Killing Imaginary Friends

What does a boy do when his imaginary friends never die?

Olly Frampton fights back his parting tears. It's all his fault. He stares at his mother's tear-streaked face in the rearview mirror, terrified she will careen off the mountain in the storm. Suddenly, she gasps and breaks. Police lights glare off the windshield. An officer in a yellow slicker waves them past an overturned car. The rain-swept highway glistens red and blue with shattered glass.

Terrified, Olly presses his nose against the window. A small boy with unblinking eyes clutches his teddy in the rain before disappearing beneath a white sheet. Olly's fears turn to profound sadness for the poor little kid, dying all alone on the road in the rain. Olly hears a small voice, making his head spin and his eyes bulge. The little boy smiles from the seat beside him. Was this his imagination?