My eyes opened slowly. It seemed as though the world was spinning, and I was being pulled upward at a slow, unstoppable rate. I tried to stop slipping while I slowly focused on the steering wheel before me.

Blinking twice, I tried to remember where I was, and why I continued to slip upward in my seat. I reached forward and grasped my steering wheel tightly. Attempting to focus on the world outside of my windshield, I realized I was in my car. Why?

Squinting, I tried to see through the spider webbed mess of my windshield as reality sank slowly into my skull. My car was upside down, but I was still alive. Pinned to the seat by my seat belt. Gravity grabbed eagerly at me, trying to pull my head towards the roof of my car.

A deep, controlled breath helped me calm my mind as I remembered I was on my way home from my first date with that cute blonde girl I’d met on Tinder. She’d smelled of strawberry and mint. My phone lit up on the roof below me as the chime sounded - it was her, asking if I’d had a good time.

The world seemed to be moving in surreal slow motion - likely the result of adrenaline in my system. I looked out the driver’s side window as a loud scraping sound caught my attention.

The cherry red of a large semi truck burned itself into my retinas. The front bumper scraping against the ground as the cars piled up before mine tore at it. The screech increased and I closed my eyes…

“Hey man, let’s get you out of there.” The scraping sound vanished behind the sound of this gruff voice and the sound of the glass of my driver’s side door breaking.

“Sorry, shoulda told you to watch your eyes.” A grizzled face with a long black goatee and a pair of polarized bombers popped into my view. His meaty, well muscled arm popped through to offer me assistance. “You’re gonna hafta take off the belt, man.”

I stared at him mutely, wondering for a moment if maybe I shouldn’t wait until the paramedics got here…
“C’mon man, I don’t got all day. I got other places to be.” He waggled his arm insistently, impatience showing on his face. I figured after seeing that semi nearly hit me, I was probably safer getting out.
Reaching to unbuckle myself, it clicked more easily than I’d anticipated after an accident such as this. Free from my bonds, my body slid into the roof of my car - which surprisingly didn’t hurt.

The grizzled biker gripped my arm once I was free and slid me out as easily as you might slide a pie out of the oven. Helping me to my feet, he quickly guided me over towards his bike.

It was then I heard the crash of the semi fully impacting my car, and I jumped, turning around to watch it shove my car down the road a few more feet. Mouth open wide I turned to face my rescuer.

“Naw, man. Don’t bother. You didn’t make it,” he said with a shrug, as if he read my mind. I could only stare at the man, who was obviously speaking nonsense. I was standing right there in front of him, wasn’t I?
I began to look him over a little more closely. He wore a simple black half-shell helmet, straps dangling loosely as he surveyed the damage around us. His arms were tattooed with intricate heaven vs hell imagery, running up under his sleeveless shirt. The black leather vest he wore had one solitary patch sewed on over the left breast - a tall vision of death holding a wicked looking scythe.

“Hey man, I know you gotta go soon, but you mind giving me a hand? We gotta get a few more…” he took off his bombers and squinted at me with his honey colored eyes, jerking his head towards a minivan with one of those stick figure families on the back. The front was badly crushed, and I could see a small leg dangling from the mangled side door.

Looking past it, I saw the flames coming. They were eerily still, as if waiting. I nodded faintly, it would be best if we got anyone out of that van before the wind came up and the fire thought to move faster.
“Good,” he grunted, “I prefer to get people out before they have to feel the worst of it - but I only got so long.”

Rubbing his thick neck with a dirty hand, he turned and made his way to the van. And I finally realized I’m helping Death reap his souls.

My thoughts wandered as I followed him. Thinking of that strawberry mint scent, and that I wouldn’t get to tell her…