Imogen Howe
was exiting the zone. For five hours she had driven nonstop. The same ten songs playing on repeat. She had felt like a machine the entire time. There was nothing that was going to stop her. She passed by each car smoothly. Hit no potholes. Hardly touched the brake.
But now she had to pee. And get
gas
. She was far from Chip's Gas Station. Far from the strange place she had happened upon that one night called
Spacecity
landing station. Now she was near the west coast. She could smell the salt of the ocean in the air. Or at least she was imagining it. Because she was excited. Excited to be this far out west. Crazy to think she had never been to California. Imogen should've gone there by this time in her life. But things kept happening. And she kept saying 'some other time'. And now here she was.
She didn't know what she'd do once she saw the water. This was a pattern in her life. Big ambitions. Not knowing what to do once she got there. Not knowing if she even wanted to ever arrive. But one thing that scared her most about what she was doing currently was that the path was straight foreward. All she needed to do was drive. All she had had to do this entire time was drive in one direction. Now that the end was near, she was feeling scared. Didn't know if she had it in her to drive back east.
She got off at an exit. Went to a popular gas station. Filled up. Thought about how strange it was that she had never been to California. Strange that those were the people she thought about when she thought of how she should've came here ages ago.