Our Darkest Memories

6. Accidents Happen

"Then I will."

He doesn't take no for an answer, that's for sure. He leaned towards the steering wheel, hoping to make me stop, but in a reflex, I turned the steering to the left. His hand reached the wheel and he pulled it the other way, making the car swing dangerously from the left to the right. The rails alongside the road came into view, and also the steep hill next to it, that went down for about five meters.
I tried to push down the brake, but the front of the car already made contact with the rail and soon after, the wheels of the car were flying in the air.

For a small moment that felt like an eternity, we felt nothing, but then the car crashed down on the ground. A scream escaped my lips when a sharp pain exploded on the left side of my head and tears rolled down my face. I heard the yells of the boys through the car when it flipped over to the front. I squeezed my eyes shut until another shock went through the car when it landed back on its wheels. My arm stung and I felt a warm liquid run down my face. It took a while before I dared to open my eyes and see the wreckage around me.

All I could see was the broken glass that was lying shattered everywhere. All I could see was the airbag that was in my face.

All I could see was the blood.

The blood running down Buz's neck. The blood that was smeared over the windows. The blood that came from the body that was lying between the driver and the passenger's seat. The blood that was covering the face with freckles and the blood that was visible on his head through his curled hair.
I felt nauseous and felt that I needed to vomit. I leaned forwards to puke, not knowing what the others were doing. I was too focused on myself.

My hair that had previously been tied up in a bun on my head was now partially hanging down. The blood on my knee made my black jeans even darker. A throbbing in the back of my head made me lift my hand to touch it, only to return it and find blood on my fingertips. A small ringing sounded in my ear and I started to gasp for air when I felt pressure on my chest. My vision blurred and I staggered on my feet when I climbed out through the car door. My arm leaned against the car to keep my balance.

The person who had been sitting behind me, Aaron, jammed open his door and rolled out of the car. The world was spinning, but I soon realized that the blood loss wasn't the reason. The panic that was overwhelming me made me feel like this.

I pulled my arms straight up above my head and tried to breathe in a fixed pattern, hoping to get some air. To my relief, it helped a little. Aaron climbed up to his feet and walked towards me with a concerned look. He looked better than me and Buz. I just assumed that it was because he was in the back seat, but didn't question it too much. Gosh, I didn't even have the focus to question anything at that moment.

A sob was the first thing that I heard when the ringing in my ear calmed down. And then another. My slightly bettered gaze moved to the other side of the car, where Mitchel was trying to pull something out. No, he was trying to pull someone out. He looked bewildered and was crying while repeating the words 'please' and 'get up'. Aaron hurried towards him, and I bent down to look through the broken window. He was trying to jerk Lee's body from the car, but it was no use. He didn't make it.

Aaron finally reached Mitchel and tugged him away.
"Mitchel. Mitchel! He's dead!"

"No, we need to get him out!"

He had a complete breakdown, but Aaron kept repeating his words and kept him away from the body. Buz finally joined them too. With a lot of struggles, it finally dawned on Mitchel and he stopped fighting. Instead, his gaze drifted to me. He shook off the hands that were holding him and put some big steps towards me.

"This bitch killed Lee!"

Still a little dizzy, I automatically stepped back. It wasn't enough, because he kept walking forwards to me. Right when I expected him to hit me, a body blocked mine from his. Aaron pushed me aside. He wasn't long, but he made himself look threatening towards Mitchel anyway.

"This is no one's fault, Mitchel."

While he said it, his eyes went to Buz, who was still standing on the other side of the car. Mitchel only humphed to protest, but Aaron was first again.
"And even if it is, we can't do anything about it now. We still need to find that red. That means having to find a new car."

He looked at Buz again, as if he knew that he also had to convince him and that this was the way to do it. He was right because Buz looked at me with a dark look and said, "she is the only one who knows where the red is. After that, we can do whatever we like."

It wasn't really reassuring, but I was just hoping that by the time we found the red, they would have calmed down a little and not act out of anger. Aaron just looked at me, then at Buz, and nodded. Buz took charge again.

"Get everything we need from the car. If I'm correct, there is a small village not too far from here. Maybe we can find a car there. For now, we start walking."

With that, we all tried to clean ourselves up. I had a few cuts made by the glass, but they weren't too serious. The wound on my head felt very painful and could be more dangerous. It was very likely that I had a concussion, maybe worse, but I couldn't think about that. My ribs were gonna bruise later, and it felt painful to stand on my right leg, but I had no other choice. I was just happy that the airbags had worked and that I was still alive.

The others seemed to not have too serious wounds either, so an hour later we were standing with our backpacks staring at the crashed vehicle. Buz started walking away, and Mitchel quickly followed as if he didn't want to look at the place his friend died.

Before I walked away, I looked back and saw Aaron staring at the destroyed car. He shook his head, and before I walked away, I heard him whisper, "He should've put his seatbelt on. He got himself killed."