part 3.

” Where are we? ” She asked.
” We are just outside Boulder. I figured we’d go around instead of driving through. I took us on the western side. Were about Fifty miles from the area where the lights were spotted.” He looked over at her and smiled. ” You missed one. A green one.”
” Shit. Why are you smiling. I’m still ahead.”
” I Know. But I’m catching up.”
” A green one , uh. That’s why , because you have the most green ones.” He just kept smiling. She studied him with a bemused expression. She shook her head and glanced in the rearview mirror. A set of headlights appeared and were quickly catching up. It was a few minutes after midnight and they were travelling a back county road. She wondered who it might be. Was it some rancher or was it teenagers making their way back home after a night out? The lights were approaching fast , too fast. Was it the police? Once they caught up they stayed on their tail. She saw that Travis noticed the vehicle.
They both kept looking behind them. The car was riding them way too close. Suddenly it started flashing its lights.
” I think we got company ” Sara said. Before Travis could respond the car actually pulled up alongside them. The tips of two cigarettes glowed in the darkened windows. The car seemed to float ominously next to them like an unwanted apparition out of a nightmare. Inside two sinister silhouettes sat in an eerie stillness looking straight ahead. Sara dared a turn of her head to take a look. Just as she did so did the passenger in the ghostly car did so too. She felt a shiver slink down her spine. Then the car sped up and got right in front of them decelerating until it finally came to a stop where it sat looking menacing in the dark night.
Travis stopped behind it. Sara looked over questioningly. With the car stopped he only now became aware of how her dark hair had been whipping around furiously like a wildfire. Now it looked lovingly disheveled like a radically weaved spiders web. He caught her eye and tried to give a reassuring look that everything would be fine. But he felt a little doubt and a little fear creep into his head like a slow eclipsing shadow crossing the moon. This whole situation just felt…Spooky. Who the hell were these people? The men could be armed and dangerous. He knew gangsters travelled between the cities at night , but what would they want with two astronomers , to rob them? He doubted that , gangsters had money. Could the men be ruthless killers who think they are someone else? Was it a couple of junkies looking to rip them off? It didn’t feel that way. What if they were different a kind of killer? He looked at Sara and felt the rush of concern and fear and realized he did have feelings that ran deep for her. He planned on enjoying her company for a long time. He told Sara to open the glove box. She shot him a curious look.
” Just hurry ”
Sara was unsettled by his frantic tone. She pulled it open and saw some papers and looked over at him.
” under the papers ”
She reached under the papers and felt something more substantial. She tugged at it and pulled it out. It was a gun positioned in a leather holster. Without saying anything she handed it over to him. She felt the spooky vibe too.
Travis kept it on his lap as they waited to see what these mysterious strangers were going to do. Up ahead the other vehicle just sat there. Its dark sleek shape was disconcerting. It didn’t seem like the car of a crazed psychotic killer. It had a official feeling to it. But its motionless figure still had that menacing quality to it as it sat there unmoving seemingly to intentionally draw out a uncomfortable moment. The darkened heads of the men inside effortlessly cast a casual air of arrogance that held the expectation of complete submission and compliance.
Suddenly both doors swung open with the interior light deliberately pushing against the blackness of the road and night.

Sara woke up first. She groped for something and her hand latched onto the end of her sleeping bag. She was scared. Her eyes roamed the scenery and were as wide as quarters. She poked her head out of the tent. No one was around. She felt a panic rise in her as she scanned the tent floor looking for Travis. Her chest heaved and her body turned violently around as her eyes landed on the spot like rocks where he should be. Finally her eyes rested on a lump in the corner and she saw the top of his head. She feared he would be gone.
She went to her knees and crawled quickly over to his side. She reached down and started shaking the motionless lump. ” Travis , Travis ! “. She shook harder , called out his name louder , ” Travis ! ” Finally the lump stirred a little and then began squirming around.
” What?” A annoyed gruff voice crackled out into the dark cool tent. He lifted his head up and looked bewildered. ” What the hell is going on? ”
Sara didn’t any anything. She just threw her arms around his head. After a moment she pulled back and stared at him. Then she asked ” What color is my hair?”
His eyes and nose crinkled as he tried to comprehend the question. Then he was struck with a lightning bolt and understood why. Shit. The implications of this were just too much. He gently grabbed a lock of her hair and twirled it between his fingers. He smiled and said ” yellow “. Then he shook his head and said don’t tell me…The dream?”
She put her hand to her mouth and then said ” Shit , are you kidding me? I was a adult. It feels so weird. I distinctly remember looking into the mirror and saw I had dark hair. I had – ” She trailed off and looked down at her shapless chest and then grinned big. ” I had boobs ”
They stared at each other and then both cracked up laughing. The strangeness of the fact they just had the same dream was momentarily put out of mind.

Ronald Townsend couldn’t stand it anymore.

Travis Smith
DOC #529433