Marvel Oneshots And Crack

Ride Till You Cross The State Line

Steve POV

I almost didn't notice the Welcome to Kentucky sign, that's how fast I was going on the highway. Mind in a haze, I was practically driving on autopilot. My baby blue 1985 Chevy sailed over the pavement, spitting out exhaust every now and then. The dog tags around my neck lightly bounced against my chest as the truck went over pothole after pothole.

I could hear the birds on the summer breeze through my open windows, colorful blurs here and there as I sped past. On either side of me, prairie grass waved gently on the wind like a golden ocean, wild bushes and trees randomly spread out like marbles spilled on a carpet.

The Smokies loomed ahead of me, shrouded in a fog of blue and gray, endless pine trees stretching out for miles to come. As I drove closer and closer to those mountains, the houses on either side of me began to thin out, replaced by trees and trees and...more trees.

Occasionally, my cell phone would light up, vibrate, and then go silent a few minutes later. They were all calling me and texting me, no doubt. I had only texted them, Going on a road trip to clear my head. I'm safe. Might send a postcard.

I was ascending now; me and my Chevy had begun to climb the mountain. I couldn't help a grin and excited whoop of laughter as I climbed higher and higher. For the first time in hours, the radio sputtered back to life, and a song by Two Door Cinema Club began playing. I sang along, not giving a shit that I was horribly off key.

"Feel something right, and feel something good, because if one thing works, you might know it's true~"

I drove and drove until the sun began to get low in the sky. But did I pull over for the night? Nah.

I kept driving. By now, I was deep in the Smokies, pitch dark, my headlights lighting the way like a lantern. The trees were thin and tall, densely packed on either side of me. The Red Hot Chili Peppers started crooning from some unnamed rock station; I turned the volume up as high as I could.

I finally left Tennessee when the sun began to peek over the foothills. I had traveled out of the Smokies and was descending. Before long, I came across a Welcome to Arkansas sign. Are-Kansas. I couldn't believe I'd made it so far in one night.

Four hours later, I was crossing into Oklahoma. I was surprised to still be in mountain ranges. Had I really never studied American geography?

I lost track of time, for the landscape was monotonous as ever. Every now and then I glanced at my military rosary hanging from the rearview mirror, mumbling prayers under my breath. It had miraculously survived the ice. The one my mother gave to me was apparently in the same museum I stole back my old uniform from. Well, it was before I stole that back too.

Oklahoma went by in a blur of the occasional mountain and an endless sea of plains. Right as I was crossing into Texas, I saw three police cars speed right by me. The sound of gunshots rang out minutes later.

I narrowly avoided crashing the truck as I began panicking and had to pull over to the side of the road, barely remembering to turn on my hazards. Even after the police chase had long passed me, I could still hear them.

I held it together afterwards until I decided to settle down in a hotel for the night. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the area that night. And boy did it storm.

It was the flashing lightning and booming thunder after hearing gunshots that did me in. I was waiting for the elevator, observing the storm through a nearby window. Thunder boomed and roared, making the building shake and my ears ring.

An old man was waiting next to me, watching the weather with a little smile. "God's sheer power really is amazing, ain't it?"

I nodded. "Yes, it sure is, sir."