The Car Accident
The first thing she was aware of was how cold she felt. There was a bite in the air which cut at her throat with each inhalation. She swallowed to alleviate the discomfort.
Her body didn't seem to want to cooperate, her eyes were heavy and arms felt like lead. Even her head was slumped down on her chest. Through the fog in her brain she tried to fathom her situation.
A spot of cold brushed her cheek startling her, eyes opening reflexively. Glass. It was pooled in her lap. She shifted her legs and pieces jangled as it slipped to the floor.
She lifted her heavy lids to gaze forward. Flurries of snowflakes were tumbling through the shattered windscreen onto her chilled face.
An ache suddenly flared up in her chest and she scrunched her face up in response, a dull groan escaping her chapped lips. Fuck.
She drew in a deeper breath, the air cutting off sharply in her chest as it ripped at her ribcage. She brought numb fingers to the most sensitive area, a feeble attempt to make her feel better. This wasn't good...
She brought her second hand to her face, pushing her palm into her eye as if rubbing some sense into her hazy head.
Her ears pricked at the sound of wheezing. Eyes widening her head snapped to her left. Sam.
Her soft face was tilted towards her, glossy black strands of hair clinging to an ugly dark substance leaking from her temple. It streaked her face like tyre marks in the snow; her cheeks were ashen beneath the sticky mess. She could swear her parted lips were an off shade of cobalt. Although it might be the light playing tricks on her eyes – she hoped it was the growing shadows.
Her heart rhythm wobbled and she grew dizzy for a moment. Swallowing hard she tried quell the bundle of nerves flaring up in her stomach.
Taking a shaky breath, she managed to push out a wispy sounding Sam into the air, a cloud of mist following. The silent seconds ticking by only accelerated her heart rate tenfold.
"Sam!" She couldn't keep the panic that had edged into her voice. She didn't care that it caused her chest to clench uncomfortable as she twisted to face her head on. Grabbing her forearm she squeezed and shook it gently, she needed a response from her.
"Come on you stupid bloody cow, don't do this to me", the shaking of her arm turned into clutching her face. Her throat was growing tight. "Sam please". Her darting eyes couldn't detect even the tiniest of changes on the American girls face; there was only a gooey warmth that spread over her finger tips.
She pulled her hand back in horror, staring at the crimson staining her fingers. Fuck.
Reflexes forced her hand into her lap to scrub away the cherry red stain, only to have pinpricks of pain scattering across her hand. The glass.
Scrunching her eyes together she sucked in a deep breath, slowly this time to avoid the piercing in her chest. Come on Lara, survival mode.
Focusing on her hand she found the lesions were more superficial than she first thought. She picked out what she could see in the limited light, and brushed the remaining fragments from her legs onto the floor.
Fumbling for the door handle she released the lock and dragged her legs out onto the wintry ground. Pushing with her quads she stood for all but three seconds before pain blindsided her, dropping her to her knees. Hands drawing up to the base of her ribs; they didn't feel right.
Drawing in a shuddering breath she felt it deep in her chest, a reflex coughing fit ripping through her. The tang of metallic in her mouth startled her, folding at her middle she found herself coughing up blood onto the pristine white snow.
She clenched her teeth in effort to steady her breathing, the onset panic increasing the struggle tenfold. The bitter cold was irritating her lungs.
Pushing back on her haunches she found herself curled up; back against the car door, face scrunched up in discomfort. She needed to get to a hospital.
She blindly groped at the zip of her leather jacket, the onset cold numbing her fingertips. Pulling her hand back she pushed the button of her mobile phone, the dim blue light bright in her eye line.
It took her a few seconds to comprehend the digital display, simply refusing to accept the symbol in the top corner.
"No service?" she whispered aloud. "You've got to be joking".
She thrust the useless device back in her pocket and gazed at the scene before her. A landscape of cloudy white met her eyes, only punctuated by a sparse scattering of leafless trees. Large clusters of snow tumbled effortlessly through the countryside, obscuring the hazed view of the moon.
Pulling herself round, she clutched onto the seat, drawing her knees beneath her in order to heave herself upright again. Glancing into the car she could see that Sam still hadn't moved. It unnerved her.
Holding her breath she pushed herself up, grasping at the doorframe and using it to lean on. A wave of nausea washed over her and she swallowed thickly. Her breathing was somewhat uneven.
The view over the roof revealed a mess of crisscrossing tire marks which lead down the bank to the car, a loan tree stopping them in their tracks. The bonnet was crumpled beyond repair as steam spiralled upward into the night sky.
Taking an unsteady step forward, she kept her right hand against the car as she circled it; the soft ground giving way to her weight. Finding the passenger door she tugged on the handle and sunk down to her knees.
She carefully reached into her companions pocket to find her own phone, only to find it useless. Still no service.
"Fuck" she closed her eyes in frustration and placed her head against the seat. It was futile. The odds of them being found tonight were against them. She had to do something though.
Brushing the glass from Sam's lap, she checked for any other injuries the American girl may have sustained. It seemed that it was her head which took the brunt of the damage. However it was clear from the off-colour of her fingertips that older girl was suffering from hypothermia. She needed to keep her warm. At this rate both girls were going to be in deep trouble.
Blanket's in the boot. It was better than nothing. Twisting round she felt it in her gut. Breath leaving her body. A heavy feeling in her chest. Each stuttered breath stabbed at her chest and she grew steadily dizzy. Her accelerating heart rate adding to the oxygen deprivation. There were black dots in her eyes which wouldn't leave her when she shook her head.
Swallowing hard she found herself on her back in the snow, the cold almost soothing. A groan left her mouth as she shifted; the tenderness in her ribs was becoming overwhelming.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to draw breath, her thoughts becoming disjointed. A feeble whimper followed by a broken sounding "Sam" escaped her lips, her body trying to find the help it so required.
She was all of a sudden so very aware of how quiet it was around them. Even the delicate snowflakes made no noise as they covered her body. Closing her eyes she focused on her own guttural breaths, slowing them to relieve as much unease as possible.
She wasn't aware that she was drifting off until she heard a muffled sounding "Lara" in the distance. She couldn't even force her eyes open to the sound, a pathetic moan her only response.
A confused "what?" drifted through the air between them. She lifted her arm to highlight that she was conscious to Sam, her limbs feeling uncoordinated all of a sudden.
There was a soft scuffling and what sounded like a seat belt release.
"Lara… I don't-" her voice was thick and her breaths were audible. She was silent for a few moments before the sound of vomiting reached her ears.
She cringed at the sound and forced her eyes open. Tilting her head she saw the American girl leaning out of the car, her skin somehow seemed even more ashen. She lifted her head at that point and Lara could see how glazed her eyes were.
Bracing herself she pushed herself onto her elbows, her vision whiting out briefly. Sam must have noticed the pain on her face as she swiftly stood up.
Worry flooded Lara and she managed a weak "wait", but it was too late. The older girls eyes had rolled in her head and she promptly thudded to the ground.
Rolling onto her side with difficulty she managed to reach out to Sam, her icy fingers glossing over her cheeks. The furrow of Sam's brows reassured her and she blew out a small sigh.
Dark eyes opening again the two girls gazed at each other. Soft flakes discolouring Sam's shadowy locks and a fresh stream of blood discolouring the snow beneath her head.
Watching Sam's throat bob, her ears pricked when she heard the American girl ask "we had an accident?"
She wasn't sure if it was the cold or the hopelessness of the situation, but Lara choked out a laugh; which she instantly regretted.
Overcoming the burning in her side she murmured "yeah, something like that".
Closing her eyes again Sam nodded her understanding. She reached up for the English girls hand on her face and held onto it loosely, tucking it under her chin. "We'll be okay" she muttered somewhat sleepily. The severity of the situation seemingly not reaching her.
If Lara had the energy she would have reasoned with her, tried to get them up off the frozen floor and sheltered in the back seat of the car. But she couldn't. The cold had muddled her mind and she couldn't find her fight. Allowing her own eyelids to flutter closed she squeezed Sam's hand and mumbled a thick "yeah. We will Sam".