The Awakening Read Free Page A

Ryan’s hand and hired him on the spot.
     “Thanks for stopping by. And don’t worry—I’ll make it worth your while.”
         “Thank you,” Ryan said. “So when do I start?”
     “The sooner, the better.”
          Bentley smiled again and thanked Ryan repeatedly for dropping by. After that, the two sat chatting for another hour or so about the farm, the economy, and politics.  
           Bentley rubbed his chin. “Don’t suppose you would do me a favour now, would you?”
          “Sure. What is it?”
          “I’m getting low on food,” Bentley said, “would you mind?”
      “Not at all.”
       Bentley smiled, then pulled out a pen and paper from his pocket and scribbled down a list. He snagged a coat from the hall closet. “Follow me. I’ll show you where I keep my Pontiac. It’s a standard— hope that’s all right?”
       “Been driving a standard for years. Transmission blew a while back, and with the farm, I haven’t had time to get it fixed.”
       Ryan followed him outside.
       “Here’s the keys,” Bentley said handing them to Ryan, “and you’ll need this.” He slipped him a crisp, new, fifty dollar bill. “Be careful now, the roads are slippery.”
      “All right,” Ryan said revving the engine. It felt good to be behind another vehicle. Real good.
        The sky was turning dark, and the day growing exceptionally cold. Unfortunately, Ryan never made it to the store.
          He’d been motoring along at a good clip, enjoying the countryside, not breaking the law by all means when suddenly the engine revved, the started to smoke. The next thing he knew about a mile down the road, the throttle stuck and the engine roared.
    “Whoa!” Ryan shouted just before the car zigzagged all over the road. And then the steering locked and Ryan was left to the mercy of its speed. Without any way to control the car, his fears became a reality as it flipped over, plunged down a steep embankment, and rested in a gully about fifty feet below. When it hit a tree, Ryan’s head hurtled face first into the dash. The impact knocked the wind out of him.
        A few minutes later, Ryan managed to pull himself from the rubble. He wiped his brow, blood smearing the back of his hand.
         Bentley was in the living room warming himself by the fire when he looked out the window and saw flames in the sky a mile high. He yanked on his winter coat and went to investigate.
     He climbed into his new Mustang and with teeth chattering drove like the wind, fearful someone had died in a fire.
     When he arrived to the scene all he could see was a cloud of thick black smoke. Then amidst the fire he saw a man.
          He hollered, “You all right?”
         Ryan shook his head.
         “Think so,” he muttered as he made his way through the deep snow and up to the road.
     “Saw the flames a mile away. I came as fast as I could. Want me to call an ambulance?” Bentley asked.
     “No, I’m fine,” Ryan said as he staggered over to Bentley.
          “Told you to be careful, Ryan. These roads are treacherous.”
       Ryan frowned. “Ryan? Who’s Ryan? Haven’t a clue who you are talking about.”
           Bentley squinted. “You remember me, don’t you? Bentley. Our deal. All the stuff we talked about?”
       “um...no. Where am I?” Ryan looked around trying to get his bearings.
    “About a mile from Hollowtown, Ryan.”
    “Ryan?”
    “Isn’t that your name?”
    “No.”
          Bentley looked below but the car was up in flames and he wasn’t able to tell if it was even his. He looked at Ryan strangely and couldn’t recall the colour of winter coat. Short term memory loss, he guessed. “Well if you’re not Ryan, you have a twin because I just hired a fellow who looked a lot like