The shortest distance between

It wasn’t the long way around that was so bad. A good drive was never a bad thing. It was the loss of time. Any other day would have been different but today wasn’t any other day.

Jasper floors the semi, and it shoots forward with impressive force. Obviously it has no trouble making up for lost time. This was a positive step in the right direction. It won’t be much longer and Jasper will have regained his lost time.

Just as he comes around the corner, a startled deer jumps from the brush at the side of the road. Jasper registers the frightened creature a fraction of a second before the near miss. Not only is he grateful for the near miss, but also feels relieved. However, he isn’t certain who is more relieved, him or the deer.

The shortest distance between

After another ten minutes, he arrives. It takes another ten minutes to unload, and then he is off to the next stop. Jasper could do this all day, and has on many occasions. It was exciting to think, all that could change, today.

After he offloads the last of his cargo for this run he decides to make a quick stop for lunch. He would need all his strength for the testing later this evening. His testing.

Jasper was a truck driver. He made his living moving cargo from one place to another. And at this moment he was very hungry. With this in mind he navigates the truck into traffic, and drives to Stacy’s, the local diner.

Eldinburg is a town of roughly 50,000 souls. It is flanked on two sides by forest and more open land on its southernmost side. Not only is Eldinburg isolated, but also isolated within a civilization. Located in the southern United states, Eldinburg is a hot place during summer.

Jasper marvels that this is only the beginning of May. This year was guaranteed to be hot. After finding an open parking spot for the truck, he locks the door of the cab and walks to the entrance of Stacy’s. It isn’t overcrowded from the looks of things.

The shortest

Once inside it doesn’t take Jasper long to notice that something is wrong. Not only is it unnaturally quiet in the diner, but also very still. There is the palpable sense of fear in the air. Jasper looks around and notices every eye in the place is now on him. Including the man with the gun.

Jasper watches the man with the gun, pointing the gun at him. Furthermore the man is very cool, and calm, as he smiles at Jasper. The smile is ice. He speaks to Jasper and this is when Jasper knows his day is taking a turn for the unexpected.

“Been waitin’ on you, we have to get going Jasper, we have a lot to do today. I will use the gun, but it doesn’t have to come to that, if you play along.” He looks at Jasper, and for one mad second, Jasper wonders if this is a joke.

Then the man quickly fires a shot from the gun into the ceiling. The sound, inside the diner’s tight confines, is deafening. However, it gets Jasper’s attention immediately, and he eases backwards toward the door. His confusion is great and he has no idea how this madman knows his name.

Distance Between

Or why he was waiting for him here. Furthermore, Jasper didn’t know at all, what the man meant about things to do. He did know that the gun was very real, so he decides to play along, certain that someone will alert the authorities.

They begin to move out of the diner and into the parking lot, Jasper walking in front of the gunman. What happens next is unclear but astounding.