on the road to big bend
the city lights gave way to darkness as i drove out of el paso late at night, southeast towards van horn. soon, it was just me in the left lane with the company of an endless stream of trucks in the right.
all of a sudden, directly in front of me, far in the distance, a lightning bolt found its way to the ground and lit up the sky around it.
as i continued driving, it became clear that the lightning was not alone: soon, flashes began appearing in front of me to the left and right as well, and it became apparent that i was driving straight towards the storm.
eventually, they were all around me, lighting up the sky in dark purple bursts and leaving mountain silhouettes briefly burned into my eye.
when i reached van horn, i turned off and continued driving down towards alpine. at that point, the drive became truly surreal. the road was utterly desolate and the thunderstorm was raging on. curiously, there was no rain, only thunderbolts and lightning.
i was really fucking creeped out, but what could do except keep on driving? i sped down the road at well over a hundred miles an hour, desperately wanting shelter from this raw elemental show to which i was the only observer.
i blazed through valentine, through marfa, into alpine, found a motel, got the hell inside, and went to sleep.