Finals are over and I've been digging for the time to do some writing. I'm in a Persona mood so I sort of winged it. Maybe I'll continue maybe not. I hope you enjoy either way.
The screaming echo across the bridge, seeming to reverberate from every direction at once, which was strange considering the sound had nothing to echo off of. The man wondered vaguely if it was bouncing off the ominously large moon hanging in the sky. He would regret his poet wonderings when the girl he was holding in his arms manage to get herself loose, almost getting out of his reach before he scooped her back up. The girl was young, and seemed oh so small, but she fought his hold with such desperation that had anyone of a lesser physical stature than himself tried to do it they would be on the ground and the girl would be long gone.
The officer didn't blame the poor thing though. He knew the scene he was met with when he answered this late night call would haunt his dreams for a very long time, if not the rest of his life. From what he and his partner could find the girl in his arms was the only survivor of this deadly car crash. They had been amazed to find her, from what they could tell with all her writhing, completely unharmed. The rest weren't so lucky. The older man was a mess, but the woman came out almost unrecognizable. His pensiveness almost got him again as the officer barely pulled his head back in time to miss a tiny flailing fist. He wondered if she was aiming, though she got her chance just a moment later.
The sound of an ambulance came screeching through the night. This was just enough of a distraction for the man not to notice as his captive's head came slamming backwards. He turned just in time to take the blow fully in the face, hearing a loud sickly crack. Pulled his hands instinctively to his nose, the girl managed scrambled, away back into the wreckage of the family car, and despite the ambulances siren being all but on top of them her shrieks and cries of despair were the loudest sound, they filled this horrible night utterly.
With a quick communitive look in the direction of his partner the officer sprinted through the rubble after her. Suddenly the screams stopped and the ambulance was all he could hear, lucky the man knew exactly where she was going. As she got closer he could hear heartbreaking whimpering that was broken up by sniffling and gurgled begging. Whatever barrier the officer had put between himself and this case shattered as he realized she hadn't even removed the tarp, instead she had simply crawled under it. He couldn't see her, but the violent shaking of the covered shape told him she was there.
Pulling back the tarp he saw the girl's head buried in the chest of the body. The boy couldn't have been more than a year older or younger than the girl. He and his partner had assumed they were siblings, and were confirmed correct when they first pulled the girl away and she began scream for her brother. The man moved the tarp as to keep the parent's decimated forms hidden away. Not that it mattered. She was covered in blood and it couldn't be her own. She'd seen them.
The girl gave no sign of knowing he was there, she just sobbed into her brother motionless form. He imagined they were… had been close as though it was obvious she had seen the state of her parents she only cried out for him. It hurt even more that the boy looked to be in perfect condition. Just like his sister they didn't find a single scratch on him. 'It must be internal' his partner had said frankly before he shushed him. He had tried to comfort the girl and pull her away slowly, but just like now it was as though he didn't exist. All they could do was to drag her kicking and screaming out of the wreckage so that his partner could check for other bodies. They had agreed that the only way they could get her off the bridge was for the paramedics to sedate her.
With the sound of slamming doors indicating the paramedics were getting to work, the officer decided rather than drag the poor girl out he'd just wait with her. It was less stressful for the both of them that way.
"Come back." Sniffle "Please please don't leave me here." Grasp "Minato come back." The girl begged before another sob took her, contorting her little body around her brother's with its intensity.
Hesitating a moment, the officer crouched down and put a hand on her back. She stiffened, her grip on her brother tightened, and she went silent except for rasping breathes. The girl collapsed onto her brother again as his hand began moving, rubbing her back in an attempt at comfort. One of her hands released the front of the boy's shirt and began moving around, seeking. It took only a moment to find what she was looking for. Oh so carefully she pulled up a small hand to match her own, intertwining their fingers.
Her begging was just below a whisper now, but reading her lips as she buried her eyes under the boy's chin was easy enough. His partner led one of the paramedics through the debris to them. He must have explained the situation to the medic because he came with slow deliberate movements and a needle in hand. Just like before the girl stiffened at touch, but the officer signaled for him to wait. She eventually went slack again. He prepared to grab her if she fought, but she didn't even move as the needle went in. If she felt the pain she didn't care or realize what it meant. Gradually he watch the fight drain from her body. The medic bent down to pull her off her brother. She didn't struggle, but once she was almost off she caught on something.
The man realized almost instantly that she hadn't let go of her brother's hand. He looked at her face where tears continued to fall silently. He went to pry her hand as gently as he could off her brother's only to realize with more than a small amount of horror that it wasn't the girl whose grip was tighten, but the boy's. In his ear he heard her speak, though speech may have been an exaggeration. It was barely more than a rush of breath that he wasn't even sure if he'd heard anything at all. It took a small moment for his mind to suss out what had been said.
"I promise."
As recognition hit him the boy's hand relaxed and the medic was able to pull her away. The officer called out in surprise. He called another medic over as the first carried the girl towards the flashing lights of the ambulance. The second medic rushed forward, looking the boy over thoroughly. The officer explained what he'd seen. The medic pulled back, shaking his head he said what he'd seen was probably a trick of rigor mortis before he moved off to check the other bodies.
Had it really been something so simple? It had seemed so perfectly timed. Just to make sure the officer placed his fingers on the boy's neck, searching for a pulse. However his heart grew heavy as he found the child's skin was as cold and still as stone.