I pushed my foot on the pedal and rushed us through. The booming increased.
As if the universe had it in for me, both wipers now stopped working. I flipped the switch back and forth as snow and ice smeared over my window.
“Fuck.” I rolled the window down and wiped in front of me with my gloved hand, barely going three miles an hour if that. I just needed to drive three damn miles. If it had been daylight and no snow, I would’ve walked the rest of the way. But the night was too cold, dark, and dreary.
“Okay. We are not stopping.” I could barely see through the window, but I knew I was still on the road and heading forward.
I switched on my high beams, slicing rays of light through the snowy woods surrounding Gio’s private road. “Either way, we are going to zoom forward.”
The engine clicked again. Smoke rose from the hood.
“Or we’re going to roll the fuck forward, but we are not stopping or going back.”
Getting bold, I pushed my foot down on the gas, hoping to rush the process. More clicks came. No matter how hard I pushed, when I checked the speedometer, it read that I was only going ten miles an hour.
Ten is better than none.
More smoke billowed from the hood. At this point, I was wiping the goddamn front window with my hand as it hung outside of the car. Meanwhile, my foot was stuck to the damn floor to keep the car moving enough to get us there. And finally, with the smoke rising from the car, the snow falling on the window, and the ice smearing on the glass, I might as well have had my damn eyes closed as I tried.
The view teased me. Blurry images moved ahead, almost letting me know where I was on the road before blocking my eyes out with snow. Nature was playing a cruel game with me; one I would win or die trying.
Then the clicking mingled with the booming as if the engine had just been tuning its instruments, before giving me the real show. So loud. The engine was so freaking loud. I was sure Gio and anyone else on his property could hear me coming his way.
What a great entrance I’m making. Hey, Gio, I know it’s past midnight, but don’t you love the smoky gasoline scent in the air? Yeah? That’s my car. Oh, and by the way, listen to that jazz band playing a song called Battered Battery and Destroyed Carburetor. Such a catchy tune that just rips away your eardrums.
I pushed down on the gas to pick up speed, giving up on being careful. At this point, I probably only had ten or so more minutes before the car gave up. I didn’t even know what I would say to the rental place. I didn’t want to have to call them. I just wanted to take a hot shower and fall into bed.
I pushed on the gas again. The car sped up too soon. The tires slipped on the icy road.
“Shit!” The car zigzagged then spun around in circles, the tires doing an ear-splitting screech. The movement was too fast, too quick. Too out of control. “No! No!”
I tried to get control. The passenger side slammed into something—a tree, a hill, a goddamn rock—I had no idea because my forehead hit the steering wheel right after impact. Pain shot through my head. The window cracked. Metal crunched. Steel whined against splintering wood. The odd smell of gasoline and tree sap filled the air. The engine boomed, shoving out thick black smoke. And then a load of snow fell onto the car.
Fuck.
The car came to an abrupt halt. My neck ached. I looked down at my jeans as a red mark blossomed on my thigh and a slow throbbing pain followed.
Before I could breathe in, my airbag released, knocking me in the forehead. Shit! Pain rose in my chest. Everything went dark besides the one headlight that was still on. I had no idea where I was or what I’d hit.
Liquid dripped down the side of my face. I touched it with my fingertips and brought them around to the front of my face.
Blood.
I tried to get out of my seat, but the belt kept me stuck. Shattered glass was sprawled all around me. I was sure I’d been cut or worse. Cold air and snow whooshed in, freezing every inch of my skin, cutting me down.
I took in great waves of air, trying to clear my head, desperately needing to save myself. And the whole time only the sky and stars witnessed my demise.
What the fuck? Please, don’t let this be it. Please, don’t let this be the end.
I breathed and the cold just burned the shit out of my bruised lungs. My car had taken a hit and I’d gotten the brunt of that crash.