I feel nothing. Hear nothing. Goose bumps inch across my skin. Nothing exists anymore. A black hole opens up in front of me as I watch the Pontiac bounce and tumble and roll, over and over, and everything is silent.
29AMY
I’ve been driving for what feels like hours now, and this road is going nowhere. I keep my eyes peeled for an exit, but the miles fly by and all I see is road and more road unfurling across the desert.What the hell?
I swerve to the side, kicking up dust as I go, and jump out of the car, shielding my eyes from the sun. I whip around. I have no idea where the hell I am. No signs. No cars. Nothing. Just sand and silence for miles to see.
I shudder.I should keep driving.I turn back to the car and freeze. That’s not mine.
Where’d my Pontiac go? What is going on?
My Firebird has vanished. Instead, a turquoise Ford Edsel is winking at me under the beating sun. A Ford Edsel?Nah.It’s only the lamest car ever made. I must be dreaming, I reason. Thismustbe a nightmare.
I screw my eyes shut tight and slap at my face, bidding myself to wake up. I peel open one eye. The Ford’s still there. I try to scream, but nothing comes out.
Wake up, Hitman! Wake the hell up!
I crouch down and hold my head in my hands, when suddenly, there’s a bang vibrating through my entire body, and I’m back in the Ford—back on that never-ending road.
I slam down on the brakes and screech to a standstill. There’s that banging sound again—louder, this time—and before I know it, I’m back behind the wheel in a flash, racing down the road, and on and on it goes like a nightmare loop with no beginning or end.
I swing back to the desert.
SNAP.
I whip a U-turn to head back the way I came.
BANG.
I drop my hands to my lap. The facts are, I’m screwed—or stuck, more like. I fiddle with the radio, but it’s the same song every time. Some Disney shit.
Okay… If this isn’t a nightmare, then I’m guessing I must be in hell.
I hit the gas as hard as I can, and drive in a straight line for what feels like hours. Time seems to be standing still; the sun high in the sky, never sinking below the horizon, and after a while, a sense of calm overcomes me. It feels weird, but it feels good, too. Little by little, I give in to it, letting the peacefulness ripple through me, washing away my moods, making me forget how sad I am about my dad, how mad I am about… Lewis.
As soon as his name pops into my head, the landscape around me changes. Suddenly, trees are sprouting on either side of the road, the clear sky clouds over with blues and grays, and I know this place from somewhere; the ghost of a memory nudges at the edges of my mind.
The moment stretches long and thin, the scenery drifting by in slow motion, when suddenly I’m floating by a wreck. I hit the brakes, but they aren’t working. I glance in the rearview mirror. Something about that car crash is tugging at me.
Time speeds up again. And then the wreck reappears. Followed by another, and another, until finally a light bulb flickers on. That’s my Pontiac.Stop!My Firebird is lying there by the side of the road,upside down with its wheels spinning in the air, windows shattered, thick black smoke rising from the battered hood. Next to it is a man. He watches as I cruise by, trying to wave me down.
Lewis!
I slam on the brake, desperate to find out what happened to my car, but nothing happens. The Ford just glides on by, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I can’t open the door. I can’t unfasten my seatbelt. Suddenly, that delicious sense of calm seems a whole universe away.
I can’t breathe. My lungs are tight and dry, there’s a weight bearing down on my chest, a heaviness crushing my skull. My vision narrows as dark spots blossom before my eyes, and just as I’m about to pass out, a shadow overtakes me.
My Pontiac…It’s right there in front of me, so close I could touch it. I smile. It looks good—not a dent or scratch in sight. Suddenly, the banging I heard earlier blasts through my eardrums. Glass shatters all around me as the Pontiac fishtails, flipping over and over, my heart catching in my throat with each new bounce, until it rolls to a stop upside down.
I scream.
This time, I can hear myself.
It’s the last sound I hear before the darkness unfolds around me and the world is blanketed in silence. For a moment, it feels as if I’m floating.
And then I come crashing down to the ground.
“Can you hear me?”
