Part I ~ Part II ~ Part III ~ Part IV

The Kris Story, Part V
or...Reno, Part I
4.13.8

It was common knowledge that Kris and Stephanie had run away a few days prior, so the crowd grew quiet when it was announced that they were on the phone. "You guys are where?" Carl asked, "Grand Junction?" Eventually they asked him if I was there, and the handset was passed to me.

Whispers began to fill the room as everyone speculated about what these girls could possibly be doing in a town like that. A few people went right back to day-partying, chalking this up to just another stupid idea of theirs. Kris told me about the sequence of events that had led to their current dilemma.

Apparently, it all started when she had seen a Job Corps van parked in her driveway. She immediately decided to make a break for it (as if Job Corps would have accepted her into the program anyway). Stephanie, having nothing better to do, decided to come as well. She knew people in California, so that's where they were headed. After being pulled over in Utah, though, the two had been detained as runaways. Stephanie's mom had then picked them up, but during a gas stop in Grand Junction, they had escaped on foot. Somehow, the girls had then found a kindred spirit (read: stoner) whom they could stay with while waiting for a ride.

This was where things stood. She was looking for someone to take them the rest of the way, and had immediately thought of the one person she knew couldn't turn down a good roadtrip. I told her that I would have to call her back...

Everyone immediately announced their reasons for not being able to help, but I wasn't concerned with that anyway. Instead, I quickly formulated a plan. I would go to Grand Junction alright...but after picking them up, I would begin driving east. It was obviously imperative that I had a full tank of gas at the outset. After that, I would have 4 hours of driving time to convince them to just go home. If I failed, I would instead have to end the trip with an attention getting display of circles and horn honking outside the local police station.

Everyone agreed that this was the best plan, so I called Kris back and got directions. Before we hung up, she thanked me for the help. "I knew you'd be there for me." Carl wished me luck, and I headed home to leave a note for my mom. In the note, I laid out my entire plan. I told her why I was doing this and when I planned to be back. I really did have the best intentions, you know. Of course...the road to Reno is paved with those.

I picked them up and, after filling the tank one last time, headed towards the highway. The moment of truth arrived when I reached a sign directing I-70's eastbound traffic into the right lane. I feared that by turning right, the girls would be alerted to my plan. To avoid the possibility of them jumping out of the car while it was stopped, I sped wildly through the yellow light and into the curve. Now that I had entered the highway going the wrong direction, the shit was surely about to hit the fan. I braced myself, but they simply laughed and made fun of my erratic driving instead. I had dodged a bullet due to their lack of perceptiveness, but they would eventually figure it out. That no longer mattered, though...what could they possibly do now that we were barreling down the highway?

We drove for over 2 hours. Every time we passed a sign marked INTERSTATE 70 EAST, my eyes darted towards the rear-view mirror, trying to judge if Kris had noticed. I cringed each time we passed a sign announcing the remaining mileage to Denver. Of course, it wasn't until we had reached Vail, 150 miles into our trip, that she finally noticed that something was amiss. She pointed out my error, somewhat suspiciously. "Oh shit," I said, feigning apologetic embarrassment. She then directed me to turn around at the next exit. I pretended not to notice as we passed it and then added a half-hearted, "Oops." It was a weak ruse to be sure, but she gave me one last chance. As I drove by the final Vail exit, I didn't even attempt an explanation.

This was when all hell broke loose. They both began screaming at me with all the power they could muster. Kris began crying hysterically as she yelled, asking me repeatedly why I was doing this. I continued to look forward stoically, refusing to answer any questions.

The verbal assault went on for several minutes as we sped away from Vail and ever closer to home. Finally, Kris did something drastic. Reaching over the seat, she put her hand on the gearshift and threw the car into park (to this day, I'm unsure exactly why this action didn't cause serious damage to the car). Next she grabbed the keys, turning and removing them. Suddenly, I found myself without power steering and brakes.

I slammed on the (now mostly useless) brakes, struggling to keep the car steady as we skidded along a bend in the road. As the vehicle begrudgingly came to a stop, they grabbed their things and exited.

Moments later they were on the side of the highway, thumbs extended, watching as trucks drove by. I fished my keys out of the back seat and went to reason with them. I tried to explain why I had tricked them, but they refused to listen. As another truck passed, they defiantly waved their outstretched thumbs towards it. At this point, I realized that I had to stop them from doing something severely stupid. I offered to actually take them to California, if they would just stop risking their lives hitchhiking. "We're in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, and you two just let me drive for hours in the complete wrong direction!" Unfortunately, this simply reminded them that they needed to first cross the highway if they were going to find someone headed west.

I followed as they ran across the dark highway, pleading with them every step of the way. If I didn't convince them soon, I was worried that some trucker would pick them up, and I would never see them alive again. There was no way I was going to let that happen. Eventually, I told them that they could even drive my car, if they would just get back in it.

They accepted after some deliberation and we started on our way again. They turned around at the next exit, and as we drove silently back towards Grand Junction, I realized that the abductor had somehow become the captive. Eventually we turned north in order to drive around Utah, as their previous experience in that state had left them paranoid.

This made perfect sense in their minds.