by Becki Willis
Her speed was finally beginning to decelerate, thanks to the dense lawns and copious flowerbeds she furrowed through, but she was still traveling forward on momentum. Shouting an apology through the opened window, Kenzie rammed into a lovely white arbor. Wood splintered all around her and a riot of colorful blooms took a free ride on the hood of her car as she careened into the neighboring yard, as the road curved yet again. Rustic stone steps, edged with colorful plants and low shrubs, climbed their way up to a magnificent house with a view, but Kenzie could think of only one thing; a yard that steep had to be sitting on the crest of another hill. And where there was a crest, there was a fall.
Determined not to take the next fall, Kenzie aimed her car for the steps. Between the shrubs and the stone, her momentum took a direct hit, but her car bounced away and headed down the slope of the yard. This time, Kenzie targeted the sole tree in the yard, a large live oak that would undoubtedly put an end to her horrific journey.
She crashed into the tree hard enough to deploy her airbags and jar every bone in her body. Dazed, Kenzie slumped in her seat, staring blankly at her crumbled hood as steam billowed out from beneath. She heard sirens in the distance, was vaguely aware of people pouring out into their yards and surveying her path of destruction, but she was too numb with shock to move. Relief washed over her, making her limbs weak and her body tremble.
Someone opened her door and spoke to her. Kenzie nodded that she was all right, groped along the seat for her purse, and used what little energy she could summon to crawl from her wrecked vehicle and collapse promptly on the bed of grass.
