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"Jack, you will kill us if you do this!" < /p>

Jack then brought his thoughts back to the lonely Alabama road in front of him. He looked at the speedometer of the blue Ford Mustang and saw it was going over 80 miles per hour. He calmed down and lifted his right foot.

"Sorry."

Stephanie then continued singing her song, her voice melancholy and clear. It was a twist on a country song. "My heart hides all the secrets, my heart can't lie..."

This song again. Because she wrote it herself, Jack never commented. But these deadly lyrics sounded especially good today...

"Jack!"

The speed of the car went straight to 80 miles.

"I'm sorry." Jack forced his right foot to lift.

"What's wrong with you?"

"You ask me what's wrong?!" Relax, Jack, don't add fuel to the fire now, he thought. "I'm just a little nervous, okay?"

Stephanie smiled, "You should try singing."

He tightened his hand on the steering wheel. "Yes, that's your answer to all your questions, isn't it?"

"What did you say?"

Jack sighed. He couldn't fall into her trap. "I'm sorry." He always apologized. Jack glanced over to Stephanie and forced a smile, hoping she would believe it.

She smiled back at Jack, a smile that showed she didn't believe it.

Stephanie is a young and beautiful country singer. Her charm is enough to conquer the next man, just like she conquered Jack in the first place. She has blond hair and the denim clothes on her body make her look particularly energetic. For men who hang out in bars, Stephanie fulfills all their country singer fantasies. There is no doubt that her blue eyes will still shine in the future, but it will no longer be for Jack. At the moment, those beautiful blue eyes are hidden behind a pair of stylish sunglasses.

Stephanie poked her head out of the car and glanced back, "I think a police officer is following us."

This narrow road with only two lanes started from Passing between woods and farmland, the terrain rises and falls. Jack saw in the rearview mirror that there was only one car behind him. The car was disappearing and appearing on the road that was rising and falling, following his Mustang. Soon, the car was getting closer and closer to Jack and the others, and Jack had already seen the police lights on the roof of the car. Jack checked his speed. It was 65 mph, which was probably not speeding.

The police car continued to approach.

"Jack, you'd better drive slower."

"I'm not speeding right now."

"Are you sure?"

A few seconds later, the police car was close to them, as close as the tow truck that came with the Mustang. Jack could see the policeman in the car in the rearview mirror. The policeman had a strong jawline and was wearing a pair of black reflective sunglasses.

He's a highway patrolman.

Jack confirmed the speed again and then dropped it to 60 miles, hoping that the police would stop following him.

But the police car followed even closer.

So close that we almost have to rear-end him!

Jack quickly stepped on the accelerator, and the Mustang jumped out.

"What are you doing?!" Stephanie yelled.

"He almost hit us!"

The police car was thrown ten yards away. The red and blue police lights flashed crazily for a while, and the sirens blared.

"Really? Great!" Stephanie muttered. He leaned back heavily in his seat. Jack could hear the reproach in her voice.

She is always blaming. But the one who really walked away was you, Stephanie, Jack thought.

The police car moved to the side lane and drove alongside Jack's Mustang. The policeman in police uniform turned from the car and looked at Jack - maybe this was just Jack's own imagination. Black glasses, expressionless. Jack returned his attention to the road in front of him.

Both cars are now driving forward at 60 miles.

"What are you doing, Jack? Stop the car!"

If only I could stop the car. Jack struggled to find a place to park. The forest was thick and tangled with maples, oaks, and birches hanging with kudzu. It pressed over like a sloping wall and occupied a large part of the road. "Can't park. There's no emergency parking lane here. I can't..."

There must be a parking lane. Jack drove slower and slower. 40 miles. 30 miles. The police car followed him leisurely.

Finally, Jack saw an emergency parking lane through the layers of dense leaves.

There was a long, thin space just large enough for parking, so he started to drive out of the driveway.

But at this moment, the police car accelerated and continued to drive forward, leaving Jack's car behind, its police lights flashing quietly. After about 15 seconds, the police car disappeared and became a small dot moving on the road. After a while, it completely disappeared.

"What's going on?!" Jack stretched his neck strangely, looked at the car's reflector, and then drove the car back to the driveway. He couldn't help but wipe his sweaty palms on his jeans.

"You were speeding." Stephanie stared at the road, flipping the map with her hands, avoiding Jack's gaze.

"He didn't let us stop either. Then why did he drive so close? Did you see how close he drove just now?"

"This is Alabama, Jack, if you don't follow the rules here, they will show you how bad you are."

"Okay, but even if you speed, you won't hit me!"

Stephanie patted her knees to relax her nerves. "Jack, can you just drive to where we're going in an orderly manner?"

Jack decided to remain silent this time and concentrate on driving. While I was thinking, if you have anything to say, let’s leave it to the lawyer. What he was curious about was what Stephanie would say and what she would do tonight.

Do you really think this will work, Jack? Do you really think you can keep something that is no longer yours? Stephanie shrugged, smiled, and started humming again.

If smiling and singing could take them back in time, Jack would laugh like a fool and even sing all of Stephanie's songs. But he knew very well that it was just a fantasy. At this moment, although his eyes were fixed on the road in front of the car, his thoughts were occupied by memories. Her arms were wrapped around his shoulders, and her eyes were full of excitement; when he saw her entering the room, his heart was like welcoming the dawn in the darkness; so many secrets, the two of them shared a look, a smile or a smile. They could share each other in the blink of an eye; he felt that life and love should be so wonderful...

But an accident changed everything.

Jack imagined himself sitting in his legal counsel's office, honestly describing his feelings. "I feel like... I'm tired of life. Life has become meaningless. If there is a God, and God is a devil, and... what? You mean Stephanie? No, I've lost it too. She's gone. I mean, she's still here, but she's gone..."

Jack always felt that this trip was just a superficial thing. It will speed up the demise of their marriage. He understood that Stephanie would hum like this all the way to Montgomery and back again, and then still divorce according to her own wishes and live her own happy life.

"Jack, you are lost."

Yes, I am lost. Jack thought.

"Jack!"

Jack suddenly came back to his senses. His car was traveling down the road at a speed of 65 miles. He found that the forest along the road began to thin out, replaced by simple farms and pastures covered with tree stumps.

Stephanie looked at the map, studying the thin red and black lines.

Did she just say that he was lost? Yes. The map is in her hand, and he is the one who is lost. Thinking of this, Jack immediately felt the irony in Stephanie's words. Hurtful words come out so easily these days.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you see the highway sign just now? It said No. 5."

After taking a look, Jack With the sight glass, only the back of the receding sign can be seen.

"Is it number 5?"

Stephanie drew a line on the map with her finger. "We should take Route 82."

Jack leaned over to look at the map, but this action caused him to lose control of the steering wheel. The car swerved suddenly, and he had to quickly steady the steering wheel.

Stephanie said to him, "We're going to be late."

Not necessarily. Jack thought. "Did you just see Route 5 written on it? Where does it lead to?"

Stephanie used her finger to follow the direction on the map, and then stopped on the map about 3 inches away from Montgomery. . "This is not going to Montgomery, unless you have a week to travel here. How come you went the wrong way and didn't take Route 82?"

Dare I defend myself? Jack thought. "I was distracted by that policeman."

Stephanie picked up the phone, glanced at the time displayed on it, and said, "We will definitely be late."

She Does your voice still sound hopeful? Jack also looked at his watch and thought about it. If he turned around now, maybe...

"I turned down a performance and came here with you." Stephanie huddled in her seat. , said with folded arms.

Here it goes again, it’s my fault again. She started humming again. here we go again.

Suddenly, blue and red police lights flashed in front of the road.

“Ah! That’s great!” said Stephanie.

Jack slowed down the car. There is a police car parked on the fork in front of the road. There are orange cone-shaped road signs and a notice on the side of the road: "The road is being resurfaced. Passing vehicles please use a detour."

"Then we must do it no matter what. We have to turn around." Jack said, driving the car to the emergency parking lane on the gravel road and preparing to turn around. He changed his mind and said, "Let's go and ask. Maybe there is another way that can be faster."

Jack slowly drove the car to the side road and parked not far behind the police car. At this time, the door of the police car opened and a police officer got out of the car. A pair of large flying sunglasses covered his eyes.

2

The policeman got out of the car, stretched his neck, and then put on a smoky wide-brim hat, his eyes never leaving Jack and the others. He was wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt, and there was a black stripe on the outside of his trousers from the waist to the hem. The police badge on his chest shone brightly in the sunset. He had a pistol holster on his right waist and a baton on his left.

The policeman seemed to touch his hat habitually with his hand, and walked straight towards Jack and the others, with a confident and arrogant expression. His pants looked a little tight.

"Good evening!" Stephanie greeted him.

Jack rolled down the window on his side of the car, and a warm breeze blew into the car, followed by the chirping of crickets. The policeman's black leather boots made no sound on the road.

The policeman came to a stop in front of Jack's car window and put a hand on his holster. He leaned down and looked carefully at the people in the car. Jack noticed that the policeman's badge read: Morton Lawton.

"Please show your driver's license and vehicle registration."

"We..."

"Driver's license and vehicle registration, please hurry up. ”

Jack took out the driver’s license and vehicle registration certificate from the car and handed them to the police through the car window.

The policeman took it with gloved hands, looked through it casually, and said to them: "If you don't mind, please get out of the car."

Jack listened to this I couldn't think of how to deal with it, "Why?"

"Why? Because I want to show you something! What's the reason for this?"

"Am I Did you do something wrong?”

“Are you kids in Alabama so confused? A police officer asks you to get out of the car, but you act like you’re the boss here? ! I want you to see what you should see, come down here quickly!"

Jack and Stephanie exchanged glances. Then he opened the car door and stepped out of the car.

"Isn't this enough? Is it that difficult?"

"That's right, we are going the wrong way." Jack said to the police. Jack made a visual inspection and found that the policeman was at least a head taller than himself. "We were going to Montgomery, and we were going to take Route 82."

The police officer named Lawton pulled out his baton, waved at Jack, and motioned for him to come to the back of the car. "Come here."

A chill ran down Jack's back. What can we do? In such a remote place, facing a guy who shows off with a gun and can kill first and then show off, what should he do?

Jack couldn't help but hesitate.

"Do you still want me to say every sentence twice?" Officer Lawton hit his palm with his baton.

"No." Jack had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk towards the trunk.

Jack walked to the fender and stopped, looking at Officer Lawton standing there with his feet spread apart, staring at Jack intently.

Officer Lawton pointed at the rear brake light of Jack's Mustang with his baton and said, "Do you know your brake light is broken?"

Jack took a breath. "Really? No!"

"It's just broken. Otherwise, I would have almost hit your car on the road just now! So I know."

" "Oh!"

"Oh!" Officer Lawton repeated, imitating Jack's tone. Jack saw that the officer's shirt collar and armpits were soaked with sweat.

Officer Lawton added: "Also, I suggest you drive more appropriately in the future, and it's best to drive more honestly."

At this time, Stephanie also opened the door and got out of the car. A smile as bright as the sun. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

"My taillight is broken." Jack answered.

Stephanie tilted her head playfully and said, "We'll fix it when we get to Montgomery, right, Jack?"

"Of course, once we get there Just fix it."

Officer Lawton took off his hat and greeted Stephanie in a gesture, then looked at Stephanie's low-waisted skinny jeans and blue velvet tube top and asked: " "Who is this?"

"She is Stephanie Singleton," Jack answered.

Officer Lawton noticed that Stephanie's hand did not have a wedding ring on it. He asked Jack: "Are you cousins ??or cousins?"

"Husband and wife." Jack said.

Stephanie had taken off her wedding ring herself last month, which hit Jack harder than anything she had done before.

Officer Lawton then turned to Stephanie, "Are you okay with letting this madman drive?"

"Madman?!" Jack muttered dissatisfied.

Officer Lawton lowered his head, pulled down his sunglasses, and stared at Jack from above the frame.

A pair of blue eyes stared at Jack.

"Do you think you are smart, kid? No, not smart at all. On the contrary, you are a bit stupid."

Jack now fully understands that when a person wears a What a humiliation you have to endure when such a uniform stands before you.

Officer Lawton took off his sunglasses and gave Jack a very stern look. "Not only are you a madman, but you don't know that you are driving like a madman. You are called an idiot. But I will pretend that I was wrong. I will pretend that you are not an idiot, just a madman. What do you think of this? ?”

After Officer Lawton said this, he waited for Jack’s response. Jack had a lot of words stuck in his mouth, but he simply replied: "Okay."

"Okay, I will tell you now what a madman just did." Officer Lawton said as he As he spoke, he hit Jack's head with one finger, so hard that Jack felt the pain. "This lunatic was driving too fast and couldn't look in his rearview mirror. Look in yours, Jack. I was behind you for five minutes and you didn't even notice. If you did that, a truck would pass by." The back can crush your car into pieces, and then you are finished..."

At this point, Officer Lawton took out his revolver from the holster and fired it into the nearby farmland. A shot was fired. This move startled both Jack and Stephanie.

"Just like this." Officer Lawton blew on the barrel of the gun, rotated the gun slightly and put it back into the holster. "Be careful, friend, there are many dangerous roads here. So you'd better not speed, and remember to look at the rearview mirror."

Jack thought for a moment, the safest reaction at the moment, The short answer was, "Yes, I will."

"Very good," Officer Lawton said. He handed the driver's license and vehicle registration certificate back to Jack and pointed to the road ahead, "Now we have to take a detour. The 3 miles from here are impassable. Where did you just say you were going?" < /p>

"Montgomery." Jack's heart sank again when he answered.

As expected, Officer Lawton almost laughed, obviously amused, "Don't you know how to read a map?"

"Yes, we just went the wrong way. "

The officer let out a snort of laughter, and Jack guessed that was his way of making fun of others. Lawton pointed to the road and said to Jack: "Turn around first. If you know how to go, it will be about an hour shorter than returning to Route 82 from here. But there are no obvious signs on this shortcut, and you probably don't want to. You're just wandering around in circles like this."

"Can you tell us how to get there?" Jack asked.

The police officer asked them: "You have a map, right?"

Stephanie immediately handed over the map. Lawton spread the map out on the trunk of Jack's car, looked at it briefly, and then said, "This map is very old." He folded the map again, grunting a few times in his throat. "Well, I said, listen carefully. Don't think that I drank a little too much. You have to believe me. A couple from the city like you can't expect to be in a remote forest. You can get out smoothly just by asking those barbarians! You can't imagine what kind of people you will meet. Now you start from here..." "Barbarians?" His smile was bright, but his tone was filled with fear.

Lawdener waved his hand and ignored the word, "They are just country people living in remote woods. Just like Jack who acted like an idiot just now, he doesn't understand any laws and only obeys them. The rules you set are for those who are not to be messed with. They haven't even started using toothbrushes yet, let alone any laws."

Lao Dun'er said, pointing to the fork and said: "You guys. Just follow this road south, turn left at a T-intersection, follow the house, and then drive back to a section of the road leading into the woods. You will probably drive on a dirt road for at least 40 miles. But don't worry, this dirt road will take you to Highway 82. It will take about an hour to reach Highway 82."

Jack looked at the gravel heading south. road. The road continued into the cloud-shrouded and forested mountains. "Are you sure?" Jack couldn't help asking.

"Do I look unsure?"

Jack smiled, "No, officer."

Officer Lawton nodded slightly. "Now we're starting to get to know each other a little bit. I walk this road home every day.

In case you break down on the road, you can stop in the emergency parking lane and don't move. In that case, we may have the police find you. ”

“You mean the breakdown has happened before?” "Jack asked.

"Not bad.

Stephanie, who had been listening to them talking, smiled a little unnaturally at this time, "Jack, maybe we can not go there and go home directly." ”

“That’s not necessary. "Officer Lawton said, "If you set out now, before it gets dark, and if you are careful, you won't make any mistakes. Be careful. "

As he spoke, Officer Lawton touched the brim of his hat, turned and walked towards his patrol car.

Jack got into his Mustang and closed the door." You've never known who patrols such a remote forest, have you? "

Stephanie also got in the car and sat down next to Jack, "I don't know. "

" Do you understand now? "

"I'm sure he catches people driving like you like this all the time. I said, let's turn around and go home. "

Jack looked at his watch. It was a quarter to six. There was still time. So he slowly started the car.

Stephanie persisted and said, "This date is not worth it. Why are we in so much trouble! "

Jack drove the car onto the gravel road.

"Jack..."

Jack then gave a full kick of gas and said: "We We've all come this far, haven't we? So I still want to go.

”