Jax held onto the steering wheel tightly as he eased the sleek black car through the twists and turns of the back road leading to his home. As he drove, he kept feeling like someone was watching him.

But that was impossible.

There were no cars behind him.

Who could be watching him?

Jax fiddled with the radio and found a song he liked. Cranking up the volume, he smacked the steering wheel in time to the pounding beat of The Beautiful People’.

Suddenly, something slammed into the windshield. Blood spurted all over his car as he swerved dramatically. He screamed as he felt himself lose control of the car. Shutting his eyes, all he could do is hang onto the wheel as his car rolled several times. Jax felt himself being rocked from side to side.

In seconds, the car came to an abrupt stop. As he opened his eyes, he saw that the windshield on the driver’s side had been shattered. He was sitting in a ditch with the passenger side of the car lying flat. His seatbelt was the only thing holding him upright in the car. His hands were still clutching the wheel tightly. He waved his hand out of his driver’s window which was shattered.

Shaken by the accident, he didn’t know what to do. He yelled for help hoping that other drivers had seen what had happened. When help didn’t arrive, Jax looked around him seeing that all the glass in the car had been shattered. His head throbbed terribly. Looking out of the shattered windshield, he noticed blood and fur on the outside. Then he saw the deer lying lifeless on the shoulder of the highway. Jax felt a twinge of sadness for the deer and hoped he’d died a quick, painless death.

Suddenly, a pair of headlights was upon him. Jax breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the car slow down. Pain was exploding throughout his body. He couldn’t move as he feared something may be broken.

“Hey, are you okay in there?” A male voice boomed in the darkness.

“I’m okay, I think other than maybe a broken bone or two. I’m not sure.” Jax called back.

The man and two women came up to his car. They peered in through the broken windshield.

“Can you get out?”

“I think I’ll need a little help. The only thing holding me in is this seatbelt.”

Seeing his predicament, the women called 911. In minutes, they had Jax pulled from the car. Seating him on a stretcher, they quickly loaded him into the ambulance.

While en route to the hospital, Jax pleaded with the paramedic to call Brooke.

“So odd this time of year a deer would leap out like that into oncoming traffic.” The paramedic mused.

Jax thought a moment. It was true. It wasn’t the time of year for them to do that. Of course, deer accidents were common to the area, but something seemed strange about this one. It was as if the deer leapt in front of him on purpose.

So strange.

Jax felt his eyes close as they neared the hospital.

Please no more. He just couldn’t take the drama.

As he lay in the hospital bed waiting for Brooke to arrive, he remembered the last time he’d visited the hospital.

It was the day of the accident.

Ever since that trip to Egypt, Jax had been feeling strange. First there was the terrible illness that kept him hospitalized for weeks then the accident.

It was a warm summer day, the kind that brings all the kids outside. All over his neighborhood children were laughing and playing.

Jax being a typical nine year old boy was riding his new bike all over the neighborhood with his friends.

“Hey, let’s go check out the train tracks near Old River Road. My brother was telling me that he and his friends saw a severed arm down there!”

“No way!” Jax shook his head at his friend, Jeremy who was always exaggerating. Jeremy’s older brother, Kyle was a notorious liar too.

“It’s true! Two days ago they all rode their bikes down and saw an arm that was lying next to the train tracks. Said that it must’ve been some homeless guy that hung out around the tracks. He got drunk and passed out with his arm on the track. Then the train came along and cut it off!” Jeremy paused for effect.

Jax remained unimpressed. He jabbed his friend, Mike who was standing next to him.

“What do you think?”

Mike shrugged. He balanced his bike as he bent over to grab a quarter that he saw glinting in the sun.

“I’m up to ride down there.”

“No, I meant about the arm.”

Mike shrugged as if he didn’t care. He was already pedaling in the direction of the train tracks.

“You coming, Jax? It’s not that far or are you scared?” Jeremy taunted him.

Jax felt fury building within him. He wasn’t scared he just didn’t believe Jeremy’s tall tale of a severed arm.

“Yeah, I’m coming!” He remembered he was supposed to tell his mother if he left the neighborhood, but he quickly shrugged it off.

As the boys rode their bikes down the street, they pedaled quickly toward the train tracks. Jax started to have an uneasy feeling about the trip.

“Jax, come on! You getting tired?” Mike shouted back at him. Jax was traveling a few feet behind his friends.

“No!” Jax bared down and pedaled even faster towards his friends.

Finally, the boys reached the edge of the trail that would take them down directly to the train tracks.

“Come on, don’t be a baby. Let’s go!” Jeremy cycled ahead and the two boys raced after him. Down the hill they sped as fast as their bikes could go. Jax gripped his handlebars tighter and tighter fearing he would spin out of control.

When they reached the bottom of the hill, the boys gazed around at the train tracks. The only thing they saw were several broken liquor bottles and scraps of material which looked like the remnants of an old tattered tent.

“Bums must live down here.” Jeremy gestured to the highway overpass that went above the train tracks. Several colorful splashes of spray painted graffiti decorated the concrete pillars.

The boys dropped their bikes milling around the train tracks. Just as Jax suspected, there were no signs of a severed arm.

“Jeremy, I don’t see anything.” Jax threw his hands in the air.

Jeremy gritted his teeth in frustration. He knew that Jax and Mike doubted his story. Still, his brother had told him he had seen a severed arm so he was sure a severed arm was somewhere around there.

“I’m sure it’s here somewhere.”

“Maybe an animal drug it off.” Mike suggested. The sun was fading in the distance and he wanted to get home before dark. The prospect of riding their bikes home uphill through those woods didn’t appeal to him.

“Face it, Jeremy, your brother’s bullshit and so are you!” Jax laughed.

Jeremy spun to face him with wild eyes.

“We’ll just see about that, Jax.”

With that, Jeremy stomped off closer to the tracks.

Both Mike and Jax noticed how low the sun was getting.

“Come on, Jeremy. It’s going to get dark soon. We need to get going.”

Jeremy paid them no mind as he sat out to find something to make the trip worthwhile. He couldn’t stand to have his friends think he or his brother was a liar even though he himself was beginning to doubt his brother’s story.

“Jax, we need to go. I’ll be grounded if my mom finds out I left the neighborhood!” Mike looked worried.

Jax nodded.

“Me too, but we can’t just leave him out here.” Jax felt the tug of friendly loyalty.

They watched as Jeremy began walking on the train tracks.

“Jeremy! Come on!” They both yelled.

Jeremy tried walking along the metal rail of the train tracks balancing his weight carefully. Suddenly, something caught his eye about a half mile up ahead.

He jumped off the rail and began running. Jax and Mike ran after him heedless of the setting sun.

“Guys, I see something! Follow me I think it’s the arm!” He cried excitedly.

Just then, Jax felt a rush of fear surge through him. The U shaped pin he kept in his pocket fell out and he bent over to pick it up. As soon as he did, he noticed Jeremy fall down on the tracks.

And then….

A horrifying sound filled the air. The sound of the train’s horn blaring at them. Mike screamed as the two rushed towards Jeremy.

“Get off the tracks, Jeremy!”

Jeremy screamed as panic filled him. His foot had become lodged between the track and the rail. He tugged desperately at his foot to no avail.

The train barreled down upon him.

Mike and Jax scrambled upon onto the tracks tugging and pulling at Jeremy. Tears spilled down their faces as they screamed for help.

Suddenly, as if in slow motion, they looked up. Their eyes met the train conductor’s eyes. Their own fright was reflected in his. He blared the horn and screamed out the window.

“I can’t stop! Get off the tracks!”

An unseen force pushed Jax and Mike from the tracks. They watched helplessly as Jeremy’s frightened eyes gazed at them one last time.

“NOOOO!” They screamed as the train slowed to a stop.

But it was too late.

Jeremy’s small body was crushed beneath the train.

In minutes, an ambulance came squealing down to the tracks. The boys watched in tears and shock as their friend was lifted onto a stretcher.

Several hours later, they were sitting with their parents in the ER when they learned that Jeremy was not dead as they had presumed.

He was badly injured and he was unconscious. His brain activity was minimal and they did not expect him to survive the night.

But years later, Jeremy lived on in a persistent vegetative state. His parents refused to discontinue life support.

At first, Jax didn’t connect the accident with the pin, but years later he recalled that the trouble started when he touched the pin.

Was it cursed? Was he cursed?