Peter braked sharply and swung onto the shoulder.

It was a moonless night the only light being that of the glaring headlights of the car. The clouds swarmed the sky like an enemy descending down a hill, covering every inch of available space. The wind was high making it seem as though the soldiers were not on foot, but rather riding swift steeds who took them down the hill at the utmost speed. The light o the stars might have illuminated the way some, but the clouds blocked them out as though the car was trapped in its own personal world. The enemy blocked out all hope of finding points of light anywhere. The trees whizzed past, but only as shadows of ghosts. Even though it was not visible there was a constant noise of wind winding its way through the pine needles. The only real way to see the passing distance and the speed at which they traveled was in the blur of white lines like small white boats in the narrow river of asphalt. The trees that had been whizzing by as dark entities began to slow down. They seemed as though the enemy was closing in from all sides, but unable to penetrate the river of asphalt. Peter placed his foot on the brake and felt the resistence as the car slowed from eighty one miles an hour to zero. A car honked from behind flashing its high beams in indignation. Peter swerved to the side of the road just in time for the following blue sedan to crank the wheel hard to avoid a collision. He continued to turn the wheel to the wheel as though he was on a ship losing its course on the high seas of the Pacific ocean. The gravel crunched under the treds of the wheels scattering as though droplets of water. The small pebbles flew in all directions showing all of the possible ways that Peter’s and Donald’s life could go in this moment. The crackling noise of the grey stones sounded like a black and white speckled television set. The car came to a halt with a jerk and then there was silence. The trees descended on them with their swords drawn and howling in the wind. The enemy had descended from the hill and killed all in its path. Leaving nothing left to make noise, live, dream, or hope.