The blackness took over for just a moment. I opened my eyes, gasping in a deep breath while looking around wildly.
"What? Where am I?"
"Hey, chill. What's up?"
I looked over at Ashley. She was alive. We were in the car. I could feel the tears just start falling.
"What the hell was that?" I asked, wide-eyed.
"What was what?" she asked.
"The accident. You were dead."
"Uh, what? I'm not dead."
"You were. We were hit by a truck. What's going on?"
I looked out the window as the trees zoomed by. I sat up and stared around us.
"This looks really familiar."
"Huh?"
"Around this bend, we're going to come to a T. You'll have to turn right."
"Uh, okay."
"There is going to be a busted-up pickup on your side. A mailbox. On my side will be a really, really big tree."
"Right. Crazy."
She rounded the corner and saw the truck.
"Weird," she mumbled.
"Do not go."
"What?"
"Don't go," I repeated.
"Don't go?"
I shook my head. "Just wait. In about 30 seconds a dump truck that loses control is going to come barreling through its stop sign and not stop."
"There are no trucks."
"Please, don't go yet."
"Okay. I won't go."
We sat in silence for the world's longest 30 seconds. Ashley sighed heavily just as the truck sped past us.
"Holy shit!" she screamed as we watched the runaway truck fly off the side of the road and end up in the ditch.
"We were supposed to be hit by that truck," I said, taking my seatbelt off.
She followed suit and we ran to where the truck wrecked. The back tire was still spinning while we pulled open the passenger side door.
"Hey? Are you okay?"
He groaned a bit.
"Call for help really quick while I get his seat belt off. Then come help me."
"Yeah," Ashley said quietly running back for her phone.
"I'm taking your seatbelt off, okay?" I said, reaching to the man's side.
His shoulder was covered in blood, just like before.
"What happened?" I asked.
"I-I don't know. Everything just failed."
Ashley came back and helped me pull him out. I grabbed a towel that was on the dashboard and held it to his neck.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know. He's bleeding."
"Did he get cut?"
"I don't know what on. There's nothing in there."
"Was he bleeding when we were hit?" she asked.
"Yeah. I figured it was from the accident."
"Okay. This whole thing is weird."
"I'm totally freaking out right now."
The man lost consciousness as the sirens could be heard. I sat there holding the now blood-soaked towel to his neck.
"Wh-what is that?" Ashley pointed behind me.
I turned to look at a bright white light emanating from the side of the truck.
"Wait, you can see that?" I asked.
"Uh, yeah."
As we stared Artemis appeared in front of us.
"What in the Goddess..."
"Artemis."
"My child."
"What is going on?"
"You have discovered one of your gifts."
"Ellie...Ellie...Ellie..."
I ignored Ashley and her freak-out beside me.
"One of my gifts?"
"Yes, Elanor. Foresight."
"Ellie..."
"What, Ashley?"
"Who is the bright, pretty lady?" she whispered.
Artemis turned towards my friend. "Hello, dear child."
"H-hi."
"Ashley, this is our Goddess, Artemis."
Artemis smiled at my now silent friend.
"I can see the Goddess," she whispered.
"Yes, Ashley. I chose to allow you to see me as well. I must thank you for believing my daughter despite how crazy it all sounds."
"It's all true. I knew it was true, but it's like true true. Oh, my Goddess. This is like a thing. It's happening."
I side-eyed Ashley. "What is going on, Artemis? I'm confused about what happened to him."
She glanced down at the man. She knelt beside me and placed her hand on my hands. She quickly pulled back and stood.
"What?" Ashley asked.
"That is no ordinary wound. It seems familiar, but it's so foggy around him."
"The coming threat?" I asked.
She nodded solemnly.
"What do I do?"
"There is nothing you can do. Those coming will take him, but there is no hope. You both must discover what is causing this."
"Both? What do you mean both? What is going on?" Ashley asked, mildly freaking out.
"It's what I was telling you about. That weird feeling I've had. It's coming closer."
"How do we find out what this is?"
"We'll have to look around before police get here."
"That's going to be like now."
"I'm sorry, Artemis. Please excuse me. I must look in his truck quickly before they're here."
"Of course, child. But you must hurry. I feel the threat getting closer."
I nodded and pulled Ashley down. "Hold your hands here."
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"To his truck. I'm going to see what I can find really quick."
I hopped into the dump truck and looked around. It was surprisingly empty. A clipboard had fallen on the floor. I picked it up and read through it. The last place he stopped was Misty Pines.
"How convenient. That's where we're going."
"I guess that's where we have to start looking."
"I must go, Elanor."
I jumped down from the truck and stared at Artemis.
"Goodbye, for now." She reached her hand out and cupped my cheek.
"Goodbye, mother."
She smiled and vanished as quickly as she'd appeared.
"I'm so confused," Ashley said.
"I'm still confused when I see her."
"So, what's happening? What are we doing? What happened to him?"
"Whatever threat is coming, is coming fast, but we don't know what it is."
"Right."
Whatever that threat is, it must have touched this man or caused this accident."
"Right," Ashely said again.
"So according to his clipboard, he came from Misty Pines. When we get to Misty Pines we'll have to look around more."
"Who does he work for?" she asked.
"Uh, let me look." The letterhead on his sheet said 'Harry's Trucking'. "Look's like a place called Harry's Trucking."
"Okay, so we find Harry."
"Yeah, we have to find Harry."
The ambulance pulled up and came to a screeching halt. Two people jumped out with a bag and ran to us.
"What happened?" they asked.
Ashley and I told them everything about the trucker speeding past us, crashing, and him saying that everything failed. They dressed his wound and loaded him into the ambulance. As they were getting ready to leave a police car pulled up.
We repeated the story as the police officer's partner examined the accident.
"You girls are lucky that you're okay," he said.
We looked at each other and nodded. "Yeah."
"Well, we're going to get this truck towed, you two are free to go."
We both nodded and headed to the car.
"We were supposed to die?" Ashley asked.
"You were. You and the driver."
"That would have sucked."
"Yeah, it would have."
"Let's get to Misty Pines and figure this crazy shit out."
We drove in silence for a while. Still reeling from what happened.
After an hour a sign on the sign of the road appeared.
Welcome to Misty Pines territory! Enjoy your stay!
"I guess we're here," she said.
"There's nothing here," I mumbled.
"Misty Pines isn't known for its overabundance of anything."
"I guess not. Let's look for the town."