Headlights

Headlights by Jeevan Gumbs, age 9

Simon trudged through the muck on the side of the highway. Why had he run away? Why hadn’t he gone to the orphanage with all the other ones like him? Now he was stuck in the heavy rain with no family. Most everyone was dead. Right now he could have been in the orphanage eating cookies by a fire with his siblings, but no! He didn’t want to go back to the orphanage and ran away. Now he was going to his grandmother’s house, the only relative that might be alive now. He wasn’t even sure. Every once in a while, a car would pass. They did not notice him. Typical. All he had was half of a corned beef sandwich and his beaten up old rain boots. He could never go back to the orphanage. They shunned him ever since he tried to go back and turned him away without a bit of supplies, even though they were supposed to help him. No one ever noticed him sitting in the corner. No one to talk to, no one to eat with, no one to get help from, and worst of all no one to play with. He longed for a friend, but no one wanted to play with the “weird runaway kid” that was an outcast and traitor to his siblings. Even they wanted nothing to do with him. Suddenly, flash! The light was gone as fast as it came, but then the flash came back again. There were two lights, each flickering constantly and slowly in the form of an old-fashioned, sky-blue and rusty 1961 Ford Angelina. Simon only remembered because that was the type of car in Harry Potter, his favorite book series. It was old and beat up. A voice from a man veiled in black said, “Hey kid, you need a ride?” Simon decided it would be best to go with the guy in the car that just pulled out of the woods and looked like it had survived a tornado. Haha, just kidding. He took off running

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down the raining highway, but the car followed him, barreling down the concrete. It was so fast that, in seconds, it was only a foot away from Simon. It seemed demonic, like something was inside it, smiling a toothy grin, relishing Simon’s fear. He screamed, “Oh god!” or something stronger as he was nearly crushed countless times. The rain seemed to be saying, “Free me, free me.” The car’s headlights did not turn off. They blared and flashed, making it almost impossible to run, and got closer and closer until he could hear the engine revving that seemed to be laced with the same statement, “Free me, free me.” Suddenly he heard it everywhere. “Free me, free me, free me, free me, free me, free me, free me.” It was crazy. Suddenly it stopped. The car was gone and it was quiet. He kept walking. When he came to a turn, though, he was blinded by flashing flickering headlights. A voice boomed, “SET ME FREE!” Simon blacked out from the blaring lights.

December 2022 105