Chapters (95)
- Front Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Video #1
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Video #2
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Video #3
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- The Final Video
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Cover
But I can imagine driving the route I just took—away from the school and through the cornfields. Then through the trees and out to where I stand.
It was a warm night. No rain. No wind.
Me driving. Chloe looking beautiful in the passenger seat.
At some point we came to this stretch of 250. The headlights would have illuminated the side of the road, the ditches and the weeds, the debris and the leaves.
Did an animal jump out? Was it a deer like the ones I just saw?
Or did something come rushing at us?
That’s when something in my mind clicks over. Like a flash…
The pain disappears…
I’m no longer imaging. I’m remembering.
The tree illuminated by the headlights.
The tree growing larger and larger.
We can’t stop.
We’re out of control.
It’s too late—
“Hunter!”
She calls my name.
Screams my name.
I put my hand out to brace her.
“Hunter!”
I yell something, a primal cry of fear.
My eyes spring open.
Chloe’s dad, Scott Summers, is standing in front of me, and he’s looking at me, face distressed like I’m completely out of my mind.
Thirty-Seven
It’s like emerging from a dark cave.
I take in giant gulps of air. It came back. Something from that night came back. I saw it. I remembered it. The moment before we hit the tree.
“Hunter? Are you okay?”
Scott moves closer, eyeing me the way someone would watch a strange dog that might bite. Scott’s body is turned sideways a little, crouched like he’s ready to spring into action. Either to protect himself or to run away.
My heart pounds faster than ever. It takes a moment for my breath to return to normal.
“Hunter?”
“I’m okay,” I say. “I was just…” I look into his eyes. “I saw it. I saw a part of the crash I’ve never seen before. I mean that I’ve never remembered before.”
“Really?” Scott looks skeptical. And still looks cautious, although he straightens up some. “Just now, you remembered something?” He looks intensely curious, and his voice sounds urgent. “What did you see?”
“The last moment before the car hit the tree. It came in a flash. And…something… I don’t know, it came at us before we hit. From the left side.”
“Another car?” he asks.
“I don’t know. When I was coming here, three deer were on the side of the road. I scared them. I wonder if a deer jumped in front of us that night. Is that why we swerved?”
Scott takes a couple of steps closer. “That certainly could be. The cops put that forward as one theory.”
“I know. I wish I’d seen more.”
“Didn’t the doctors say you might have memories coming back?”
“Yes. But that’s the first time one did. So maybe there are more.”