Isaiah’s first thought, as he woke up to a blaring horn, was that he didn’t want to go to work. His second was that he needed to change his alarm. He slammed his hand down on it and laid there for a moment, a hazy memory of a dream still lingering in his consciousness. He could barely remember it. The dream hadn’t necessarily been a nightmare, but it had felt real. What had it been about?
He climbed out of bed. It wasn’t going to be a particularly important day at the bank, but a new girl had just been hired, so he dressed nicer and paid a little more attention to his hair than normal. Her name was Jessica, and she had smiled at him the day before. Today he would try to say hi, talk to her, maybe even ask her if she wanted to go to lunch with him. That was the plan.
A black car passed by his window, and he thought again of his dream. Something about it nagged at him, and he felt a little uneasy. He was probably just nervous, the kid inside him fearing rejection.
He walked towards the bus stop and thought of what he’d say to Jessica. Should he just say hi as soon as he saw her? Maybe he’d wait to see if she initiated a conversation, and then he could ask her to lunch. Maybe he’d even use a corny pick-up line, try to make her laugh. It would have to be a good line, he didn’t need to embarass himself too badly.
The bus stop was on the other side of the road. There were only two people there, he must have missed the most recent bus. Hopefully the next one would come soon. A car rushed by in front of him. He was reminded of the dream, and he was overcome with trepidation. What was that dream about? Why was it bothering him so much?
He glanced left, checking for cars. The nearest was a truck that was still a ways off.
Something in the dream had to do with a road.
He glanced right, saw a red car speeding nearer. He waited, ready to cross the road after it. As that car passed the complex across the street, a van pulled out behind it, so he waited for that to pass as well. He stepped onto the street.
His stomach turned over, then the feeling passed as quickly as it had come.
He heard a gasp and a shout from the bus stop, and he turned to his left just in time to see the truck, once far away, now feet from him and still going full speed. Pain shot up and down his body as he crumpled upon impact. He wasn’t sure if the scream came from him or someone at the bus stop. The pain disappeared and everything went dark.
