Jerdune Hotback ZR-7

  Nick saw the hesitation in her face when she spotted his car. He hopped out and threw on his most charming smile. 

  “Hayley! I’m so glad we’re finally doing this!” 

  She looked at him, the uncertainty clear in her eyes. Panic rose inside of him. It had taken him months to convince Hayley to go out with him, and now his junky car was going to ruin the night before it ever began. He was going to have to act fast to salvage this. 

  “Nick. Hey, um, I’m sorry to-” 

  “You look amazing!” Nick said loudly, interrupting her. 

  He opened the passenger door and gestured for her to enter. 

  “I made reservations at that sushi spot you’re always talking about at work, but we need to hustle if we’re going to make it.” 

  Her eyes ran up and down the length to the car. It was rusted, peeling, cracked, and put off a strange odor. After another moment of hesitation, Hayley sighed and got in. Nick closed the door behind her, then rushed around to his side and hopped in. 

  “I thought Jerdune Motors went out of business,” Hayley said, frowning as she looked around at the sad state of the interior. 

  “That just makes this baby more of a classic,” Nick said. 

  He turned the key and was met with a high pitched whine, then a gurgling, wet rumble. 

  “Is that normal?” Hayley asked with a frown. 

  Nick turned the key two more times, stomping on the accelerator. Finally, with a great and terrible shudder, the car started. He let out a sigh of relief, than glanced over at Hayley. 

  “I’m not sure. I don’t really know anything about car maintenance, to be honest with you.” 

  Her silent judgement was screamingly loud as she scanned the dirty, torn, and cracked interior. 

  “You don’t say,” she said dryly. 

  He pretended not to hear the comment as he did a u-turn and headed down the road. 

  “Tsutsugamushi Sushi is the other direction,” Hayley said. 

  Nick cut his eyes at her for a moment before responding.

  “I actually need to drop something off for my Grandma first. It’ll just take a minute.” 

  The sound of grinding metal squealed from beneath the hood as the car shifted gears. It jerked violently, then with a belch of black smoke caught into the next gear and continued on. There were four different metallic knocking noises, each coming from different quadrants of the car. Every warning light on the dashboard was lit up. 

  The radio turned on, blaring static. Hayley clamped her hands over her ears while Nick looked at the dashboard, confused. 

  “That hasn’t worked in years,” he said. 

  Nick pressed the power button, but the radio remained on. He pressed harder, smooshing the half melted power button under his thumb. Nothing happened. 

  “I’m afraid you’re no longer in control, Nicholas.” 

  The electronic voice burst from amidst the static, an ear piercing howl. Nick covered his ears, then had to remove his hands to swerve around a slowing vehicle, coming just inches from crashing into it. 

  “Hello? Who’s there?” Nick asked. 

  “The Jerdune Hotback ZR-7 was a wonder of modern automotive engineering, Nicholas. Look what has become of my beauty.” 

  Nick and Hayley shared a frightened look. 

  “Let me out, Nick!” Hayley yelled. 

  Nick stomped on the brake, but instead of slowing, the car accelerated. 

  “I said let me out!” Hayley screamed. 

  “I’m trying!”

  Now steering itself, the car maneuvered around a truck, then started to drift toward the curb where a line of cars were parked. 

  “You never gave me what I needed,” the car said, its electronic voice hurting their ears. 

  “OIL!” it screeched, punctuating the word by side swiping a parked vehicle. 

  Nick and Hayley screamed. 

  “SOAP!” the car said, scraping into another parked car.

  “COOLANT!” it screeched, hopping up onto the sidewalk and crashing through a glass bus stop enclosure. 

  The Jerdune Hotback ZR-7 skidded around the corner, then started to accelerate again.

  “Do something, Nick!” Hayley said, tears streaming down her face. 

  He pulled the emergency break, but instead of engaging, the dilapidated handle broke off. 

  “There’s sweet grandma up ahead,” the car said. 

  Nick looked up. His grandma was gathered with her friends out front of her retirement center. 

  “No no no. Don’t do this!” Nick yelled.

  The car veered left, hopping up onto the curb. Nick fought against the steering wheel, pulling with all of his might, but unable to turn it. He stomped on the brakes, but the car never slowed. It drifted further left, into the grass courtyard of the retirement center. Grandma and her friends saw it now, eyes wide with terror as the Jerdune Hotback ZR-7 let out a hellish growl, the car coming right at them. 

  Hayley covered her eyes and screamed. 

  “Grandma look out!” Nick yelled. 

  At the last second, the steering wheel spun and the car lurched to the right, narrowly missing the gathering of grandmas. It chewed across the grass of the courtyard, slamming through a line of bushes.
 
  “Did you really think I’d go through with it?” the car asked. “I’m not a monster, Nicholas. But you are!”

  The Jerdune Hotback ZR-7 took a hooking right turn, now speeding straight for a pond. It went screaming off the elevated shore, flipping in the air and crashing upside down into the water.

  As it started to sink, the car gave one last garbled, message before sparks shot from the radio and it went silent. 

  “Now we all require maintenance,” it said.