Bang!

     Bubba, initially stunned, realized that he had just been in an accident and tried to open the door of his truck. The impact from the collision compressed the body panels of the truck making the door difficult to open, so Bubba forced it open with his feet. The door made a loud groaning sound as the body panels rubbed against each other. As Bubba stepped out of the truck, the snow was nearly up to his knees. Snow quickly accumulated on his head and body.

     Bubba, frightened and confused, saw the remnants of a red car about four feet in front of his truck. “What the fuck?” he thought.  Bubba had seen what he thought were distant lights as he strained to see through the heavy snow. “Apparently, the distant lights weren’t so distant after all,” Bubba thought. As he walked toward the car expecting the worst, the driver’s side door flew open so hard that it slammed shut again. The door then opened wide and Aaron slid out as he slipped a knit cap over his bald head.
 

     Bubba and Aaron walked toward each other. At first, Bubba thought Aaron’s arms were injured.  As he got closer, Bubba was relieved to see Aarons arms were covered in tattoos, not blood.  Bubba asked, “You OK?” Aaron responded “I think so.  The snow was coming down so hard, I couldn’t see shit.  I’m trying to get to Millinocket to see my boys who live with their mother.”  Bubba explained, “I’ve just driven from West Virginia to drop off a boat at Lake Millinocket.  I’m trying to get back to town to find a hotel room.  I need to rest before driving back to West Virginia tomorrow.”

     Trying to decide what to do next, they checked their phones.  Aaron said, “Great. We’re in no man’s land…no cell signal. Technology ain’t gonna help us tonight.” As the snow continued to fall harder and the wind increased in intensity, they needed to move quick. They had to get one of the vehicles started so they could find shelter. Aaron said, “My car is totaled. Do you think your truck will start?”  Looking at the white 2004 Ford F250 that he affectionately called Great White, Bubba said, “Hopefully. Let’s give it a shot.”
 

     Shivering and covered with snow, they got into the truck to escape the savage weather. The cab of the truck was better than being outside, but it was still freezing. As the snow melted from their bodies it dripped on to the floor mats where it quickly froze, while vapor from their bodies froze to the inside of the windows.

     After catching his breath, Bubba turned the ignition key, coaxing the big truck by saying “Come on, baby. Gimme something.”  Great White tried to come to life, but wouldn’t catch.  Bubba wondered if it was missing gas or spark. He tried turning the ignition two more times then stopped as he didn’t want to kill the battery. Bubba pulled the latch to open the hood. He didn’t want to go back outside, but he knew he had to. Bubba just prayed that the engine compartment light was working so he could see. As he pushed the hood up, Bubba begged “please, please, please.” As the hood opened, the light came on. “Thank God for small victories,” he thought. Great White’s engine was in surprisingly good shape considering it had just been in a head on collision. As Bubba looked for any obvious signs of damage, Aaron looked around for signs of life. Aaron said, “Jesus, this place looks like the tundra.”  There was nothing but primeval darkness veiled with endless curtains of snow in every direction.

     Bubba’s massive hands were stinging with pain from the cold, but he was able to check some wires and tighten a suspect fuel line clamp with his Leatherman™. He thought air might be getting into the fuel line, which could restrict fuel flow.
 

     As they climbed back into the truck Bubba said, “Let’s see what she’s got now.” Before trying the ignition, Bubba blew hot air on his hands trying desperately to warm them up. After a few promising cranks, Great White roared to life. Bubba and Aaron erupted and high-fived each other. The heater blew warm air almost immediately. However, it wasn’t all good news as Bubba realized that Great White’s headlights had been destroyed in the accident. As he looked out the windshield there was nothing but darkness. Aaron said, “This is gonna suck. We can’t see shit.”  Bubba offered a dejected nod signaling his agreement.  Fortunately, the moon was partially visible, and the new snow reflected the moon light just enough to gain some visibility. The radio was barely audible and Cat Steven’s song, Moon Shadow, was playing over a crackly speaker. Neither Bubba or Aaron noticed. Whether it was moon light or moon shadow, the good news is they were able to see a short distance once their eyes adjusted. Bubba said, “I can see a little.  We’ll just have to go slow.”
  

     In order to drive forward, they had to push Aaron’s car out of the way. After doing so, Aaron remembered some things that he had to retrieve from his car and hopped out. Before getting back in the truck Aaron made a snow ball and threw it at a rectangular snow-covered road sign that was just beyond where they had pushed his car. The snow ball clipped the left side of the sign revealing just two letters, LO. Aaron, a part time resident of Millinocket, was not aware of any towns in the area that started with LO. Now curious, he threw another snow ball at the sign, which revealed the full word…LOGGING! Aaron knew that the other still-snow-covered word on the sign was ROAD. Aaron said, “You gotta be shittin’ me!  We are on a friggin’ loggin’ road!”  Somehow, Aaron and Bubba found themselves on a logging road, which are privately-owned and notoriously dangerous. Aaron knew that a loaded logging truck could weigh upwards of 80,000 lbs. and they would often travel more than 70 MPH. This snow would not stop logging trucks. As Aaron climbed back into Great White, he explained the situation to Bubba. With a knot in his stomach, Bubba shifted into four-wheel low. As Great White crept forward, they saw lights that appeared to be in the distance as Moon Shadow continued to play through the crackly speaker.

     After driving 50 yards or so Bubba thought to open the door to see if there was a vehicle coming toward them.  As he reached for the door handle Aaron said, “You can’t open the door.  If a logging truck is coming, you’ll be a sittin’ duck.” Bubba agreed. They continued to strain their eyes to see through the windshield.  There was still light, but it didn’t seem to be getting any brighter.  Bubba said, “Maybe there is a logging truck stopped on the road.”   Aaron just shrugged as he stared out windshield.

 

     As they crept forward, the snow continued to come down in blinding sheets and the wind howled like an army of ghosts.  The light, which may or may not have been in the distance, continued to pierce the now-opaque windshield. Bubba said, “The wipers can’t keep up with the snow. The heat from the cabin is causing the snow to melt and it’s freezing to the windshield.”
 

     Unsure what to do, Bubba put Great White into park.  As he turned to ask Aaron for advice, a blinding light shot through the windshield and there was a noise that sounded like an approaching freight train. Suddenly, there was a deafening noise that sounded like an explosion as Great White left the ground and smashed into a snow bank off the side of the road. Then there was nothing but silence and crippling darkness.
  

     Bubba shook himself awake.  Disoriented, he remembered the light and the impact.  He wasn’t sure how long it had been, but the cab of the truck felt like a meat locker. Every bone in Bubba’s body ached.  Bubba looked to see how Aaron was, but he wasn’t in his seat. Confused, Bubba looked in the back seat and saw Aaron’s motionless body. His head was covered with blood.  There was also blood on the headliner and back window of the truck.  Aaron must have been thrown during the collision.  Bubba reached for Aaron’s arm and noticed his skin was ice cold and he had no pulse. Bubba screamed, “Fuck! He’s dead!”

     Bubba frantically tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge.  Great White had been submerged into a deep snow bank and snow was halfway up the door windows.  Bubba, desperately turned the ignition key, but there was just a clicking sound.  The engine didn’t even try to start.  Bubba pushed himself back in the seat and said, “I guess they’ll find us in the spring.”

     Bubba sat for a long time trying to figure out what to do.  The temperature in the truck continued to drop and Bubba began to shake violently.  Attempting to make light of the situation, Bubba said, “Why didn’t the friggin’ boat have to go to Key West?  No blizzards or logging roads there.” 

     Bubba must have dosed off.  He had no idea how long it had been, but when he woke up nothing had changed.  It was still silent, black, and cold and he continued to shake.  Bubba’s mind began to wander.  He began to think of his daughter, Darla.  After a rough childhood he was finally getting his life together and hoped to get custody of her.  However, Bubba knew he’d never see Darla again.  “I’m gonna freeze to death in this fuckin’ truck,” he thought.  Bubba started to cry and dosed off again.

     When Bubba woke up this time, he felt warm.  There wasn’t light coming through the windshield, but the cab of the truck seemed brighter.  Other than a headache, Bubba felt good.  Oddly, Aaron was still in the back seat and his body was still frozen.  Bubba said, “What the hell is going on?  Why am I so warm?  Why do I feel so much better?”  Thinking his luck had turned for the good, Bubba decided to try the ignition key again.  The starter didn’t even click this time.  Bubba said, “Well, Great White still feels like shit.”

     Bubba decided to try his phone again.  He looked around and noticed it was on the floorboard of the passenger seat.  It must have been thrown there during the collision.  Bubba said, “There you are.  Let’s make a call and get out of here.”  As Bubba leaned over to grab the phone, his face came to rest on the vinyl seat.  He thought, “This feels good.  Maybe I’ll just rest for a few minutes.”

     As Bubba dosed, he became aware of what was going on around him.  Even with his eyes closed he sensed bright sunshine and it felt hot.  Bubba was sweating through his clothes.  He heard a familiar screeching sound that came in waves.  Bubba thought, “What are cicadas doing in Maine in the middle of a blizzard?”  As Bubba opened one eye, he was looking at the floor board of his truck.  There was a pile of Moon Shadow beer cans and an empty bottle of Aaron Mezcal. Bubba thought, “Huh, the worm is gone.”  As he pulled himself up, his face peeled away from the vinyl seat like the plastic wrapper from a slice of cheese. His head throbbed.

     Confused, Bubba looked around.  There was no snow, no sign of Aaron’s frozen body, and Great White showed no signs of being hit by a logging truck.  As Bubba looked out through the windshield, he realized it was summer time and his truck was parked in his mother’s driveway.  Bubba was still in Paw Paw, West Virginia.  He reached for his phone to call Darla while mumbling, “Shit, them fuckin’ worms ain’t no joke.”

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This is a short story I wrote for ENG 201.  Spring Semester 2023
(Photo credit: Down East Magazine, April, 2022)