Lomond Drive
Driving late at night around three a.m.
Whisking between clouds of thick fog
Roaring through the backwoods to get back home
The road is empty, as are my thoughts
Work has pushed me to the brink
I quite enjoy the quiet ride home
Suddenly I notice something in the corner of my eye
I check my rearview mirror but I don’t see a thing
Just as I look forward again a deer dives out
I pull the wheel to the side now, almost fly out and flip the car upside down
It continues skidding, I can feel my blood rushing and dripping
The windshield looks like it’s been kicked in, it’s a miracle I’m still living
Pain is an understatement, I’m shaking, my brain’’s racing
I don’t think I’m gonna make it, my life’s surely taken
Gasoline fumes flow and impose where they shouldn’t go
It feels like everything’s broken, and nobody is on the road
“Fucking deer, nothing like them where I’m from”
I think to myself as I try to stay calm
But the pain is unbearable, I’ve got to get out
I unfasten my seatbelt, moving my arm an inch at a time
I can see the disfigurement in my hand as I press the release
Gripping the cold asphalt, I pull myself to a crawl
I’m only halfway out and I know I can no longer move
Out of nowhere I hear branches rustle in the distance
Through the fog I can see the silhouette of a person
I scream out “Help!” I can’t believe I’m finally saved
I thank the stranger and reach my hand out to him
He grabs it and looks in my eyes with a smile
He tugs at me aggressively, tearing fabric and stretching sleeves
I’m yelling “Just a second please!” He must be an enemy
He’s breathing heavily, steadily prying me from the car
Crying up to the stars, I wonder if he’s been eyeing me from afar?
Finally I’m yanked loose and freed, he starts to drag me through the leaves
I’m being jerked brutally, I trusted this human foolishly
This man has death in his heart, should have guessed from the start.
Was he really waiting for someone to wreck in their car?
Crashing through rock and debris, he’s not even stopping to see,
If my heart’s given up the option to beat from the exhaustion to bleed
My mind is frozen, this is not the time for dosing
But my eyes are closing wondering why I’m chosen
The crusted blood crumbles as my eyelids rise
The room I’m in is barely lit,
A sole lightbulb hangs above me
I go to move but I’m strapped to a table
The man from before silently approaches
Donning a medical mask and some bloody gloves
He rolls a table next to him that’s a cluttered mess
I go to speak but something’s holding me back
I’m incapable of forming words, I’m just making noise
Then I realize, I’m missing my tongue
I’ll be turned into a vegetable by his set of tools, my face wet with drool
Tearing up as he directs his stool, I’m his guinea pig with no set of rules
“Oh motherfucker!” he picks the drill, my whole body gets the chills
I start kicking, but he’s quick and shrill, grabbing my legs to sit me still
Almost whispering he says “Listen well, very soon you’re gonna visit Hell.
This isn’t a story you’ll live to tell, it’s as if you have different cells—“
He’s interrupted, looking puzzled and coy, there’s a rumbling noise
The ceiling crumbles destroyed, finally help is here and trouble’s deployed
A beam of light strikes and he’s instantly evaporated, I’m exasperated
My superior looks aggravated as he frees me from the straps I’m placed in
The air is filled with dust, almost toxic to breathe
He grabs my face to inspect my wounds
“You’ll be returning to base immediately following your recovery
Twelve years with nothing to show for and now this?
You will be stationed at a less, troublesome, planet
Perhaps Jupiter? Get out of my sight”
I stare back at his long face with a look of disappointment
I couldn’t retort even if I still had a tongue
Earth will have to be taken without me
I begrudgingly board the ship and sit by the window
A deer peacefully grazes as we ascend to orbit