short story for the car nuts

Here is a short story I wrote just for kicks. It has since been published in Australia in Cruzin magazine (rods and customs). I figured the gearheads on here might get a kick out of it.

JUST DRIVING
A full moon lit up the streetscape, creating deep shadows in the many crevices along its flanks. The air was sultry and oppressive. There was a slight breeze, wind chimes rang eerily into the gaping sky. The streets were deserted. The only life to be seen were a couple of alley cats. Filthy and with matted fur, they perused the garbage bins in the side alleys for a midnight meal. Startled, they stopped their scrutiny of the trash and looked up the street.

The Ford roared along the quite street, a snarl emitting from the lakes pipes as the blown hemi was given its leash. Dogs howled and the alley cats bolted, a flash of fur into the shadows. The coupe (a ’39 to be exact) slithered past, the satin black duco dimly reflecting the streetlights. It was sleek, being de-chromed with a considerable roof chop and moon discs all round. A dinosaur from a forgotten time, the 426 monster was pushing a good 100mph.

Inside, the driver stared intently ahead. He wasn’t going anywhere, but he wasn’t running either. He was just driving. A lone wolf prowling about just for the hell of it. He wasn’t even thinking on a conscious level, just steering and pushing the pedals with an ingrained intuition. Life was so simple in these moments. No bills. No work. No problems. No bullshit. All that mattered was the sweet noise of the hemi as it reverberated off buildings and fences. This was life in it’s most pure form. Living for the moment and enjoying every second. Revelling in the simple act of escaping daily life. A moment when man and machine felt as one.

Within the coupe, the driver smirked. Life was good.

I am thinking about doing some more. Maybe some tiki based stuff - try and make it all dark and moody and make a really creepy kind of atmosphere. Kind of voodoo and black magic type vibe. I dont know, maybe I just read too much stephen king.

The feeling that the driver of your story feels when behind the wheel, is very similar to the feeling when I am in a good tiki bar, with mai-tai in hand. The main differences are that

1. the driver can still see the world outside his windshied, while tiki bars are usually windowless
2. the car is likely much noisier and
3. hopefully I am smiling instead of smirking

Nice imagery - I hope you continue your writing

Vern

That was great , hope to see more car and tiki stuff . Thanks for sharing.