• “Hello, this is On Star, how may we help you?”

    The robotic sounding voice was somehow calming to Steward’s ears. He stood outside his big red truck, examining the fallen log in his path. It was too big for him to move, and his four-wheel-drive couldn’t quite get over it. He’d tried; failed; and got two flat tires. Now, with only one extra tire and only a muddy trail to guide him back, he finally asked for directions.

    “Hello.” He said poking his head into the truck window so as to be heard. “Can you please tell me where I am?”

    “One moment please.”

    The voice stopped for several minutes. Steward could almost picture a person at a computer, mapping out his exact location. “I’ll be out of here in no time.” He assured himself, complimenting his idea about calling On Star as he kicked himself about not doing it sooner.

    “You have entered a danger zone.” The voice declared from inside the truck again.

    Steward laughed a bit before asking, “And what would that mean?”

    “Our customer’s are our highest priority.” The voice ignored his question.

    “Hey! What’s this danger zone thing?” He asked it, getting a little annoyed at the way it ignored his question.

    “Code orange. We will now morph your vehicle to the desired escape unit.”

    “What-“He began, but cut himself off as the window started going up on its own. He yelled and pulled himself away, backing up. The truck suddenly rose off the ground, bouncing up on newly pumped tires. The front and rear bumpers thickened, growing what appeared to be fur. Upon closer observation, it appeared to be a type of padding, while soft to the touch, would not yield inwards at all. He yelped and jumped back again as panels slid away on the bumpers and long steel came out, not an inch from his hand. The bumpers clicked, and out slid a longer bumper, surrounding the whole bottom of the truck with the same defense. “What is this nonsense?” He muttered to himself.

    The sound of the robotic voice came again as the window rolled down. “Transformation complete. Please enter the vehicle.”

    “Hell no!” Steward yelled out, backing up. “This is way too weird!”

    He heard a sudden beeping from inside the vehicle. “Code yellow. Two humans are approaching you quickly from North North-East. They are classified as dangerous. We will now deploying weaponry for your defense.” A panel on the back of the truck slid back to reveal a cache of weaponry, from daggers and swords, to guns and crossbows. “Please prepare for battle.”

    “There are people here?” He asked, and sure enough, he heard a rustling in the bushes. He smiled despite his situation and ran around the truck to the spot. He stopped dead. Not 20 yards from him were two tribal people. They wore nothing at all, and were painted with weird designs. Their hair was long and raggedy. They wore long necklaces with bones and beads on them. They yelled something when they spotted something, and one of them raised his spear.

    He turned and ran back to the truck. A spear flew by him, and would’ve hit the truck. The engine roared to life in an instant, backing up and allowing the spear to pass harmlessly by. Steward ran to the door, opening it as another spear whizzed by his arm. He climbed in quickly as the men ran at him, daggers drawn. Inside the vehicle, the seatbelt clicked in front of him. “Please hold on.”

    The warning did nothing to help. The car started forward, picking up speed. They were headed for the log again! This time however, he heard a crushing sound and the car only felt like it hit a small pothole. Steward looked back to see two crunched marks in the log. He looked forward to see more of the tribal people coming from the forest ahead of them. He reached for the steering wheel to swerve away, but it wouldn’t budge. “Why can’t I do anything?” He yelled desperately.

    “We have taken over manual control of your vehicle for your own protection. Please keep your hands and arms inside the vehicle at all times.” The voice answered routinely.

    He screamed as the truck made preside turns, weaving in and out of the first group. Another group up ahead was far too bunched up to avoid however. “We will now activate devise 131.” He heard the voice say.

    “No! What’s happening now?” He began to complain when the spikes retracted. He readied himself for the screams of the men falling victim to this possessed vehicle, shutting his eyes. He opened them after a few second of silent ‘thuds’ and was quite surprised by what he saw. Out of the holes where the spikes were, a balloon covering the whole of the truck except for the top half had popped out. He could see the tribal men bouncing off and landing harmlessly into the bushes. There were those who landed back on the road, but they were easy to avoid.

    The vehicle rode on at an easy pace now, the worst of it done. Eventually it came to a road. “Please take this road Eastward for 34 miles. Then you will come to an exit to a small town where you can find your way.”

    “Thank you.” He said, stuttering with relief.

    “Your vehicle will now be filled with gas so you will not remember any of this.”

    “Thank y- Wait! What?” He yelled out as a yellow gas poured out from the fans.

    The windows opened and the gas cleared out. Steward was left there looking around dazed and confused. His vehicle was back to normal, but he had never realized it was odd in the first place. “Where am I?” He asked, wondering if he had fallen asleep or something.

    “Please take this road east for 34 miles. You will then come to an exit leading you to the town you are looking for you.”

    “Oh right. I remember now. Thank you.” He said with a grin, starting up the engine again.

    “Please remember to use On Star if ever you are lost again.”

    Steward rode off, never realizing the true power of On Star.