I awoke as if I had never been sleeping. I was on my feet, with rain pouring down around me. The sky was blank, gray, and void of detail. I was atop a grassy hill. As far as the eye could see, in every direction, I was surrounded by the same rolling green hills. A deep rumble of thunder boomed overhead, and lightening cracked off in the distance.

            At first glance, it would appear as a scene of calmness and serenity. But I had a horrible feeling just the same. There was something amiss...some dark, underlying detail that I couldnt place. I stared off at the horizon, where green met gray. Something suddenly caught my eye. I stared at it, curious. Lightening flashed again, and it began to rain harder; if that were at all possible.

            Something fell into place in my head, and I suddenly felt ill. The world around me began to rumble, but most definitely not from the thunder. The spot on the horizon had gotten closer now. Close enough for me to see the headlights. Close enough for me to see the tinted windows. Fear suddenly gripped me so tight it hurt. I knew I should run. I had enough time to get away, if only I could get moving. All of a sudden, a picture came to my mind.  I thought of a deer in the headlights, frozen with fear. A deer, with no common sense or reasoning. An animal too ignorant to sidestep the death that bore down on it.

            But I felt I could relate to the deer. The car was closer now. Close enough for me to see the large silver grill which contrasted so sharply with the black

                                                          (SKIN)

finish of the car. It looked amazingly like a huge, silly grin. I shivered in the rain. The grill made me think of The Grim Reaper with a huge smile beaming from beneath its hood; The Grim Reaper, making small talk, commenting about the weather.

            The very air itself now trembled. The unearthly rumble of the cars engine made my head ache, and the bright headlights blinded not just my eyes, but my mind as well. I was the animal now. No common sense. No rationality. No Intelligence. Even my basic, natural instincts were too overcome by fear to help me. I thought of the deer again. I shook my head. Not the deer. Me. Me on the road. And instead of a car, it was The Grim Reaper. The smiling, shadowy figure of death. I could almost hear his voice, could almost hear the laughter and good humor that would surely come when he spoke.

"Hey good buddy! Hows it hanging? How about them Braves huh? "

            The car continued on its maniacal path. I could see the thick, black smoke pouring out of its muffler, could see the tires kicking up mud from the soaked earth.  Thunder boomed again, though it could no longer rival the sickening roar of the engine. Though it made no sense, I swear every thunder of every piston was audible.  That jolly voice spoke in my head again.

"Oh gosh buddy. That sure is one hell of a pickle you've gotten yourself into. I wouldn't fight it too much, though. It must be fate. Yup, Good Buddy, must just be your time." I saw his smile grow even bigger, saw him shrug and throw his hands up in a 'Whattaya gonna do?' kind of gesture, and he said, with some good humored exasperation, "I wouldnt be here if it wasnt."

The car was only a few yards away from me now. A string of thoughts, more like pictures, ran through me very quickly.  I thought of the deer. The squealing of tires. The deers skull caving a little from the impact of the bumper. The crunching of bones as four tons of metal rolls over the deer. The car no longer seemed to rumble, it was screaming in fury. The headlights were no longer simple illuminations; they were eyes beaming with hate. At the last second, with the car only feet from me, my senses cleared.

I was suddenly no longer the deer, no longer the animal. I quickly sidestepped The Grim Reaper, and in my mind, his wide, stupid grin finally faltered. I shakily turned around at looked at my fate, speeding off into the distance. Something caught my eye on the bumper. It was one of those novelty bumper stickers. It showed a cartoon of a very frightened  looking turtle, with his head halfway out of his shell. Next to the turtle, in big green letters, it said:            

                " I Brake For Animals"

I grimaced a little in the rain; that had to be the worst attempt at humor I've ever seen.

                                              END