The Ultimate Red Light

"What is that?" the little girl asked her mother, pointing to the red light in the sky.

"I don't know!" said her mother, Cindy, a little impatiently, as she tried to look and drive at the same time.

As the mother caught sight of it, she slowed the car and pulled to the side of the road to get a better look. The red light was moving very slowly, and it appeared to be hovering over the small town of Smithsburg. On the deserted road, late at night, this was a disturbing sight. Although the light was moving slowly, it was moving. It seemed to be getting larger.

While mother and daughter watched the red light, another car sped past them, not appearing to notice the red light until the driver screeched to a halt almost directly under it. Then, in the blink of an eye, the car just disappeared. Before the mother could catch herself, she shouted, "What the hell?"

At the same time, her daughter gasped, and asked, "Mommy, what happened to the car?"

As she put the car into gear, the mother said, "I don't know, baby. Is your seat belt fastened?"

The little girl said, "Yes! Go fast, Mommy. I'm scared!"

After executing a U-turn, the mother floored the gas pedal as the light moved slowly but steadily closer. A pick-up truck drove past. The mother honked and flashed her bright lights to warn the other driver, but she was thanked by a shouted curse and a middle finger, so she kept going as fast as she could. As she neared the curve in the road that would take her out of sight, she could hear the squeal of the truck's brakes. When she glanced in the rear-view mirror, she saw that the truck was no longer there.

She looked at the road in front of her again, but looked up again quickly at her daughter's inarticulate shout of surprise. The light was gone. She slowed the vehicle, looking for any sign that there was still something behind them but running without the red light, but there was nothing but the starry sky, the quiet town and the deserted road.