The Deer

The darkness in the sky was pierced by the first rays of morning flooding the farmland with the warm gentle glow of the sun. All was peaceful, tranquil even, as I drove towards work. So tranquil that I was struggling to keep my eyelids open. So, to keep my mind awake I scanned the horizon. It was flat, almost barren, despite the fields of produce. That was when my eyes stumbled upon a lone deer standing in the field in the distance. It stood stark against the blue sky. It stood motionless, and I could feel my eyes glued to the sight. As I watched it, I was suddenly struck with a feeling of dread. Something was eerily off. I don’t know if it was because the deer seemed frozen, statuesque even, or if it was the fact that it was early and I was fighting fatigue. But something was off. I tore my eyes off the deer as I finally had driven past the field. However the eerie feeling remained. It was hard to shake it.

However, upon reaching work, thoughts of this morning fled from my mind. I had not been present at the start of the week, and as such there was a mountain of work waiting for me. The day past slowly, as it tends to do, and due to the work I had almost no time for my lunch. And to escape the monotony of work I went outside to enjoy what solace I was able to find. Only to be met with an omnipresent heat, that seemed to suck the life from me, despite the gentle breeze. Perhaps it was due to farmers finally harvesting their produce, or due to the storm that seemed to be creeping in. The very air itself seemed tainted. Every breath I took, tasted of hot dust. Little did I enjoy the little time that I was outside, and my lunch did little to revitalize me.

I returned to the drudgery of work. Eventually, as I glanced out of the window, I saw that the rain had finally arrived. However, it was weak, barely tapping against the glass. It was if it to was suffering from the ravages of the doldrums I seemed to have found myself in. The clock ticked sluggishly by until it was thankfully time for me to retire from work. As soon as I exited the building I came out to a deluge of water. It seems some entity had decided to increase the intensity of the rain. It lashed against my face as I made my way to my vehicle.

Within its safety I cursed the chilly dampness that clung to me. I started my car, and blasted myself with the air conditioner. I sat there watching the down pour, watching the shadowy forms that the water created in the inky grayness. As I watched a fly dove from what seemed like no where to land in my face. In irritation I brushed it off. However the pest persisted to harass me. I raised my hand, and with righteous anger obliterated it. In disgust I wiped the horrid things guts with a napkin from a previous meal. Grunting I threw the napkin onto the floor on my car. Then, glancing up, I gave a start. Then took a few deep breaths as only the rain met my gaze. For a brief second I had sworn I had seen a larger than normal deer in front of me. Though as I stared into the deep grayness of the storm I knew it had to be a trick of the storm. That and I had not slept well the night before, and all of my energy had been sapped by the rigors of my job. I put the car into gear, turned on the radio, and vowed to stop and get some coffee on the drive back.

As I drove down the road, the wind and rain blew my car back and forth. I struggled against the wheel, fighting as my car seemed to try and leap into the ditch. My wipers swept against the torrent of water that lashed against my windshield. Despite my best efforts to stifle it a yawn escaped. I was growing weary staring into the gloomy gray of the storm. My eye lids fluttered, and before I knew it I was asleep. But only for a few seconds as my body jerked me awake, a scream ripped from the pit of my stomach as a deer appeared in front of my car. I jerked the wheel to the left, and my car leapt from the road. I felt weightless for as my car flew off the bridge, and plunged ten feet downwards towards the river. The front of my car hit first, slamming me against the seat belt, pain ripped into my chest, before the car flipped. The roof of my car crumpled, smashing into my head, and my eyes filled with blood. My stomach rebelled, and vomit spued from my mouth. The car continued its momentum and flipped again, right into the river. Water erupted against the shattered glass of the windows spraying me with icy water.

I took a couple of deep breaths as I reached up and pushed against the caved in roof. It was hard and unyielding, and I reached down to unbuckle the seat belt. A whimper slithered out as the damage of my hand finally registered, and I brought up my withered claw. For that was what had happened to my hand, it was curled up and covered in blood. Which, as I glared at it, I had no memory of how it had happened. with my other hand, I reached over and with some difficulty wrenched the buckle apart. The driver side window had been smashed, and broken glass glittered all over the dash and floor of the vehicle. With more difficulty I clambered out of the window, splashing down into the murky water. Luckily it wasn’t that deep, but my head was submerged. I inhaled a mouthful of muddy water, which as I broke the surface I spit out. At least the muddy taste wasn’t as bad as the acidic taste of the previous vomit. Standing up, and despite sinking a few inches into the muddy bottom, the water was only up to my waist. With effort I fought against the suction of the mud and made it to the shore. There I collapsed against the soggy ground. My mind felt shredded, and soon I passed out with the rain beating against my broken body.

I woke up in utter darkness. My brain tried to understand why I was frozen and in pain. The past a fuzzy blur, and I pushed up against the wet ground, only to fall onto my back. The stars danced in my vision, and the full moon blared at me. It was brighter than any light I had ever seen, and when a shadowy form blocked it out I felt gratefully relieved. That was before the image of a giant-sized deer head bowed down to glare at me. It twisted its head so only one blood red eye glared at me. I felt its hot breath stirring against my face as I stared at the red pool, my terror filled face reflected back at me. My vision drifted up to stare at the glittering diamond sharpe antlers. They were the size of my legs, and the tips were stained red. The smell of rotten meat assaulted my nostrils. I swallowed as fear, like a snake, danced inside me. My vision became blurred with water, as I started to silently cry. Then the deer stood back up straight, and turned away. The moon glared down at me, and I tried to breath. It was broken, as if my lungs no longer worked correctly. Lights started to dance in my vision, and I tried to ready myself, aware that I was on the edge of death. I had to be.

The dancing lights grew closer, and through the muffled hum of my ears, I thought I heard voices. I let my head drift to the side, and I spied a couple of dancing fairy lights. They grew closer and closer, and I realized they weren’t fairy lights, they had to be angels. The lights landed on me, and I felt my body grow lighter. A fluttering smile danced across my face. Perhaps my soul was cleaner than I dared hope. A shadow leaned down behind the angel lights, and fear exploded within me again as I thought the lights were lies, perhaps the demons were coming for me. That was until I realized the lights were flashlights as a man’s face came into view. The man reached out and started to examine me. More lights fell onto me, and my vision drifted towards the top of the hill, and I saw more flashing lights. Red and blue flashed at me, which caused me to smile, before blackness took me again.