Project #134

CHAPTER 4

"Are you Mr. Wolfe?" the lady asked.

"Yes," Aron replied.

"I'm Sharon... the one you were talking to in the elevator."

"Hello!"

"Listen, being trapped in an elevator isn't much fun. I talked to management and they have agreed to give you a free night here."

"Thanks!" said Aron happily.

"No problem. We're very sorry that happened." she said.

"It's not your fault." he said.

"Are you going somewhere today?"she asked.

"Yes, to Mount Rushmore and to Custer State Park."

"Well, then, have a great time, and I won't hold you up any longer." she said smiling.

"Thanks, have a nice day!" Aron replied.

"You too."

Aron then went out the front door of the hotel and got into his car. He then pulled out of the parking lot. It was a fairly simple drive to Mt. Rushmore – he only had to follow Highway 16 south and then to his destination by following the signs.

He turned onto the on-ramp for Route 16. Aron then found a radio station he could listen to for his short drive. Once again, he found one in classic rock. He ended up passing many beautiful hills filled with trees. He also passed the Reptile Gardens, a tourist attraction of which he was visiting tomorrow. He was getting closer to Mount Rushmore... according to the map, there was only a big curve and then the off-roads to get to the destination. To his surprise, the big curve appeared as he put his map away. Aron glided through it with breeze.

At the end of the curve, Aron noticed brake-lights and many vehicles ahead. It was a traffic backup. Worst of all, he noticed dark smoke ahead. Aron pulled up behind the car in front of him and shifted his vehicle into park. An ambulance went rushing by in the wrong direction on the other side of the highway. It must have been a car accident.

Aron sat there, listening to his classic rock for about 30 minutes. After realizing that he wasn't going anywhere, he decided to turn the car off. There were now cars parked behind him for quite a distance.

A South Dakota Highway Patrol officer was walking by talking to the motorists that were backed up. He eventually made it to Aron's window. Aron turned the key to turn the electrical system on to roll down the window.

"Good Afternoon, sir." said the officer.

"Hello," Aron started "What's going on up there?"

"There was a bad accident involving six vehicles. Unfortunately, we have one confirmed fatality."

"That's awful" Aron responded.

"Yeah..." he started "There are some days I really do not like this job. Today is one of them. Anyways, traffic is blocked in both directions, as the accident was quite spread out. We cannot set up any detours due to the location of the accident... so I'm sorry to say that you will be stuck here for awhile."

"Thank you for the update." Aron told the officer.

"It was a good choice to turn off your vehicle. I need to talk to the drivers behind you, have a nice day sir." the officer finished as he was walking away.

Aron sat and stared at the scenery. It was all he could pretty much do as he didn't want to waste either his car or phone battery. After a little bit, he decided to look at the stuff in his wallet to pass the time. He saw his cash for the trip,a few plastic cards, a business card here and there, and a few important wallet-sized photos. His favorite was a photo he had kept since he was a little kid. It was a picture taken of Aron and his sister when he was eight years old. She was in a pink dress and he was in a suit. It was taken his uncle's wedding back in 1998. Aron felt a brief moment of nostalgia as he remembered the simple pleasures of being a kid.