The windscreen wipers swished rhythmically across the windscreen of Avi's Chevy Silverado pickup, temporarily clearing the snowflakes that insisted on flying right back onto the windscreen a second later. The young man was having an incredibly hard time seeing in front of him and was driving at a speed of about 20 miles an hour, if that.

Avi squinted his eyes, trying to read the road sign he had just driven up to. 42 miles to town. Shit. At the pace he was driving due to the insane weather it would take him another two hours to get there! Avi sighed deeply and ran a hand over his tired eyes, and down over his beard. He was exhausted. He had spent the entire morning driving, and now he was back on the road again. Maybe he shouldn't have left his father's place in such a hurry... but he just couldn't stand the thought of sharing small talk with Ingrid after she broke the news about selling the house.

Avi grabbed his water bottle and unscrewed the cap, taking a few gulps while keeping his eyes on the road. His stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him that he hadn't eaten a decent meal since breakfast and he needed sustenance. Why did a blizzard have to hit today of all days? The bearded man reached over to the glove box, still watching the road, and rifled around inside trying to locate some mints or a snack bar... anything really to help him stay awake. Nothing. He snapped the compartment shut and scratched the back of his neck under his long curly hair, covered by his trusty beanie. He would just have to wait until he reached a motel and raid a vending machine.

Avi covered his mouth with the back of his hand a he yawned, which came out as more of a growl than an actual yawn due to his deep voice. The young man shook his head quickly, trying to keep himself conscious. A shiver ran through his body. The display on the truck's dashboard said it was 12°F outside. Avi really had to get somewhere warm...

Suddenly a flash of brown and white dashed across the road right in front of him and he slammed his foot on the brakes, causing the truck to skid to a stop. The young man was trembling in shock, adrenaline pumping through his system as his heart tried to escape his chest. All traces of sleepiness vanished as Avi tried to take deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He really didn't need this.

Avi's brow furrowed, trying to work out what the brownish coloured blur could have been. His best guess was a deer... but running across the road in the middle of a blizzard? Whatever it was must have a death wish! He didn't think he'd actually hit anything and there was no sound of any impact... but it would be safer to check.

Leaving the pickup running, headlights only managing to light up the road for maybe ten feet, Avi reached across to the passenger seat and pulled on his winter gloves. He was already wearing a long sleeved t-shirt, and flannel shirt and his leather jacket, which he zipped up before opening the door and stepping out into the storm.

His boots sunk down into the snow as he closed the door to stop the heat from escaping. The wind was freezing! Avi gritted his teeth together to stop them from chattering and pulled his beanie down further over his ears. The swirling snow made it hard to see, but Avi trudged forward anyway, the snow reaching up to the top of his boots. The area in front of his pickup appeared to be clear and there was no sign that he had hit anything.

Relieved, Avi rushed to climb back into the truck, grateful that it hadn't suffered any damage and an innocent animal hadn't been harmed. Back inside the truck, he felt the warmth from the heater embrace him, thawing his pink cheeks and cold nose. Avi had never been more appreciative of modern heating technology.

After removing his gloves, Avi resumed his slow trek towards town, feeling as if he was barely making any progress at all. The bright LED clock on the dash read 8:43pm. Only twelve minutes since Avi had last checked the time. The night was dragging, the time seeming to pass at a snail's pace as he concentrated on not falling asleep in front of the wheel...

Avi felt the truck slip a little as he climbed a particularly step hill, surprised by how long it took to reach the top. He really should have snow chains for this sort of weather... Continuing over the top, the truck pulled forward and began to descend the other side. Avi tried to keep the truck from sliding by only tapping the brakes lightly, but he couldn't seem to slow the heavy pickup down on the icy surface...

Avi's knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel in fear, trying to stop the truck from sliding off the road entirely! Faster and faster the truck slid down the hill, picking up speed and losing traction. Avi felt the truck begin to drift towards the edge of the road, no matter how hard he turned the steering wheel. The young man no longer had any control over the truck! Avi started to panic as the pickup began to slide towards a clump of trees growing next to the road. Repeatedly thumping his booted foot on the brake pedal, Avi stared in dismay as the truck just kept sliding closer to the trees. The tree trunks got bigger and bigger as Avi hunkered down in his seat, squeezed his eyes shut, and braced himself for the crash that he knew was imminent.

To be continued...

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