Those That Slither | ON HOLD

Five

What an asshole!

A very heated Leah sat behind her steering wheel, speedometer rushing further and further to its limits. The engine growled, the concrete below hummed as her tires rotated over it and the low bellow of the wind whipped over her roof like a tornado.

A storm was inside her mind, whooshing around the thoughts and memories causing a mess of her state of mind. She was speeding which she never did and in no particular direction. The first road she saw she hopped on and took it for as long as it lasted.

Fortunately for her paranoid side that feared being pulled over, especially since she was doing 85 in a 40mph zone; the road she was on was a country road that traveled beside the highway. In between trees she could see shadows and each time they were noticed it made her foot shiver on the gas pedal. 

Whatever was going on needed to stop. If she could make it all come to an end as easy as hitting the brakes on her car, it would be perfect.

But she'd be hitting them for another reason and much sooner than she expected. In a flustered non focused zoom, Leah didn't notice the deer jump in front of her headlights until it was too late.

Beady eyes and long legs were all she saw before a loud thump hit the grill of her car, smashing it like a soda can. Hitting the brakes did nothing but swerve her car around. Glass crackled and the sound of rubber sliding screeched. 

All she could do was scream. Circling like a carnival ride, her body slammed from the door to her seat despite wearing a seatbelt. Even her head was banged up leaving her poor brain bruised.

In a matter of seconds, it was over. Her car sat in a cloud of smoke and dust, beaten up on the side of the road. As for her, she sat still and in shock. Her heart hammered nearly coming out of her chest. The uprise of dust, dirt and smoke clouded up the air around her car, engulfing her in a dusky bubble.

With hands shaking, Leah felt herself for any injuries. Luckily nothing seemed to bleed, but her body ached terribly. She leaned back enough to unbuckle her seat belt and tried to see if there was any sign of life outside, but every window was still clouded up.

"Oh shit," She closed her eyes, leaned on her steering wheel and tried to catch her breath. "You're alive," she whispered, "It was just a deer."

As the rhythm in breathing began to slow, her ears perked to a strange sound. A hissing through the air made her stomach sink and jerk her head away from the unit. To her surprise, she didn't assume it was more black magic snakes approaching.

Leah's eyes scanned the pit of her car, gauges and all. Her lights were still on but her car had stopped running. One of the service lights was on, the airbag symbol blinking like a Vegas street sign. The painful bag of safety hadn't deployed.

Her eyes widened. She would be damned if it went off far too long after the initial accident. She had seen it happen before and it did some real damage even if it were supposed to save lives. The hissing, it had to be the fluke spiraling back into business. It was going to explode soon.

Snatching her purse from where it had fallen on the floor, she tried to open her door. To her dismay, it wouldn't give. She cursed under her breath jiggling the handle, hitting the unlock button and trying it again. Nothing. She pushed herself over the console and tried the passenger door and when it didn't give in either, Leah found herself trying both back doors as well. What kind of damage...?

The hissing grew louder. At least in the back seat of the car the air bag couldn't destroy her head. She could at least wait and then try to figure something out. A light bulb flicked on. She could call for help and by the time they arrived, the damned doors would be open.