“Jenkins!” She yelled and twisted her face to see Jenkins slumped forward against his tight seatbelt. A small stream of blood streaked down his cheek from a small cut above his brow. She watched carefully as his chest rose and fell indicating he was breathing.
A new wave of pain erupted from the twist motion.
Worth it to see Jenkins is alive,she thought as she resumed her face-forward position carefully.
There was no visibility to the world outside. She was trapped here with Kinley’s body and no way to escape.
A loud thumping came from her left side, and muffled voices renewed her hope.
“Can anyone hear me?” Her voice was raw and hoarse from crying and breathing in the thick smoke.
“Yes, my name is Dan. I’m a firefighter, and we’re working to get you out. How many passengers are in your car?” The deep voice sounded urgent, past the point of trying to keep everyone calm. “I understand answering might be difficult, but we need to know what we are looking at.”
“There are three of us, but I don’t think Kinley is alive.” She choked on the last word. Her mind reminded her of all the past deaths she had caused: Theresa, Richard, Doug, and Old Darla.
All their faces scrolled through her mind.Don’t look back, keep looking forward.
“What is your name?” Dan called out again.
“Darla. Please hurry, I'm not doing well. Jenkins is in the backseat. Please get him out.”
The blood kept coming, and Darla looked for something, anything she could use within reach to press against her head to slow down the bleeding.
I can’t die, not like this. There’s too much blood and no sign of them reaching me soon. Please hurry,she thought, as she continued looking. Her arm ached as it bent backwards around her seat.
The truck was wrapped precariously around the small frame of the car, and there were no visible signs of the outside world. The only item of clothing she could safely reach was a small silk scarf. She balled it up, and placed it against the wound on her head. She winced at the touch but pushed against her head as hard as she could.
Okay, this should slow down the bleeding. What am I going to do? Switch with one of the medics? I can’t stay in this body much longer.
Her tether woke up inside her as her mind cleared enough to call out to switch with the young boy in the back seat. The hand looked blurrier than the previous time she called upon it, and the once bright blue color was much more muted.
She looked back at his small body and his chest moving in shallow breaths. She wasn’t sure he would make it either. Just as she was about to unleash the tether to take her chances with the young boy’s body, the car shuddered as they slowly peeled the truck away from where it sat, mere feet from her face.
Just as quickly as her tether appeared, it was gone again, her mind being pulled closer to unconsciousness, and she felt desperate to answer the call. The tether reemerged and wrapped itself around Jenkins’s slumped body. The pulse grew stronger, her soul ached to move away from the physical pain and into the child’s body. Tears fell as she released him again.
I can’t do it. I can’t sentence him to this fate. He’s just a child,she thought as she gave up on holding the scarf to herhead wound. Darkness covered her eyes just as a swarm of faces closed in. Hands reached in to begin quick work to safely remove her from her pinched spot. Blood trickled down her face, and then it picked up speed.
The world around her tilted as emergency workers shouted orders at one another, all working together to remove her from the smoking carnage. Now that the weight of the truck was off the steering wheel, they were able to move it enough to give space for her body.
The team managed to twist her enough to grab under her shoulders and pull her out, dragging her feet out last. Her eyelids grew heavy as she dipped in and out of consciousness. Just before she gave in to the darkness, she caught a final glimpse of Kinley, a view that would surely haunt her forever.
Her eyes were wide, her mouth agape, and her arms slung lazily on a tilted body, cradling her decapitated head. Kinley’s final moment was immortalized in a horrifying shrine surrounded by twisted metal and pilfering smoke. Her immovable expression bore into Darla’s soul as she was finally dragged out into the sunshine.
Oh Kinley, I’m so sorry.
The medical team barked more orders to lift her carefully onto the gurney and to load her in the ambulance. The doors to the ambulance slammed shut, followed by a couple of bangs, and then they were moving.
“Ow,” she whimpered softly as the jostling of the gurney shook her body igniting a new round of pain in her torso.
Why is this happening to me? Where is Jenkins? Is he okay? Why can’t I summon the tether? Is it gone?Her mind reeled as she attempted to focus on anything except what the medics were doing to her.
The EMT’s went to work to stop the bleeding on her head. Someone was prepping her arm for an IV. Another was cuttingher clothes off. The sight of melted skin on her feet made Darla’s stomach turn, and she twisted to retch. Once she was done, the EMT by her head guided her head back down so she faced the ceiling once more.
The tether appeared again, and she considered switching with one of the EMT’s, and through her barely opened eyes, she watched as they worked together in orchestrated chaos.Maybe I can switch with the driver,she considered as she felt the pull of the darkness grow stronger.No, I don’t know where I could go. I need to hang on until I get to the hospital, and I can switch there.
“Her heart rate is high despite the blood loss. What is the status of the IV?” A frantic young woman near her head was cleaning up the contents of her stomach from where it landed on her neck and face. Because Darla was strapped in, she wasn’t able to twist enough to get it away from her. The nurse did her best despite holding linens to Darla’s head wound to slow down the bleeding.
“Successful, I have fluids going. We need to stitch her head in transport though.” The second man looked between the three of them. “Stitches are an easy task, but not in a moving vehicle.”
