SIX
The car was already halfway over the edge of the road when Pipers' hands came up. It was a reflexive action. Whether she thought it might somehow stop them or if she was simply bracing herself for the inevitable impact, not even she knew. But just as the car began to drop over the embankment it suddenly froze in midair.
Piper looked around. This simply wasn't possible. There was nothing holding the car back. It should be plunging into the ravine below. She looked over at Carpenter who sat frozen behind the wheel.
"Adam?" she questioned, touching his arm.
Suddenly, Carpenter looked around. He looked confused.
"Jennifer, are you okay?" Carpenter asked.
"I don't know," Piper said. "What's going on here?"
"I don't know,' Carpenter replied. "This is impossible. Let's get out of here while we still can. We can try to sort it out later."
Cautiously they made their way over the front seat into the back seat. Carpenter opened the back door. With the help of a small bush he climbed onto the side of the roadway and then helped Piper out of the car. They had barely cleared the car when it suddenly continued its' plunge into the ravine. They watched as it fell several dozen feet, exploding on impact.
"Someone call Ripley's'," Carpenter said. "Not even they are going to believe this one."
"What happened?" asked Piper.
"I wish I knew," Carpenter said. "Let's get back to the cabin. Maybe we can figure this out back there."
An hour later, Piper put some coffee on at the cabin. Carpenter sat at the kitchen table trying to sort out the events.
"What happened is not physically possible," Carpenter said. "Objects just don't sit suspended in midair with nothing to support them. Especially something as large and as heavy as a car."
"You were frozen, too," Piper said. "When touched you, it seemed to bring you out of it. It's almost like time just suddenly stopped."
"Time just doesn't stop," Carpenter said. "But why weren't you affected? There was no sound of the engine, the tires weren't spinning, nothing. And yet whatever happened didn't seem to happen to you. Why not?"
"I don't know," Piper said. "One second we were going over the edge of the road and the next second everything just sort of froze. Almost like someone was giving us the chance to get out of the car. Remember, everything started again as soon as we were out of the car."
"As if we had a guardian angel looking over us," Carpenter said.
"A Lighter," Piper said. "Something Lighter. I just thought of it."
"What is this Lighter thing?" Carpenter asked.
"I'm not sure," Piper said. "It's called a something Lighter. It's sort of an angel sent to look after someone. That's all I remember."
"A man and a blue light?" Carpenter thought out loud. "Maybe it's called a Blue Lighter. And if there is such a thing, maybe this Blue Lighter thing saved us. As a doctor I've seen some pretty miraculous recoveries but nothing like that. It was nothing short of a miracle."
"I'm sorry about your car," Piper said.
"Just a car," Carpenter said. "I can get another one. I'm just glad neither of us was injured."
"Well, how do we get into the city now?" Piper asked.
"There's a neighbor south of here," Carpenter said. "It'll take a couple of hours to walk there but I can probably use their phone. I can call the police and let them know about the accident. Then I can call...."
He stopped in mid-sentence. A bluish sparkling phenomenon suddenly appeared in the kitchen. When it finished, a man and two women stood facing Piper and Carpenter.
The car was already halfway over the edge of the road when Pipers' hands came up. It was a reflexive action. Whether she thought it might somehow stop them or if she was simply bracing herself for the inevitable impact, not even she knew. But just as the car began to drop over the embankment it suddenly froze in midair.
Piper looked around. This simply wasn't possible. There was nothing holding the car back. It should be plunging into the ravine below. She looked over at Carpenter who sat frozen behind the wheel.
"Adam?" she questioned, touching his arm.
Suddenly, Carpenter looked around. He looked confused.
"Jennifer, are you okay?" Carpenter asked.
"I don't know," Piper said. "What's going on here?"
"I don't know,' Carpenter replied. "This is impossible. Let's get out of here while we still can. We can try to sort it out later."
Cautiously they made their way over the front seat into the back seat. Carpenter opened the back door. With the help of a small bush he climbed onto the side of the roadway and then helped Piper out of the car. They had barely cleared the car when it suddenly continued its' plunge into the ravine. They watched as it fell several dozen feet, exploding on impact.
"Someone call Ripley's'," Carpenter said. "Not even they are going to believe this one."
"What happened?" asked Piper.
"I wish I knew," Carpenter said. "Let's get back to the cabin. Maybe we can figure this out back there."
An hour later, Piper put some coffee on at the cabin. Carpenter sat at the kitchen table trying to sort out the events.
"What happened is not physically possible," Carpenter said. "Objects just don't sit suspended in midair with nothing to support them. Especially something as large and as heavy as a car."
"You were frozen, too," Piper said. "When touched you, it seemed to bring you out of it. It's almost like time just suddenly stopped."
"Time just doesn't stop," Carpenter said. "But why weren't you affected? There was no sound of the engine, the tires weren't spinning, nothing. And yet whatever happened didn't seem to happen to you. Why not?"
"I don't know," Piper said. "One second we were going over the edge of the road and the next second everything just sort of froze. Almost like someone was giving us the chance to get out of the car. Remember, everything started again as soon as we were out of the car."
"As if we had a guardian angel looking over us," Carpenter said.
"A Lighter," Piper said. "Something Lighter. I just thought of it."
"What is this Lighter thing?" Carpenter asked.
"I'm not sure," Piper said. "It's called a something Lighter. It's sort of an angel sent to look after someone. That's all I remember."
"A man and a blue light?" Carpenter thought out loud. "Maybe it's called a Blue Lighter. And if there is such a thing, maybe this Blue Lighter thing saved us. As a doctor I've seen some pretty miraculous recoveries but nothing like that. It was nothing short of a miracle."
"I'm sorry about your car," Piper said.
"Just a car," Carpenter said. "I can get another one. I'm just glad neither of us was injured."
"Well, how do we get into the city now?" Piper asked.
"There's a neighbor south of here," Carpenter said. "It'll take a couple of hours to walk there but I can probably use their phone. I can call the police and let them know about the accident. Then I can call...."
He stopped in mid-sentence. A bluish sparkling phenomenon suddenly appeared in the kitchen. When it finished, a man and two women stood facing Piper and Carpenter.