She drives along, listening to the radio at full volume. It’s late, almost past curfew, and she has to get home. She’s speeding just a little on the wet road. And then it starts raining again. She doesn’t slow down. She has to get home in time, or she’ll have h*ll to pay from her anger ridden father. She knows he won’t accept any excuse.

He’s being careful. He knows his parents will understand if he’s a bit late. The rain’s coming down hard and heavy, and he slows a good ten miles below the speed limit. The roads, already slick with the previous day’s rain, have become treacherous. He turns down the volume on the radio to concentrate better on the road.

She feels her tires sliding just a little bit, and yanks the wheel hard in the other direction, refusing to slow down. She shouts along to her favorite screamo band, even taking her eyes off the road to change the station when the song ends. Through the pouring rain, it’s impossible to see anything anyway.

He’s becoming more and more nervous. Through the pouring rain, would he be able to see another car coming? He keeps his eyes glued to the road, and tries to slow a bit more. The brakes find no purchase on the road, and his fear increases by a degree. What would happen if he got in a wreck? He tries not to think about it, tries to keep his mind completely focused on this road. He’s driven down it a million times, but tonight, it seems entirely alien.

She frowns as she sharply takes a turn she thought wasn’t for another twenty miles. She swears she can drive down this road blindfolded, but all of sudden, it seems foreign. She slows down, just a tiny bit, and thinks she sees a light up ahead. Maybe a house? She pulls out her phone to call her dad, to tell him about the awful condition of the roads as an excuse for her lateness. She knew she should have left the party earlier, but she lost track of the time.

He wants to call his parents, but he knows better than to try to use his phone and drive. He keeps a vigilant watch on the road, both in front and behind him. He sees a light up ahead, possibly a house! He knows the area, but the missing landmarks have him confused. Lightning flashes, and thunder crashes. He knew he should have headed home sooner!

She yelps at the first lightning flash, and then scolds herself to not be such a baby. She drives with her knees, trying to text her dad, but finally gives up. The light is getting closer, and she’s hit by sudden insight. That’s not one light, but two. Headlights. She yanks the wheel hard, but it’s too late. She hits the other car dead on as she screams.

He realizes that the light up ahead is actually two lights. Another car’s headlights, which happen to be driving in the wrong lane. The other car hits him on the passenger side as he swerves away. He hears a girl scream as his head hits the window and he passes out.

She didn’t lose consciousness. She’s surrounded by pain. A throbbing in her head, pricks of glass from the shattered windshield, and the sudden freezing rain. She watches blood pour down from a cut on her neck. Her visions blurring, and she whimpers in pain. She’s trapped.

As he comes to, he hears pain filled whimpers. He struggles to get out of his car, gaining many new cuts in the process. He finds his phone in the wreckage and calls 911. The rain is still coming down in sheets. He’s soaked and frozen to the bone as he hears promises of an ambulance being sent and loses service. He runs over to the other car and sees her. He blanches, and inherently knows that there’s no way she could survive. There’s just too much blood.

She sees him, a boy her own age, and begs, “Help me…” She knows she’s trapped. He comes over to her, and grasps her hand and holds tight, whispering about how he’s called an ambulance and she’ll be alright soon. He pushes her blood and rain soaked hair out of her face, and the tender gesture makes her cry. She knows that something is really wrong. There’s just too much blood, and she thinks it’s all her own.

He kneels there, holding her hand, wishing to take her place. This stranger’s pain makes him want to do anything to take it away from her. He finally hears sirens, and in no time at all, the EMT’s have pulled her free and are loading her up. As one of them does a routine check on him, he asks desperately, “Will she be okay?” The EMT looks sadly at him and says, “I’m sorry son, but it was too late.”