The Long Road Home
And the places we never knew we were going
“Paul, what’s that up there?”
Tanya squinted through the windshield out into the blackness of the high desert night. It was May, so the midges were thick near the small marsh that sprang from an underground aquifer near the road. Their smeared splatter and crunchy husks left a milky golden residue all over the surface that made her frown and wince.
She knew the next hour of dry desert air would glue those guts to the glass more securely than any adhesive manufacturer could ever copy. It would take hours, hot soapy water and the ice scraper to get it all off.
“What?” Paul looked over at her from the driver’s side of their truck.
“Is that a person up there, is that a girl? Oh God, what’s she doing on the road out here in the middle of the night.”
Paul and Tanya were heading home from Klamath Falls, after a day in town. They had combined their monthly bulk shopping with a late evening date night, and after an hour on the road, it was approaching midnight.
The Oregon high desert wilderness always felt more ominous at night. The Juniper and sagebrush were illuminated only for a moment as the bright slice of halogen parted the darkness. There was no moon, and the night sky felt vastly dense and heavy.
It was a rare occasion that he took her on a date anymore. The ranch and the kids took most of their time and energy. But twenty years was something to celebrate, so they left Lisa and Bryce at home, with instructions to make sure all the animals were fed first. Then the siblings could rent a movie and have one of the coveted frozen pizzas, Tanya stocked for late nights or special occasions.
Tanya was slapping Paul’s arm frantically. “Stop, stop, stop! She doesn’t look well. Something bad happened.”
Paul slowed the big grey Dodge to a crawl, then to a stop next to the blond teenage girl that was walking listlessly toward them on the side of the road. The engine burbled diesel fumes and a hint of normalcy in the brisk spring night.
He knew there could only be a handful of reasons this girl would be out here on her own, fifty miles from the nearest town, and none of them were good.
“Tanya, be careful, hon.”
Tanya leapt out of the truck and walked toward the girl.
“Sweetie, are you okay? Why are you out here all alone?”
The girl looked at Tanya vacantly. She had a large purple goose-egg on her forehead, was covered in dirt, and shivering uncontrollably.
“We were heading home from the basketball game. There was a deer. The truck is back there.” The girl turned around and looked behind her. “Brandy was…. I think she needs help.”
“Paul, do we have that blanket in the back?” Tanya yelled for husband.
“Honey, what’s your name? You come and get in the truck, you’re freezing.”
“I'm Heather. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” The girl started crying uncontrollably, while Tanya hugged her and guided her toward the warm cab of the big Dodge.
“Paul, you follow me. Toss me the flashlight in the jockey box, please.”
Tanya helped the girl up in the truck, while Paul reached in the back and dug out an old wool blanket they kept for winter emergencies and sick calves. It was clean, thankfully.
Handing it to the girl, he dug in the compartment in front of her, and pulled out a blocky black torch and tossed it to his wife.
She turned it away from them and started walking while he followed, crawling the truck forward in the ink-stained night.
She moved fast until she saw what was left of a deer lying in the middle of the asphalt. The poor animal was still struggling to stand, even though it’s back was obviously broken.
Highway 31 wound two-hundred miles out in Oregon’s outback. Carving a two-lane lifeline between the cities of the central basin and the small communities that provided comfort to the few hardy souls that called this harsh environment home.
The road was empty this time of night, but he understood at a glance, the mangled back end of the deer was untreatable. He reached back for his .22 rifle that he kept hidden under the long bench seat, knowing that relieving this animal’s suffering was the only thing he could do.
“You stay here Heather; I’ll be right back.”
Paul turned and walked toward his wife, who aimed the light at the struggling black tail.
“Be quick hon, I see tracks up ahead.”
He aimed, pulled the trigger without much pause, stooped and grabbed a foreleg. He shouldered his rifle and pulled the dead animal out of the middle of the road and onto the gravel edge of the highway.
Tanya went back to the truck “Heather, how you doin’ honey?”
“I’m okay, kinda sleepy.”
“No darlin’, don’t you go to sleep. You have a big bump on your head, as soon as we find your friend, Paul will take you to the Owen’s ranch just a few miles up ahead as fast as he can and make a phone call. Stay awake, you hear?”
Heather nodded and huddled deeply inside the blanket.
Paul and Tanya both followed the ruts and black tire marks they saw to the edge of the road. Looking over into the sage, there was about a twenty-foot drop, and out in the desert about fifteen yards out they saw a small red Mitsubishi pickup on its side, the cab almost smashed flat. The engine was still ticking, so they knew there might still be time.
“Oh, no,” Tanya mumbled as they scrabbled down the embankment toward the wreck.
Paul turned, grabbed the flashlight and faced Tanya.
“This may not be pretty, let me look first.”
She nodded, but still followed close behind.
Paul called out, “Are you okay in there?” The night answered with silence the way only the desert can be silent.
After a few more steps, they both looked into what was left of the cab. The little Mitsubishi had one of those popular sunroofs that had just come out. The whole thing had collapsed, and Heather must have been thrown clear, because the driver, still belted in, was staring at them with beautiful ice blue eyes through what was left of the glass roof.
Paul turned, “She’s gone, let’s get Heather to the Owens’.”
Tanya didn’t take her eyes off the girl. “You go. Hurry. Let me stay here with Brandy. She’s scared. We’re at mile marker eighty-four.”
Paul nodded and left, jogging back up to the truck. She heard it start up and the big diesel thundered away into the distance, leaving nothing but quiet and the small circle of light that kept Tanya and Brandy together.
Tanya knelt down on the hard baked desert dirt and touched Brandy’s face. She was still warm. Her eyes were glistening, and the basketball jersey she wore said she was number twenty-three. Red and white.
She looked young and sweet, exuding a peach scented hair spray, through the mass of brown curly hair that was wetly tacked down across her cheeks.
She was absolutely perfect, save for the missing top half of her skull.
“Oh honey,” Tanya whispered, “I’m so sorry.”
She reached out, held Brandy’s hand, and closed her eyes.
“Why am I out here, what happened?” A girl’s voice came from behind Tanya and echoed in her ears.
“Brandy, honey. You hit a deer.”
The voice was small, and quiet. “Am I dead?”
“Yes, sweetie you are. But Heather’s going to be fine.”
“Oh, that’s good.” Then a pause, the voice came closer. Standing behind Tanya, she could sense the girl looking down.
“Well, this is a shitty way to end my last game. We were so happy! We won against LaPine. We were going home to eat ice cream, stay up and watch The Land Before Time again.” Then a sweet tinkling laugh made its way to Tanya’s ears.
Tanya reached her other hand back and felt Brandy take it. Both hands were holding her. One girl in the truck, the other from beyond.
“What do I do now? Should I stay here?”
Tanya shook her head, still looking away. “No, honey, this all happened so fast. It’s not your fault. You can go home anytime.”
“Can you tell Heather it’s not her fault either? We were fighting for the radio, I feel bad.”
“Yes, I’ll be sure to tell her.”
“What about Mom and Fred? My truck was new, they’re gonna kill…” Then another tinkling laugh.
“Can you tell my family I love them? and I’m sorry. Please tell them I’m okay, and it never hurt.”
Tanya had tears streaming down her face. “Sure will, sweetie.”
“I love you, thank you.”
“I love you too, Brandy. You go on home now. We’ll take care of everything here.”
The dark desert night swallowed the last of the sparkling presence behind Tanya and left her searching the starry galactic sky with wonder in her heart.
She turned off the light and sat in the shining darkness holding Brandy’s slowly cooling hand for the next half an hour, until she heard the rumble of a few vehicles start in the distance. Tanya knew there was no reason to say anything, so she squeezed once and let go.
Standing up, she slowly made her way back up to the shoulder of the highway, to wave the men down.
Paul and two others stopped their rigs, and came toward her, pooling their light on the road in a semi-circle.
Paul took off his battered cowboy hat and slapped it against his thigh. “Sheriff and the EMTs are on their way. I told them not to send Life Flight. Heather’s at the Owenses. Marlene’s gonna take her to Lakeview, it’s closer. I also called the kids; told them we’d be late.”
Tanya nodded.
Paul reached for his wife and gave her a large gentle hug, as she broke down in his arms. They swayed in the glow of the swirling midges and headlights, not caring if anyone watched.
“I sent her home Paul, can we go home now, too?”
Inspired by true events.