The Ride - Chapter 1

[OMR]

Maybe it was a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye that caused him to turn his head, or the glint of something bright in the late afternoon sunlight. He’d never know. Only that he had turned his head and saw the opening in the bushes that looked like a trail or single track.

Gently applying the brakes, Glen turned the bike around on the narrow fire road and pedaled back to what he had seen. “That’s funny”, he thought. I’ve ridden by here a 100 times or more and never noticed this trail. “I wonder where this leads”, he thought.

Climbing off the bike, Glen pushed through the narrow brushy entrance to the trail and looked for tire marks. There were several that lead off into the bush. “I’m suppose to be home in less than an hour for dinner, but what the heck, I’ll see where this leads and perhaps follow it to its end another day."

The sun was starting to set very low on the horizon and Glen figured that he had maybe 15 minutes of daylight left. Climbing back on the bike in the gathering darkness, he stood on the pedals and propelled the bike forward in a series of quick choppy strokes. The bike responded to his pedals and seemed to leap forward. The path itself was smooth and seemed to encourage speed. Every once in a while a little dirt or berm would offer Glen the opportunity to air it out and he soon lost himself in the rhythm of the trail.

Several times the trail split and glen followed the line of least resistance. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out where this trail was taking him, let alone where it was in the park in general. He had been riding in this park for over 20 years and thought he knew every nook and cranny. “This must have been put in by that troop of Boy Scouts that had been looking to do trail work in the park early in the year”, he thought. Funny, not one of his riding buddies had ever said anything about a new trail.

Lost in thought and the ride, Glen suddenly realized it had grown dark and he was having trouble seeing the trees and bushes… but the trail seemingly had a soft glow to it. “Must be a trick of the eyes”, Glen thought. “But I really need to get back to the main trail and home”… although there was nobody there to greet him and dinner would consist of warmed up leftovers from the Chinese food he had brought home yesterday. Glen’s wife had died several years before in a freak car accident and the hole that it left in his life could not be filled with all the mountain biking or climbing adventures he tried to pack into his daily activities.

But that was not his concern right now. Getting back to the car was. Turning the bike around, he started back the way he had come and ran into a split in the trail. “Which way?” he wondered. He took the right hand fork since it seemed to glow a little brighter than the left hand fork. His speed had been reduced considerable and he felt like he was just creeping along. He couldn’t be that far from the main train. The park wasn’t that big.

He was starting to see stars now. Perhaps that was what was causing the trail to glow… and it had seemed that the glow had increased. In fact, it looked as thought the trail was lit from underneath… as thought the trail had become transparent. “But that’s impossible!” he reasoned. Another fork, another right hand turn followed. With the trail glowing, Glen was able to pick up his speed, which somehow made him feel better.

It was at this time that Glen noticed that lack of familiar lights from the homes on the hills surrounding the park. The hills looked the same, but there was not one light showing. “That’s funny… maybe a power outage??... And me without my bike lights.” The trip back to the car was going to be very interesting.

At the 4th fork he turned left and followed the now brightly glowing trail onward. Crossing a clearing he had the strangest feeling that someone or something was watching him. He stopped and stood perfectly still hoping to hear or get a glimpse of whatever was out there. But all he heard was the breeze softly moving the trees and that was all. “And that was all?” he thought. “No night sounds of animals, no rustling of birds in the bushes. Nothing… nothing at all!” he almost said out loud.

Shaking his head to clear the first fingers of fear, he could hear his heart beating in his ears. “I’ve got to get going… now!” Climbing back on the bike, he started pedaling, but his legs seemed to be filled with lead. “This is crazy” he thought. “I’m starting to scare myself… Stop it!” He said in a rather ragged loud voice. Back on the trail, the bike was now moving at a better pace and the legs seemed to be responding…”I’m OK” he thought.

Then something moved in the darkness ahead…


..............TO BE CONTINUED .........


OMR

[CeeDubb]

How long is the wait for the next chapters? Looks like a good read...

[J_Sims]

[SIZE=5]What Moved in the darkness ahead???? [/SIZE][SIZE=2]Very well done[/SIZE]

[53-12]

Great, now I have to show up on the site even more often than I do now to find out what happens next!

[OMR]

Originally Posted by J_Sims

[SIZE=5]What Moved in the darkness ahead???? [/SIZE][SIZE=2]Very well done[/SIZE]

He he he he...

Originally Posted by 53-12

Great, now I have to show up on the site even more often than I do now to find out what happens next!

He he he he....

OMR

Originally Posted by CeeDubb

How long is the wait for the next chapters? Looks like a good read...

Patience, grasshopper.... patience

OMR

[foofighter]

you are now entering...the twilight zone...this is good more more more greg!!!

[PacMan]

OK, thanks a lot. I thought I'd see what was up real quick and then go to bed. Now I'm gonna be laying in bed staring at the ceiling wondering what happens next.

[foofighter]

Originally Posted by PacMan

OK, thanks a lot. I thought I'd see what was up real quick and then go to bed. Now I'm gonna be laying in bed staring at the ceiling wondering what happens next.

shoot like you were REALLY going to bed...you just say that but we know you'll be on here till at least 1AM

[OMR]

Originally Posted by PacMan

OK, thanks a lot. I thought I'd see what was up real quick and then go to bed. Now I'm gonna be laying in bed staring at the ceiling wondering what happens next.

Patience, young grasshopper... all in good time

Sweet dreams....

OMR

[PacMan]

Originally Posted by foofighter

shoot like you were REALLY going to bed...you just say that but we know you'll be on here till at least 1AM

You say that like it's a bad thing

[foofighter]

LOL i'm right there with ya bud!

[bjammin]

I hope HBO doesn't cancel this show after it gets good...