The small caravan pulled back out onto the highway and continued on a few minutes later. Long before they reached Webster the stalled traffic began to back up, and they lost a great deal of time winding their way through it, or where that was not possible, pulling into the center traffic divider to get around it.
Even the center divider, a narrow sloped grassy area double the width of the two lane highway, began to fill up with stalled vehicles, and several times they were forced to get around some other way. Fortunately the areas along the highway were crowded with small restaurants, shopping malls, and gas stations; the closer they got to Rochester. And they all had feeder roads. Roads that were mostly empty now.
The parking lots were fairly empty, and they managed to get around the stalled traffic that way.
When they reached Webster it was nearly 6:00 PM, and a light rain had begun to fall. The exit and entrance ramps were packed solid with cars, and impassable. As a consequence they were forced to drive the Jeeps down the side of the steep embankment to the road below. Some of the cars appeared to have either been trying to enter or exit using the wrong ramps, and the results had been catastrophic.
Most of the cars were crushed and blackened shells. A large gasoline tanker sat amid the wreckage. The tanker had apparently tried to exit the entrance ramp and had crashed and burned.
It looked as though gas, from the ruptured tanker, had spread the flames under the entire bridge, and everything had caught. Frank supposed that several of the cars gas tanks had probably exploded too, helping to fuel the inferno.
Once they had negotiated the steep and muddy embankment and driven out of Webster the stalled traffic eased up.
"Most likely everyone stuck to the main routes," John said. "I'd hate to see what the Thruway looks like though, it's probably packed tighter than a drum." The others nodded agreement.
Even though the stalled traffic had lessened, they were still forced to detour off the road several times to avoid accidents or vehicles that seemed to have been abandoned in the middle of the road. It was well after 8:00 PM when they reached the four corners in the small village of Fairport, and the sky was beginning to darken. The rain was coming down harder.
Frank angled the Jeep into a small gas station and they all ran towards the door which had been left propped open, thankful they were out of the rain.
They were no sooner inside, when the rain began to pelt the tarmac outside in great sheets. The sky darkened rapidly and a stiff wind kicked up, blowing the trash that littered the streets through the air.
Frank was staring out the wide glass window when suddenly the street lights began to glow. Within a few minutes they were all glowing brightly, illuminating the wind driven sheets of rain. Annie walked over and flicked on a switch next to the door, and bright fluorescent lights buzzed to life overhead. She clicked on several of the other switches next to the first one, and the outside sign, along with the pump islands lit up.
"Looks like you were right, Gary," Frank said. Gary, grinning, blew lightly on his finger tips and rubbed them on his shirt. "Elementary, my dear Watson," he said, still grinning.
He was still grinning a few seconds later, when Lisa began to point out the window and screamed excitedly.
"Look!" she exclaimed, "a car, people!"
Everyone quickly crowded toward the windows to look out.
A long, gray, older Lincoln sat at the curb idling, its wipers throwing great sheets of water from the windshield. The darkened side windows gleamed, reflecting back the bright glare of the station lights. Lisa, and several of the others were waving through the glass in an attempt to get the drivers attention.
"Where did it come from?" Frank asked, puzzled.
"I don't know," she replied. "I turned around and there it was. Aren't they going to come in?"
"Maybe they're afraid," Annie said, shrugging her shoulders. "They must see us."
Everyone stood silently for a few seconds staring out at the car. It still sat at the curb, and it appeared to Annie that the person or people inside it were not going to come in. Just as she had the thought though, the car reversed, and began to slowly back up towards the entrance to the station.
When it reached the station entrance, it pulled slowly onto the edge of the pavement and stopped.
"What are they doing," Mike asked, sounding slightly afraid.
Everyone else turned towards Frank expecting that he might be able to answer the question.
"I don't know," Frank said. "Could be they're afraid like Annie said, I guess."
"Might be better to flick off the inside lights," Gary said, in a low tone of voice. "It doesn’t look as though they intend to say hello." He peered out at the gray Lincoln.
Annie reached over and flicked off the inside lights.
Almost immediately the Lincoln's headlights came on and it pulled ahead slightly, angling the beams into the station interior. The lights flicked up to high beams, flooding the interior in harsh bright light. Almost as soon as the lights had flicked up however, they winked out.
Tiny spots floated in front of Frank’s eyes and he quickly blinked them away. The car was backing slowly into the road, away from the station.
"What the hell is he doing?" Dave asked, looking at Gary. "What the hell was that all about?" he asked again.
"Whoever it
