Page 20 of Road to Absolution

Not that I would even be given a chance.

Another bullet rang…

The shot tire had my truck swerving in a deadly manner, making it impossible to control. No matter what I did, the vehicle now soared toward a tree I knew well.

It was the same one that had taken Kenny’s life.

Can I speak for everyone who has ever been on the brink of death? Fuck no, but I can tell you what dying was like for me: it was the most terrifying, hopeless, jarring experience of my life.

My whole world had shifted so fast I truly didn’t even have time to blink.

And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

Every single detail of the huge oak tree was crystal clear. Its size. Its strength. How my truck nor I were any kind of threat as I surged toward it…

Then everything went black.

When my eyes drifted open, I could see the truck and I were now a part of the tree’s barked trunk.

As I knew it would, the tree had won.

It stood sturdy.

I was… broken.