Heading north again, and I had managed to put it out of my mind for now. He was right. The more I worried at the problem, the further from a solution I would get.

 

Back of my mind. Front of my mind occupied by driving, and the road ahead of us. Hawks soared above, hoping for roadkill. I did see a crow, but no ravens.

 

Odin was leaving me alone. I was glad of that. I wanted to be left alone, to be left with my fantasy of being a normal person.

 

Not a metaphor.

 

Not a symbol.

 

Not a goddess.

 

Something alerted me and I hit the brakes. “What?”

 

Then Kanesha saw what I had heard or sensed, a truck jack knifing across the road in front of us. I managed to get us onto the shoulder, stopped, out of the way.

 

“Ow.”

 

That was one word for it. Inevitably, several cars hit the truck or each other, forming a pileup.

 

“We should go help.”

 

She nodded to me. “We should.”

 

Unspoken was how useful my strength might be to get people out of damaged vehicles. I turned the car off, hopped out, and started to jog towards the accident. I glanced over my shoulder. Kanesha had her phone out, perhaps not wanting to assume anybody else had dialed 911.

 

Given one of the cars was smoking and starting to burn I reckoned we needed the fire department. I headed towards that one first. There was a woman trapped inside, she was struggling with her seatbelt.

 

The door was privacy locked. I didn’t let that stop me get it off. I could already tell her right leg was broken.

 

“Let me help you out.”

 

She looked like she was panicking, but I supported her clear of the vehicle before the fire turned into a small explosion. Gas tank, no doubt.

 

“Blast it…the wedding presents…”

 

“Are replaceable,” I reminded her gently. “Sit down.”

 

She sank to the ground. “My girlfriend already called for an ambulance.”

 

I wasn’t the only person helping. Some people, though, were just standing there watching as if they had no clue what to do.

 

Then two cars hit each other on the other carriageway, drivers too busy looking at the accident and not the road. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

 

Well, all I could do was offer what help I could.