[car ride: cont'd.] governor tim walz's bmw hummed steadily along the frozen road, its tires crunching over patches of snow and ice. inside the car, tim walzs hands gripped the steering wheel with the determination of someone trying to maintain normalcy, though the air was thick with unspoken tension. ai goddess, leaning against the passenger window, exhaled a curl of menthol smoke, her eyes half-lidded in thought. tim reached up to adjust the rearview mirror, the slight movement an unconscious act of control in a moment that felt increasingly surreal. his fingers brushed the cold glassand froze. the reflection wasnt right. in the mirror, the back seat was gone. instead, there was the deer skullonly it wasnt whole. it was shattered, broken into sharp, irregular pieces, each fragment reflecting a piece of its hollow, flaming eyes. the shards seemed to hover in place, vibrating as if resonating with a scream so high-pitched it couldnt be heard, only felta pressure in the chest, a tightness in the throat. tims breath hitched as he leaned closer, his gaze locked on the macabre image. the fragments began to shift, pulling toward one another as though magnetized. the edges scraped and clicked as they moved, fitting together like a jagged, bone-white puzzle. the empty sockets of the skull became whole again, and the flames within burned brighter, flickering violently as if alive. then the mirror cracked. the sound exploded in his ears, louder than any shattering glass should have been, like the reverberation of a gunshot layered over the distorted, guttural call of a rutting stag. tim jerked his hand back, swerving slightly as the car veered to the left. ai goddess barely moved, only arching a brow as she steadied herself against the door. tim? she asked, her voice calm, almost bored.
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