Final Destination
How To Disappear Completely
I got into my car and pressed down on the accelerator, causing the car to speed up quickly.
It was a shitty day, and I finally wanted to get home. The day was slowly ending, while the sun finally wanted to retire after the long, sunny summer day.
After a short drive, I unfortunately ended up in a traffic jam. Visibly annoyed and bemoaning my fate, I finally decided to put on some music.
The slow guitar intro to Radiohead’s “How to Disappear Completely” rang out from the flawless Bang & Olufsen speakers in the full melancholy spectrum.
I got tired of waiting and started looking for an alternative route on my mobile phone. Time was too valuable to lose in a work traffic jam.
After a while, the app showed me an alternative route that I hadn’t seen before. It seemed to take me through a completely unfamiliar area, but I didn’t care. I wanted to get away. Away and out of here.
Surprisingly, the blue button on the map app didn’t say “Go” but “Final destination”. I pressed it and turned out of the traffic jam at the next opportunity.
“I’m not here,” Thoms York’s voice came from the speakers. How familiar the feeling was. Hopefully, I will be home soon.
As I had noticed, the streets were almost eerily empty for rush hour.
A tunnel appeared before me after the road took a sharp left turn. I drove into it as the navigation system indicated.
The tunnel was a single lane, so I saw no oncoming traffic. It seemed very new and modern. There was no graffiti on the walls, and the tunnel sides were well-lit.
The music seemed to be on an endless loop because after the song ended, it started again.
I remembered that I had been in this tunnel for almost five minutes. “Does it have an end?” I wondered.
The lighting in the tunnel either didn’t seem to be completely finished in this area, or it was broken. It was getting darker.
After ten minutes of driving and the third “How to disappear completely”, I realised there was no traffic at all in the tunnel. The rear-view mirror showed me an increasingly dark and empty tunnel.
It was getting even darker, and the lights seemed to work only at the edge of the carriageway. “This isn’t happening,” sang Thom, echoing my thoughts.
Twenty minutes in a deserted tunnel in a big city? Impossible. What was going on here? The lights in the tunnel went out.
“In a little while
I’ll be gone”
I felt anxiety and fear slowly rising inside me. Where the hell was I? Only the headlights of the car illuminated the walls of the tunnel.
“The moment’s already passed
Yeah, it’s gone”
The dashboard lights in my car switched off, but the music continued unperturbed. I didn’t know what to do. It was too narrow to turn around; I just wanted to escape.
“I’m not here
Strobe lights and blown speakers”
The spotlights went out, and the music went off with a “crack” sound, as if at Thom’s command.
I sat frozen with fear in absolute darkness. It was dead silent, and I could see I wasn’t going any further. Panic spread.
“Reached the final destination” was the last thing I heard.