Winter tyres on the front, chains on the back, bumping steadily against flattened snow. The rhythmic clacking of the windscreen wipers started to have a numbing effect. Hayden Berry felt himself start to drift. He forced his eyes open, looking at the orange glow of the streetlights illuminating five-foot-high drifts of snow piled along the sides of the road. He hadn't seen a sign in forever and was pretty sure he was lost in some hick town somewhere in South Dakota. This had been a bad idea. Why exactly was he driving across state in the middle of February? All he wanted was to find the border and head back home, but the snow flurries coming down were starting to make driving conditions hazardous. It was ten pm. His was the only car on the road. He was the only one not tucked up in bed. Perhaps he should find a motel and pull over before he ended up in a ditch. A loud bang made him yell and curse in fright. He fought the wheel as he lost control of the car, careering into the centre of the road, trying his hardest to turn it into the skid.
