A Burnt Novel
"Ugh, I hate your old people music," Cameron whined reaching between the console to change the station. Her seatbelt restricted her reach so she flared her arm towards them helplessly.
"Honey sit back down, I will change it. What channel is it?" Cameron's mom, Scarlett asked, finger hovering over the buttons.
"Just let me do it, it will be quicker." Cameron unbuckled her seat and lifted out of her chair extending her arm towards the controls.
"Cameron please take a seat. Put your seatbelt back on." Her dad, Evan warned checking the review mirror, but only seeing his daughters head blocking his view.
"Almost... and got it." She smiled with delight as the radio blasted what she considered 'good music'.
"Sit." Evan said sternly as he moved to turn off the highway.
"I'm sitting, I'm sitting..." she replied, easing backwards.
But she never got to sit. Cameron never saw it coming. None of them did. Cameron flew forward through the windshield and into the truck that collided with them. The airbags went off only after they were collided from the back causing Scarlett and Evan to jolt forward, then backwards before they knew what was happening. They were knocked unconscious, bleeding out. As their bodies lay motionless an ambulance was called, but the drivers didn't know if they would make it in time.
"Stay with me, come on... yeah I'm just off of..." the man cried into the phone. He looked down for one second, one second! His dad and him were having issues and he just needed to drive so he wouldn't punch his dad in the face. Then all of a sudden a truck came barreling out of nowhere, he didn't hit the breaks in time. These poor people's car was smushed to smithereens from both ends. Although his van was quite smashed it was nothing compared to their Toyota. "Yeah I'm still here," he went on. "You can't miss it."
"Shit, shit, shit." The truck driver screamed when he got out of the car. There was a teenager slammed, face crushed, against the grill of his car, he could smell her skin burning, swore he heard her bones crack under the pressure. "Should we move her?" He questioned the opposing driver, getting closer. "You think they are alive?" The man on the phone shook his head, shrugged his tense shoulders, fear coursing through him.
"I think I see him breathing," the man on the phone said wearily when he looked to Evan, his chest rising and falling slowly, like a beat of a fading drum.
"And the girl, damn I'm screwed man." The truck driver called out kicking at his tire.
"What the hell were you even doing on this side of the road?" The man screamed at the truck driver.
A small cough came from the car and the men stopped yelling, they moved quickly to the sound. "Umm," Scarlett moaned out unable to open her eyes, but she heard voices.
"She's alive. Hi, I'm Andy, and I called the police and an ambulance is coming." Andy shot the truck driver a glare. "You are going to be okay." He told Scarlett even though she looked to be anything but okay.
"Cam, Ev..." she murmured breathlessly. The seatbelt was digging into her neck, taking away her air supply one breath at a time.
"Your family? They are here... sort of." Andy didn't know what to say, didn't know what to do. He was 22 years old, living at home, working at Kohl's until an actual job came his way. He wasn't ready for something like this. No amount of life experience readied you for the moment you collide with someone and possibly ended their life.
