The white truck in front of my two door sedan had removed the tailgate. In the bed were massive metal crates, secured by a thin ratchet strap. The fool behind me left mere inches between his bumper and mine. Most drivers were incompetent, birdbrains at the best of times, let alone overburdened. I gripped the steering wheel so tight that my knuckles turned white but I dare not ease up. One mistake could mean my demise. My imagination presented visceral images of potential outcomes.

  A bead of sweat formed on my forehead, aiming for my left eye but I was too scared to take my hand from the wheel. When the salt stung my eye, I could only grunt in pain, squinting my eye, limiting my depth-perception. I blinked my one eye with frantic desperation, while struggling to keep the other open.

  Finally, the pain subsided, allowing me the use of both eyes once more, in time for a gale of wind to thrash against my car. The sound of rumble strips filled the interior of my vehicle, giving me a terrible fright. I corrected the vessel with careful precision. My heart beat against its cage, attempting to escape this insanity.

  As if the truck and the wind weren’t enough, I looked into my rearview mirror to find a line had formed behind me. There had to be at least twenty cars bumper to bumper, disappearing over the horizon. My biggest fear had come to life! To be the first in line to a massive pileup of destruction and dismemberment. Which man had less luck than I?

  Why do the gods detest me so?

  Dark, savage looking clouds materialized overhead. Day turned to night. The world was cast into absolute darkness. Thin strands of red lightning shot through the sky, branching out as if it were coral. A searing bright light flashed over the land while rumbling thunder rattled the windows. My anxiety launched out of the exosphere. Rain poured out of the sky with intense fury, pelting my car like machine guns on D-Day. The wipers couldn’t work fast.

  The moron behind me began laying on the horn, challenging the rain for the most obnoxious sound. What did this guy want me to do? Couldn’t he see I was also a victim? They must not think about much of anything because they began holding the horn down. As if playing a game of Simon says, the others began following in turn. The sound began to drone in the vast emptiness of my mind. I felt my temper turn brittle but if I made even one mistake, London Bridge would fall.

  A most terrifying thought occurred to me. What if I had missed my exit? Was I stuck in an assembly line of quick moving death-mobiles? Unable to find a way out like a mouse trapped in an endless maze? Where was I going, anyway? I couldn't recall even getting into my car. What if I had died? I would remember dying and I didn't. I shuffled through my messy array of memories, good and bad. Had I been an exemplary person or a deplorable one? Was I sent to hell?.

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  Large chunks of frozen water, the size of my fist, hammered my vessel, jarring me out of my self-reflection. My pulse skyrocketed, transforming from Morse code to a flatlining electrocardiogram. The swelling crack snowballed from a miniscule sliver to a disgusting mess of veins. The cracks sparkled with a ghostly light as if it were a spiderweb, waiting to entrap its prey.

  Tempest winds rammed against the windshield. Glass exploded into the cabin. I flung my hands in front of my face, removing them from the wheel and thousands of microscopic daggers ripped into my arms, burrowing deep in my flesh. A scream escaped from my mouth, allowing glass entrance to my throat. I begged for air as I choked on the substance that was responsible for life. As cold air whistled through holes in my neck, more icy tendrils licked at the wounds on my face, freezing my tears.

  Time slowed. The world fell silent.. A calm amidst a storm.

  Another lightning bolt raced from the storm again. This time, striking at the truck in front of me, hitting the ratchet belt which secured the crates. The flimsy strap snapped apart, escaping into the storm. The wind shrieked a high-pitch tune. Thunder pounded the mighty drums, keeping a steady beat. The metal crates scraped against the metal truck, adding its own unique vocal to my requiem.

  A final showdown ensued. I could hear the wild west music playing on repeat in my head. My body refused my desperate pleas. I was prisoner in my own bag of failing organs, forced to witness my end in slow motion. The crates inched toward their freedom like a cheesy monster scene, picking up speed. One broke away from the pack.

  My reaper in shining armor launched into the air, shimmering with an eerie radiance. It floated toward me with a lazy elegance. The projectile connected with the hood of my car. I was flung from my seat through the windshield. Had I forgotten my seatbelt? I suppose I must have otherwise I wouldn’t be sailing through the air. Would it have even saved my life? So many thoughts flashed through my head but I couldn’t hold onto them.

  There was no tunnel of light, only darkness..

  ***

  The white truck in front of my two door sedan had removed the tailgate. In the bed were massive metal crates, secured by a thin ratchet strap. The fool behind me left mere inches between his bumper and mine. Most drivers were incompetent, birdbrains at the best of times, let alone overburdened. I gripped the steering wheel so tight that my knuckles turned white but I dare not ease up. One mistake could mean my demise. My imagination presented visceral images of potential outcomes.

  In the dark recesses of my mind, I felt the slightest tinge of familiarity.

  A bead of sweat formed on my forehead, aiming for my left eye but I was too scared to take my hand from the wheel. When the salt stung my eye, I could only grunt in pain, squinting my eye, limiting my depth-perception.

  Déjà vu. Hadn’t I been here before?

  I forced my thoughts back to the road, watching those metal crates, fighting for their freedom.