Fan Fiction ❯ Hello, My Name Is Death ❯ The Face Of Death ( Chapter 1 )

You stare down into the gleaming laminated card, on which you excitedly eye your own picture and name. You scan the card for the words authorized driver, and smile. The feel of the steering wheel in your hand is simply thrilling, as you listen to the purr of the pickup's engine. You watch the windshield wipers sway back and forth, chasing away all the droplets of rain the continue to gather on your windshield.

The road beneath you is lit only by a few strategically placed street lamps and the blinding ray of your high beams. You pull down the visor and flip open the mirror, then after a quick survey of your hair and makeup, you flip it back up. You feel a smile curling your lips as you turn the radio on, and begin to casually sing along.

Big wheels keep on turning
Carry me home to see my kin
Singing songs about the southland
I miss Alabamy once again
And I think it's a sin, yes

This road feels like freedom as you turn the volume switch up. You're heading down to your family's old ranch house for your sixteenth birthday. All your family will be there, including your many little cousins, your Grandpas and Grandmas, and maybe even your Dad. You're parents have been divorced for years, and it's been a little over three years since you last saw the guy. You're not even sure you really want to see him, but obligation ties you to at least saying hello.

You feel the tension mounting as you hit the interstate, as you listen to the harsh pitter patter of the large raindrops as they collide with the roof of your pickup. You high beams illuminate a big green sign up ahead that says Exit 33 in large white letters, and that's your cue to step on the gas. After all, you're only going ten miles over the speed limit.

You look out ahead, watching the brilliant array of lightning bolts as they strike the earth. The rain beats down hard on your truck as you slow your car to a steady stop. The street below you is buried by at least two feet of water. Lucky thing the exit was on a slope. You see abandoned cars all around you, and people struggling to get away from the rain. You hear police sirens in the distance, someone must have had an accident. Soon, the police car in is your sight, turning onto your street. You are quick to move your truck out of the way, watching with large eyes as the vehicle passes you.

There's only one option left to you, and that's to turn around. The streets below are completely flooded, and you don't really feel like abandoning your car, on account of you just recently received your drivers license. You sigh, and whip your truck around in a U-turn.

You are curious about the police car you saw, and the accident it might be involved with. You have nothing better to do, maybe you could help out. You turn down the radio and follow the sound of the distant siren, which leads you back to the interstate, where not ten minutes ago you were speeding. As you pull up onto the scene, you see an ambulance and a body laying limp a stretcher, a fire truck with lights flashing, and several police cars. You see the man that passed you, and decide to go speak with him.

You open your door slowly, pulling up the hood of your black sweatshirt over you head. The rain, however, penetrates this quickly as you slam your door and begin running to the police man.

"Excuse me, is everything alright?" you ask, as you reach the cop. His back is the only thing exposed to you, but you can see that his head is bent. You wonder if maybe he didn't hear you, so you try again, "Sir, what happened, is anyone hurt?" The man makes no move to answer your question.

You scowl, "Fine, jerkwad…" you mutter under your breath as you turn back to your car. From here you can see more of the scene, you walk slowly so as to soak up all the details. You can see a black car, make that two parts of what was once a black car, it's hood smashed as though an elephant had stubbed it's toe on it. You see the paramedics cleaning up some bad scratches on one boy's arm. His face is red with tears as the body of the passenger is laid out on one of the stretchers. There must have been a head-on collision. As you walk closer, you can see the second car, a white pickup truck. There is a great hole in the windshield, where the driver must have been flung out. You The glass around the hole is covered in a crimson substance…you think you're going to be sick.

But as you turn to leave, you hear a faint music.

Sweet home Alabama

Where the skies are so blue…

That can't be your truck, you've got the keys right in your hands, you turned it off. You turn back to the scene, the music, is coming from the pickup…

You step out in front of the truck, hoping to find some body of some sort. Just for reference, you don't enjoy blood. But these coincidences are too much for you, you need a little reassurance. You scan the road with your eyes, spotting a large pool of blood. No mangled body lies there though. Ahead you see an unattended stretcher, the body on which covered by a white sheet, parts of which are now red. Curious, you step closer, eventually reaching the corpse. Feeling your body trembling, you slowly peel back the cloth. You feel your stomach turn as you gaze down at the body. The corpse's face is too mangled to decipher, but you do notice that this was a girl. She wears a black sweatshirt and a WWJD? bracelet on her left wrist. You gasp, stepping back. And then your curiosity peeks, you reach into the girl's right coat pocket, and pull out a glossy laminated card. You scream as you eye your own picture and name.

Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you…