Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

them. Unable to stand the party any longer, he grabbed what was left of the bottle of
whiskey and left the room.
He couldn?t recall how he ended up sitting in the seat of his car, keys dangling from
the ignition. He heard cheering coming from inside the house, the bells chiming
midnight like a death knell. There were dark shapes kissing in the doorway. He tried
not to think about how one of them may have been Laura and the other shape,
someone else who wasn?t him.
As he turned the key and the car coughed into life, he convinced himself he was
sober, ignoring the amount of times the engine stalled as he drove along the rocky
path and out of the driveway. The car crawled up to the junction that led onto the
main road. Glancing left and right, it was as if the bug had already taken hold and the
Armageddon arrived. There was not another car in sight.
No one cares. The thought whirled around Sam?s brain. People are too busy pulling
party poppers to notice a single drunk driver, he told himself. Besides, there is no one
here to see it happen. And so, he turned right into the road and pressed hard on the
accelerator.
The road glistened with frost. The trees overhanging either side, he felt like he was
speeding through a dark tunnel. Soon the music and the cheers and memories of
Laura were just a murmur in the distance. Certain there were no sirens following
behind him, he sped up until soon he was surrounded only by long, black tarmac and
silence.
He didn?t see the little girl until it was too late. Her wide-eyed expression flashing in
front of the headlights moments before he felt the car smash into her, sending her
flying over the bonnet and onto the tarmac behind.
Sam skidded to a halt, some metres down the road.
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