The Anthology of Darkness

3:15 AM

"Aw hell," he muttered to himself as he glanced at the blinking dashboard of his car. Josh Rivers had always been a forgetful person. Names, birthdays, phone numbers, you name it. And apparently, getting gas was among the more recent things he'd forgotten about. Cruising down the two-lane road, the tall trees on either side were illuminated by the dim headlights of his car. It was an early 90's model car, so nothing seemed to work properly. The radio always sounded fuzzy, the passenger side speaker rattled at any volume, and either the air conditioning was too warm, or the heat was never warm enough. That's how it is when you work a shitty part-time job.

The orange glow of the headlights bobbed up and down as he went over small bumps and holes in the road. Georgia was never known for having the smoothest roads ever, and that was obvious by the amount of vibrating his car was doing. Well, it vibrated normally anyway, but it seemed to be a bit worse tonight. Josh was starting to get tired of the same old view, but like a knight in shining armor, he saw the one thing he'd been hoping to see for the last five miles of straight, tree-lined road: the dim blue glow of a gas station illuminating the thin fog surrounding it. 

Slowing down, he clicked on his turn signal and went left into the parking lot, rolling to a stop beside one of four pumps available. He glanced around before getting out, but saw no other cars there. It seemed, however, that all the lights were on, inside and out. "What in the world?" Josh asked himself. Desperate for fuel, he got out of his car despite the absence of people and stepped over to the pump, his black boots making tiny splashes in the puddle underneath his feet. It had been raining the day before, so everything was drenched.

He looked at the screen of the gas pump and sighed when he read the paper note taped to the screen. "CARD READER BROKEN. PLEASE PAY INSIDE. THANK YOU." Josh rolled his eyes and turned towards the building, making his way to the door. Stepping up onto the small curb, he reached for the handle and pushed, swinging the glass door open with ease. There was a small boombox atop the cigarette shelf behind the counter, which was playing "Hotel California" by the Eagles very faintly underneath the eerie buzz of the fluorescent lights. 

He walked up to the counter and tapped the "ring for service" bell, waiting patiently. He glanced at the Michelob Ultra clock behind the counter. It was about three fifteen in the morning and he'd been driving all day, so it's not like he was in any hurry. Although he had all the time in the world, he waited for a while, but to no avail. Not a single soul showed up to help him. He rang it again and waited...and waited. Nothing happened. He called out "hello? Anyone here?" The only form of answer he received was a small flicker of the lights above. He rolled his eyes again and went back outside to check the signs on the door. 

"OPEN 24 HOURS," the small sign on the door read. After accidentally kicking over a small clay pot, spilling sand and cigarette butts by the door, Josh went back in and headed towards the restrooms, wondering if the clerk was taking a bathroom break. Knocking on both the men's and women's restroom doors, he was greeted with more silence. "Fucking hell..." he growled. He then noticed a door that said "office" across from the restrooms, so he knocked on that one as well.

Nothing.

Beginning to get a little frustrated, he thought surely this isn't the only gas station around. I just hope I can make it to the next one. He pulled his keychain from his pocket with a heavy sigh and went back outside, stepping over the small mess he couldn't be bothered to clean. While walking back to his car, he noticed the moon was brightly shining, so if he were forced to pull over on the side of the road, his silver sedan should be mostly visible to any passerby who might be willing to help. He unlocked the driver door, plopped down in the seat, and started the engine. Once the doors were closed and locked, he buckled his seatbelt and pulled back onto the wet asphalt of highway twenty-nine, unaware of the being 50 meters down the way he arrived from.