Chosen Successor

Arrival

The ride lasted hours and each hour felt like a clock ticking down, slow, painful and suspenseful. The conversation that lasted not even five minutes was hours ago, the sun long since haven set, yet your father declined when asked to stop somewhere for a break- sleep, food, stretch of the legs, hell, even for relief, it was all rejected. Road trips, from as far back as you could remember, were never like this. Road trips were always exciting- getting to stop at local establishments, expensive tourist trap stops, getting junk food for the heck of it- it was fun! It could be that the older you got and the less you asked to stop at a passing fast-food restaurant, they didn't see the need to stop at all.

But this? This was just out of normalcy. With the sun set, the road was pitch black, save for what little distance ahead the poor high beams on the car illuminated. Of course, you could sleep it off and wake up when the ride was over, but the thought of leaving your, presumably, sleep-deprived father who had been driving for the past six hours with no break, left your stomach doing uneasy flips. Besides the worry gnawing at your bones, you had never been a great sleeper. Nights that you had a restful sleep were few and far between, often going with small power naps to get through the day. It worked- for the most part. There would be days were you would stay up for nights on end, sleep the furthest thing from your mind. You chalked it up to the stress of college, even if everything was turned in and awaiting its grade. In the rare instance, you would sleep nonstop, to the point of causing worry to your few friends. They would voice their concerns for your sleep, but you never felt off about it. It was a bad sleep schedule, nothing more, nothing less.

And so, you sat, cushioned in the back seat with your head resting on a pillow, watching a random video that caught your interest just a few minutes ago. It was null, something to keep your mind from wandering. You glance at the top of your phone, forgoing the effort to make sense of the words being poured into your earbuds from the video. You squint, checking the time and looking through the notification icons on your phone.

3:14 am.

It really has felt longer than six hours in this car, if you're completely honest. The numerous long stretches of nothingness with only rundown gas stations lost its charm within the second hour.

You groan and drag a hand down your face, tired of sitting in one spot with minimal shifts in position. Standing still for so long could be difficult! Well, sitting. In fact, sitting might even be worse! You shake your head at the imaginary argument within your head and turn to look out the window. Nothing changed. It was still dark out with only the front and very little of the sides of the road being lit by the headlights. Maybe if you tried hard enough, you could go back to counting the roadkill just like when you first got on the road-

You pass a deer.

It was standing alone, stock still. Normal for a deer, of course it was, that was where the term "deer in headlights" originated from! What was not, and never will be, normal were its eyes. A bright yellow iris that seemed to illuminate its face as you passed. You bolt up from your position and crane your neck back in hopes of seeing the deer once more. Only darkness greeted you.

Turning back around, you furrow your brows and scrunch your face up. Maybe it was the lack of sleep catching up to you. Your friends talk about having mild hallucinations when they get sleep-deprived, that might be what was happening.

"Dad, did you see that? That- that deer! It had yellow eyes! We just passed it!"

Your dad has remained silent through the whole trip. You would confidently say he was lost in thought, perhaps thinking over reservations at hotels, what to say to family members once we arrive, maybe even what we should visit when we get there. You would if it weren't for the vacant, empty eyes that he looked down the road with.