her.
Temporarily disoriented, she squinted, trying to make out the road ahead. She gripped the wheel and tapped the brakes more fervently. Her eyes darted from side to side, looking for something that would help her get her bearing. She was distracted by the way the snowflakes danced on the invisible wind currents, never thinning enough to reveal the world beyond. For a split-second, she thought she saw something unmoving despite the frantic gusts. Her eyes narrowed with effort as she tried to make sense of it. The wind shifted angrily and threw another blast of snow at her windshield. She flinched instinctively and whatever had held her attention was gone. She tried to tell her racing heart that in a second the snow would settle and she would regain her bearing. That would be a second too late.
Dori felt her truck lurch forward and she thought she was sliding, although it was hard to tell without a reference point. It felt as if she had been pushed, but was the wind that strong? She sensed that she was now traveling faster than before. She froze in her seat as her speed increased.
Automatically, she cranked the steering wheel opposite the direction she was skidding and her foot rammed the brake pedal. The snow lifted momentarily and then began to drift lazily toward the ground, a white comforter settling on the bed of snow. Dori saw the th Cri toick trees of the forest racing closer at the bottom of the hill. How was it possible that she was travelling this fast?
She could feel the adrenaline in her system. There was no way to stop. Her truck seemed to press toward the intimidating trees even faster. Thump, thump, thump, thump raced her heart; the truck sped impossibly faster. She had been going so slowly. The truck jerked forward as if it had been shoved; now she was hurtling toward the black wall of oak trees. This was going to be bad.
THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP. For a split second Dori only heard her heart. The sound of the twisting metal rang through the dark sky. The next scene unfolded in front of her eyes, as though she was outside of herself as her truck slammed into the trees. She heard the mournful groan of a large oak whose trunk had been nearly bent in half by the sudden impact of her vehicle. She watched as that same oak gave way to its injury and fell in slow motion across the roof of the pick-up. She heard, rather than felt, her own neck snap.
The morning was silent. Dori realized she was back in her body again and her eyes flitted around, trying to figure out what had just happened. She wanted to reach for her phone, but her body wouldn’t obey. She tried to draw in a deep breath to call for help, but the air caught in her throat. The world was spinning and she was helpless in the whirlpool. She sat there in the freezing quiet for a while, trapped and scared.
Slowly her senses awoke and she began to assess the situation. She heard the whistle of the wind as it enveloped the twisted shape of her car punctuated by the rapid assault of snowflakes flung through the air. Then the faint, slow thump of her heart was audible in her ears and it grew steadily stronger. A similar faint noise kept time with her heart. Something, probably blood, was dripping from her temple.
Her vision focused now that she was more under control. She couldn’t turn her head, but she was trying to catalogue everything she could see, attempting to assess the situation. She was wedged in the space between the tree trunk and the overturned treetop. She was staring straight at the clock, which now showed eight, eight, eight, no longer keeping track of the passing minutes. Her mouth awoke to a metallic taste. Her stomach rolled again and she was certain that she had bitten her tongue when the airbag slammed into her face. She sat immobile for a very long time.
After what seemed like forever, Dori heard the distant wail of an ambulance. Her heart jumped. Help was on the way! She heard some frantic yelling and tried to call out. Nothing
Temporarily disoriented, she squinted, trying to make out the road ahead. She gripped the wheel and tapped the brakes more fervently. Her eyes darted from side to side, looking for something that would help her get her bearing. She was distracted by the way the snowflakes danced on the invisible wind currents, never thinning enough to reveal the world beyond. For a split-second, she thought she saw something unmoving despite the frantic gusts. Her eyes narrowed with effort as she tried to make sense of it. The wind shifted angrily and threw another blast of snow at her windshield. She flinched instinctively and whatever had held her attention was gone. She tried to tell her racing heart that in a second the snow would settle and she would regain her bearing. That would be a second too late.
Dori felt her truck lurch forward and she thought she was sliding, although it was hard to tell without a reference point. It felt as if she had been pushed, but was the wind that strong? She sensed that she was now traveling faster than before. She froze in her seat as her speed increased.
Automatically, she cranked the steering wheel opposite the direction she was skidding and her foot rammed the brake pedal. The snow lifted momentarily and then began to drift lazily toward the ground, a white comforter settling on the bed of snow. Dori saw the th Cri toick trees of the forest racing closer at the bottom of the hill. How was it possible that she was travelling this fast?
She could feel the adrenaline in her system. There was no way to stop. Her truck seemed to press toward the intimidating trees even faster. Thump, thump, thump, thump raced her heart; the truck sped impossibly faster. She had been going so slowly. The truck jerked forward as if it had been shoved; now she was hurtling toward the black wall of oak trees. This was going to be bad.
THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP. For a split second Dori only heard her heart. The sound of the twisting metal rang through the dark sky. The next scene unfolded in front of her eyes, as though she was outside of herself as her truck slammed into the trees. She heard the mournful groan of a large oak whose trunk had been nearly bent in half by the sudden impact of her vehicle. She watched as that same oak gave way to its injury and fell in slow motion across the roof of the pick-up. She heard, rather than felt, her own neck snap.
The morning was silent. Dori realized she was back in her body again and her eyes flitted around, trying to figure out what had just happened. She wanted to reach for her phone, but her body wouldn’t obey. She tried to draw in a deep breath to call for help, but the air caught in her throat. The world was spinning and she was helpless in the whirlpool. She sat there in the freezing quiet for a while, trapped and scared.
Slowly her senses awoke and she began to assess the situation. She heard the whistle of the wind as it enveloped the twisted shape of her car punctuated by the rapid assault of snowflakes flung through the air. Then the faint, slow thump of her heart was audible in her ears and it grew steadily stronger. A similar faint noise kept time with her heart. Something, probably blood, was dripping from her temple.
Her vision focused now that she was more under control. She couldn’t turn her head, but she was trying to catalogue everything she could see, attempting to assess the situation. She was wedged in the space between the tree trunk and the overturned treetop. She was staring straight at the clock, which now showed eight, eight, eight, no longer keeping track of the passing minutes. Her mouth awoke to a metallic taste. Her stomach rolled again and she was certain that she had bitten her tongue when the airbag slammed into her face. She sat immobile for a very long time.
After what seemed like forever, Dori heard the distant wail of an ambulance. Her heart jumped. Help was on the way! She heard some frantic yelling and tried to call out. Nothing
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