The Endless Highway, Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Willow woke up as her mother pulled onto the highway. “Where are we?” She mumbled sleepily.

“Portland, honey. You didn’t sleep long. Why don’t you close your eyes a little longer?” Her mother suggested, adjusting the rear view mirror to make eye contact with her daughter.

Willow shrugged. She supposed it might be worth a try. Not like anything interesting was bound to happen while she slept, right?

***

One moment Brett was rocking out to the music, the next he was being thrown against his seatbelt as his dad hit the brakes and swerved dramatically to the side. His mom screamed and threw her hands up in front of her face as small glass particles from the windows flew through the air.

Brett ducked lower to hide behind the passenger seat in front of him and heard the airbags pop violently out of their confinement, throwing plastic and glass everywhere.

He felt the car’s windshield glass hit and stab his shoulder. He moaned aloud in pain and his mother’s cries joined his. He looked down and saw a large shard buried deep in his shoulder blade, blood pouring from the wound and sliding stickily down his body. His father grunted as the car crept to the side of the yellow line in the middle of the highway and another car barrelled into the side, sending them careening away and leaving tire marks in their wake.

Brett heard a loud snap as they jerked to the side, and looked to see his mother’s neck at a weird angle; then his father’s eyes rolling back slightly, probably due to unconsciousness.

Suddenly, the roof started lowering itself, a loud grinding, screeching noise coming from on top of the car, and pushing his father’s head down, further and further until another snap echoed in the chaos around him.

Brett unbuckled and pressed his chest against the carpeted floor as the roof touched the top of the driver and passenger seats and came to a stop.

Then, and only then, did Brett let himself begin to cry.

***

Willow tensed as she noticed the car drifting slowly into the other lane. She didn’t know why her mother was more focused on Ruby than on the road, she was usually so careful, always watching the road.

Then, the tension turned into a bubbling scream as their car slammed into the other car in the opposite lane.

Willow hunkered down and watched in horror as the glass smashed and threw itself at her mother, digging itself into her skull, and screamed louder as some buried itself in her own arms.

She heard Ruby whimper and then yelp as the car kept rolling and tumbled over the vehicle they had crashed into. Screaming even louder, she felt herself turned over and over, her seatbelt the only thing keeping her rooted to her seat.

Poor Ruby was being flung all over the place, a large golden blur of fur flying everywhere. Willow cowered, trying to grab onto something to keep herself from going airborne, too, as Ruby’s tail whipped her in the face, leaving a violent red mark across her cheek.

“Mom!” Willow cried out, and clamped her hands over her ears. Noise… it was everywhere. Smashing and screaming and yelling and crying. Screeching and squealing and crunching and whimpering. It was horrible… so, so horrible. Glass was being flung everywhere, and the airbag popped out at the last moment and sent plastic, grey shards around, along with plenty of shrapnel.

Willow scrunched her eyes tighter and felt the car come to a rest. Opening her eyes, she was completely disoriented, but soon found herself to be upside down. She silently observed the scene in front of her, in complete shock. Her mom’s head was smashed against the steering wheel, blood pooling around her from the hit to the head. Ruby was laying on the ceiling, a limp pile, completely still. Willow had a strange feeling neither would ever move again. She looked away, feeling tears drip and slide out of her eyes. Suddenly, her seatbelt gave out, a soft click letting her go as she plunged headfirst towards the ceiling of the car.