Die Glocke

1

Emmett always insisted on driving. He drifted around bends and bounced over potholes with absolute confidence. He was reckless, he would even dedicate half of his attention to his phone. Every so often he would take his eyes off his phone to check the road for pedestrians and other cars, but that's about it. Him and his rusted classic car was well known by the local police. They knew the only time he was driving under 60 mph, is when he was handed a ticket... today was no exception. Delia found herself helplessly gripping the bottom of her seat, as he bobbed the car down endless country roads.

"Did you know roads like this were invented to kill bad drivers?" She asked the dark haired driver, clenching her teeth as the next turn came into view.

"Is that your subtle way of telling me to slow down?" Emmett smirked as he took the sharp turn, his foot never lifting off of the gas.

She tightened her grip on the seat. "Your brakes must feel neglected.They rarely get used. " She smiled.

Emmett retaliated by picking up speed. Laughing he said "You should have said something twenty minutes ago."- His smile grew.- "We're here." He veered the car around another bend, then pressed his foot to the brake, coming to an abrupt stop.

Their destination wasn't much to look at. Just a dirt patch where trees once stood with an overwhelming amount of food wrappers and empty beer cans. If you asked her a week from now if she could find it again, the answer would be - 'No, all 40 miles of this country road look the same.'

Emmett put the car in park. "The post online said to look for a sign, a hundred paces from the road." He reached into the backseat and grabbed his camera bag, one of the only things he handles with care.

Delia loosened her death grip on the seat, and let out a relaxing sigh. "A welcome sign to a secret building in the woods, You don't find that suspicious?"

Emmett unzipped his bag and pulled out his DSLR camera. "Multiple people confirmed it and I checked several websites." He emerged from the car with the camera bag slung over his shoulder. "You remember the photos I showed you? The ones of the angel statue? " She gave a nod.-"Well that's where we're going and with the right lighting it would be the perfect picture." With confidence, he held his camera tightly to his chest, and advanced into the unknown wilderness.

Reluctantly Delia took off her seat belt and unlocked the door. She took a deep breath and held it for a second before following him.

It wasn't long before a hundred paces had came and went,but Delia didn't want to be the first to point it out. There was no visible path for them to follow and they still hadn't seen anything resembling a sign. She was regretting her decision to wear shorts and her legs were beginning to itch. Under normal circumstances she would have opted to turn around, but for every reasonable argument she came up with, it all came down to one thing.

Emmett was chasing his dream of being a photographer. Out of everyone she knew he was the only person strong enough to throw caution to the wind and chase his dream to the end. For the past six month she snapped a photo of absolutely everything, but nothing was good enough. At least not for the finest photo gallery in New York. They were hosting an open competition for both professional and amateurs.Emmett had his eye on the prize; Recognition and $10,000. However, it was the recognition Emmett was after. Now after six months of being too picky, he had only two weeks to produce the perfect photo.

"Look!"Emmett shouted, pulling Delia from her thoughts. His hand was stretched out, pointing to what appeared to be a sign. Halfway hidden by green ivy,it was a rustic green color with the words 'Ivan Tech, Industry Of The Future', carved into it.