The SUV rammed into our rear bumper with a deafening metallic crunch.

My head snapped back against the headrest.

The phone slipped from my fingers, tumbling into the dark footwell below.

“Madeline?” Julian’s voice came tinny and distant from the floorboards.

The SUV hit us again, harder this time, sending our rear wheels skidding across the wet road.

Nora fought the steering wheel as the car began to spin.

The headlights of the SUV swerved, aiming directly at my passenger side door.

The impact screamed through the metal of the frame.

I braced my hands against the dashboard as the passenger door buckled inward.

Glass showered over my lap in a freezing, glittering wave.

Nora spun the wheel hard to the left, straining against the resistance of the steering column.

Our front tires caught the muddy lip of a drainage ditch and the car surged forward, fish-tailing wildly before grip returned.

Behind us, the SUV overshot the turn, its heavy tires skidding on the wet asphalt with a high-pitched shriek.

“Hold on!” Nora gasped, throwing the car into reverse and then slamming it back into drive.