Mason

I glanced right and saw it running in the ditch beside me.

I almost drove off the road.

It was low to the ground now, stretched out in a full run, but it did not run like a coyote.

Its front and back legs moved in a rhythm that made my stomach turn.

They were too loose, like the joints were not locked where they should have been.

Its head was turned toward the car the whole time, not forward.

It was running through the dirt and brush beside the road at the same speed as my car, staring in through the passenger window.

I pushed the gas harder, 65, 70.

The Honda started shaking a little.

The road ahead curved, and I had to slow down or risk losing control.

The thing matched me.

When I sped up, it sped up.

When I slowed for the bend, it slowed too.

It never looked away.

I was saying stuff out loud, but I don't remember most of it.

Just panic words.

No, no, no, please no.

I grabbed my phone from the cup holder and tried to call my mom.

The call failed.

I looked at the screen and saw one bar, then none.