Crash and Burn

2: Collision Course

Tyler and I drove down the highway as the sun peaked over the trees, the choppy stereo playing in the background. Right now it was playing "Two of Us" by The Beatles. It certainly set the mood. I drummed on my lap with the music and he whistled. Suddenly he stopped and pointed into the sky.

"Look!" He exclaimed. I turned my head up and saw a massive bald eagle circling above.

"Whoa, it huge!" I breathed. It was a rare sight, as we lived pretty much in the heart of the urban area.

"I haven't really thought much about where we're going, but we should make it somewhere farther away from the city. I'm sick of all the traffic and crime and..." I started.

"And the sirens!" Tyler added, practically jumping out of his seat.

"Don't get me started on the sirens. Like seriously, I'm trying to sleep. Could you please light your house on fire during work hours? Geez." I joked. We laughed for a while about this.

"Well, it's pretty much all farmland east of here. We could probably get some work around there. Wanna give it a try?" He suggested.

"Great." I responded.

We'd come up with our little plan just over a month ago. It was mid January of our twelfth and final year of high school. To be honest, I can't pinpoint a single reason why I left. I hadn't applied to any universities, and didn't plan to, and my parents where getting pretty nasty about it. My little brother Liam had joked that our parents where going to kick me out if I didn't start trying harder with my education, but I always had a feeling that he'd heard it from them by accident.

So maybe I wasn't top of my grade. Maybe I was in the lower percentile of my year, but that's only one kind of smart. I'm what you call street smart. I can get out of any situation you put me in, creepy gut following me home? No problem. Little brother running out in front if cars? I got it covered. So, when I was being pushed towards a 'better future' on every side, I found a way out.

I have no clue why Tyler left. We never really talked about it. He had amazing grades all throughout high school and practically had a free pass into any of the top universities in the country, maybe even a couple international. His parents were loving, he was moderately popular and he came from a wealthy background. That's a recipe for success in this part of the world, yet he wanted to start over.

"I'm getting hungry. Should we stop somewhere?" Tyler asked. I glanced at the clock on top of the radio.

"It's twelve thirty. Why don't we pull into the next town? They have a really good Thai restaurant." I suggested. Tyler looked at me longingly.

"But... KFC..." He whimpered.

"Seriously? First day of your new life and you want to eat a deep fried bird?" I laughed. He rolled his eyes.

"Fine, healthy food it is." He said, switching into the left lane. My eyes focused on something in the distance. A black SUV was swerving around in it's lane as it came down the road towards us.

"What's up with that car?" I wondered aloud, pointing to it. Tyler shrugged. I kept my eye on it as it came. It was making me a bit nervous. Suddenly, as it came within a few meters of us, it turned straight towards us and sped up.

"Ty, look out!" I shouted. There was nothing that could be done. The two cars collided with a sickening thud, sending us careening away. My head thumped against something and it all went dark.