So I've read some spoilers through the upcoming episodes and this is something I put together based VERY LOOSELY on those spoilers. Without giving too much away, I just really feel like something is brewing to finally get Rayna and Deacon back on the road they need to be on. This is something I can envision taking place.
That said, this story is extremely angst heavy. Please be wary if you prefer sunshine and butterflies.
Blood.
Dickie Caylor had been with Tennessee Highway Patrol for almost 25 years; a quarter of century of work and he tried unsuccessfully to come up with an occasion in which he had seen so much red life spilt on the roadway. It was everywhere, it seemed—on the ground next to the mangled Audi, in the grass, and most prominently in the westbound lane of Highway 96. He sighed, running his gloved hand over his salt-and-pepper hair as he watched the second victim be loaded into the LifeFlight chopper.
He closed his eyes and whispered a prayer as the door slammed shut and the helicopter lifted, finding solace in his words as chaos and the most offensive doom trickled down around him.
The LORD will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes. The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness.
Lord, be with those kids.
His eyes fluttered open slowly, observing the action before him that seemed to be transpiring in the slowest of motion. There were troopers and firefighters, paramedics finishing their reports, the men from the wrecker service… everyone had a job to do, including himself, but he couldn't help but stand frozen in the knowledge that these poor souls could have been his own children.
He always got nervous arriving at the scene of such a vicious accident, but it was always tenfold worse when it was a situation such as this.
"Caylor!" A fellow trooper shouted from across the highway. He glanced up, acknowledging the man with a single nod. "Sergeant's wantin' you to do notification and go to the hospital. I'll wrap up here."
Caylor nodded, sighing sadly as he approached what remained of the vehicle. If he had to guess based on skid marks, the car had lost control at a high rate of speed about 100 feet down the road before slamming into fence post and ultimately landing around a tree.
He knelt down carefully, inspecting a leather handbag protruding from underneath the passenger's seat. He shook it gently to remove the glass, softly stroking it with his hand to get any pieces that were left lingering.
Standing and walking towards his cruiser, he began rummaging through the bag. There was a make-up bag, an iPhone with a purple glittery case, and a flowered leather wallet.
His heart sank as he pulled out the student ID, realizing at that moment that this girl was merely 15 years old. He felt himself crumbling at her bright, infectious smile as he scanned over the card until he finally found her name.
Madeline Jade Conrad.