Laura frowned worriedly as she drove down the country road, having gotten lost a while back, thanks to the roundabout directions the GPs had given her.  She'd been intending to go for a drive to the beach, just to spend the day, and to add to her being lost, she didn't like the ominous knocking sound that was coming from her car either.<br/><br/>That was all she needed, her car to strand her out in the middle of nowhere, she thought grimly.  As if it had a mind of its own, or at least enjoyed the thought of tormenting her, the car gave a particularly loud clunk and the engine quit.  She knew it wouldn't do any good, but she tried restarting it anyway, and she was right.  A click was all she got for the effort.  She sat for a minute, debating on whether to stay here with the car or go looking for a town somewhere, finally deciding she'd stay here for a little while at least, and see if anyone might happen to drive by.  The area wasn't totally isolated, so she thought she might have a good chance, if she were patient.  She rolled down the window, electing to stay in her car for the moment, but wanting the breeze to help cool things a bit, since her air conditioner wouldn't work.  She tapped her fingers against the steering wheel, thinking that if no one had come by in half an hour or so, she'd go and look for help herself.