II - The Longest Way

Marshton village high street was no wider than a country lane and the side streets that hung off of it were spindly and even more narrow, some impassable, some dead-ends and some blocked. Jason slowly wove the truck through until he found the lane that headed due south to the remote hamlet of Amiz. Out of the village to the other side of the woods was a good five miles and the whole journey about nineteen, but it felt like forever as all his concentration was needed on every turn, every incline and every unmarked junction. As he approached the woods the dark shadow of the tall trees fell over him and made him and his truck feel lost and pitifully small. He felt engulfed by some monster of darkness that was quietly eating him as he stared into the glare of his headlights ahead. His little vehicle was enclosed as the trees surrounded him. He wondered why he was doing this job as it was low pay and unsocial hours. He was thirty-five now and had no career or prospects. All he did have was his semi-legal beach hut and an old car to get him to and fro. Something had to change he thought.

Losing focus overhanging branches scraped against the sides of the truck. He cut into the muddy grass verge to use every inch of width to keep safely in the middle; it was a squeeze all the way. The lane through the woods was a single track with a line of clumps of grass in its middle. It was steep and bendy and its low points was full of large puddles of rainwater. It was dark in  there in broad daylight and so the truck’s headlights came on full. After several encounters with other vehicles involving back-ups, turning around and squeezing by, Jason and his truck finally made it out and it was like breathing fresh air after being trapped under water. The road was beguiling and maze-like in this part, making him feel lost or that he’d taken a wrong turn. At this point he face a road that appeared to have a fast moving river across it. He stopped resting his hands on the black plastic wheel, his face fixed in a frown. There was a sign that said ‘FORD’ and by it an old man sat on a wall, watching him, his toothless face laughing.

‘C’mon bee’ the old man shouted cackling mischievously. Jason edged forward seeing how deep the river was with each yard he moved forward and saw that it was half way up the wheels. He edged on knowing he couldn’t go much deeper otherwise the engine would become flooded. As he reached the half way point he knew he had to keep going, using the momentum gained to his advantage. He put his foot down and pushed through feeling the weight of the water drag against the sluggish diesel engine. A big wave spread across the river as he pulled out the other side. He heard the old man laughing as he swigged from a bottle of cider. As he headed up the hill he felt relief, only to find another ford to get through that was very similar. After that it was the start of the common, he knew this as it was marked with two steep hills, that the truck struggled with. The common was open, high and windswept and was full of golden long grass and cattle grazing. Away from its road, at the back of the common where it was edged with trees there were small bungalows and cottages, he wondered why people chose to live there, it being so remote with no facilities. After the common tapered to an end the windy lanes began again and then finally a sign that said ‘Amiz’. He halted where he was, looking at the turnings ahead. Even though he was in Amiz, the satnav said it was another two miles. Following the satnav blindly he took a left that seemed to head north towards the Black Hills.