The Trunk

It was as black as the Oregon coves without a light, but somehow driver #32 got the top of the spare tire well that he was sprawled across open. There isn’t much room to move for a six foot man trapped inside the closed trunk of a 1994 Dodge Spirit. He had a bad gut feeling about the passenger that he just picked up, as soon as he started talking. The man was standing in front of Pete’s Place, around 10:00 PM, on a slow Monday night. When you only have $60.00 on your book, after 8 hours on the streets, it makes you take chances to pay your $75.00 lease, plus the fuel.

“I need to go to Albany,” the guy told him.

“I need money up front, anytime I leave town,” he told him. “It’s the company policy.”

“How much do you need?” The man asked, as he pulled a wad of cash out of his pant pocket.

“Albany should be around $50.00,” driver #32 told him.

His passenger handed him a hundred dollar bill and said that he could give him the change after they got to his destination. He said that he wasn’t sure of the address, but knew how to get there, if they took I-5 to the first Albany exit. After he called it in, driver #32 began driving, until they arrived in Albany. His passenger had him drive past downtown, and head South, until they ended up on a gravel road, where the man told him to stop.

After pulling out a gun, the passenger had driver #32 empty all his pockets, and took all his money and car keys. Then he had the cabbie get inside of his trunk, while he closed it with him in it. The man then drove the cab for about 10 minutes, until he stopped and turned the motor off. Driver #32 heard the car door slam and, waited about 10 minutes, when he began to holler and bang on the trunk, hoping that someone would hear him. After unsuccessfully exhausting himself, he decided to try another approach, so he began to move the spare tire cover, so he could reach his hand inside. He finally found a tire iron, and managed to pry open the trunk, where he found himself in a field. The keys were still in the ignition, so he started the car, and after contacting the dispatcher, he drove to the police department, in downtown Albany, to file a report about the robbery.