Story 232: "Drive, He Said" by Jennifer-Oksana

[wendelah1]

This short story is post-col, so you know what that means. It's short, because I sense some readers need a break from long fanfic. It's a fic that got recced everywhere from The Other Side to crack_van. It's quite good, but I guess that goes without saying.

"Drive, He Said" by Jennifer-Oksana
Pairing: Mulder/Scully (but Wendelah does not classify this as MSR)
Rating: R (her rating not mine—I'd rank it Teen for language)
Summary: Where do you go when there’s nowhere left?

The link is to her Wordpress Blog. This fic is also found on her Author's Page at Gossamer. If you can, send feed back to the writer, then come back and tell us what you think. The nomination post is always open for your suggestions.

Read Drive, He Said.

Comments

[wendelah1]

Hey, better late than never.

Does anyone remember: is "drive, he said" some kind of famous quotation? Guess I should go find out. It sounds borrowed, which is not a criticism.

I don't know how famous it is, but Google led me to this: Drive, He Said is the title of a 1964 book by Jeremy Larner and a 1971 movie directed by Jack Nicholson.

IMO, short, controlled tragedy works better than long pieces. Because you tighten your gut, and that hurts after a while. In that regard, I strongly warn against Everyone Having A Good Time (?), although Sabine is a very fine writer.

As is Shakespeare. I warn against Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Othello.

I don't know if I believe in life after death but I don't disbelieve. The ending is powerful to me because it's so understated. There's no long protracted death scene or declarations of mutual love or sex. Not that those can't work, but this works for me much better.

They've all been waiting for me, I realize as the next song comes up on the jukebox. It’s the Platters. It’s Twilight Time. The sea of people look at me expectantly, and then they part and there he is.

“You did it again,” I say in my best slightly-pissed-off voice.

“I’ve been waiting. It’s time to go,” he replies.

“Where are we going?”

“I think you know already,” he answers, almost smug. But I do know. “Are you ready?”

“No,” I reply nonchalantly. “But I think that’s the point.”

He nods. I realize I know the crowd already. I smile at my father as we all start moving to leave. He smiles back and salutes.

“Have you all been waiting?”

“Some longer than others,” he replies, handing me a helmet. “Let’s go.”

Route One oh One to the end of the world to the back of beyond beyond the sea beyond the shore beyond the stars where am I going and why doesn’t the radio work?

Love it. A truly unforgettable story.

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

We agree. It is a beautiful story.

Don't condescend to me about Shakespeare. He wrote plays that didn't take days to complete. And recall that I have the a Shakespearean expert friend in Philly. She's an ex-nun who kept her ruler.

I don't know heaven, nor does anyone else. But it would be lovely to see someone there who looked like David Duchovney.

[mogster495.livejournal.com]

My heaven is full of smart guys. Say what you will, Duchovny is a smart guy :)