Foretold

Write a story or poem titled Foretold in which one of your characters makes a dire prediction that comes true. Use Horror/Scary as one of your genres.

Jesus, I almost got nailed coming out of work! The text message from his mom read. Danny shook his head. Construction started, taking the six-lane road down to one lane in each direction, right in front of work.

“Be careful,” he texted back.

I will. You too. Let traffic clear; when the light turns red, creep out into the lane. Someone should stop to let you out. Watch the idiots heading toward you in the opposite direction. That’s when they get you.

“No worries, Mom,” he texted back.

You know how I worry.

Danny shook his head again and sighed. His mom and her vibes, as everyone referred to them. He’d be fine, he always was. As his shift dragged on, the weather took a nasty turn. Rain pelted the storefront's windows, puddles formed across the parking lot, and powerful lightning lit up the darkened April sky. Powerful because wherever that crackle landed, the windows shook in protest, and the lights flickered.

Danny dismissed the weather, preparing to end his shift, gathering the paperwork, pulling squeegees from the combination garbage can and squeegee dispenser, and counting cigarettes and money. The storm grew more fierce once he locked up the store and turned the lights off. Nighttime driving sucked, but even more so during a storm.

Getting left out of the parking lot proved difficult on a good day, but tonight, with the storm, lane closures, and darkness it would be his nightmare. Leaving out the side entrance he made a mad dash to his car, the hoodie hardly any protection from the torrential downpour that seemed to single him out at a wicked pace. He unlocked the door, tossed his backpack to the passenger seat, and jumped in.

“Whew, that storm is intense.” Cranking the engine, Danny looked at himself in the rearview mirror, wiping away raindrops from his face and sliding his hands across his jeans to the excess raindrops off. That done, he put the car in drive and headed for home. He waited for traffic to clear and crawled into the roadway, only to almost get clocked by a speeding oncoming car to his right, barely missing his front bumper. He slammed on the brakes, his heart slammed in his chest and he breathed a sigh of relief.

“That was close.”

He started moving and the road opened back up to five lanes. The further from the construction he got, the more his racing heart slowed down.

One of his favorite songs came on the radio, and he relaxed in the driver's seat, his thumb tapping the steering wheel to the beat. Approaching a red light, he saw lights coming behind him disappear and shine bright again. He watched the approaching vehicle, swearing from lane to lane, and his heartbeat sped up again. He glanced up at the traffic signal, hoping it would switch to green so he could go and get out of this guy's way. The fast-approaching car, swerved in the nick of time, avoiding him and blowing through the red light.

Danny shook his head and hit the accelerator when the light turned green, thankful to be behind the reckless driver. He caught up to him at the next red light, surprised that the guy stopped for the second one. The second light turned green, and both drivers took off and kept pace. Danny decided he needed to be further away from the other car, and slowed his speed, and to his horror, so did the other driver. They stayed together through the next traffic signal. Danny knew his turn was at the next light. All he had to do was get there and turn to be free of the other driver.

They crossed the last intersection before his turn, Danny backing off again in the hopes of not having to deal with this crazy drive as the rain increased in intensity again, making the wipers race across the windshield. The downpour sent a chill zigzagging down his spine as visibility diminished. His turn was just ahead, and he flicked on his turn signal, hit the break, and slowed his vehicle to make the tight turn.

Suddenly, the car next to him sped up and turned into him. Danny slammed on the brakes, watching as the other vehicle careened into the corner gas station, narrowly missing the pumps, and pulled back onto the road as if their cars hadn’t just collided.

Snatching his phone off the passenger seat, Danny called his mom, his heartbeat thundering in his ears.

“Hit and run,” he said, his voice shaky.

“What? Where? You saw a hit and run?”

“No, Mom, some guy just hit me and took off.


“OMG! Are you all right? Is the car driveable?” Her worried voice filtered through the phone.

“It’s pouring, I’m not stopping. I’ll be home in a few minutes.”

“OK, I’ll be waiting in the garage.”

He hung up the phone and tossed it onto the seat, wanting nothing more than for this nightmare drive to be over with. His breathing was labored, his hands so tight on the steering wheel his knuckles were turning white. Once he hit the stop sign two doors from his house, he could breathe normally again. The garage door opened as he pulled into the drive, the rain unrelenting.

He exited the car and they both checked to see the damage. The bumper was scratched in multiple places, with a broken headlight, cracked running light, and dent in the fender.

“Could be worse,” his mom said. “Get inside, we will deal with this tomorrow.” She rushed back into the garage to get out of the rain.

Danny grabbed his things and shut the car off, joining her in the garage. “You knew.”

She nodded. “I tried to warn you.”

“You and your dang vibes,” he muttered.

WC: 971