It happens so suddenly I’m not even able to process it, the car sliding daintily on the sheet of ice like a figure skater, twirling as I desperately grip the steering wheel.
Somehow, I manage to guide the car towards the only thing I can see that will stop me from careening down towards certain death, and it happens to be a tree. I brace myself for the impact, but it still stuns me.
The side of the car crashes into the tree with a loud whirring noise, and the sound of shattering glass makes me cry out. I’m thrown against the driver's door, but then it stops.
It’s silent.
I’m trembling as I unclip my seatbelt, reaching for my phone with hands that have clammed up with shock.
“Shit!” I hiss, realising I’ve got no signal here.
Tears sting my eyes, but I heave a deep breath, shoving the driver door open. My shoes aren’t made for snow. Knee-high tan boots that slide instantly on the ice my car is helpfully stuck on.
I steady myself against the car as I wave my phone around, trying to get a signal. I’m in the AA car rescue service, so I just need to call someone to come and get me.
No signal.
God, it’s cold.
I reach into the back seat to pull my coat out, wrapping it around me as I shiver involuntarily. The tree, the poor thing, wasn’t as sturdy as it probably would’ve liked to be. Its branches are sodden with snow, and it’s leaning backwards from the weight of my car. Shifting my gaze to the surrounding area, I notice I’m definitely in the middle of what can only be described as nowhere.
I know without consulting any map that I’m at least twenty miles away from town and surrounded by trees and not a lot else.
I lift my hand to protect my eyes as I turn towards the road I’d been on, the snow attacking me with the harsh wind. My ears sting with the cold, and I curse myself for not bringing a hat.
I need to get to the road.
It’s not far, but it’s uphill, which fills me with dread. If I don’t get up there, though, I’ll freeze before anyone finds me. Hopefully, I’ll get some signal up there too.
I slip and slide on the icy terrain, my red, raw fingers clawing desperately at the ice as I try to reach the road. The snow is lethal now, falling so fast I can barely see my hands in front of my face.
I want to cry, but I know if I do, my tears will probably freeze, and my eyeballs will fall out.
Finally, I’m there.
I huddle my coat around me, raising my phone in the air like a beacon, hoping it attracts some signal fromsomewhere.
Nothing.
“God!” I cry out, finally succumbing to the tears that have threatened to fall for the past however long I’d been here.
I’m going to have to flag someone down, I realise, turning to check both sides of the road.
Nothing. Nothing and no one.
“Be calm, Meredith,” I whisper to myself, staring at the network sign on my phone like I can conjure up some bars.
But it’s cold, beyond cold, and I’m starting to panic. I’m not within walking distance of anywhere, and it would be ages before my sister thought to look for me. She’ll assume I’m in traffic.
Headlights peer over the top of the hill, and despite not being able to make out the vehicle, I wave like a crazy woman, praying the driver sees me. They drive on, and I realise with despair that the snow is too fast and too thick for anyone to spot me.
“Keep it together,” I coax myself, fingers trembling as I switch the torch on my phone. “The next car will see you.”
My lips feel numb, and I bounce on my feet to try to keep myself warm.
After everything I’ve been through, I’m not going to freeze to death out here on the edge of Bellwood.
No way.
