A little something New...

Today, I am going to try something a little different. Not something really new to blogs, as I have seen others do this before. Something a bit new for me though. I thought that perhaps for the next few days or so, I might write a short story for you. I have no idea what it will be about. I have no beginning, no ending and no clue where it will take me. This is how I write all of my novels also. We will be surprised together. So if you will, come along with me on a journey. Let's see where it will take us. Always, Darrel

Ten miles, the sign had said. He was certain he had walked much further than that by now. Two cars had passed him in the last hour and a half. One slowed as if to pick him up, speeding away as he reached for the door. The second car was filled with high school kids out for a joy ride. They had simply swerved to try and hit him. Brushing the dust off of himself, he ruffled his long black hair to make sure he had no sand fleas hiding inside. If he had cut his hair before leaving Dayton, maybe, just maybe he would have been picked up by now.
Derek Sewald thought about the events that had started him on this trek across the country. He had given Mosh Enterprise the best part of his twenties. A skit in the service and straight to them, manufacturing steel rods for buildings was all he knew. It had been tough work, sometimes his arms would ache from a long days work, but it was honest work. His arms were toned like the hardened steel he worked with and his chest taught as a Marines bed skirt. With baby blues to boot, he was every woman's dream and every mans nightmare.
After ten years of long hard work, they had simply said they didn't need him anymore. Jobs were failing and work was hard to find. He had tried his hand at a few other jobs, saw mills that went under, a cabbie for a time. He even flipped burgers for a while. An honest enough job and no less hot and sweaty than his steel working days, but not something he could hold with. He woke one morning, eleven days ago, packed what he considered needed items and shucked the rest into the green bin behind his apartment. The best of his twenties and it all fit in a Marine duffle bag and a back-pack. Not much to show for so much sweat and muscle pain. He set out in the early dawn and never looked back.
He saw the car coming over the hill. It was miles away when the sun first reflected from the Chrome on the fender. Dust swirls in the sky are all that told him it was still coming when it dipped behind the hills. Were the high school kids coming back for a second try at hitting him? Maybe some old farmer bringing his things to some far away town. He didn't much care really. It was coming towards him which translated into, going the wrong direction for him.
She came rushing back to his thoughts. He never really stopped thinking about her. He knew all of the reasons her mother had taken her away from him. He was a good father but a poor husband. He worked hard so they had it all, but somewhere in the mix of things, he had left her mother lonely one too many times. Her last letter to him came just as he was being told he needed to move on. He had saved no money as all he made went to Carrie Ann Pisk so she could care for Nina. She hadn't asked for any of it. He simply felt it was hers to have. Eleven years old now, she had her daddies dreams and her mothers ambitions. A poor mix that would leave her where he was today. Alone and regretful. Wishing he had done more with their lives than worked to live.
The letter was short and left him with nothing more than worry and a feeling of needing to reach her soon. "Daddy, she has done it again. This time I fear she is in too deep to get out. She still loves you, I know she does. Please come help us. She would kill me if she knew I had written you. I need you Daddy... We need you. Love your little Nina." What else could he do. His daughter needed him.