A scream.
That was the last thing I heard before I lost all control. Control of my senses. Control of my emotions. Control of my car.
Blood roared in my ears and adrenaline pumped through my veins. I slammed my foot on the brakes and spun the steering wheel sharply to the right, feeling like I was an actor in the Fast and the Furious. But I wasn't an actor. This wasn't a movie. This was really happening.
The silver car in front of me slid on the icy road, turning itself around so I could see the driver. She was a ragdoll – her face was pale and her small body was being thrown around mercilessly. I wanted to make sure she was alright. That was the only thing on my mind. I wanted to tell her that we'd both make it out of this. That we could go home, make a cup of coffee and watch Neighbours reruns until dawn. But I was having trouble believing that myself.
My own car began to spin and I lost sight of her. The realisation suddenly kicked in and curses flowed from my mouth. The smell of burning rubber permeated my nose. Houses turned into coloured blurs. The lights of a third car rumbling down the road blinded me. Time slowed down. Black clouds began circling me. The lights grew larger. A lonely white flake fell from the sky.
My entire body suddenly jerked forwards, sending my forehead straight into the car horn. My ears screamed. High-pitched ringing stopped me from hearing anything. I lost all feeling in my left arm. My head throbbed. My eyes fought to stay open, but darkness invited me to come towards it. It promised me safety.
Cautiously, I accepted its invitation. But before it consumed me, I thought about my sons. It's funny how in traumatic situations, you automatically think of your family. My mind took me to the last time I'd seen them.
My world went dark.
.
"Kara, can you please sit down."
I struggled to keep my voice from raising any higher than it already was.
Kara paused and sent a glare my way, her eyes shining with a thin layer of tears. An awkward silence filled the room, only interrupted by a clink as my oldest son's spoon hit the side of his bowl. Fin wolfed down his curry, avoiding everyone's eyes. Kara still stood, silently waiting as if she were a tiger waiting for its prey to make a movement. So, I did. I pointed roughly to the empty chair at the table.
Apparently, it was the wrong one. Kara picked up her keys and stormed off, like a child who'd been told they couldn't have a cookie after dinner. The door slammed shut.
My head fell into my hands and I swallowed a groan. I was not in the mood to deal with this right now. After a hard day at work, with a bunch of bloody hippies stressing about the nuclear testing, I wanted to be able to relax.
"Bye Kara," Max called out to her in a smug singsong voice.
That was the last straw. With one broad swoop of my arm, I knocked everything in front of me off the table. My bowl of curry spilled onto the carpet and began seeping into the threads, staining it a dark orange. The salt shaker hit the ground with a deafening smash and shattered into millions of sharp icicles.
I pushed my chair back and stood up. My entire body quivered as I pointed an accusing finger at Max
"You... You... ungrateful little..."
With a groan, I followed Kara out the front door. Dark and ominous clouds filled the air; their shadowy fingers covering the moon. I don't remember it being this dark when I got home... Kara's silver Holden Commodore was barely visible, hurtling down the street.
That stupid woman is going to get herself killed!
I kicked the ground before I marched back inside. I didn't even take a second to glance at my sons as I snatched the keys off the bench.
"I'm following Kara," I mumbled. "I'll be back soon and I'll speak to you then, Max."
That was when I left.
That was the last time I saw them.
.
The first thing I felt was pain.
I slowly drifted into a state of consciousness and let out a groan as my head pounded. My left arm burned as if I was lying in a bed of coals. Cold breezes licked at me, like rogue flames, sending chills down my spine but burning my entire body at the same time.
"He's waking."
A feminine voice pierced the silence. Kara! My heart soared. She was alright! I needed to apologise to her right away. I needed to tell her that I did care about her. That I was wrong. That I loved her.
My eyes burst open and I forced myself to sit up. Every muscle in my body screamed in agony, but I ignored the pain. I just needed to see my wife.
"G'day."
My heart sank. Two people stood to my side. The first, a petite woman with large, almond shaped brown—almost black— eyes and skin the colour of melted caramel. Her hair and neck were covered by a pale beige headscarf and she wore a floor-length black dress. The second was a large man with thick, unkempt brown hair and a VB in his hand. The forest of hair sitting on his upper lip, almost hid his large smile.
Neither of them were Kara.
"Wh-where is she?" I croaked.
I put my arms behind my back for support so I could lift myself up. The minute my left hand touched the sheets, pain shot up my arm and I fell back down, biting back a scream of distress.
The man laughed and spoke with a deep Australian drawl. "Mate, calm down. Your arm needs to rest. You can't expect a break like that to heal instantly."
A shrill howl drowned out his laughter as a breeze slipped through the open window. The curtains flapped, letting in a small ray of dim sunlight that chased the darkness away. I noticed that I had been placed on a small bed. A desk sat to my left; shattered glass decorated the top of it along with broken paddle-pop sticks and syringes. Certificates of qualifications stared down at me, almost mockingly.
Was I in a doctor's office?
"Where is she?" I repeated, desperately. "Who are you?"
He exchanged a glance with the woman. They said nothing.
"At least tell me who you are," I begged.
"The name's Trev," he answered with a short, cheeky bow. He took a gulp of his beer and gestured towards the woman. "This here's Akilah. She don't speak much English, but she says she came down to Australia, looking for a better life. Funny thing is, we all are now. Only problem—there's nowhere else to run to."
"How long have I been out for?"
"'Bout a day or two. Maybe even three. It's hard to tell. The days and nights seem to blend into each other now."
"Where's my wife?" I questioned, as a feeling of dread manifested in the pit of my stomach. "The woman in the silver Holden? Kara? Is she okay?"
They exchanged another silent glance and Trev brushed a hand through his tangled mane. My face started to burn with anger.
"Tell me where she is," I demanded. "I need to see her!"
"Mate, it's a miracle that you survived that crash," Trev replied softly. "When my car hit yours, you must've hit your head pretty badly and knocked yourself out. You ricocheted straight into the car in front of you and without having a driver to control the wheel and brakes, your car smashed straight into the driver's side..."
"No!" I lifted myself up, and swung my legs over the bed. "Where is she? Let me see her!"
My head spun as I stood up. Akilah rushed forwards as I began to fall slowly to the right in a dizzy haze.
"Please, sir!" she cried. "Sit down. You need rest!"
"I need my wife!"
Trev held me back. I struggled to tear myself from his grip.
"I want to see Kara! I need to apologise!" Tears flowed down my cheeks. "I need to tell her that I love her! Let me see her!"
"I'm sorry, but you can't," Trev told me firmly.
Before I could respond, he answered the question I dreaded to ask.
"You're too late."
.
A/N: To those who've never read The Sky So Heavy, you should definitely look for it. It's an amazing story, based in Australia, about Fin and his younger brother Max. A missile test has gone wrong, sending the entire planet into an apocalyptic, dystopian winter, where food is scarce, snow is able to kill you and you can no longer trust anyone.
The idea for this story, came from the fact that Fin and Max's dad leaves them in chapter 3 and is never seen again. I thought that it would be interesting to come up with why he's missing for the rest of the book, and I'm quite proud of what I've done.
The rules of the assignment were to add an aspect of "Australianess" as well as race, class or gender. We had to use effective figurative language throughout the story and it had to follow the structure of a short story- having a clear beginning, middle and end.
About two weeks ago, I received my mark and got an A plus for my efforts and I wanted to share my work with you guys :)
Thank you for reading,
Kat