Dont Be a Hero

Revelations

   The highway was basically wide open at that time of night and Jackson put his foot on the gas. The Camaro seemed more than happy to respond. Compared to his big truck, it virtually flew. It was only a V6, but it was one of the newer models, so in all practicality it had plenty of "get up and go".

There were several options available rather than staying on HWY 15 straight through to Salt Lake. The other options would take longer, but if they were looking for him along the main highway the longer routes could be the safer choice. He furrowed his brows, trying to decide what he should do. 

He decided to take his chances with staying on HWY 15. He kept the stereo off so that it was possible to hear helicopters long before they came into viewing distance of him. This left Jackson to his thoughts. His mind wandered to Macy. He wished he could chance turning his cell phone on so that he could call her and let her know he was okay. He was surprised to find that he missed her voice. He missed her. He winced at the thought of how worried she must be. Her tearful voice when he'd last spoke to her haunted him.

His mind decided it wasn't done torturing him and inevitably it turned back, once again, to his sister. It seemed the closer he came to home, the more he thought about her. He smiled as he thought back to when their parents were still alive. They used to spend a lot of time in the Wasatch Mountains. Hiking, fishing, and having fun. The Wasatch Mountains were one of the most magical places on Earth. There were times that it felt like they had entered another dimension.

He remembered his sister's love for the colorful moss and the beautiful rock formations that, when looked at from a certain angle, sometimes looked like the huge faces of grumpy old men. They would try to spot them and then try to get each other to see it correctly, like one of those paintings that you have to look at a certain way to see the hidden picture.

Lillian was a bit of a tomboy back then. She wore no makeup and dressed like a boy. Her hair was cut in a shoulder length bob, but she usually pulled it back into a ponytail, anyways. He remembered chasing her up the trails while their parents lingered behind. Sometimes he would catch her and act like he was going to throw her over a cliff or into a river. She would scream and cling to him, horrified. As if he would ever let her fall.

His jaw tightened as he realized that, in the end, he had. He had let her fall. Again his mind wandered back to the party they had gone to that night and to the annoying guy with all the questions. The mood and feelings of the conversation were in his memory, but not the actual subject matter and words. Something was nagging at the peripherals of his brain. 

He shook his head as another wave of dizziness suddenly washed over him. He swerved and took his foot off the gas. He had been going at least 120 mph. For a moment his vision went completely black and he panicked as he slammed on the breaks. He felt the car hit something in the road and heard the tire blow.

"Crap!" he swore as his vision came back and he realized that the car was careening into a ditch. He slammed his palms down on the steering wheel. Swearing some more, he got out and went around to the back. He hoped there was something more than just a doughnut tire back there. He opened the trunk and then paused, listening. 

Was that a helicopter? He listened harder, holding his breath. Far in the distance he heard the unmistakable sound. "You have to be kidding me," he said to no one in particular. He looked in the trunk. "Fuck!" he growled. There wasn't even a doughnut. "Idiot." He wanted to strangle the car's owner. He went back around to the front and let out a small laugh.

"Guess it wouldn't have mattered anyways!" He shook his head. Both front tires were completely flat.

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