The truck had only been shaking for five minutes, but for me it had been an eternity. I was still holding on, but the speed was so high that my strength was rapidly leaving me. The mountain road hadn't gotten to the steepest part yet, so the driver was pushing pedal to the metal as hard as he could, hardly breaking on the corners.
I, on the other hand, had a real chance of flying off in one of those corners. At one point I thought about trying to jump, but when I looked at the curbside, I saw the reflectors on the safety rail flashing in the darkness, and for some reason I changed my mind about jumping.
I should have waited for more serious turns, ideally hairpin turns. Then the driver would have to slow down, and I would have a chance to finally get off this frantic truck! And I had high hopes that it would happen before we even got to the fifth checkpoint.
I looked to my left-the woods were glimpsing. I looked to my right and shrank back - there was nothing there, just darkness and infinity. It would be great if I could go that way!
I grabbed on tightly, and slowly crawled toward the tail of the truck. Catching moments between bends and the truck shuddering in the bumps, I shifted my arms until my foot lost its footing.
Great.
The truck swerved to the right and immediately went into a left turn. The road went sharply downhill, and the ground and rocks flashed to the left. Then the truck swerved again, the steep turn indicator went by, and the driver hit the brakes.
I was pulled forward, but I held on again. My speed dropped sharply, I waited a few moments, and then immediately drove down. Hanging from the door of the truck, I looked at the road below my feet, took a deep breath, and unclenched my fingers.
The speed was really slow, but the impact nearly made me tumble and fall to all fours. The truck was making a right turn, and without waiting for the driver to see me, I jumped up and ducked into the roadside bushes in two jumps.
I sat and listened, and the truck, turbine whistling, slowly drifted away until it was gone for good.
Holy shit!
My soul suddenly felt light and my strength evaporated in a moment. I fell on my back, took an honestly stolen apple and took a good bite of it. Sour, I love that kind!