Authors Note: This chapter is going to begin with James having already awakened to find Evelyn missing, simply due to the fact that I am too lazy to write another page of him experiencing the same state of panic and confusion. To me it would be redundant to write about this so I'm going to skip to the part to where he is out of the car and also looking for help.
And also..... From here on out, there will be extensive use of the "n" word by some of the characters in this story. I don't mean to offend anyone. And if I do, I am sorry. I am just trying to keep the story as historically correct as possible. Any names of towns or counties I use are going to be completely fictional but the story is still set somewhere in southeast Alabama.
III: The Beginning
July 19, 2018???
The sun's rays unmercifully beamed down into James neck as he pulled himself down the road. The heat was unbearable and the humidity was excruciatingly thick. James knew that at any moment his body would shut down from heat exhaustion and dehydration but the thought of his absent wife, Evelyn, kept him moving forward. He had to find her no matter what and nothing would stop him. James felt sickened with guilt because he was the reason why they were both in the present situation. Had he paid more attention to the road, the accident probably could have been avoided.
And to add insult to injury, both his and Evelyn's cell phones had been lost somewhere during the incident, which was probably the reason why Evelyn had to leave the car. At first, James awoke to only be flummoxed with panic and confusion but through reason James eventually concluded that Evelyn was probably alive and had left the car in order to get help. He knew he should have probably stayed at the scene of the accident but his decision to stay at the scene of the accident was overpowered by his concern for his missing wife.
And then finally, after 20 minutes of tumultuous walking in the blazing heat, James could hear the sound of a car sputtering up the road. James turned around to spot an old truck coming up the road towards him. From a guess, James had to say the truck looked like something that came from the 60's. The sight of a car that old actually running kind of surprised him.
"What are ya doing out here at this time of day son? You look pretty beat up," the man said, with a heavy southern accent. The man was an older man with blond hair that looked gray in some places, and an extremely red complexion, probably from being sunburned.
`"Yeah.... Me and my..my wife were in a car accident," James said stroking the back of his terribly aching neck, "And I don't know where she is."
The man gave James a look of half sympathy and half curiosity before accumulating a mixture of mucus and tobacco from his throat and spitting it into the hot concrete road.
"How far down is your car?" the man asked him.
"Just a few yards in the opposite direction you came," James said, pointing down the road.
"Well get in," the sunburned man said, "I can get ya into town and we can get some of Harpers boys to help you get your car out of the ditch."
"Thank you," James said softly, offering the man his hand, "I'm James Moreau."
The sunburned man pulled his hand out of the window to take James' hand. The handshake was firm and brisk. By the way he shook his hand; James could tell that this man was a man of business.
"James Fletcher," he replied, "But everyone calls me Jim- do you need a doctor or something?"
"Um...ye-," James paused. Evelyn abruptly began to flood his thoughts. He had to find her, nothing mattered to him at that point, not even his own health.
"No sir, I'd rather go into town to see if anyone has seen my wife," James said, starting towards the old beat-up truck. Dust stirred beneath James feet as he made cautious steps towards the truck. Dust shot up into his nostrils, choking him, and he coughed violently as he pulled the car door open and stumbled into the truck.
The car smelled thick of tobacco and grease, further gagging him.
"Are you sure you don't need a doctor son?"
James turned to the man and instantly knew that this man was a farmer. It all made since to him now and considering that they were on the country side of Alabama, he probably was. What made James suspicious of this was the fact that the man was wearing overalls; Old beat-up overalls that looked as if they had been through a hard day's labor many times. It was a stupid assumption but James couldn't think of anybody today who would willingly wear overalls except for farmers.
"I'm fine," James choked.
Jim spat once more out of his window before the ancient truck began to sputter down the road.
James rolled up his blood-stained sleeves to notice that his forearms displayed numerous cuts and bruises; he also noticed that his skin had been stained with that looked like dry blood. For a second James wondered how long he had been unconscious and for how long had Evelyn left for help. Thoughts of her being hurt in every possible way imaginable began to flood his mind until Jim interrupted.
"Now what did you say your wife looked like?"
"Evelyn...," James said softly to himself; for a brief moment he felt relief as he thought about a past memory of her smiling beautifully and happy, but that relief was almost immediately damned as he unexpectedly thought of her dying alone on the side of the hot concrete road. He had to stop thinking so pessimistically or it'd kill him.
