We’ve all been there: that moment when what looks like an easy shortcut to save gas and time turns into a maze of curves and depressions. What was initially a simple cut-through becomes a frustrating experience of confusing GPS directions, unlikely road signs, and the dreadful realization that we are completely, hopelessly lost. What if that alternate took you somewhere far stranger and more disquieting than a few miles on the mileage counter? What if it led you to a place where the essence of reality starts to dissolve? There is a thrill of fear in doubt, an irritable wonder that draws us along unknown paths. Imagine yourself driving along a dark, deserted road, the only light distant from you a bit from your headlamp to guide you. Trees are ghostly, brooding shapes, and crushing silence exists but for the sound of your engine. Then, off in the distance, you see it: a neon sign creaking in the wind, its light pulsing with the promise of food, gasoline, and a temporary end to the isolation of the highway. But coming closer, you see things are not as they seem. The building itself is a ruin, windows boarded up, and there is a heavy atmosphere of an unseen presence of fear. What should be a place of refuge from the storm could instead demonstrate a disturbing reminder of dangers lurking in the shadows. The siren song of a detour is the promise of ease, of journeying from A to B with the minimum amount of trouble. But sometimes, the allure of the unknown is so great that it cannot be resisted. And occasionally, those detours take us where we never intended to go, where the laws of the road and the laws of reality no longer apply. And in those moments, we dangle poised on the cusp of the familiar and the surreal. “Not all those who wander are lost,” wrote J.R.R. Tolkien. But in this case, maybe they’re just about to stumble upon something they wouldn’t want to find. It’s a fine line between adventure and danger, where every twist and turn can expose a truth that escapes us in our ordinary lives. If you like reading narratives that follow the dark possibilities waiting around a side street, try reading “OINK” by James Konrath. This novel takes one unstructured diversion and introduces the reader down a path of wacky oddities. Venture out of your comfort zone because sometimes the most thrilling escapades are just around the corner.