Visions

Sarah woke breathing hard, drenched in sweat. She sat bolt upright as she recalled scenes from her dream. She could still feel the impact of smashing into the other car, still see those lights. It was so vivid, so real. She even recognised the road. It had been along the route she always took home from work.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. There was no way it was real. No way it would ever be real.

Sarah searched her mind for a fact to prove it. The only thing that sprung to mind was she'd also dreamt of meeting Brad Pitt a while ago, and that had never happened.

She heard one of her flat-mates moving around, and the sounds brought her slowly back to reality.

Sarah refused to let the dream scare her, she lay back down, falling back asleep.

Sarah woke the next morning, forcing herself to ignore the dream, but it was still there. It hid just behind her conscious thoughts, threatening to paralyse her with fear.

She got to work alright, just a little shakily, but no accidents. Her mind wasn't on the job.

Sarah realised she'd been staring at the same piece of paper for half an hour and hadn't read a word. She couldn't. Not when there was a chance she'd die today.

She tossed the paper aside, and started writing her goodbyes, hopefully someone would find them.

Sarah left work, a little later than usual, and got into her car. She turned the music up a little, to block out her thoughts and fears.

Ten minutes away from the intersection...
Nine and a half...
The music wasn't working, her eyes kept flicking to the clock.

Six minutes...
She should stop. Get out and walk or something.

Five minutes...
Sarah found she was speeding. Majorly. Her mind had been wandering, but she would focus now, she had to. She hit the brakes.

Behind her she heard tyres screeching, then she felt herself being thrown sideways. Her car was spinning out of control!

Sarah gripped the steering wheel more tightly and shut her eyes, trying to brace for impact.

This wasn't right. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Not here, not now.

The car went off the road, and through a flimsy wooden fence, before coming to a final, bone-crunching stop at the base of an strong, tall tree. The windscreen shattered, and everything went dark.

Sarah awoke in hospital. It was dark, night time. She ached all over, and could feel the stinging of fresh cuts on her face and arms. She could hear the soft buzz of machines around her.

The dream came back to her, almost hauntingly, or was it a vision? A coincidence? Maybe it was something more. Sheer terror cleared her foggy thoughts. Was it possible, Sarah wondered, that the dream, or the fears magnified by it, had actually caused the accident?

Maybe she'd never know.