Countdown (completed)

2.

A sheet of ice covers the ground, and from the dark clouds above, I can tell a storm is brewing. Small flakes of snow begin to tumble from the sky, and begin to build up on the ground.

"Saiko?"

I snap back to attention. I scan the board quickly and work out the equation.

"X = 76.2" I say.

"Well done," says my maths teacher, Mr Anderson, but not really meaning it.

I have been listening to Mr Anderson drone on for what seems like a century. Numbers and letters and equations - they all  just confuse me. Thank goodness this terrible double period will soon be over.

As if on cue, the bell rings, and we all file out of the door into the corridor. I meet up with Ruby and Maya just outside the lunch hall, ready to walk downtown together.

"Are you sure we should go downtown today?" asks Ruby, "I mean, the snow is falling quite a bit."

"It'll be fine," Maya and me say simultaneously.

We walk out the school and down the road. Not many people from school are out. Cars drive past us spraying us with disgusting wet snow, and we start to regret coming down.

"Lets just hurry up and get there," I say, "Come on! Run!"

We begin to run when suddenly I see car out the corner of my eye. It driving, fast faster than it ought to on a day like this. But despite the speed the next moments seem to happen in slow motion. The steering wheel slips from the driver grasp, and spins the car violently. It ploughs towards us and the next thing I remember, I am lying on the ground, a searing pain going through my leg, and a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Ruby!" I scream. This can't be happening. There is still two days to go. Why. Why. Why? I can see red blood soaking through my tights, staining the ground a bright crimson. Maya is to my left, both her legs mangled in strange positions.

"Ruby," she croaks, trying to move her arm towards Ruby.

Ruby 's head is on my knees, both her legs trapped under the car. I see a long gash along her head, pouring blood. Her eyes are closed and for a minute I think she is dead, but I see her chest rising and falling. She must just be unconscious. The driver gets out the car.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my...." he mumbles, "What have I done..."

"Ambulance," I say, coughing up blood. It splatters the ground, leaving a gruesome trail.

He takes out his phone, "Amulance please. The road to the square. Yes. 3 girls. All badly injured and bleeding. Come quick."

A small crowd had gathered around us. One offers us a tissue and I press it to Ruby 's head, trying to stop the continuing flow of blood. It just soaks through, making the tissue saturated, and my hands covered. She hasn't awoken yet and is losing blood fast. I hear blaring sirens as I slip out of consciousness...

Bleep.... bleep... bleep

I hear the ryhmic sound of the heart monitor. I must be in a hospital. I smell disinfectant mixed with the smells of human waste and the metallic tang of blood. I try to sit up but my head feels dull and heavy.

"Oh you're awake! Now don't try to get up, your head will probably hurt a bit, just stay where you are. How are you feeling though?" hustles a kindly nurse. She's plump and has a rosy round face.

"Fine, well, as fine as you can be after a car accident, but what happened?" I ask.

"Ok, so.. where to start. Well you passed out, were taken in here and got cleaned up. You broke your right leg, and crushed your kneecap, but you've had surgery, as you can probably see. You've been on drugs since and that's basically it."

I look down at my leg. It is in a cast, supported at the end of the bed.

"How are Ruby and Maya?" I ask nervously.

The nurse's face goes pale and I can tell it isn't good news. "They are both in I.C.U." she say, "their injuries as were rather serious. Ruby 's legs have been shattered, and she has broken a lot of ribs. She has lost a lot of blood and has some internal damage. Maya had broken her right leg in two different places and fractured her left. She has received a lot of internal damage."

I can't believe it. How... how? I realise I haven't seen the sign today. I must have missed it during the car crash.

"Here's some food. Eat up dear, you will need to try and get your strength back."