Chocolate, A Truck, and A Railgun

Chapter 1

The night air sent a chill down William's spine as he stood next to the tall man. The man inspected the items he had just brought in, kneeling in front of the row of boxes, opening them up and counting their contents. After confirming that all the items had been delivered safe and sound, he took a slip of paper, signed it, and gave it to William.

"By the way, I heard there's a sale for chocolate bars?" William asked as he returned the document into his bag.

"Those ones? Why, you want one?"

William searched for his wallet. He then pulled out a purple slip of paper and handed it over. The man wordlessly took it and went to the cashier. William brought out his phone as he waited, taking a quick peek at the recent notifications.

'For real? You guys be careful too.' was the text written at the top. William pressed the notification. It was a group of other truckers talking about some drunkard who had been running wild in his region. The police were looking for this driver. There was even the plate attached.

'William, aren't you around there?' An acquaintance asked in worry.

'Yeah. I'll be careful.'

He memorized the plate, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

"Here. Is no receipt fine?" he asked while holding the bar.

"It's alright, thanks."

"Thank you for tonight."

"No problem. Oh, sorry for the delay."

"Traffic, can hardly blame you. Besides, only half an hour late." The man let out a chuckle.

"I'll be heading out now."

"Be careful." The man waved. William nodded and turned around, heading out of the store.

The bar in his hand, he made his way back to his truck. He went to the truck's rear cargo door, making sure it was locked before climbing to the driver's seat on the right side of the vehicle. William tapped on his smartphone's screen, the locked screen showing the hour. He set it down on the dashboard and leaned back and opened up the chocolate's packaging. It had been displayed next to the cashier, outside the refrigerator. A bit sticky, just the way he liked it.

Tic tic tic

Droplets of water land on the windshield, soon turning into a shower. He pulled the windows back up. The phone lit up, showing a different notification.

"Sigh... that old man..."

He folded the chocolate's wrapping, secured his phone into the phone holder under the AC, and turned on the vehicle. The white box truck's engine rumbled loudly, breaking the evening silence. He turned on the lights and wipers, before making his way away from the store. He hummed to a tune on the radio as he drove, tapping his steering wheel along with the beat. The downpour intensified. He increased the speed of his truck's wipers, sending rain droplets off his windshield.

"Urgh..." he grumbled. He liked rain as long as it didn't interfere with his work, but today's rain was particularly intense, forcing him to drive carefully. He stopped at a red light, before making his way left. He took a ramp and headed up to the highway. It was a calm evening, not too many cars around. Another usual day at his job.

He took the leftmost lane, the one for trucks, but a slow car was blocking his path. It annoyed him. After checking his mirrors, he turned on his signal and merged into the middle lane. He was about to overtake the car when he saw a bright flash of light heading his way.

People really should stop using their high beams.

But he soon realized that the lights were heading straight for him. He pushed the breaks, but it was too late. A car hit the barrier separating the two directions. The impact was so harsh that it threw the car into the air. It flew above the road, heading straight for him. The last thing he saw was its two blinding headlights, so bright that he couldn't see anything even in his last moments.