| "Freeway Games" | |
|---|---|
| Author | Orson Scott Card |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Published in | Gallery |
| Publication type | Periodical |
| Media type | Print (Magazine) |
| Publication date | 1979 |
"Freeway Games" (aka: "Hard Driver") is a short story by Orson Scott Card. It appears in his short story collection Maps in a Mirror. Card originally published this story in the November 1979 issue of Gallery magazine.
Freeway Games is about Stanley's many long drives home. Stanley plays freeway games on his way home to pass the time. But one day he follows a woman for quite a while. The woman, very well aware that he is following her, freaks out and desperately tries to get rid of him. Whether she speeds up or tries to weave through traffic, Stanley continues to follow. But as they approach a dangerous sharp turn at night, Stanley slows down, cautious of the turn, while the woman speeds up. She ends up rolling her car, instantly killing her. Stanley calls the police and warns them of the incident, but does not mention that he was the cause of her death. Stanley gets a rush by the incident, and decides to follow more people.
Stanley continues to play his following game with multiple people, each dying while trying to escape him. One night Stanley has some spare time before going over to Liz's (his lover) house, so he decides to go follow someone on the freeway. He pursues a woman in a red Audi. The woman tries multiple dangerous maneuvers to get rid of Stanley. The chase ends when the woman tricks Stanley into driving into a ravine and killing himself. The perspective changes to the woman, who also plays freeway games. She has killed four people by doing tricking people like she tricked Stanley. It then reveals that the woman was late for a date, referring to Stanley's lover, Liz.
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