Chapter 2: Hear Me

6 Hours Earlier

He opened his eyes slowly and blinked numerous amounts of times. His eyes were itchy and irritated, and they were watering a lot. All he could feel was pain, an overwhelming pain throughout his entire body. His vision was clouded by black spots, dancing mockingly in front of him.

He could vaguely see blurred shapes and colours and could hear shouting and screaming. Somewhere beside him was hot - too hot for comfort. And he was sure he was going to be sick.

Through his hazy mind, he started to piece together everything. If his dizziness wasn't tricking him, he was lying on his right side. And - God - the pain. He tried bringing his left hand to his face to rub his itchy eyes, but it fell back weak after only a second.

He was so tired, but he knew he had to figure out what was happening. He tried moving his head but gasped in pain as soon as he did. He kept on trying to work out what was going on, trying to think through his fuzzy brain.

He tightly shut his eyes, desperately thinking about where he was before he woke up. He couldn't even remember falling asleep, and this was definitely not his bedroom.

He groaned in pain when he tried to move again and opened his eyes. His vision was still watered down, but he started to gain a little more focus now. He concentrated on where he was. On what he could feel and hear and see.

And then, kicking himself for not noticing before, he saw the broken windshield. There was glass inside and outside his car, he was trapped against the steering wheel, and he was on his side because his car was on its side.

He'd been in a car accident.

He was trapped, in serious amounts of pain and probably had numerous injuries. He had no idea if help was on his way and -

Oh, God. Now he realised why it was so hot. Beyond and slightly to the right of the broken windshield, there were flames. Bright orange flames.

This was it. He was going to die. He couldn't remember how this happened and he couldn't get out. The last thing he ever said to Ethan was horrible and he was never going to see him again.

Ethan...

His mind immediately flashed to Ethan, to his little brother. His goofy grin and geeky glasses. He wished and wished that he could just see him one more time and apologise. He didn't mean a word he said, he was just angry. He was stupidly angry and he took it out on Ethan… and he would never see him again.

Bracing himself for the pain to come, his shaky left arm and hand slid into his pocket, and while the journey was only centimeters, his pain almost doubled - something Cal didn't think was possible. Surely, for a human to be feeling this much pain, they'd be halfway to death.

And Cal knew just how true that was.

He tried to tense his muscles, trying to slip his hand into his pocket and grab his phone, but the pain was so bad he had to stop for a bit. And despite the newly returned black spots in his vision, he persevered. He was going to get his phone. He needed to say goodbye.

Eventually, his shaky hand gripped as much as it could to his phone. Cal could already feel a crack on it, but as long as it worked, that didn't matter. He wondered how long he'd been unconscious for - he had no sense of time and he didn't even know when the accident had occurred. And as he pressed the power button, the time on his phone meant nothing to him. It was just another time. And time moved on - so he had to call Ethan and he had to call him quickly.

It was almost muscle memory by now. Slide up the home screen, press in 281186 as his passcode (because even when drunk, he'd never forget his little brother's birthday), press the phone icon and press his brother's speed dial: 1. Because Ethan was the most important person in his life and he'd stay that way.

But as his increasing weakness and tiredness only got worse, and he was only barely hanging onto consciousness, he was unsure he'd ever get the phone to his ear.

Ethan, his brain reminded him. Do it for Ethan. So, with Ethan in mind, he managed to make it. And when he could hear ring after ring, he was worried Ethan wouldn't pick u-

"Caleb? Where are you? You're late for goodness sake -"

"Ethan…," he breathed, probably too quiet for Ethan to hear.

"C-Cal? Are you… okay?"

And when he started speaking, properly trying to speak, he realised just how hard it was for him to breathe. "I...," he coughed harshly, the violent movement almost making the pain too much to bear.

"Talk to me, Cal," Ethan said urgently. "Cal."

"D-dun… o… where…"

It was silent on the other end of the line for a few seconds, a few seconds too long, and all Cal wanted was to hear his brother's voice and to say sorry. The darkness in his vision started getting worse at the corners, and he knew it was a very real possibility that he wasn't going to make it out alive.

He didn't want to die…

"Caleb, please tell me you're okay."

Cal coughed again.

"Oh God, Cal. Please, please tell me you aren't the RTC on the motorway… you better not be, Caleb. Seriously, Cal. Tell me you're okay. Cal!"

"I-I love y-you, Eth… Nib-Nibbles, I'm s-sorry…"

"Don't you dare say goodbye, Cal!"

He could feel himself sinking into the dark abyss. "L-lov -"

And then he knew nothing more.