She opened her eyes to a cloud of smoke, and as the vapors thinned, she stared down into the gaping pit of an oil bay. The left driver-side wheel of the delivery truck had plunged through the opening, saving her from crashing into the back wall of Gunnar’s shop. But now, the truck was hopelessly jackknifed with her trapped inside. She felt as if she was on a roller coaster, crested at the summit and about to plunge into an abyss. Panic rose like a tidal wave. “Kill the engine.” Maddie turned in slow motion, as if mired in a murky swamp, to find Gunnar at the driver’s window. His words failed to compute as she lifted a hand to her forehead and winced. The thrust of the crash with the poor blue car that now sat crumpled along the wall must have caused her head to bump the steering wheel. It throbbed in unison with her galloping heart. Somewhere close, a dog yowled in deep, throaty protest. “The fumes are going to choke us.” Gunnar reached through the window and turned the key in the ignition as he called, “Hush, Axle.”
