Thumb

Image by Roger Bultot

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Connie was in the back seat of their car. She desperately searched the streets in hopes of catching someone’s eye, but there were no eyes to catch — stupid rain. Maybe the green bus. Surely someone would be on it. If only they’d have pulled up next to it.

They kept going and the neighborhoods deteriorated.

The street names weren’t familiar; the houses were rundown and defaced with gang symbols. Connie could sense the despair of the neglected dwellings.  

Perhaps it was her own despair she was feeling.

If she lived through this, she swore to God she’d never hitchhike again.

28 responses to “Thumb”

  1. Been there done that! 😁

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Sorry to hear! I used to hitchhike all over during the 70s and 80s. I was very lucky, looking back.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. So did I! I did several cross country trips and you find some winners out there! But I was 10 feet tall and bullet proof in those days and just got back on the road like it was all part of life. Didn’t hit me till years later how close to being dead I had come so many times.

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  2. that’d be scary..

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Agreed. A complete nightmare!

      Like

  3. I remember hitch-hiking when it was safe to do so. Or relatively safe. Good one.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thank you, Sandra. So glad you enjoyed!

      Like

  4. This is dark but fantastic.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks so much, Ernie ‘Dawg.’ A good bit of my writing is dark. Just can’t help myself. :-)

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Nothing wrong with going to the dark side. I do it myself quite often.

        Like

  5. Yoiks! I can feel her panic. Well captured.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Alicia. I was aiming for that.

      Like

  6. Yep, I think our modern world has lost its trust and humanity. I remember hitch-hiking when I was younger, it was safe then.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It was a different world then. I miss that world.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Pretty risky these days.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yeah. It’s risky whether you’re the driver or the hitchhiker.

      Like

  8. Scary stuff. May need to Uber it next time. Great story.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Right! She probably thought she was too cool for Uber. Glad you enjoyed!

      Like

  9. How terrifying! I hope she catches someone’s eye. Chilling tale. The tension is built so well. Though my brothers did, I never had the guts to hitchhike back in the day. I’m okay with that. :)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Brenda, believe me, you didn’t miss a thing by not hitchhiking. I did to back in the day as well.

      I’m glad you enjoyed the story and thanks for the comment about tension. I was aiming for that. :-)

      Liked by 1 person

  10. I hope she survives this. Good story, the fear can be felt right at the start.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. That’s good to know, that the fear is present right away. Thank you and I’m glad you enjoyed the story!

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Susan (hope I remember your name correctly?) this is a great PSA against hitchhiking or picking them up. Very good building of tension here.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes! It’s Susan. I’m glad you remember me. I was gone for a couple years due to breast cancer. I’m okay now though. I’m glad you enjoyed the story. Really happy that I can still write! Was worried that the chemo wrecked my creativity.

      Thank you for the positive comments. Much appreciated!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Susan, so happy to hear you’ve met the cancer challenge and surpassed it. And Yes! You can still write! Good to know I’ll be seeing you here again in the WP community <3

        Liked by 1 person

  12. Definitely not something you want to do these days. A good story, well written.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you so much, Rochelle. Shalom!

      Like

  13. It’s sad that we’ve come to a place where getting a ride is that dangerous. I’ve never even considered hitchhiking, but I’ve heard legends of it happening. In reality, I imagine the odds of either the driver or hitchhiker being dangerous are pretty low, but we don’t read news stories about a safe hitchhiking adventure.

    Like

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