Chapter 4

Jim and Cindy both got out of the car after Jim pulled into the breakdown lane. Across the median about 200 feet away sat the other car, its flashers brightly blinking. Jim thought it was a large car, expensive looking...

Cindy was the first to speak. "I don't believe it! It's another Mercedes Coupe! My gosh, it's my exact model too!" She then had a shocked look on her face. She gave a strangled cry and began racing across the median to the other car. Jim began to walk after her to the eastbound lanes, and he was halfway through the median when Cindy reached the car. She began to scream. Her wails were horrific, filled with terror, and Jim raced the rest of the way to her side, expecting there to be bodies in the car.

But nothing seemed amiss when he got to her. Cindy gave him a wild look, and Jim saw a monumental battle being waged behind her eyes, judging whether to think of Jim as a friend or as a demon. The desire to trust finally won out, and Cindy ran up to him and hugged him fiercely, with deep sobs racking her body.

Jim hugged her back for a moment, unsure of what else to do. A small part of his mind was noticing how wonderful it felt to hold her, but otherwise he was filled with bewilderment and concern. "Cindy... What? What?"

"My car!" she gasped. "Damn it! It's my car!"

"Huh?!"

"Yeah..." Cindy took several deep breaths, trying to compose herself. She finally released her grip on Jim, and he also let go. "Take a look..."

Jim stared through the windows into the car. It certainly looked like her stuff. The world seemed eerily quiet.

Cindy keyed her car-module on her key-chain. The car immediately chirped and popped open its locks. It was a sound Cindy had heard many times before, but the sharp chirp seemed out of place in the silence. She stood there for several minutes not saying anything with Jim by her side. Cindy finally whispered, "Any guesses, how this was done?"

Jim spoke in pure disbelief, "Or even more bizarre, why?! What the hell is going on?"

Cindy shook her head. "I don't know. How was this done? Let's worry about the why later. Why will be more difficult..."

Jim slowly nodded. "Yeah... Well, we've traveled 110 miles in about two hours..."

"Yeah..." Cindy moved over to stand close by Jim's side. She reached over and put an arm lightly around his waist.

Jim could feel her body shaking, and he knew inside she was battling to avoid hysteria. He realized he felt the same way, as if he were about to go insane. His mind was desperate for some physical explanation. "Is this even possible? There were no exits, on either side, over the last 110 miles..."

"I know..." Cindy hugged him for a moment, shivering...

"Let's say there's an exit a mile ahead, and one a mile before we met. If a tow-truck took your car, let's say there's another highway right alongside this one... I know that's a lot of assumptions... If they only had to go 114 miles, and traveled 70 mph..."

"Who are they, Jim?" ask Cindy.

Jim ignored her question. "That gets to the why, I'm still working on how. Let's see. About an hour and forty minutes at 70 mph. That would give them ten minutes on each end, to load and unload the car... I guess it's possible... They would need a few extra minutes, to drive out of sight... I guess it's possible."

"Can a tow-truck tow at 70 mph?"

"A flat-bed, sure. Probably even a regular tow-truck... Be pushing it..."

Cindy continued to shake. "I don't see any tire tracks except my own. Nothing from a tow-truck."

Jim studied the faint markings on the road. "Yeah, you're right. I don't either. The road is clean. Everything here is so clean." Jim reached over and put his arm around Cindy's waist, holding the top of her hip and returning her hug. They both stared and stood there silently for a while, holding each other and trying to adjust to the reality before them.

Cindy was the first to break the hug. She leaned over and gave Jim a quick kiss on his cheek, and then let go and walked around her car. "No scratches. They were gentle about moving it. Replaced my dead battery too, or recharged it. Add that time into your schedule."

Jim nodded. "I know. It sounds ridiculous, I know."

Cindy opened her driver's door and sat in her car for a moment, typing on her display. "No luck. Still no signal on the car phone... nothing on the radio... nothing on the satellite radio either... Now why would that be?"

"No idea."

"Jim, at the risk of sounding insane, can I put the elephant on the table?"

"Yeah, sure, go ahead. I think I know what you're going to ask."

"Yeah. Did we drive in a circle? Are we back to where we started from two hours ago?"

Jim was quiet for a long moment. "No. Impossible. I was watching the sun shadows. We were heading west the whole time. And look at the sound-barriers, look how tall they are now."

"Oh. Yeah, you're right. Twenty-five feet maybe, double from where we met. You're right. Sound barriers don't grow, do they?"

Jim smiled at the thought. "Not that I know of. Uh, Cindy, does this place look like your old spot? Except for the barriers, I mean."