I'm now at 19, 866 words. Almost 20k. Almost.
Lisbet Anderson had been driving for hours. The trouble with prairies was that hours seemed to be days, and nothing ever seemed to change. Even witht he odometer and the clock ticking constantly forward, Lisbet felt like she hadn't moved an inch for all her attention and acceleration.
The light from the sun dimmed a little. Lisbet pushed the gas pedal down a little further.
It was getting late. Lisbet hadn't eaten since breakfast. There had been no stops on this godforsaken stretch of wheat fields and corn rows in 8 hours. How was this possible? There's no way that any prairie could be this large without civilisation, could there? Sure, there was the odd farmhouse, but she could hardly knock on the door and ask for lunch. Although the way things were going, she was beginning to think she should take the risk.
On the horizon a small bump appeared. Lisbet squinted, but she couldn't tell what she was seeing, or how far away it was. The optical illusions on a prairie were tricky, and this could be anything anywhere ahead of her.
It grew fast, however, rising out of the empty prairie like an oasis out of a desert.
In a few minutes, Lisbet could see it was a small town, one of those single stoplight crossroads in the middle of nowhere. A row of two storey square storefronts ran for about two blocks in front of the car. There was a cross street halfway down with a single yellow traffic light swaying off of a wire that ran across the road. The cross street didn't seem to have any buildings on it,; apparently the traffic light was there in case anyone had to run onto the main street during...
What kind of a rush hour could a place like this have? There were twenty storefronts, maximum. No cars were parked anywhere, and even though the lights were on in all the shops, there were no people to be seen outside anywhere.
Lisbet slowed down, staring into every shop window as she drove past. She didn't see a single soul anywhere. Open signs were present everywhere, but as far as she could tell no one was actually working tonight.
Until she got to the saloon. Not only were the lights blazing, but piano music was reaching out into the night, inviting her in to the warmth and comfrot it had to offer.
Saloons had food, right? Lisbet parked the car, and locked the doors - alhtough against what she wasn't sure. She knew pubs served food, and restaurants, but she wasn't entirely sure what category saloons fell into. To be honest, she had never seen one outside of a western movie. Those, she was pretty sure, only served booze.
She walked through the swinging doors.
Everythign in the room stopped. Music died, laughing halted, and every head turned to look at the stranger walking in from outside.
Lisbet felt slightly awkward. Everyone here was dressed in jeans and leather jackets, topped with massive Stetsons. Usually Lisbet would have been wearing at least jeans, but she'd run out of clean ones yesterday. Instead, she was wearing some very tailored black trousers, and a fuschia silk shirt. She stood out here like the single stoplight outside the doors.
After a moment that seemed to hang forever, the piano music started again. Poeple turned back to their friends and conversations resumed as if never interupted. Lisbet looked around, a bit puzzled, and tried to find a good spot to sit and ask about food.
The tables were full, everywhere she looked. A single barstool was open, at the far end of the room. Lisbet sighed, and made her way through the crowd. She pulled herself up on the stool and tried to get the attention of the barkeep.
He stayed busy at the other end of the bar for quite while, finally making his way over to talk to her. He didn't look at her at all, focussing instead on a water ring on the burnished wood and swiping at it futilely with a white cloth.
Lisbet shifted uncomfortably. "Umm," she started, waiting for the barkeep to look up. He didn't. "Do you serve food here at all?"
He reached under the bar with the hand that wasn't still wiping at the bar, and produced a single piece of paper. He put it in front of her, still wiping with the other hand.
"Thanks,"she said, quietly.
He didn't stop cleaning. "Want anythign to drink?"
"Coffee?" He was gone before she finished the word, already moving down to a coffee pot on a small burner further downt he bar.
Lisbet sighed, shifting a bit on the stool as she held the paper up. It wasn't large, maybe five inches by eight. It listed some very basic food: fried egg sandwich with chips, meatloaf with chips, grilled cheese with chips... yep, she was definitely eating chips tonight whether she liked it or not.
A cup of coffee materialised by her right hand. LIsbet looked up, right into the barkeep's forhead. He was still avoiding her gaze.
Lisbet shook her head. "I'll have the grilled cheese," she said, setting the menu on the counter. It vanished as fast as the barkeep. Lisbet was starting to feel like an outcast here already.
She drank her coffee slowly, and started into the mirror that backed the entire bar. It was old, the silvering on the back turning black in random splotches. It had once been magnificent, with double bezels and a wood trimmed shelf running the entire length of it. It appeared as old fashioned as most things here did, but it also looked like it was well constructed and well kept. This was definitely a place where things stood the test of time, and she was impressed as well as still mildly uncomfrotable.
She'd finished her coffee before the sandwich arrived. It was a basic white bread and orange cheese sandwich. A few potato chips were scattered on the plate next to it. Before she could look up and say think you, the barkeep - and her coffee cup - disappeared. The coffee cup reappeared, full, moments later. Lisbet wondered what this town had against strangers, but then the smell of the first food she'd seen all day distracted her with a vengeance.
The sandwich disappeared quickly, as did the chips. Lisbet was still hungry, her stomach reminding her of her neglect with a loud rumble. She flagged the reluctant barkeep again, and ordered a second.
Lisbet didn't notice that the chatter behind her had died down until she looked in the mirror and realised there weren't as many people behind her anymore. She saw a couple get up from a table, glance her way, and head out the doors at what could almost be described as a dead run. The incentive to get out of town was strong, even though Lisbet was sorely tempted to stay the night here. She was tired, and had no idea of where she might find civilisation again after this. It would make more sense to get a room here, and not fall asleep on the road.
As she thought about it, her eyes started to droop and her head nodded forward. The second sandwich arrived, and she inquired quickly about the chances of getting a room here. The barkeep finally looked up, startled. Her exhaustion must have been evident, because he smiled for the first time and nodded.
"Yes, we have rooms," he said in a quiet voice. "They ain't fancy, but there's beds and clean linen, and the rooms are warm and secure."
"That sounds divine," LIsbet said, already thinking about how great a bed would feel tonight. "How much?"
"We don't usually rent them, don't se emany strangers thorugh here," he said. "I think the last time we rented the charge was $20. Does that sound fair to you?"
Lisbet nodded eagerly. "More than fair," she said, thinking about how last night she'd spent over one hundred. "Clean and warm is fine, I don't really need anything more."
The barkeep disappeared again, coming back switftly with a key on a plain brass ring. "You can pay in the morning," he said kindly. "Same for the food. We'll settle up tomorrow. You look too tired to worry about those things right now."
Lisbet was grateful for the kindness. She finished off her second sandwich, and headed up to the room the barkeep had indicated.
It was certainly spare. A single bed, almost a cot was against one wall. There was an old wooden washstand on the other, with a mirror that was losing its silvering as badly as the large mirror downstairs. There was a handbraided rag rug on the floor, protection from the cold wood. A heavy quilt, which looked hand made as well, covered the bed. Lisbet dropped her purse and jacket on the floor, kicked off her shoes, and fell into the bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
The next morning came far too soon. Sunlight streamed in through theuncovered window, hitting Lisbet squarely in the face. She blinked a few times, trying to remember where she was. The memory of the strange town witht he odd little saloon came back to her slowly, and she stretched and yawned, unwilling to leave the warmth of the bed.
She couldn't remember when the barkeep had said she'd need to be out this morning. Thinking hard, she actually wasn't sure it had ever been discussed. Hotels usually wanted people out by eleven. She checked her watch, which she'd forgotten to remove from her wrist last night - It was currentl quarter past ten. If she didn't want to be charged for an extra night, she should probably get moving. Although an extra $20, by any hotel standards, wasn't going to be that much of a difficulty for her.
Practicality won out, and Lisbet dragged herself out of bed. She went over to the washstand, which was filled with water, room temperature, not too bad. She stripped off her shirt so she wouldn't soak it, gave her face a quick wash, and patted it dry with the towel that was hanging off the side of the stand. She pulled a comb out of her purse, and quickly ran it through her hair. Not too bad. She didn't have her supplies with her, she;d left htem in the car, and with a short amount of time before she'd need to go she didn't want to waste it running down to grab them. This would do fine for another day of driving.
Lisbet walked down the stairs into the empty saloon. No one was around. Dishes were stacked behind the bar when she looked, but wandering around and into the kitchen, she could have sworn no one had been here in ages. She found what she assumed was the office - large wooden desk, old wooden office chair, a few filing cabinets - but again, no one to be seen.
She stared for a long time at the swinging wooden doors at the front of the saloon. There wasn't any way she was locked in, nor was there really any way for the saloon to be locked off from the rest of the world. She wasn't sure how to deal with this, she'd never been in the position of staying somewhere with no staff, no cashier, and no apparent way to pay the bill. Now that she was awake, Lisbet was anxious to leave and continue on, but she also wanted to avoid being chased by the police for running out on what she owed.
Under the bar was a menu, with pricing. She worked out what two sandwiches, two coffees, and one night's stay would be, and did her best to work out tax on top of that. She wasn't sure she had it right, so she added a bit of padding on top; she figured that the worse case would be that the barkeep would get an extra nice tip for his efforts. She left the money next to the cash register with a note thanking the staff for her stay. Then she headed out to the street, where her car was still parked.
The entire town looked like it had last night, only a bit brighter in the daylight. The stoplight swayed and creaked gently. Lisbet got into her car, and started to drive.
After she'd passed the last of the storefronts, Lisbet looked back in her rearview mirror. The town was gone. The land was still perfectly flat, and anything behind her should have stayed in the horizon for hours. She stopped the car, Got out, and stared backwards. There was no indication that there was a town in that direction, or that there had ever been one. The wheat stood tall and proud, waving tassled heads as far as the eye could see.
About three hours later, Lisbet stopped at another town. This one was larger, more modern, and boasted no less than seven sets of traffic lights. She pulled into a McDonald's and, as she waited for her Big Mac and fries, she made some small talk with the cashier.
Was the girl familiar with a small town not that far from here? Two roads, a boisterous saloon, a few shops, and a single stoplight? The girl looked at her as if she was insane, saying the only town in that direction was about six hours back, and even that was only called a town because the government had been generous.
Lisbet continued to wait for her food as the girl went into the back, commenting loudly on the insane woman talking gibberish, and listening to the howling laughter it created.
When her trip was done, Lisbet scoured the internet for any indication that there was a town anywhere in the vicinity of where she stayed had been. She found no hint of it anywhere.
After that, Lisbet stuck to planes for her trips. There were far fewer mysteries involving plane travel. She never spoke of her trip through the prairie again.
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