Mezzanine

| 39 |

"Shit!" Lola screamed. She slammed on the brakes, and the wheels squealed against the damp road as we skidded through a patch of mud.

"It's not stopping!" Carter yelled.

I clenched my teeth, every muscle in my body tensing as I gripped my seat. The deer-sized creature stood still as a statue in the center of the road, its eyes fixed on us like it was hunting.

Carter was right. We weren't going to stop in time. We were going to hit it, and at this speed, colliding with an animal that size would shatter the window.

Before I could think, I grabbed the steering wheel and jerked it to the side. The front wheels scraped across the road as we turned, drifting into the wrong lane.

"What the fuck are you doing!" Lola shouted.

I pulled the wheel back to straighten us out, but I wasn't quick enough. The tires on the left side of the car ran off the road and into the mud. We bumped along the uneven ledge of the ditch that led to the woods. I tried to steer us back onto the pavement, but the wheels were stuck.

"Fuck, watch out!" Carter screamed.

With a sudden bang, we slammed into a thick tree limb at the edge of the road, and the car jerked to a stop.

I flew forward, and the seat belt dug into my chest, smacking me back into the seat. My heart raced, and my entire body shook as I gasped for air.

"Oh my God. Oh my God," Carter repeated from the backseat.

Lola stared out the windshield with her fingers clenched so tightly around the wheel they'd turned white. Her hair flared around her like the mane of a lion.

"Is...is everyone okay?" I asked.

Carter nodded but didn't say anything. I tried not to listen to the frantic thoughts racing through his mind.

"Lola?" I asked.

She let out a few heavy breaths, but she didn't say anything.

"Are you—"

"Yeah," she finally responded. "I'm okay." She shook her head as she ran a hand back through her hair to get it out of her eyes. "Just shaken..." her voice trailed off as she turned to look at me, and her mouth dropped open.

"What is it?" I asked. "Lola?"

"Behind you." Her eyes stretched wide as she pointed out the passenger window.

Slowly, I looked to my right. There, standing in the center of the road, was the creature we'd almost hit. It was just a deer, but yet something about it was wrong. The way it looked at us—its red eyes fixed on our car—felt anything but natural.

"Why is it still here?" Carter asked. Why didn't it run away? Aren't deer supposed to be scared of cars?

"There's something wrong with it," Lola said. "Why is it looking at us like that?"

The deer lowered its head into a bow. Then, it scraped its antlers against the road in a slow but calculated pattern, almost like it was drawing something.

"What's it doing?" Carter's voice cracked with panic. "What the hell is it doing?"

Before any of us could say another word, the deer raised its head. Its red eyes met mine, flickering in the light of the rising sun.

Then, it charged.

"What the fuck!" Carter screamed.

"Jay, get down!" Lola yelled.

I didn't waste a second. I put my hands over my head and ducked right as the deer rammed its antlers into the passenger window.

The car shook. Screaming filled my ears along with the sound of glass breaking.