseen forces.

The road begins a gentle curve to the right as it also begins the decent from its highest point on the mountain. You think you can see the lights of the town below, but know it is only your imagination at play...the fog is too thick.

AGAIN...a black shape passes in front of the car only this time, you can not stop...the blackness envelops the car...you wait for impact but it never comes. Just blackness.

Both feet are now stomped down on the brake pedal, but the car is not even slowing down...in fact it is picking up speed. You hear a loud screeching noise and then realize it is you, screaming a bloody, bone-chilling scream.

All at once, the blackness is gone and there is nothing.


You, sitting in your car...in your driveway...as you had been 3 hours before. The clock on the dash reads midnight, the exact hour you left home to make your journey. The water bottle by your side is full and the seal has not been broken.

You reach and open the door and walk back to your home. As you open the door, you tell yourself, tomorrow is just as good a time as any to make the trip.


THE COUCH NOTE (From Original June 14, 2006 Post): When I sat down today, I was not sure what the subject was going to be and then the fingers began typing. I truly had no idea where the thoughts would lead or how I would complete them. So, let's just say....today's blog wrote itself...Hope you enjoyed it.