The Drive

Prompt for 8/1:
Write a story that includes the words: tractor, rock, kick.

Roy let out a sigh as he shifted gears in his tractor-trailer. A cigarette burned in the ashtray to his right. He'd burned through almost an entire pack in the last two hours. It had been a long night and was far from over. As he cranked the rock music, Roy began to weigh over the consequences of his actions tonight if he were caught. He'd done this at least fifty times already and the outcome was never good.

Roy Huntsman was a simple man. He had a wife and two kids that lived in Texas and he loved them with all his heart. His home was more than adequate and life didn't seem like it could get any better.

The only problem with having a lot of good things in life is that you have a lot of good things to lose. His wife was diagnosed with lung cancer. The bad kind. Never smoked a day in her life, but so life goes. Roy made good money, but not good enough for the mountain of hospital bills that came with aggressive cancer.

He put on his turning indicator and pulled into a truck stop. He guessed this was about twenty miles from the border in El Paso, and he wanted time to collect himself. He got out and gave one of the tires of his trailer a kick. It told him nothing but the action helped him gather his thoughts.

He'd done honest work his whole life until tonight, but he loved his wife and would die for her if need be. Behind a false wall in the trailer there were about fifty people trying to make their way into the U.S.

The skies were clear, and hopefully so would his way past the border...

Word count: 298