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The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/NoSleepTeamUno on 2023-07-18 16:16:58.

There was a distortion in time the moment before the accident happened. It was as if the universe knew something life-altering and unnerving was about to occur and made the necessary adjustment to reality in an effort to prevent it from happening. Unfortunately, not even the cosmic forces governing the universe could stop it. Or perhaps it was the opposite. Maybe our reality is the cruel and unforgiving cosmic force of oppression, and the distortion gave us our chance at survival. Either way, everyone made it out alive from the accident, and I’m thankful beyond words for this.

Gretta, in the passenger seat, was turned around, fussing with Little Carmine in the backseat. Carmine had dropped his stuffed monkey on the floor, and was wailing in that octave only children can reach that tears a hole in your sanity. It was jarring, irritating, and distracting. Nothing as distracting as trying to read a text while driving. Nothing as dangerous as falling asleep behind the wheel. Nothing as irresponsible as operating heavy machinery under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Those folks tend to survive their accidents despite their culpability. Everyone else around them dies.

As for me, I only took my eyes off the road for a moment. Not for some asshole reason like a text, being drunk, or falling asleep. I did it to give comfort to my crying son. To help my wife with him. Yet that’s all it took for us to end up at death’s door.

When I turned my eyes back to the road, something darted out in front of the car. I cannot tell you if it was a human, animal, or ET looking to phone home. It really doesn’t matter. I swerved to avoid it. In doing so, I lost control of the car. Hitting the brakes didn’t help. Turning the wheel against the spin made it feel as if it was only making things worse. I did everything I could to get it back in control, but there was nothing I could do as our car went sideways and rolled over and over again until it came to a halt as we crashed into a patch of trees lining the road.

Saying it rolled over is an understatement given the terror of the chaos. There’s glass shattering all around us, sending shards everywhere and cutting into our flesh. The exterior of the car is crumbling into itself like a plastic bottle being crushed, except we’re inside of it. The air bags deployed with an explosion of sound, and the wind knocked me out as my torso and head slammed into them. Gretta’s screams fill my ears. Carmine’s cries are the worst sound of all, at least until another sound replaces them. The sound of silence followed by my own screams filled my ears, except they weren’t screams; they were gasps. I couldn’t breathe. It felt as if I was drowning. Stars filled my vision. They were bright like the sun but moved like a swarm of angry bees descending upon a trespasser in their hive. Then they seemed to disappear before my eyes, and my vision started to go black. My last thoughts before passing out were of Gretta and Carmine.

Were they alive or dead?

Would I live through this?

Was that smoke I smelled?

I ceased to exist with those questions lingering in my mind. However, the answer to each question came immediately in a form I never expected or imagined.

Coming back to consciousness, I found myself standing on the side of the road. I don’t know how I’d gotten there. The stench of gasoline filled my nostrils. Something must have punctured the gas tank during the wreck. The upside-down, crumpled mess of twisted metal and plastic, formerly known as our Hyundai Tucson, now a death trap, held Gretta and Carmine as prisoners. Gretta hung upside down with her eyes closed and her arms dangling. Her long, dark hair gathered around her face. I couldn’t tell if she was bleeding or had sustained any other injuries. Carmine was the same. His little form hung upside down too, stuck in his child's seat. There were cuts on his face from the shattered glass. The wreck was silent, and neither my wife nor my son were conscious. I couldn’t even tell if they were breathing.

Yet, what bothered me the most wasn’t seeing my wife or son in such a perilous and unknown state. I mean, of course, I was concerned for them; I’d do anything for them to survive. But in this moment, what truly disturbed me and sent me into hysterics was seeing myself also stuck in the vehicle and hanging upside down while still strapped to my seat. I stumbled backwards as if the unconscious body was going to reach out for me and fell on my ass.

What the fuck was happening? Was I dead? Was my family dead? Wasn’t there supposed to be a light at the end of the tunnel or something? If I was dead, where were Gretta and Carmine? Why weren’t they with me?

As the questions raced through my mind, each of them bringing more and more dread and fear, I noticed something else bringing a whole new level of confusion into the mix. The clouds floating past the moon weren’t moving. It made the sky look like a portrait. As if it wasn’t real. This is also when I noticed all sound had ceased. While we were in an isolated, back road area, we still should have been able to hear the low hum of engines roaming the night. Even the air felt as if it had stopped functioning and I was living in a vacuum.

"Jesus Christ, what a mess!" a man’s voice said as he appeared above me, blocking my view of the moon and sky. It was a pleasant voice. Congenial. Far too calm and relaxed for the moment. As if my family wasn’t stuck in a flipped-over vehicle with gasoline slowly leaking all over the place. A single spark could turn it into a funeral pyre.

"Call an ambulance!" I shouted and stood up from the snow-covered ground. I made an attempt to turn toward the wreckage but found I could not move.

"Woah there, buddy! Don’t strain yourself too much. Save that plucky energy for later. You’re going to need your strength," the man said. "We’ve got to have ourselves a little talk before we start saving lives here. There is no need to worry about them for the moment. They’ll be fine. for the moment.

"How can you say they're fine? They’re stuck! I’m stuck inside the car. What the fuck is going on?" I shouted at him. He didn't seem to mind being shouted at. The confident smile never wavered from his face.

"They're fine because I say they're fine. Don't give me reason to say otherwise," the man replied. His threat struck a chord deep within. There was something unexplainable going on here. Maybe I’d been too shocked by the accident to have noticed earlier. That was my thought at the time to explain how I hadn’t noticed there was a black horse on the road to the side of the man. It snorted and neighed after the threat was made. It sounded eerily as if it were laughing. Laughing at me.

"I’m sorry," I apologized.

"It’s alright, buddy," the man replied, and he gave me his hand. I didn’t want to shake it. Instinctively, I knew touching him was a bad idea. Him or his horse. Both entities were one and the same. I was certain of it. Neither was truly man or beast. These were beings in disguise for my benefit. Still, I doubted that being impolite to this entity was a good idea. I took his boney hand into mine and shook it. Touching him was sickening. It sent waves of cold down my arm, and a feeling of despair overwhelmed me.

"I’m sorry," I apologized again without knowing why. It seemed like the proper thing to do. I thought about apologizing to the horse too, but then I remembered it was probably a part of the same entity I was speaking with now or the entity itself.

"You’ve been through a lot. I’m here to help. Truly. I’m on your side here, even if you don’t believe it," the Man stated. The horse neighed in agreement.

"Thank you so much. You have no idea how much I appreciate your help," I replied, and it was the truth. Whatever was happening here, this Entity was responsible for it. At a moment’s notice, it could change its mind and leave us here to die in a fiery inferno. I didn’t want to get on its bad side. Letting my emotions get out of control wasn’t going to help. It was difficult to push away all the fear, anxiety, and panic.

"No problem, amigo. I’m here to help. You’re in a bit of a situation here. Some might say you’re a lucky duck for me to have stumbled upon you in your time of need. Some might say you’re in the middle of a nightmare," the Entity answered. The horse stomped its feet. I think it was an agreement.

"What would you say about my situation?" I asked.

The man aspect of the Entity smiled. And I’ll be damned if the horse didn’t also display its massive teeth in a repulsive, nightmare inducing rictus. Those disgusting teeth could pulverize bones. I was certain of it.

"You know, no one ever asks me that. Everyone’s always freaking out, worried out of their minds, or in denial about what’s happening. You already understand, and you’re doing great. Better than 99% of the folks I’ve dealt with in the past," the Entity replied. "So, let’s skip all the formalities and get down to business."

"Business?" I asked, genuinely wondering what this Entity wanted from me. I didn’t have anything worth a damn. Money wasn’t what this Entity wanted. It was beneath this creature. It wanted much more than that.

"I’m here to offer you the opportunity to save your family from the wreckage. You, Gretta, and Baby Carmine can walk away from all of this without a scratch. It’ll be as if this accident never happened. You’ll drive home, snuggle up with the...

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