The Darkened Highway

The Darkened Highway Chapter Two

The scenery out the passenger window gave me a sense of awe at how majestic the forest was. Still, a shiver of hesitation ran down my back. The forest was beautiful, yet ominous. Observing the trees' tops, I noticed there were no birds. In the forest, I saw a strange stillness that was hard for me to place. The trees shifted and swayed in an unseen wind. The highway ran straight to the horizon as far as the eye could see. We had been driving for over an hour, and our course had not changed. I found that odd as earlier in our trip, the highway would curve and turn in different directions following the terrain. We would come across turn-offs and intersections, but since taking the exit to this highway because of construction, there was only this road. It was a two-lane country highway with yellow lines accompanied by dotted yellow lines. If it weren't for the eerie feeling emanating from the darkness within the forest, all of this would be interesting. Green moss covered the forest floor on each side of the road, and the lush green grass grew sparsely between the trees.

It was pitch black as far as the eye could see, with only the outermost trees visible. Beyond that, the sunlight became non-existent. The farther from the road, the deeper I looked. That haunted me more than anything, as a presence or tingling sensation in my mind. 'Was there something in the woods that I needed to be afraid of?' I didn't know, but a feeling of uneasiness overcame me as I watched the forest pass. There was something off, but I can't tell. Maybe the scary, forbidding forest for children's stories has me on edge. Turning my attention to Ben, I watched him carefully.

"Hey Ben, how long before it gets dark?"

"Two hours, maybe a little more. Why?"

"Are we going to make it to the next town?"

"Not before nightfall. Don't worry. With the extra barrels in storage I brought along, we have enough fuel to make it well into tomorrow and maybe the day after that."

"I sure hope so. But, unfortunately, camping out here doesn't sound like it will be pleasant."

Thanks to Ben, we were finally on our way after months of preparation. This is one of the best-in-class double-decker motorhomes on the market, with two articulated bendy sections and a driving section. The double-decker motorhome had two state-of-the-art engines that provided enough power for whatever we needed. When the main engines were not running, generators powered each section. Solar panels lined the roof, and the awning extended on both sides of the double-decker motorhome. A total of four four-foot slide-outs are attached to each section, allowing for a larger living area when parked.

The rig can store four 100-gallon tanks of water at one time. Two 100-gallon fuel tanks gave us enough range to go anywhere we wanted before the refueling, plus each generator had 50-gallon tanks. In the second section, the kitchen and living room are exceedingly large. Also included in the second section are a full bathroom, washroom, and master bedroom. The third section had eight bunk beds and another master bedroom. The third section contained two more bathrooms and a living area. The second level of the double-decker motorhome possessed a similar layout with a lounge overlooking the drive section.

The drive section is about fifteen feet long, while the remaining sections are forty-five feet each. Our motorhome looks like a humongous caterpillar, with the third section containing a garage for small cars. The drive section was a Peterbilt Diesel designed explicitly for this double-decker motorhome. The extra space in the drive section had a living area behind the driver and passenger seats. This was also where the entrance to the motorhome was located. The motorhome was a big rig, but each section had its own set of wheels, and each section had an axle along its length for more complex maneuvering. Behind the third segment, a six-wheeled Dynamo D4 with dual driving capabilities, was my SUV on a trailer.

Notably, the motorhome consisted of three sections, with a total of thirty wheels in each. Most of these were the massive 34-inch off-road wheels designed for vehicles meant on all terrain. Its extreme off-road capability was the icing on the cake. Self-inflating tires and auto-drive features topped off the cool factor. One of the most advanced features was the anti-gravity generator, which allowed the motorhome to hover several feet above the ground. It was fantastic to have available, but its power consumption was extremely high. It was practical to travel across the country if you were super-rich.

I was confident that we could handle the situation no matter where we went. With a 360-degree camera system and onboard artificial intelligence, this baby had it all. Their motorhome was dubbed the Beast by Ben's parents as they were modestly wealthy. We were fortunate they offered us the motorhome, as they had purchased a new monster of an RV motorhome the year before. We enjoyed all the comforts of home on our way to the cabin. Both Ben's parents and my parents left for the cabin in the northeast area of the Washington Territories two weeks ago. We planned to announce our marriage after college while there. We couldn't think of a better time to share the good news than on the first day of our first official family reunion. It had already been a year since my parents met Ben's parents. They instantly liked each other. With more time spent together, they were almost like a family. After months of planning, the day to leave had finally come.

Along the back, hooked up, was my SUV Dynamo Jeep D5 that my dad bought as a present for going to college early. Since I graduated high school one year earlier, I decided to finish college early instead of taking a year off. He even brought his dog, Happy, along for a six-week getaway. Happy was a pleasant name for a dog. He was always happy and seemed to take a liking to me. Having known him, I found him to be one of the sweetest Golden Retrievers I've ever met. He was loyal and protective of both Ben and me. There wasn't a memory of Ben without Happy. I loved him just as much as Ben did, and he went everywhere with us.