Team ‘Routed…’
It made him rather glad he wasn’t behind the wheel for a change. Instead, poor Dan was trapped in an unenviable position of the driver. Thank god it was an automatic here! Mitch was still out cold. Enjoying the luxuries of a vehicle with opulent rear legroom.
But something caught Sam’s eye.
He was wasting time with the usual thing on his phone, Discord, Reddit, Instagram. But he was also keeping tabs on the other teams. While it was clear now a number of teams had fallen out already. Including that little Toyota that Dan was praising for its durability…he sure knows how to pick them!
Well besides the teams that were out. It was only really a straight fight with Team Twin-Snail that they passed before. But it looked like with all this traffic than were catching up!
“Err…” Sam broke the silence of the cabin. The various tapes in the cabin having been long exhausted. Dan looked up from behind the wheel.
“What’s up?” He inquired.
“Well, we ought to get a move on!” Sam insisted. “That team behind us is really movin’!”
“How the bloody heck am I suppose to do that?” Dan snapped gesturing to the long line of traffic. “We’re barely crawling along and there is nowhere to overtake…”
“Whoa, whoa calm your tits mate,” Sam said putting his hands up. “I’m just saying it’s something we should know think about…soon”
“Yeah…” Dan let out a sigh. “Look I’ve been driving for hours now I think a break would be a better idea.”
“But…” Sam protested
“That have to be getting tired too y’know.” Dan said and added, “He’s not a machine…everyone gets tired.”
“I suppose…” Sam said stretching in his seat.
“We’ll catch them up next time they stop,” Dan suggested. “Now how about you find a cool spot for us to stop?”
“Yeah, alright then.” Sam dived back into his phone.
“There’s no point taking this ‘tour’ if we’re only going to see a line of traffic is there?” Remarked Dan.
“Oh, OH, this place looks awesome!” Sam nearly leapt out of his seat. It’s like right out all those films about the US." He added pushing the phone into Dan’s face.
“Yep…loooks great,” Dan replied with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. While brushing aside the phone.
“Look!” Sam jammed the phone back in his face. “It’s got those big Redwoods, log cabins…probably big foot and all that X-files stuff too!” Sam added with a beaming grin.
Dan rolled his eyes and replied deadpan “Really…”
The rest stop was now set and as the Maesima crawled along with the traffic.
Several hours later
The traffic had begun to scatter away. Peeling off at various parks, sightseeing, motels and holiday spot.
Finally, the team could open up the smooth six and eat up some highway miles.
By now there were getting close to the pit stop. Mitch had woken up earlier and been told about it. But he still seemed fairly sleepy and no one was sure he actually comprehended what was explained to him. Thanks to the plush seating it wasn’t long before he was back napping again.
So everyone thought it was best to leave him be and explain where we got there. Sam was wired into his earbuds. Listening to what sounded like the X-files theme or some sort of crazy podcast.
Dan was pretty weary now. The sky was shifting into the golden hour of twilight. He’d switched the headlights on and the dash was backlight rather nicely. The road was nearly all to himself now. Nothing behind and nothing ahead just pure joy. If only it was like this earlier. He lamented as the drowsiness dulled what would otherwise be a highlight of the drive.
But just then a pair of headlights appeared ahead of gleaming blue in the sunset.
They were closing fast.
Dan didn’t notice has he was looking at the map trying to remember where Sam said to turn off. It must be getting close. But he didn’t want to disturb Sam from his phone.
Just then a booming noise of a truck horn burst into the cabin right as Dan spotted the turn-off.
He nearly lost control as he was gripped the wheel so tight as he made the turn the tail stepped out. Sam jumped from his seat. Spun his head around to find the source of the noise. But only caught a glimpse of dark blue Minerva disappearing down the highway. Mitch sprung up from his slumber bewildered and screamed.
“Christ! What the bloody hell was that!” Mitch blurted out looking around for any sign of an accident.
“The Hell if I know!” Dan replied. Regaining control of the Maesima. As it rolled into the parking area of the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.
“Those Bastards!” Sam declared taking out his earbuds. “That was that team behind us…the Snail one” He added.
“Why are we stopping did something break?” Mitch asked still out of the loop.
“Nah, we’re taking a break at this awesome park,” Sam answered delighted. He then went on about how it was full of unsolved mysterious.
Dan and Mitch shared a moment of concern.
“Well, anyway,” Dan said finally pulling into space. “I definitely need a break after all that.”
Despite attempts to keep their spirits down the team pulled into the Park about the perfect time.The lighting was golden glow as the sun crept down the sky. The tall redwoods enveloped in a halo of sunshine. It made for some great shots so the team could remember the trip. Although Sam assured the rest of team he was close to finding evidence of a big mystery given a longer break.
why not just ‘outer thigh’?
