The brakes had failed. I turned the steering wheel to move towards the exit. It turned loosely in my hands. No steering. No brakes.
In the mirror i saw the lights of a truck close behind me. Another truck drove beside me on the right. My car was moving to the right, and I couldn't stop it. My hands trembled and I felt sick. I put my hand on the horn and kept it there. The truck to my right pulled out of my way.
The Lynx was going thirty, slowing down, and the truck behind me going at least seventy. I couldn't stop. I couldn't do anything.
At the last second, the truck behind me moved to the left. I heard a horrible shattering of glass and metal on metal. A car shot into the lane in front of me and turned over. Metal on metal. Glass shattering on the street. A violent crash. A pool of warm wetness on my arm. Light and noise shattered inside my head. And then quiet.
My head ached. I forced my eves open, but the light stabbed them. I shut them again.
'You're all right now,' a woman's voice said.
'What happened?' My voice was thin and tired.
'You're in Billings Hospital. I want you to you to sleep now.'
When I woke up again, I was alone. The pain in my head was still there. My left arm was attached to the ceiling by a pulley. I stared at it dreamily. What had I done to my arm? I remembered. My car. The brakes failing.
A nurse came into the room. 'Oh, you're awake now. That's good. We'll take youre temperature.'
I don't want my temperature taken. I went to see the police.'
She smiled brightly. 'Just put this under your tongue.'