It still was quite misty after the rainstorm that we had yesterday. I stared out the window of my college class, worrying my lower lip as I watch the opaqueness of the mist. It looked almost solid; I could barely make out the mountain that the mist was rolling through. I wouldn't even consider it a mist anymore but more like a cloud.

"And thus, the enzyme carbonic anhydrase catalyzes the reaction between carbon dioxide and water, creating carbonic acid which dissociates into a Hydrogen ion and bicarbonate ion." The droll voice of the professor as she lectured about the stomach acid took my attention away, putting the worry of bad driving at the back of my head.

"Shit," I muttered as I realized that the professor had already reached to the back of the printed notes and I missed all of it. I groaned to myself as I decided to add another hour to my studying at home for the mixed content. Not only I have to worry about the the bloody mist outside and the upcoming rent payment of my apartment, now I have to worry about picking up the slack in studying. I glanced at the time to see it was 4:50, indicating the class ended. The sound of books being closed and bags beings opened filled the classroom's atmosphere, along with low murmur of the students speaking to each other.

"Do not forget about the online help, McTyre Connect. I've been told it saves life." the professor said, also packing. The teacher eyed the weather through the window. "If you kids are going home or going to work, be careful out there. I will recommend you to call off and stay here until the mist goes away."

I can't to do that. My rents due on Friday, I get paid on Friday and I have to put in all the hours I can so I can have some leftover money for groceries. I went outside the college campus, the humidity outside was making my light blond hair seem thicker than usual. I eyed the mist, then eyed my phone. I know that if I missed today, I would still be able to pay my rent but would I be able to survive till the next paycheck?

I could ask dad to give me a hand but I didn't want to give them the satisfaction of knowing that I was still dependent on them despite what I told them. Sighing, I decided to ask the job if I could come little later than normal because of the mist. It should go away by then right? Mist don't just stay in one place, especially in a town that is situated in the mountains. It will just roll away.

"No."

I reared back, as if my boss tried to hit me through the phone. "What do you mean 'no'? The mist is as thick as a building. I can't even see through it, much less drive through it! That's a dangerous accident on the happening. Come on, let me come through around seven. The mist will lessen by then!" I almost growled out, raking my hand through my hair.

"Hyra," my boss, his voice cold, "I barely have workers on the hour because of the flu that is going around. A mist is just a mist. You arrive at 5:15 sharp or consider yourself fired." Before I could fight back, the line went dead. I stared at the phone, aghast, as if the phone itself was culprit.

"That bastard! He knows that I am struggling so, of course, he uses that to his advantage! Slimy, old man!" I yelled out, stomping my foot on the ground. I knew I was at the school's parking lot and yelling to myself was turning heads but I didn't care. There has to be a law saying that if you were injured in an accident because of bad weather because your boss is a fucking douche, you are entitled to throw a lawsuit against your boss, right? There has to be one.

After throwing my bag in my trunk and slamming it shut to get rid of my anger, I texted my neighbor saying that I am going to work and explaining my predicament. I started my car and backed out of my parking spot. I knew what I was doing was totally insane: I was choosing my job over my life. You have to do what you got to survive in this world: go against the weather warnings and hope for the best.

As the college became a blip in my rearview mirror and the three-way double lane turned into one way single lane with the mountain side on the left and railing on the right. I knew that if I looked to the cliff end on my right, I would shit myself so I decided to pay attention to the road which started to look little bit misty. I wasn't anywhere near the thickest part of the mist. The roads were still slick from yesterday's rain and the cloudy, mist wasn't helping at all but adding more moisture to the road.

There were no cars ahead of me so I eyed my rearview mirror once more to see that I was leading the train of cars behind me. That even made me more anxious. Was I going too slow? Was I just overthinking the mist? However, there were no honks behind me, telling me that they were anxious about the drive as well. That soothed me a little bit but it didn't stop my hands from getting clammy. Maybe, listening to music would soothe me. I turned on the radio and some billboard topping song played.

It took me another ten minutes of driving to enter the thickest part of the mist. An holy shit, it was thick. Before, I could see fifteen feet of surrounding area and now, the change was drastic. From fifteen to five, my blood pressure raised as well as my fear. I looked at my rearview mirror to just see that I couldn't even see the car behind me.

"Hyra, you stupid girl! You should have quit right there when the boss endangered your life!" I scolded myself, scared shitless. The urge to call dad was rising up and this time, I wasn't going to let my pride cloud my judgement. Pressing the bluetooth button, I said to my car, "Call Dad." The car's speaker told me that the line was not busy and a sound of a click and a chuckle filled the car.

"I wonder when you will call me, Hyra." said the familiar voice of my dad.

"It's not about the money, dad." I asked, my voice trembling. "Well, actually, if you were to looker deeper into it, it is about the money."

"Honey?" The humor was gone. I guess he caught on how I was feeling. "Baby girl, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

"The rain from last night caused a really bad mist, Dad. I asked my boss if I could come later on once the mist has been cleared and that douche said that if I don't come now, I would get fired. I am like in the middle of the mist and I can't see anything! I can't believe I chose my job over my life." I knew I was ranting. I knew it was my fault. "I should have just kicked my pride to the curb and asked for your help."

"Why didn't you just call?" Dad almost yelled, his panic rising.

"Because I didn't want to give you the satisfaction that I can't do anything with your help." I said, tears welling up. "I know, I know!"

"I will scold you later. Just focus on driving and breathing normally. I will be on the phone with you until you are off that mountain pass, okay? Hyra, don't think about the could-haves and the should-haves, stay focus on the now. I am right here, baby girl." Dad said, serious. His soothing deep voice was a balm to my frayed nerves. You can do this, Hyra. You are overthinking it. Just drive slowly. What did Kanye West say? Drive slow, homie.

The mist was thick that it blocked out whatever light and made the surroundings even dimmer. Dad kept on talking to me, talking about his day, talking about whatever so I can be relaxed and not think about my impending doom. He currently was talking about his current girlfriend, Heather, derriere. I eyed the dashboard system with a disgusted face.

"Dad, I really don't want to talk about how great Heather's ass is or the curvature of it. Okay?" I said, gagging. "Or any part-" What I heard was the blaring honk from a head. It sounded like semi-trailer truck.

"Everything alright?"

"Just a semi-trailer honking continuously. I think they are trying to grab our attention and telling us that a huge ass truck is coming through so be wary." I said, biting my lip. "I hope." The honking got louder as it came closer. "It's coming bit faster than my liking, pops. I mean, they shouldn't be speeding-oh shit!" I yelled out as I saw the truck tractor of the semi-trailor truck appear through the mist.

It was moving fast and it was coming towards my way. I could see the driver trying to turn the wheel but he had lost control of the truck. "HYRA?! HYRA-!" I didn't pay attention to my dad as my body did what it does automatically: to avoid the truck as much as possible. I wrung the wheel to right, towards the railing of the cliff we were on, hoping that I could turn fast to avoid the collision. I felt my steering wheel jerk as the car shifted to the direction I turned but the car didn't drive to the direction I wanted. The tires hydroplaned over the slick road and the car kept on going forward, towards the semi-trailer truck.

I knew I was out of luck. I could hear my dad screaming for my name. I knew I was screaming. Before I could even curl my body into a ball, the truck smashed into the side of my car. My whole body would have flung out of the car if it weren't for the seatbelts. The airbags burst open but I didn't feel the pain of them colliding with my face. My seatbelt snapped just as the car began to roll. I felt whole my body crash into the roof of the car as it was upside down then crashed back to side as the car landed on it side. But it didn't stop.

The car slid on the slick road, my dad's voice still coming through but it kept on breaking. He was saying my name over and over again. I opened my mouth to say something but I realized that my mouth was filled with some sort of warm liquid. I spit it out, blood splattering the fake leather interior of the car. My side hurt furiously, telling me I at least broke my ribs. I couldn't breathe properly. The numbness experience on my left arm told me the same thing: that arm was broken. I wasn't paying attention to the currently skidding car of mine.

What caught my attention was the groaning of the rails it stopped my car from sliding even further. The rails groaned even further, protesting the added weight. If the loud pops indicated anything, it was the sound of few railings popping off from the ground.

"Hell, no." I muttered through the blood pooling in my mouth, choking halfway through, as I felt something crash into my car from the back. Probably another car but that was enough for the rails to give up fully. I started to feel my car tip forward and I crunches my eyes. As the car slid closer over to the edge, I have come to an agreement that I was going to die.

And my dad heard everything.

With one last lurch, my car was airborne and hurtling off the mountain side in a silent fall.