Crash N' Burn

Crash N' Burn

~| The night was chilly, with the faintest hints of frost. The cloud overhead was dark, although ignored by those comfortably snuggled in their warm homes. The streets were dully illuminated by street lamps, the roads slick with recently fallen rain which would become ice overnight in the frost.

Although late – 8:30 is kind of late when there's a storm coming – a lone van drove down the street. Inside a father and his two sons sat, watching the buildings go by. They headed down the street, heading to their mothers, where the youngest was to be left off, while the other two headed to their apartment further away.

Inside the two boys, Ishida Yamato and his younger brother, Takaishi Takeru were laughing and joking happily. Every now and then their father would add a joke of his own, smiling broadly. Both boys smiled and laughed along with him. The three did not notice the dark cross junction, nor did either notice the sudden flicker of a pair of headlights on the blink. They did not notice, until they crashed.

A sudden glimpse of a shadow and Mr. Ishida instantly stomped at the brakes in reaction to his surprise. Takeru and Yamato were thrown in their seats at the sudden movement. There was the sound of the brakes, then the sudden crunch and squeal of metal colliding with metal. There was a faint scream and the windows all around instantly cracked, smashing in on them. Glass flew everywhere, like rain. The cold night air whipped around briefly before a sudden jolt brought on the sickening crunch of snapping bone. There was a thudding sound and the feel of pain before everything darkened.

Takeru blinked a few times before he woke up fully. All around were pieces of glass, tiny pieces. Many were inside his skin. He looked down to find his arms and bare legs were bleeding. His entire being hurt. Especially his waist where the seat-belt dug into his flesh relentlessly.

His memories of the crash instantly found a time and spot to play in his mind, jolting him quicker into reality. He instantly turned to his brother, who he knew could not be taken from him, even by a thousand crashes. He saw Yamato was unconscious. Takeru instantly became worried. Using his serrated, bloody fingers he managed to undo the seat-belt, freeing himself. He crawled across the glass covered seat, ignoring the pain of glass embedding itself into him – hands and knees. He sat beside his brother and lifted two fingers to press against his brothers neck.

It took him only the few seconds to feel that his brothers pulse was gone and he was not breathing. Ishida Yamato was dead. Takeru jerked his hand away in shock and fear. There was no way, no way his brother could be dead! He gently shook his brothers arm, his mind not wanting to process what he knew.

"Yamato?" He whispered. Getting no response he leaned against his chest and burst into tears. Takeru experienced a pain that was nothing compared to the glass embedded within him, the dizziness from the hit on the head or the pain surrounding his waist. The emotional pain of having lost his brother was worse than any pain ever felt before. It ate away at his heart and soul with jagged, poisoned fangs. The cold, icy daggers which attacked his mind at the single thought were maddening. Takeru wailed in sadness and anguish, screamed to the heavens to give him back his brother who he loved more than anything.

The world only answered him back with the drone of sirens, as the police and ambulance made their way to the crash in the cross junction.

After what seemed like hours Takeru was pulled from the car, still crying relentlessly as he mourned his brother. It was then he saw the front of the car, from the arms of a policeman who had pulled him from his brother.

His father lay draped across the smouldering engine of the car. Long sharp blades of glass were embedded deep within him, some going straight through him. His dead corpse lay still and stiff in the raising steam of the now dead engine. Takeru almost stopped breathing, his wailing stopped at the thought that both his brother and father had ceased to live the second they crashed into…

The dark form of the other car was curled around a streetlamp, whose light was out. The driver's face could be seen in the fading light of Takeru's fathers van. It was his mother. |~

Takeru wailed in panic and anguish. His cries went unheard in the empty apartment. He thrashed in the covers, fighting off the dream, not wanting the reality to sink in. Images of death and the feeling of pain lingered in the depths of his mind, where he tried to hide them.

Ishida Yamato, who was visiting for a few days, heard his younger brothers cries from where he stood outside the door. Instantly his mind conjured up many horrible things and images no teenager should really imagine.

He opened the door quickly and hurried to his brothers room. He found Takeru half asleep, attacking at an invisibly enemy, wailing madly. Yamato quickly shook the younger blonds shoulder roughly, waking him from the nightmare. Takeru's eyes flung open and his head spun around wildly, his face filled with fear and confusion.

"Takeru?" Yamato squatted at his brothers side. Takeru took one look at him before flinging himself into his older brothers arms.

"Yamato! Your alright!" He hugged him tightly, in the grip of someone who thought the person they held was merely a figment of their own imagination. Yamato was horrified at this. As far as he could tell in Takeru's dream something had happened to him, making Takeru break down horribly.

Yamato held his brother for the longest time, simply comforting him with his presence. Takeru's body was wracked with sobbing and shaking with fear and sadness. The Nightmare finally over.

After a while Yamato managed to lift his brothers head.

"Are you alright?" Takeru only nodded. "Do you want to tell me about it?" Takeru stared at him for a few seconds before burying his face in the older blonds shoulder, shaking like a leaf. Yamato sighed and nodded, taking his brothers reaction as a 'No'.

A few minutes later, as the hall clock announced the chime of 11, Mrs. Takaishi came into the apartment. Her face held confusion and worry, having found the door wide open. She saw the guitar case of her oldest son resting, although messily, in front of the door. Yamato was never known for manhandling his instruments, making Mrs. Takaishi even more worried. She shut the door and went through to her youngest sons room, where she heard the voice of her older son singing softly.

Peering in she found her youngest shaking in the arms of his older brother, who was comforting him with his singing. She gasped, announcing her presence to the two boys. Yamato stopped singing and she was quite shocked when Takeru hurried from his brothers arms to fling his own around her, in a grip that held more relief and fear than even she could ever imagine.

"Honey? What's wrong?" She asked. Neither boy spoke. Yamato shrugged helplessly from where he sat on the edge of Takeru's bed. Takeru started sobbing again, holding onto his mother as images from his dream clouded his mind once again.

It took both Yamato and their mother to calm the hysterical boy. It took them even longer to get him to speak. Mrs. Takaishi sat on her son's bed, holding him in her arms. Yamato sat next her, his one arm wrapped around her shoulders, while his other wrapped around his little brother.

Takeru had stopped sobbing, although he still shook it wasn't as bad anymore. Finally Mrs. Takaishi asked;

"Takeru? What happened?" He sat up, between his mother and brother looking up at her while he clung to his brothers arm as if he were about to disappear any second.

"We had an accident." Both older occupants of the room exchanged glances. "There was a crash and everyone died except me." Takeru rubbed at the tears threatening to return. Yamato hugged his brother as Mrs. Takaishi processed what he had just said, her mind suddenly showing her all the different horrors Takeru may have seen in the dream. She winced as the worse made themselves known.

"It's alright." She soothed rubbing his back gently. "It was only a dream."

"It was so real." Takeru murmured.

"Not as real as waking up." Yamato stated unhelpfully. Takeru sniggered at his brothers joke while their mother rolled her eyes.

Finally Mrs. Takaishi stood in the kitchen making some tea while her two boys sat on the couch in each others arms. Takeru had a smile on his face, glad the dreams were over. Having seen the state his younger brother had worked himself into, Yamato was reluctant to let him go. He smiled when Takeru looked to him and kept a calm expression on his face.

Just as their mother was about to sit with them, the phone rang, startling both boys and gaining the sudden attention of Mrs. Takaishi. She answered the phone on the third ring.

"Moushi, Moushi?" She asked. There were a few second of silence. "Yes, this is she." Both boys were listening now, confused. Suddenly their mother sat on the seat near the phone a horrified look in her eyes, her jaw dropped slightly. "Cou… could you repeat that?" Both boys exchanged worried glances from where they still sat on the couch. "Alright. Thank you." She came back through to the lounge and sat with her son's, a mixture of shock and fear covering her face.

"Mom?" Yamato gently touched her shoulder. She turned to see both her son's giving her worried, confused glances. "What's wrong?"

"It's your father." Takeru clung to his brother's arm as the image of their father's dead corpse, stretched over a dying engine, flashed back into his mind. "He was in an accident…"

*

Mr. Ishida had died a few hours after he had crashed into a streetlamp post, trying to avoid a dog which had run across the dog. The only survivor of the crash was the dog, who nobody saw again.

His funeral was held a few days later in the Odaiba cemetery. Takeru hadn't left his brothers side once during those few days, staying close to him except when they were in school. His dream had been more than a nightmare, it was an exaggerated premonition of his fathers death.

That night, after the phone call Takeru had been the most shocked, having dreamed of the crash before it happened, only an hour later.

A/N: Whatever possessed me to write this I have still yet to find and squash. Hope you liked… never mind. This is based on a true story I got from 'Beyond belief: fact or fiction?'.  Whatever… The crash scene is based on first hand experience by yours truly. Except in our little crash we hit 3 cows, killed em all and walked away with a few cuts and bruises.

Ja ne.