In The Headlights

I was driving home late one summer evening. It was dark and everyone was in their beds. My eye lids felt heavy as I struggled to pay attention to my driving on the dark and empty country road. I knew this road so well I probably could drive home with my eyes closed. It didn’t sound like a bad idea as I sleepily nodded.

Before I knew it, my eyes were closed and I was asleep for a couple seconds before jerking my head back up and shifting my body in the seat. I rolled down my window and let the cool air blast into my face. I was almost home. Just needed to focus on my driving a little longer, then I can collapse into my soft bed. Focus…

Focus…

I opened my eyes, I must’ve fallen asleep again. I noticed something in the middle of the road ahead, but I was still waking up and it didn’t even cross my mind yet that I should slow down. It happened so fast. My eyes widened as I saw a deer, a doe, that glowed white in the headlights, but something was strange; It was bounding right towards me!

Adrenaline suddenly shot through my body and I felt numb. I swerved the vehicle in hopes of evading a collision with this maniac animal. Split-seconds seemed like minutes. I heard a THUMP as I side-swiped the deer, but managed to get back on the right side of the road and look in the rear view mirror. I swear I heard a woman’s blood curdling scream. The deer was still running straight forward, but somehow it’s neck was completely twisted around, as if broken, and it was looking at me still, its mouth gaped open. It disappeared into the darkness behind me, along with the screaming.

I woke up in my bed, the sun peeking in the windows between the curtains. Was that a dream? It must’ve been. My body still felt shaky and paralyzed from the nightmare, and I was wet with sweat. After laying there for a while, reviewing the strange dream in my head, I finally had the ability to move again and I rolled over to look out the window beside my bed. The white deer was staring at me with pinkish-red, soulless eyes.

It screamed.