Serenity Somewhere

Part One

Author's Note:  This is the second draft of this story, now presented in three parts.  Though a third draft is likely, any feedback before then would be very much appreciated.

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Blue truck. Car...big car. Small car...with a stupid-looking sticker on it. Another car—oh, shit. Cop.

With Haley sleeping peacefully in the passenger seat, Barbara had long ago lost both conversation and the radio as a means of keeping herself entertained as she drove along a seemingly endless road. She had spent the better part of the past hour keeping herself as close to being awake as possible by taking note of all of the vehicles that passed her headed in the opposite direction on the road. As ways to pass the time went, it certainly left something to be desired. She forced herself to find anything to say about them outside of "car" and "truck," largely to make it easier to pretend that it was still working. Once the sun had begun to set, she was almost grateful for the added challenge of noticing anything through the glare of oncoming headlights.

For a moment that had been all too brief, the only thing that she'd noticed about the black car behind her was that the day's last rays of sunlight just barely illuminated what appeared to be white paint on the top. It wasn't until it drew closer that she could see what looked like too many mirrors on its sides and multiple antennas rising from it. Realization immediately shifted into abject horror when she finally recognized the vehicle behind her as a highway patrol cruiser. In an instant, the exercise had become far more interesting than she'd ever wanted.

Please...please pass me or turn around or something. Anything. Just keep going.

Her heart hammered violently in her chest, feeling as if it were trying to escape before what felt like the inevitable happened. After quickly checking to make sure she was sitting up straight, Barbara froze in place. The cruiser's flashing lights weren't on, which meant the damage hadn't been done yet. Rather than a being a relief, however, that fact only made her feel as though any change that she made to the situation would bring it crashing down around her like a house of cards. She locked her elbows and wrists in place, determined to keep her car from shifting to either side in the slightest.

She poured the entirety of her attention into her driving, leaving her incapable of focusing properly on anything around her. The cars, trees, and asphalt blended together as they passed by in a blurred mess. The only thing she could see clearly was the rearview mirror, but she didn't dare to do more than glance at it every few seconds to ensure the worst was yet to come. Her muscles burned with the effort of maintaining her position, making her acutely aware that the time she had left to hold it was limited. For a moment, she thought of dangling from the edge of a cliff, unable to pull herself up and waiting for the moment at which she couldn't hold on any longer.

Certain the moment had arrived, Barbara looked up one last time to see the cruiser turning off of the road and heading toward what looked like a beach that, in her panic, she had completely failed to notice. Fear kept her analyzing the situation for a moment, leading her to vaguely wonder why a highway patrol cruiser would be headed toward a beach. The moment didn't last, however; the thought seemed to fade out of existence before it had fully formed as relief asserted its dominance in her thoughts.

Her hands released what had become a vice-like grip on the steering wheel, several of her joints softly popping in the process. Her fingers tingled as blood began to flow through them again and she slowly became aware of a knot in one of her shoulders only as it started to loosen. It seemed as if an all-clear signal had been sent through her body, but different parts were receiving it at different times. She couldn't say whether it had been seconds or minutes later when a burning in her lungs and a slight dizziness made her aware she had been holding her breath.