Looking Out for the Big One

Darcy was obsessed with a being of epic proportions and nearly limitless power. She was determined to find this immense creature that nobody else could seem to find. Something told her she must keep this pursuit a secret. When the time was right, she had faith that the being would reveal itself.

Darcy was on a trip in the country with her family. There was a smell of hickory in the air. Darcy stared out the window. She noticed there was a lot of space out here, maybe even enough for it.

The car pulled into the parking lot of a country store. There was a very large tent behind the store which piqued Darcy’s curiosity. An older woman was behind the counter. She was skeptical of tourists (rightfully so). Darcy peered through an open door leading to the tent.

“Do ye wan’ a jug?” said the woman at the counter.

“Sorry, what did you say?” asked Darcy.

“I said, ye wan’ a jug’er not,” said the woman.

Darcy could barely contain herself. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

“Is it in the tent!?” she asked. Excitement was barreling through her bones.

“Yes ma’am”

Darcy sprinted. This was it, the moment she had been waiting for, she would finally get to see… Bottles? Rows of large bottles with necks at the end. She could have filled them all with her disappointment. The old woman made her way to the tent.

“Ye wan’ try one?”

“Try what?” asked Darcy between sobs.

“Jus’ blow on the top’a one of these here jugs,” said the woman.

“Oh, well you see, I was hoping…” Darcy whispered something into the ear of the old woman. She gave a sideways look at Darcy.

“Can ye keep a secret?” Darcy nodded. In a low voice, the woman said, “they’ve got one of those at a gas station two stops down’a interstate.”

Darcy’s ears hummed, her toes tingled and the hair on her arms stood up. It was close! She hurried back to the store to ferry her parents to the car. She had thought of at least twenty different reasons they needed to stop at this gas station.

The woman returned to her post behind the counter. She asked herself, “what is it with these kids and them juggernauts?”