"Escape" Setting Description

Describe a setting in words. Use all five senses and make your reader experience the setting as if he or she were there.


Gray, ghostly glow permeates the darkness of the driver's side of the Ford Escape. The lights indicate all was well. The empty passenger seat is barely visible. The road makes a gentle, lulling rush as the vehicle's steady engine ensures continued passage down the dark highway. Mile markers bloom green in the night. The headlights radiate ever forward, pushing the black out of the way to show stripes of yellow and white with the occasional road kill.

Inside, there is a hint of new car smell mixed with sweat while the scent of French fries overpowers anything else. Her left hand holds the wheel tightly, the day's tension subconsciously discharging through her muscles. Occasionally there is the slight sound of stickiness as she releases her grip momentarily to allow her fingers to stretch. Then they rewrap around the cushioned steering wheel, finding the dent they just relaxed from.

Her right hand is busy digging in the paper bag which gives wrinkled cries of complaint. Her fingers search for another fry in the ever shrinking pile. Her thumb, index, and middle finger find a warm reward and bring it to her lips. She places the whole thing in her mouth against her incisors and molars, immediately grinding the fried potato to a mushy, salty/sweet mess in her mouth. She quickly swallows, not enjoying the treat, but rather eating as a way to diverge her thoughts. She reaches for the icy drink to her right, bumps the straw with her upper lip as her lips work to find purchase, then takes a long sweet, swallow.

She opens the window a crack, feeling the crisp air rush against her face and through her bangs. She takes a long, deep breathe in and releases it with a silent sigh. The night wears on as the day did, slowly.