Running Down Sunrise

Amy watched as the ascending numbers on the screen hit thirteen gallons.

“Jesus, I had even less left than I thought.”

A moment later there was a metallic click as the handle disengaged and she removed the nozzle from the tank and placed it back in the pump.  She stretched her arms up over her head and massaged the back of her neck, trying to work out a knot that had been with her since Wyoming.

There were still three hours to go before she reached her sister in a town she’d never been to between Tempe and Tucson called Eloy.  Truthfully, she hadn’t planned to set foot in her home state after their parents passed away, but then Rachel moved back to put some distance between her two-timing ex-husband, and Amy felt obligated to help get her situated, especially since she’d spent years trashing Brad long before her sis had gotten hitched to the duplicitous shit-heel.

Her car was fifteen years old and close to hitting six digits a second time.  Amy was afraid the miles and the heat might put an end to her trusty subcompact, which had been one of the only reliable things in her life over the last decade and a half.

“You and me till the wheels fall off.”  Amy said and gave the gray, dust-covered roof an affectionate pat before climbing inside.

Thank god the air conditioning still worked because being outside of it, even for a few minutes after dark, caused beads of sweat to pop on her forehead and a wet patch to start forming on the back of her shirt.  She keyed the ignition and pulled out onto the potholed sideroad, which fortunately only lasted a little while before she was able to rejoin the interstate.  Despite the distance the actual driving had been fine, the traffic nearly non-existent at this time of night.

She switched on the radio, hunting around in the static for something pleasantly mundane before finally finding a steady voice.

“...still not clear on what has happened and no official statement has been issued.  At this time all we know for sure is that reports of floating lights in the sky have come in from counties all across the state.  We will continue with more on this story as it develops.”