The Other Hand on the Wheel
sci-fi◐ MatureThe headlights in the mirror aren't slowing down. They speed up, aimed straight at her. Mara throws the car in reverse and the retrochron screams. The whole lot smears sideways. She's not delivering anymore. She's running. But you can't outrun a thing that already happened.
The chasing headlights catch up and pull alongside. The driver is her boss from dispatch, smiling. He rolls down his window. 'You were never supposed to deliver it, Mara. You were supposed to RUN. That's the test. And you just passed.' He tosses a new slip through her window.
What happens next?
1 ways forwardMara reads the new slip: 'Welcome to dispatch. Your job is to send the next one back.' She looks up and her boss is gone, his car empty and cooling. She gets it now. She's not the courier anymore. She's the one who writes the impossible orders. She picks up a pen, and across the lot, a frightened younger driver checks her own slip for the first time.