You slink through the damp forest, wet after a recent rain. Taking care to not step on anything that could give away your position to your quarry, you carefully slip around the trunks and stumps of trees. Every step brings you closer; every obstacle skirted around one less in your way. Then, you see him; a shifty rat of a man, oozing down the path, on his way to continue some dirty deed, or something along those lines. But you don't care about that; all you care about is how close you are to the completion of your journey, one that spans years. You slowly draw out a crossbow, zero in on the small of the man's back, and gently apply pressure to the trigger. A soft twang, the rush of the bolt through the air, and then… Light.
Ella bursts awake, sunlight pushing through a gap in her drawn blinds. Closer, she thinks, closer than ever before . She had been having the recurring dream for months. She wonders what it means, but is no closer to figuring it out today then she was the first time. Ella looks around her room, a cozy affair of earthy tones and plush furniture. Taking a moment to put on the outfit she laid out last night, a simple combo of shorts and a shirt. Ella's eyes slide over to the picture on her bed post, taken when both her parents were still alive. They, her parents, were a happy couple; a cliché story of love at first sight, and subsequent romcom dates and hijinks. Ella shakes the thoughts away, the loss still sore after a freak accident involving a drunk driver losing control of their vehicle. Ever since then, Ella made sure to look both ways at the crosswalk, and to be careful whenever crossing the street. Finishing with the morning reminiscence, Ella walks over to the blinds and throws them open, taking in the sights and sounds of the city life. People streamed by in a kaleidoscope of colors, some walking alone, others with their Pokémon, all engrossed in their own little world, unaware of Ella looking at them. Suddenly, something oddly familiar catches Ella's eye. A still spot in the moving scenery, someone that looked just like her mother on the day of the fateful crash that stole her life, gazing at Ella from the edge of a previously missing alleyway, completely ignored by the crowds around them. Ella rushed down the stairs of her home and burst out the door, pushing through the throng, and erupted into the crosswalk, sprinting towards the hauntingly familiar face. Except, before she can make it, a horn sounds, a flash of intense pain sears through her body, and then black.
Matt, an accountant for Umbreon Securities, looks up from his phone at the sound of screams. Glancing over, he sees a body of a teen splayed out on the street, a fan of blood surrounding the girl, looking for the all world like a demented halo, displaying the innocence lost today. Matt looks back down to his phone. Tsk, he thinks, just another drunk driver.
Don't drink and drive. Who knows what will happen. A girl on the cusp of adulthood, just about to start an adventure, cut down by a drunk driver. A little old lady on the way to visit her grandson for one last time, killed by someone who just couldn't wait.
