Driving down the deserted, dark parkway toward home, it begins to rain, and she allows her mind to wander to the events of the past couple of days. Up until now, she’s been trying to suppress the thoughts, but being alone once again, they creep back up on her. Her mind immediately returns to the accident and waking up the next day. The way she woke up feeling strange and lively, she doesn’t fail to notice all these weird things began happening after that day. Something happened that night. Something she doesn’t remember, and she’s determined to figure out what it was.
Although, she can’t say that she hates these new changes. She’s never felt more… alive.
Only, she can’t help but wonder why.
If her dreams have taught her anything, it’s that everything is related. Every action has a reaction, and Sera can’t help but wonder what the possible repercussions of these actions could possibly be.
Her mind swirling with questions unanswered and feelings that are indescribable. However, no matter how hard she tries, the tears will not come. She wants to. She craves that feeling after a good cry when all is content and her mind can be right again, but something inside of her is preventing the tears from coming this time.
The rain pours down against the road with an anger that echoes her internal pain. The sound thrums against the car roof calming her slightly. She has to get her mind right.
Sera is so caught up in her head, she doesn’t notice the rare black deer that wanders onto the road, until it’s too late. Her hands struggle to whip the wheel back, to try to avoid it. Only, the deer takes a step forward. It’s hit full force. The impact causes the top of Sera’s head to hit the steering wheel, that’s when things get blurry.
After a few minutes, she rubs her head having recovered slightly. Her chest aches from the seatbelt that kept her from flying through the windshield, and she pictures the hideous bruise she’ll have tomorrow. As her mind comes back together, she realizes the air bags never deployed. Maybe she didn’t hit the animal as hard as she had thought.
The rain has stopped. The ground appears dry. Slowly, she climbs out of the car. Mentally preparing herself for what she’ll find, she wanders around to the front of the vehicle. As the front of the smashed in sedan comes into view she notices the deer is gone. There is nothing there. No animal, no blood, nothing.
Her eyes glance toward the side of the parkway. Her feet follow. There are no hoof prints in the soil. No trees with which to hide. The only solitary thing she can see is a fence separating the road from residences. She begins to get that weird feeling in the pit of her stomach again.
Something is wrong.
All the hairs on the back of her neck are standing at attention now. She can sense it, smell it in the air around her—something isn’t right. She walks back to the front of her little vehicle inspecting it to make sure it’s okay to drive. The air around her thickens, it becomes hard to breathe, and with a spilt second decision, she decides to haul ass out of there.
Sera is whipping around the front of the car now heading for her driver’s seat when she feels as though there are eyes on her. Increasing her pace now, she has to get out of here, even if she has to push this damn car.
That’s when she sees it. The growing headlights from a car flying down the parkway. There’s no time to move, think, or do anything but wait for the inevitable impact. For the second time, she braces herself. Only this time… her body seems to be reacting differently. Her mind and body seem to pulse with this energy she has never felt before; an entire range of emotions surge through her. This strange sensation courses its way through her every vein, spreading its way through to her hands.
Her hands that were protectively covering her face move. They pulse harder now, like they have their own heartbeat. Behind the pulse comes a glow much like the vial on her necklace did. It is soft at first, but then as the energy behind them increases, so does the brightness. It’s bubbling up inside her ready to burst. The car is millimeters from her at this point when her hands instinctively turn outward and a power explodes out of her. Just as fast as it had appeared, it releases itself from her body.
Sera watches in awe as time seems to slow around her. The black suburban has frozen inches from her protective stance. Her senses are hypersensitive as she clearly deciphers the young driver texting on his cell phone, those brown eyes squinting and glazed over. She can smell the alcohol on his breath as if she were in the car right there with him. She can make out every inch of his skinny face and angular nose with insane precision. She wonders if she will remember this face as the man who kills her. As time continues to warp around her, she doesn’t seem to comprehend that she’s causing all of this. Her hands still glow with a power she has never known before. It’s bursting from her glowing hands forming a shield of some sort around her. It’s protecting her. She can feel that. It’s just like Nate had done in her dream.
Just as suddenly as time froze it speeds up again. The truck in front of her veers around like she wasn’t even there. It swerves into the left lane and zooms off down the parkway leaving Sera to stare after it. Stunned, and frankly a little exhausted, she glances back down to her illuminated hands. She stares at them until the soft glow fades back to normal.