What Does Danger Look Like? + "The Escaped Man" by Linda

In this post: A chilling hitchhiking story with a twist, I just wish the ending was a little lighter touch.

Category: Short Story Collection + Fast Fiction

Ramiah Recommended?

Yes.

I have to say, I love a good story with a twist. And what a perfect way to end another Spooky Season of reads!

I also have to say, the dramatic effect is letting the twist take space -- preferably, the final space. That's unfortunately not the case with this story, though.

"The Escaped Man" follows a protagonist dressed in a suit driving in a storm. He sees another man, a hitchhiker, on the road. The driver picks up the casually dressed hitchhiker and begins driving, and as he does, the' hitcher' seems uncomfortable through his fidgets and short answers to the driver's questions of 'Where are you headed?' and 'Do you work around here?' They largely sat in silence, except for the radio.

A news talk show played in the background. The hitcher asked for music instead, to which the driver replied he prefers the news. A serial killer is reported missing, and the hitcher abruptly changes to news to a music station. The silence continues.

The driver asks questions and the hitcher tells the driver he is not the serial killer. Meanwhile, the driver doesn't have any clear indication of where to drop the hitcher off, the hitcher is simply going 'north'.

The driver turns the news back on the radio, where it's revealed the serial killer's name is Simon who escaped a mental hospital with a stolen suit and car. The hitcher asked the driver's name, and it's... SIMON.

Another Commaful story where I didn't know how it was going to go. I'm sure many of us know the dangers of hitchhiking -- both to the driver and to the hitchhiker -- so it's not a crazy storyline that there was going to be some element of danger here as well. However, as I hope my high-level summary captured, readers follow the story thinking the hitchhiker is the harbinger of harm (especially once the serial killer on the loose was announced). He's fidgety, he's tight-lipped, he was picked up on the side of the road after all. All my cautions to avoid hitchhikers, and all the stories I read or movies I watched in which where the hitchhiker is indeed the murderer, told me how this story was going to play out.

Instead, it's the driver. Maybe y'all are better at predicting twists and turns, but this one GOT ME. What a great implicit reminder that danger comes in all forms, styles, and appearances. That danger isn't always received it's given. That danger often time comes in suits (more on that another day).

The story would've been better for me without some of the images and the final page, which to me, just didn't leave much to the imagination. The final page, ESPECIALLY, showed a knife and had the description that Simon was about to attack the hitchhiker.

The story would've been better, borderline perfect, if it just ended in a "Here's Johnny" from The Shining fashion. The final page is the only reason this recommendation isn't an emphatic yes.

Read the story here and let me know what you think!

Happy Halloween!

Ramiah Reflects

Questions to Ask Yourself (and answer!):

What is your perception of hitchhiking?

Ramiah's Re-read When

Re-read when:

You want a chilling story with a twist
You are considering hitchhiking (or picking up a hitchhiker) and you need a reminder to NOT DO THAT AT ANY COST
You want a good, short, and spooky read

(No notes this time, folks!)

Check out my other posts and book notes here.

Until next time!

Montana Houston