In the mirror ahead, Gretchen's face was twisted with fury. Her speed dropped again, sharp and sudden, and my car was forced to slow with it.
To my right, Cecil lounged in the truck's driver seat, eyes glittering with amusement.
"Scared yet, Clarence? This is what happens when you cross me."
I was pinned in the far-left passing lane. The guardrail ran along my left. Behind me, a growing line of cars crawled at the pace Gretchen dictated.
The navigation screen told the rest of the story. A massive traffic jam had formed behind us, stretching back as far as the map could show.
I was trapped. No way forward. No way back.
My father-in-law's breathing grew more labored by the second. Without warning, his body pitched forward off the back seat and crumpled to the floor, limbs twitching involuntarily.
I slammed the horn over and over, desperate to get someone's attention, but no one paid me any mind.
Panic had me fumbling, useless. I fired off voice message after voice message to my wife.
"Dad is in my car! He's seriously ill, and I need to get him to the hospital. I am not joking with you!"
But Gretchen stayed silent.