“A journey of a lifetime!” A phrase that keeps repeating in my head as we merge onto the highway. We slide into the express lane and Chase increases our speed from 50 to 70–wait no—75, 80, 90…100!!

I can’t move, but my heart won’t stop moving. I’m overtook by adrenaline as the road, before me, is being swallowed. The adjacent cars are a blur—countless they come, countless they go. My eyes are more than open as this thrill ride instills me with euphoria. It feels like we’re flying, but we haven’t left the ground. I peer over my shoulder to Jeremy, sitting behind me, seeing him holding on for dear life with wide, worried eyes. I avert to Carly fast asleep as the speed only makes her dream more ethereal. My eyes slide back to Chase, electrified and probably had too much sugar early.

We continue gliding, until the frightening sound cuts through the surging air. My eyes meet the side mirror, revealing an incoming police car.

“Oh shoot!” Chase shouts reading my mind as he’s staring at the rearview mirror. His head whips around, then back to me, then right, then back again. There’s no way not tell that he’s scared. My body’s shaking, adrenaline swapped to panic, thrill replaced with fear, heart still racing.

“What do we do?!” I say frantically, lungs working overtime.

“You have to pull over!” Jeremy yells.

“NO! I can’t! Imagine what will happen to me! They’ll lock me up for sure! I can’t risk that! Not today. Not now! Especially when I just got this car for my birthday. My mom will definitely kill me if she found out.”

My head swerves to Chase, “Listen man! You have to stop! You’ll only make the situation worse if you make them chase you. You don’t want to become a fugitive, do you? This ain’t GTA! Now step on the brake!”

Chase does the opposite. Rationality flees as he floors it, sending the car into maximum overdrive.

So, now we’re about to die! An exit appears on my side for a quick second as Chase veers across and zooms on the path too fast for the car to handle and causes it to tip. The car flips and stumbles way off-course, spinning us around and around and around.

Dizziness doesn’t even begin to describe the painful orientation.

After a couple more olympic-level maneuvers, the vehicle slammed into a halt. Engine blown, window shattered, body all dented-up, Chase’s birthday present had been destroyed. Fortunately, no one suffered any fatal injuries, just some small wounds and fractures.

Chase crawls out with a concerning head wound and bad cuts on his arms. Bailey gets out with harsh cuts on her legs and a small head injury. Jeremy has trouble escaping, so Chase and Bailey go to help him, and eventually get him out. Carly wasn’t responsive. You would think that a crazy incident like this would wake someone up, but with her, they aren’t sure if she’s somehow still asleep, unconscious, or flat-out dead. They all fight the overturned car to wrangle her body out and Bailey checks her pulse—nothing. Jeremy gives it a shot and still nothing. Chase is petrified and is reluctant. The thought of him being a murder could not sit well in his stomach.

Surprisingly, Jeremy is the first to sob. Bailey is Carly’s best friend, while Chase is Carly’s boyfriend.

Jeremy is just a mutual friend, but even without a special connection, he’s was the first to initiate vulnerability. Chase is freaking out, while Bailey starts looking away from the crime scene and towards the area.

“Where even are we?” She inquires.

“Who cares?! I just killed someone!” Chase exclaims in distraught.

“Well now you can hide here…from the police…wherever we are.” Jeremy insinuates.

The land is swampy, yet clean. Open, yet closed. Towering tree, murky waters, and some cavernous rocks. The air’s thicker than before, the sky has become cloudier. It’s like the whole vibe has changed in which it did many moments ago.

Little does the gang know that they just inadvertently transported themselves into Carly’s dream, or should I say, nightmare because she was never having a good dream. She was going through one of the most terrifying experiences of her life, but didn’t know she was dreaming the whole time.

The car wreck didn’t kill her—she died in her dream.

And what does this mean for the others?!