Today’s rain is mixed with sleet. It was tap tap tapping on the glass when I woke. Not my favorite way to wake up, but oddly the sound helped me sleep better in the night so i was actually more inclined to get out of bed despite the frosty morning. So since I made it out of bed without extending my snooze alarm to the very last second, let’s see about getting this day started with the morning writing prompt. everyone whose joining in, set your timers for fifteen minutes and let’s go.\
I like the setting for this. I have no clue which way the story is going to go. It could be a mystery story, horror or even just general fiction. At this point there are so many paths. I’d have to think about it a bit before deciding which one to send the story down. But I like the set up.
Tuesday, December 6th: The windshield wipers swished across the glass.
The windshield wipers swished across the glass. As soon as they whisked away the water, more took its place. The rain that started off so soft and misty was rapidly turning into a deluge. August wondered if he should pull over and stop by the side of the road. The problem was, there was precious little side of the road to pull to. The trees were thickly planted to either side of the road. While someone ruthlessly trimmed them back to keep the trees from arching over the road, they hugged the edge of the asphalt as though defying the road to attempt expansion.
‘Not that an expansion was needed,’ August thought. He turned off the main thoroughfare more than an hour ago and once he made it through the brief cluster of towns that hugged the edges of the interstate hawking fast food and nightly accommodations to weary travelers he saw almost no vehicles. The one or two he passed trickled down rapidly as the large gas stations lights faded behind him. He didn’t think he had actually seen another car for the last half hour.
‘Either they are smarter than I am and staying home or this isn’t a very well used road.’
He had been expecting the little used road. He hadn’t been expecting the deluge. He tried to chide himself for not taking one of the offered hotel rooms for the night when he left the interstate, but the rain had only been a light patter then and the weatherman on the radio claimed it was a brief shower likely to pass soon.
August turned the radio off in disgust twenty minutes prior when the man was still predicting a quick passage for the storm. The cut back trees may have allowed more rain to pelt his windshield, but it also allowed a better view of the sky. August had seen skies like this before and knew the storm was just settling in. He suspected the low lying areas would be flooded by morning.
August checked the clock on the dash and frowned. It was still early evening by the clock’s estimation but outside it looked like the hour was approaching midnight.
August slowed his speed to account for the low visibility and slick road surface and he felt as though he was inching on. The school was supposed to be a two hour drive from the intersection on a good day. August tried to estimate his speed and how long the drive would take him now. He made good time at first and for a while drove at a pretty good clip. Now even though he was the only one on the road, he was traveling at half, maybe even a quarter of the speed that he had been before.
‘I’ve still got to be at least halfway there,’ he thought.
The thought cheered him up. They knew he was coming and would be expecting him. He hoped he would have a bright welcome. August frowned. He wasn’t entirely certain of the bright welcome.
‘But they can hardly throw me out as I own the place.’
The thought made his frown deepen. He hadn’t meant to own a school. He hadn’t wanted the school to begin with. It was owned by a long term acquaintance of his. Calling Old Tottie a friend would be a misnomer of the highest order. They hadn’t been friends. They were part of the same social circle and played poker together; Tottis quite badly and he quite well. The result of which was that Tottie owed him quite a lot of money. August never expected to get the money back. Somehow he never minded Tottie owning him money as he was often useful with connections and things. He was especially useful to August since August never pressed him for repayment.
Then of course Old Tottie up and died. ‘And he left me a school.’
Ten til Midnight 