Choycewood

It was still night time. Which wasn’t right, but there was nothing Choyce could do to change it. Her dashboard clock said it was around one in the afternoon, but the waning crescent moon stubbornly disagreed. She tried fixing the clock to a random time in the PM, but it always skipped back ahead when she wasn’t looking.
Sighing in frustration she slid down in her seat a little. She was tired of driving and there hadn’t been any stops or towns for miles. There was no telling when her gas would finally be spent. The needle was dangerously close to getting in the red, and it was beginning to stress her out. Her insides were uncomfortable and her breath still reeked of chemicals. It would a least be a relief to find a rest stop on the side of the road just so she could stretch her legs.
As she kept on the straight highway, she passed a lone man with his thumb up.
Choyce wasn’t exactly the most trusting, so a hitchhiker was definitely out of the question. Even more was the fact that she didn’t seem to be going anywhere. She wasn’t even sure if the moon was moving. It was as if it was frozen in the sky, giving off its weak smile.
Was she ever going to reach Denver?
It really felt like she should have gotten there by now, even with this weird time nonsense. Why had she wanted to go to Denver anyway? The whole reason she left felt like a lifetime ago, even though it couldn’t have been more than a day or two. She had been mad. Mad at someone? Maybe.
She passed another hitchhiker. Thumb up in the air just like the last. Did they look familiar? Either way, Choyce wasn’t stopping. Pressing the radio on she scanned through the channels. They were all static, each and every one. Except for a Spanish channel that was playing a Mariachi band. It was better than nothing.
Again she drove by a hitchhiker. Now she realized why they seemed so familiar. It was the same person, for the third time. Thumb outstretched like a beacon.
Creeped out, she sped by him a third time. As soon as the hitchhiker disappeared from her rearview mirror, they were in the headlights once more. Again she passed, and again they were in front of her.
Fed up, she did what probably wasn’t a smart idea.
Choyce pulled over. It's not like she was getting anywhere anyway. Maybe some company would help?
In the headlights, the hitchhiker nodded their thanks. They were covered head to toe. Thick, worn boots covered their feet. What looked like three different trench coats hid their body, and their head was hidden by a scarf wrapped around their face and a baseball cap. It was blue and without a logo. They were holding a cardboard sign with nothing written on it except for a date. Five dash nineteen dash twenty seventy-six.
Weird.
Unlocking the car as the stranger approached, she considered flooring it. There was something unnerving her. Like walking around her house in the dark as a kid. Choyce realized she’s felt like this in some way ever since she started her road trip.
Before she can think more on the matter the hitchhiker opens the door and fell into the seat. As they sat down they barely made any noise. There was a smell about them, kinda like the smell that clung to the back of her throat. Something chemical and strong.
“Thank you,” they said as they buckled in. Their voice was the most neutral sound Choyce had ever heard.
“No problem, where are you headed?”
“I’ll know it when I see it.”
“Um. Alright. Is it far? I’m trying to get to Denver, and I don’t think I can really take any major detours.”
“That’s fine, I’m just along for the ride. I always have been.”
She supposed that were true. They always were and always will be. Just a drifter, observing life through the window of a stranger's car. She was a little jealous.
With the Hitchhiker in the car, the moon began to grow fuller. Not move, rather, it was as if it were reversing phases until it was full. Choyce figured that it was just in the mood to be a little rounder.
“Moon is pretty tonight.”
“Yes, it is,” the Hitchhiker replied.
When she looked back up at it, she saw the Earth above them. She twisted through the dusty craters around her, and each bump threatened to kick them away in the low gravity. Her insides felt sick and wrong, and breath had left her. Choyce was suffocating, but she was fine. Air wasn’t that big of a deal anyway.
“It was awfully kind of you to pick me up,” the Hitchhiker said, “But I wished you hadn’t been on the road. You shouldn’t be running away from your problems. You should meet them head on, with a strong head and a puffed out chest. I understand not everyone can, but that’s why we have friends. To hold us up at our weakest and to be our guide through our problems. On the other hand, it isn’t their responsibility to do so. It all depends on the heart and courage of the one hurting, but that’s just what I think.”
Choyce couldn’t respond. With no atmosphere, her voice was fiercely uncooperative. That was fine though. The stranger had a nice voice and she liked listening to them talk.
“You are strong, and you are brave,” the Hitchhiker said as they looked back at the moon in the sky, “I think this is my stop.”
The car slowed down as Choyce pulled over to the side of the road, air filling her. It was nice to breathe again at least. Things were getting uncomfortable with her chest.
Stepping out, the blue baseball cap turned from left to right as the Hitchhiker looked around. Satisfied, they removed their clothing to reveal a shining red light orbited by entrails. It was like looking at a bright and meaty Saturn. Choyce that it was kind of pretty.
“There are no metaphors here,” the Hitchhiker called to her as it retreated into the distance.
When the stranger was gone Choyce pulled back onto the road and continued her journey. The clock flashed on her dashboard, and it was a little past midnight. The moon was a waning crescent and sinking in the sky.
She smiled. It was nice to make friends.