My imagination

It started off nice and innocent.
I begin at the bottom of the hill on Mission Gorge, on my way to spend the night at a friend's house. The light's green, and I begin my trip up and through the mountains into Santee. On the way up, I'm joined by three or four other cars.

We round the curve. I'm going a bit slower and fall towards the back of the pack.

Then my imagination hits.
These guys are my companions. We're traveling together.
And suddenly they're all dashing ahead of me!
Three of them roar on ahead, the fourth is slowly but steadily getting ahead of me.

I glance into my rearview mirror, and decide I don't really feel like being alone in the dark, so I put on a little more gas.

I glance into the mirror again... and I see them.
Yellow-white lights, towards the bottom of the hill.
My imagination strikes again...

They're after me.

After us, rather, but I'm behind all of my comrades. I speed up a bit, as the car ahead of me crests the hill. I don't want the car out of my sight. The car blinks out for a bit, then reappears as I also crest the hill.

And then I'm coasting down, down, careful to stay within the speed limit for the rational part of my brain that's not imagining knows I could very well get a speeding ticket, but my imagination is still going faster and faster, away from those who're trying to get me.

I'm at the bottom of the hill, another glance at the mirrors reveals they're just starting down the hill.

I grin a bit, happy I'm that far ahead of them. Maybe the light will turn red, and they'll be caught, and I'll soar on ahead...

Then I see the next light, that just turned green. I go as fast as I can, URGING the light to stay green, because if I don't make it, they'll catch up to me.

The light complies, and I make my left turn, euphoric that I got away with it.

Unfortunately I'm now all alone on the road. If another one of their minions comes after me, I'll have no one to help defend me.

I come up to the stoplight, which is a horrid red. There's two cars waiting at the light, but I need to make a right turn. I squeeze by them, check for oncoming traffic, then make my turn.

All is calm for the next two minutes, but the road is straight and when I check my mirrors again... In the far off distance, it's one of THEM.

I speed up a bit, but they're still slowly, slowly catching up.

This continues in a painful way, my paranoia increasing, until we reach the 7-11 intersection.
Fortunately it's green. I don't even bother to brake for the dip, but continue going as fast as I can without actually speeding through the residential area now.
I come to the stop sign and consider making the quickest California Roll ever but...

They're gone.

No sign of them.

I triumphantly (and exuberantly) cross the intersection and finish my trip to my friend's house, with no other sign of evil.




And that, is how my imagination works when it's 7:00 at night and I'm driving by myself with Skillet playing in my car.
It was crazy, how once my imagination started on something I was actually beginning to get paranoid as to what would happen if the car caught up with me.
I actually tricked myself into getting scared.