Soon, all seven of the men were in their respective vehicles and on their
way to their next destination. They pulled in to a truck stop that was
located on a busy highway. The other truckers saw the group off and
immediately drove away, wanting to get home and not have to worry about
driving through the storm. It was the only truck stop that the group had
chosen to stop at.

Frank and Quincy both began to walk at a quick pace toward their vehicles.
He had to keep his eyes up and on the road at all times. He knew that
something bad was about to happen.

The storm clouds above grew thick in the direction that the group was
moving, making the already narrow road even narrower. Emil led the group
toward the entrance of the truck stop and waited for the rest to arrive
before starting up. Once the first trucker had arrived, he immediately
began to unload the gasoline into the tank. After all of the gasoline had
been put in, the driver stopped and stood in front of Emil.

He was a tall, very muscular man with black hair and grey eyes that looked
almost blue. He had a thick mouth and dark brown eyes that were almost
red. When he spoke, he did not look at the group, but instead looked back
at Emil.

“You’re just another trucker who is out driving for my money, aren’t
you?”

“You’re the one who sent me.”

“Yes! I want you to help me with something.”

“I don’t do favors for anyone.”

“How about I just show you a shortcut to my warehouse?”

“That’s very sweet of you, but that is illegal. You know what you have to
do.”

“You’ve never seen anything illegal, have you? Well, I saw it for myself. I
was out driving that night. There was a thunderstorm a few days
back. The lightning struck right in front of me and I saw my truck
blown clean off the road. They are going to burn it.”

“You’re just going to let them do that?”

“It is what it is. Just like I let you guys burn my truck just so you can
pay me to drive you to your warehouse.”

“I assure you, I did not want to burn your truck. I also did not want to
burn your warehouse.”

Emil opened his truck door and climbed out. He sat back down on the seat
and looked at the man who was looking back at him.

“You’re crazy. You’ll never get away with this. They will catch us, you
sure know that. They will catch the whole group right back.”

“I know a shortcut. I have to take it.”

“You have to turn around!”

“I have to go around the truck.”

“No!” Emil screamed. He slammed down on the gas and roared off down the
road. After two minutes, he was at the edge of the trees, waiting for the
other trucks to catch up.

He pulled the lever on the key and the key in the ignition made a noise.
His engine roared to life. The other trucks caught up and soon the seven
men were on the road again. All seven of them had their eyes fixed on the
road ahead. Once the other trucks had caught up with them, Emil turned the
truck around and headed back down the road. Once the other trucks had caught
up, he pulled to the side of the road.

He was looking directly at the man who’s voice was still loud in his
head. He knew what was going to happen.

“Let me out here and you can make a deal with me. It will be much quicker
than driving through this.”

“I don’t want to make a deal with you.”

“Fine. Let me out and you will stop all this. Just let me out here and I’ll
let you all drive me to my warehouse.”

The man in the trucks was looking directly at Emil as the truck approached.

“You will let the people drive you through the storm.”

“Why should I let them?”

“Because they are people! They care about each other! They need to be
protected. If you let them drive you through the storm, they will care
about each other, they will stop for danger signals, they will stop for
traffic and they will do what is in their own best interests.”

“So they will try and kill each other?”

“Not at first. When they are not trying to kill each other, then they
will make a deal. After they have made a deal, then they will protect each
other.”

“It will be a good thing to have a storm and then end the danger for
everyone. Why do you think I built a warehouse here?”

“The good will of the people.”