Chapter 1: Time’s Up

“Well, fuck!” I yelled to nobody as my truck came around the blind corner. I could see my fate hurtling at me with a combined speed of over 200 kilometers per hour. Some asshole in an SUV was overtaking a minivan in a no-passing zone, making me an involuntary participant in the world’s most deadly game of chicken. My three options all ended with someone as a red, multi-hued stain on the inside of a windshield. To the left was a head-on collision with the innocent minivan and its family of passengers, a fate they did not deserve. To the right was a 150-meter cliff. Straight ahead was the SUV.

Fuck it; there was a slight chance that I would survive a head-on collision and no chance that I would survive the drop off the cliff. If I had to die today, I would make sure Mr. SUV got some comeuppance—even if it was limited to the police report. At least I could enjoy staring him straight in the eyes as we both hurtled toward the consequences of his actions.

My anger changed to acceptance, and I started calmly taking stock of my situation. I could see the shift from surprise to concern on the minivan driver’s face and the blissful ignorance change to abject fear on the SUV driver’s face as he looked up from his phone. The noise of squealing tires and honking horns faded into the background as I did a mental inventory. My life was far from perfect, but at least I wouldn’t leave anyone holding the short end of the stick when I headed out to the Great Beyond. Well—anyone other than the bank and the taxman. I smiled at that last thought.

It was over quickly; I felt the pressure of the impact, the airbag in my face, and the seatbelt across my torso. When things stopped spinning, I was clearly in bad shape. I could feel some loose teeth, my right side was numb, and I could smell something burning. My last sight on Earth—through a cracked side-view mirror and a half-swollen-shut eye—was the minivan safely pulling to the side of the road. Thankfully, I slipped into unconsciousness before any real pain set in.