A little something I've been working on...

[Gunneh]

The sign outside the city - If Tucker's Pike, North Carolina could even be called such - is probably what scared me the most: It had been painted on several two-by-fours that had been haphazardly nailed together with bright, Pepto Bismol pink letters screaming, "Howdy Y'all," and the town's population (which, at the time, had been 235, if you really cared to know). I saw that sign, those disgustingly bright letters and, most importantly, that population, and I shuddered. Maybe it was the complete and utter loneliness that I felt from being trapped between two giant, looming spires of the Appalachian Mountains, or maybe the fact that I'd become so accustomed to the bustling life in New York City compared to the sleepy daze that seemed to cover this tiny town in Bumblefuck, Nowhere that really scared me. Hell, it could have mostly been my own fault for watching Deliverance a day before the big move.

All I knew was that I had never been so scared of any other place in the world as I was Tucker's Pike.

I pressed the headphones that were attached to my iPod harder against my head, trying to drown out the sound of the hunger, exhaustion and fear. The hunger screamed at me to find the nearest diner and devour the biggest, greasiest cheeseburger they had on the menu. The exhaustion pleaded with me to let the sleep come, even if only for just a few minutes. The fear resigned itself to screaming, "I think I hear banjos," at the top of its lungs, hoping to appeal to my better reasoning sooner or later.

I sighed and pulled off the headphones, letting them dangle around my neck as I scanned the slowly-passing scenery for the slack-jawed, toothless hillbilly that had to have been watching the SUV ever since we first pulled into town. Somewhere in the distance, a mockingbird sang a jovial little tune.

"That's just a trap they set out to lure some hapless passer-by into the hills," the fear screamed. "That's it! We're going to die! I definitely hear banjos!" Again, the hunger roared to life and silenced the fear while the exhaustion came out of its hiding place and bitch-slapped it for good measure. My mouth watered, my eyelids drooped and my head fell right into my dad's headrest, sighing loudly.

"Are you doing alright back there, Jackson," he asked, looking into his rear view mirror at me. "You're not looking too hot right about now."

"I'm fine, dad," I somewhat lied. "Just tired and hungry is all." He smiled back at me, an honest, almost laughing sort of smile that he always had on tap when I really needed it. He spoke again, his voice shaking with subdued laughter as we stopped at the only stop light in town.

"Hungry," he asked, his smile widening. "How can you be hungry after you pretty much inhaled everything you got at Jack in the Box?" Somewhere inside me, the hunger sighed happily as I remembered the cheeseburger and large curly fries that I'd devoured almost an hour before. I'd never eaten at a Jack in the Box before, but I'd taken my dad's recommendation and I'd been very pleasantly surprised, but I still wanted more for whatever reason.

"Just nervous, I guess," I said as I looked towards the mirror to meet his gaze. That wasn't a lie. I'd never really spent any time with my dad's family during my life and, except for seeing them in a picture or two here and there, I had no idea what any of them looked like. I wasn't even really sure if I'd know who was who when we finally got to my grandmother's house. Dad had assured me that I'd be given a refresher with introductions when we got there, but that didn't do much to calm my nerves.

"It'll be fine, Jax," he answered. "We'll be at your grandmother's house before you know it. You'll get so much food that you won't know what to do with it all and all the rest you'll need."

That last sentence was enough to silence the hunger and exhaustion, and even the fear seemed to quiet itself for the time being. I slid my headphones back into place and reclined my head back until I was staring intently at the ceiling of the car. Then, amidst the music and my own thoughts, another voice started screaming in my head and my nerves started chewing at my inside once again.

"God, I miss her," I thought.