Imperfections

Chapter One

It was dark, the sound of the slow drip of water being my only comfort.

A loud screech reached through the darkness, making my heart freeze in fear. I blinked, only to see the cracked old road directly in my vision. My head snapped up just in time to see a small, dirty looking car come hurtling towards me. For a moment, my eyes zoomed in on the car, watching it as it headed straight towards me. The driver, a middle-aged man, had a look of horror on his face as he tried to regain control of the vehicle that seemed to have a mind of its own. I was frozen in shock, fear having overtaken me as soon I had seen the little red vehicle.

It was coming closer, it was only ten metres away . . . It zoomed past me, going so fast that I almost missed the motion. My heart beat erratically as I watched the car drive towards the end of the road, towards the lake. Helplessness overtook me when all I did was watch.

It went dark.

The car disappeared from site, leaving behind the faint sound of a splash. The sound snapped me out of it, awakening the urge to help.

Running towards the lake, I frantically looked around, trying to find someone to help me. But no one was around. The streets were empty, bar me and the person in the car. The car was slowly sinking into the water, barely staying afloat.

Without thinking, I jumped into the ice cold water.

Opening my eyes, I searched the lake, trying to find the car. But I couldn’t see anything. My throat constricted as I felt my already low air supply slowly diminish. I couldn’t take it any longer, I had to breathe. I tried to swim up, but my cloths weighed me down too much. Gasping, I inhaled a load of water. I clenched my eyes closed, preparing myself for certain death and for the certain death of the person in the car who I now couldn’t save.

Death never came.

Instead, the water slowly floated in and out, becoming a part of me. My brows scrunched together, think that maybe I was dead. I didn’t ponder this for long, a banging sound catching my attention. Slowly swirling around, I found myself looking into the eyes of the man, the driver.

It went dark.

I was in front of the car, only a metre away. Struggling, I swam to the door and tried to pull it open to no prevail. My hands banged against the window, fear running through my veins. I was starting to lose hope, when the window broke, pieces of glass floating everywhere. I reached my hand inside the window, desperately seeking the door handle.

It went dark.

The door was open, letting more water flood into the car. Reaching out, I tentatively placed my hand on the man neck, searching for any sign of a pulse. I found none; it was too late, he was gone. His wire-rimmed glasses sat askew, his soaking wet, dark brown hair piled into a ruffled mess. His features overflowed with sadness, making me wish that I could go back in time and stop this, stop the sadness.

But, like always, I was too late; I couldn’t save him. Moving down, closer to the seat, I locked my fingers around his hand that lay idly near his torso – the other was twisted at a weird angle, effectively scaring me away from it. Touching his soft skin, I felt tears prickle my eyes as I stared down at his peaceful face. Bending down, I reached a hand out to place the glasses properly on his nose when his eyes jolted open.

A deafening scream escaped my lips as I stared down at him. His eyes, which were once a warm brown, were now a hauntingly sombre, cold red. As much as they were mesmerizing, they were terrifying. My hand that had once clutched his tried to escape, but he caught a hold of it; I was now the one trapped in his clasp.