Damnit. Happened again. He drummed his fingers on the “Check Engine” light in disgust. It had been popping on and off intermittently all week and he had hoped it was finally gone for good. He decided to put it out of his mind and redirected his attention back to the thin mountain road. It’s a treacherous little vein that runs up to the State Gamelands overwatch tower overlooking the whole valley. He had closed up for the night and was on his way back down, on his way home from work. Before he left he noticed the heavy, static air, instinctively knew a storm was coming. Thinking about the weather brought him back to his “Check Engine” problem.
“It better just be an emissions thing..” he mumbled to himself. He had just put $400 into his truck for engine repairs and didn’t have the extra money, nor patience for yet anoth – SKREEEETCH
He almost hadn’t seen it in time, the flashers blinking on a car right around a bad bend he always sped around. He emptied his lungs and counted his blessings. He slackened his grip on the E brake. His headlights revealed a Ford Explorer, which he immediately recognized as Jerry’s car, his partner. He also immediately recognized something was very wrong. The driver’s side door was wide open as the blinkers continued to flash robotically.
What the hell, he thought. Jerry left work almost 2 hours ago… He left his truck on idle, jumping out he slammed the door shut and realized the scene was even stranger than what he first thought. All sorts of articles were strewn out on the road from Jerry’s truck. Papers, napkins, a pen, wrappers, even the rearview mirror…? An instinctive fear took control of his gut. He felt childish for it though and suppressed the feeling, Jerry might be hurt. He promptly walked up to the door and looked inside for a perhaps unconscious Jerry. He froze, his jaw slackened. The seat had fluff poking out where it was torn, the steering wheel was bent out of shape, and debris littered the two front seats. His nerves crept up on him again as he noticed muddy finger prints, smeared all over the outside of the door and the inside of the car. The last thing he looked at was the stub where the rearview mirror used to be, as he tore his gaze away from the horrowshow.
He turned around and walked aimlessly a short distance away from the car. His foot caught the broken off rearview mirror. He bent his knees and picked it up. But it was sticky. Turning it over; he saw the glass was completely shattered, he held it up to the light. It was slathered in blood.
Screw this. Screw this screw this screw this. He dropped the mirror, was oblivious to the little ting it made upon impact. He turned and headed straight back to his truck.
Go to town. Get police. Come back later. He was useless here alone anyways. He stopped dead though. His pickup truck’s side door was dangling, wide open.