Veronica Level opened her eyes and blinked rapidly. She struggled to clear her blurred vision as she slowly came to. When she was finally able to focus, she gasped at the horrifying scene in front of her.

The smoldering air was filled with thick gray smoke. Cars were piled on top of one another all along the expressway. Horns were blowing, sirens were blaring. Terrified people were jumping out of their burning vehicles, running and screaming. The crowded five-lane highway had suddenly turned into an apocalyptic warzone.

Veronica gripped her steering wheel and turned around, afraid of what lay behind her. Just as she’d thought, there was more mayhem. Dark clouds loomed overhead. Dozens more overturned cars littered the street, many of them engulfed in flames. She carefully reached for her door handle, hoping that she hadn’t broken any bones. Despite feeling shaken and drained, Veronica felt no pain.

She opened the door and stepped outside, bracing herself for the damage that her own car must have sustained. But as Veronica eyed her driver’s side, she saw that there was none. Shocked, she rushed around to the passenger side. It too was unscathed. She looked up and saw a bloody man limping toward her, his face distorted in agony as he struggled to support what looked to be a broken right arm.

“You all right?” he heaved.

“Yes, I think so…Are you okay?”

“I will be, but I don’t know about my wife. She’s unconscious. I’m trying to flag down a paramedic.” The man looked over at Veronica’s car. “There’s no damage,” he uttered in disbelief. “How in the hell did you manage that?”

“I uh…I have no idea...”

Veronica turned her head to hide any hint of deceit her eyes might reveal. She did in fact have an idea why her car hadn’t been damaged. But she certainly couldn’t share that information with a total stranger. Or anyone else, for that matter.

Unbelievable… Veronica heard the man thinking to himself. How the hell is this woman and her car in pristine condition when the rest of us are out here practically dying? It’s unreal. This isn’t fair.

Veronica stared at the stranger sympathetically. It was happening again. Just as it always had during intense moments of danger such as this.

The man began looking around frantically as his breathing quickened. Where’s the help? he asked himself. We need help! What if Susan dies? And the kids. How will I explain all this to the kids?

“Your wife is going to be fine,” Veronica divulged abruptly. “So you won’t have to tell your children a thing. Trust me, she’ll be fine.”

The man stared at Veronica. “Wait, but how did you know that I was even—”

“Is everyone all right over here?” a paramedic asked as he rushed toward them with a medic kit in hand. “Do either of you need assistance?”

“I do!” the man exclaimed, forgetting about Veronica and her cryptic premonition. “My wife, she’s still in the car, and I don’t know if she’s…” The man’s voice broke.

“Just show me the way, sir,” the paramedic said, helping the man walk back to his car. “I’ll do whatever I can to save her.”

Veronica felt for him and his family. She watched as he limped away, still hearing thoughts of worry flying through his head.

Her ability to read minds was still just as powerful as it had ever been. It was a skill she’d possessed since early childhood. And while she’d never really been fascinated by her telepathic ability, it was a phenomenon that her aunt Samantha considered to be a great gift, while her mother, Amanda, had deemed it a freakish curse.