Goats on the Jericho Road
I woke up when Vern said, “Whoops.”
I straightened up in the seat and rubbed my eyes and saw nothing beyond the headlights. Total darkness ahead, total darkness behind.
“What do you mean ‘whoops’?”
“Brakes went out,” said Vern, pumping the brake pedal against the floorboard.
I judged we were going about fifty miles an hour. I said, “Dammit, Vern, you were…