Chapter 4: Black

"It hasn't been this crowded in the road for a while," Will mused, squinting out the windshield. "But, that may be just because it's lunch rush. I haven't gone home this early in years."

Ghosty smudged the window with his nose, looking back and forth at all of the cars moving around them. His ears were pricked, interested, probably because he had never had to drive in the middle of town like that before. He seemed to not even hear Will's mumble.

Will couldn't help the smile that brightened his face at the sight of the wolf. He was acting like a normal animal, pawing the window like he wanted to roll it down and stick his head out against the wind. The sight amused Will, and it also warmed his heart.

Maybe he was glad he hadn't backed down on letting Clara take care of Ghosty. Maybe.

He certainly wasn't regretting his decision anymore.

Will turned his attention back to the road, taking care to stay slow against the slick spots there were. The town hadn't done well against the black ice that day, and it was showing. Someone had been lazy in applying the salt.

That thought made Will angry. People could easily wreck in these conditions! Why were they being so lazy when the population depended on the roads being clear and safe?

There were enough lunatics as it was.

As though he sensed something in the air had changed, Ghosty turned and looked at Will. His ears were still pricked, and he tilted his head, panting. The hot air streaming into the car probably wasn't the best thing for the wolf, but Will certainly needed it before he caught something that would make him miss even more work.

Will shook his head. "I hope Clare doesn't have trouble getting home today…" he mused, suddenly worried. "What if the bus slides into a ditch? Hits something? This road is way too icy for any sane man to drive on if he didn't have to!"

Ghosty grunted, peering out of the window again.

Will shook his head again and sighed. "You know what? It doesn't matter. I'll call the school and bring Clara home early. I'll drive there myself!"

Ghosty glanced back at him.

Will nodded, certain. "Yep! I'll drop you off, call the school, head back up, and—"

A blaring screech cut him off, followed by a crash. Will stomped on his brakes before he could hit the car in front of him, who had done the exact same for the wrecked cars in the intersection before them. His tires screeched against the pavement, the noise making Ghosty whimper in pain. But Will couldn't focus on the wolf. There was smoke curling outside.

"Oh goddamn it!" Will cried. He was up and out of the car before he could process his thoughts. For now, all he could think was there might be injuries.

As he ran he pulled out his phone and dialed emergency services. One of the cars had flipped, and the driver was struggling to crawl out of the crushed door, glass making the woman's hands bloody. He told the services what happened as he helped her out of the vehicle, and asked her if there was anyone else in the vehicle. She gasped, spinning around, and clawed at the cracked glass of the back seat window. She called for someone, presumably a daughter by the name.

Will ended the call with the authorities and gently pushed aside the woman so he could assess the damage. There was someone there, on the other side, screaming to be let out. Still alive, but Will couldn't tell how critically.

"I need something to break the glass," Will barked at the woman and the people streaming in to see what had happened. "Is there anything I could use?"

Someone ran for a vehicle and came up with a hammer. They handed it to Will without a word, and Will thanked them before shouting into the glass.

"You need to get as far as you can to the other side!" he said. "Can you do that?"

"I can't feel my foot!" the girl inside wailed.

"Is it stuck?" he asked.

The girl shuffled to the other side of the vehicle, her back pressed to the glass. "N-No."

"Alright, I need you to stay calm. I'll get you out. Stay right there and cover your eyes and nose."

She did.

With a strong swing with the sharper end of the hammer, Will struck the broken glass and tugged away large chunks. His hands came away stinging and bloodied, but he kept himself focused on the girl. "There, there's enough room for you to come through. Can you crawl?"

"My foot…" she whimpered.

"I know," Will said soothingly, holding out a hand for her. "But I can't look at it if you don't come out here. I'm a doctor from the hospital in town. Come on, now. Let's get you out."

The girl took his hand after some hesitation, and painstakingly crawled out of the vehicle, glass biting into her hands and knees. Her foot was bent at a strange angle when Will could finally get a glimpse of it.

"Broken," he said matter-of-factly. He didn't dare touch it. "It will need to be set in the hospital as soon as possible. Ma'am, can you walk? Help me get her away from the vehicle."

Once they were safely away from the accident, Will turned to the other car, which was still upright but under the other vehicle. Some people were trying to follow Will's lead by breaking into the vehicle and helping the victims out of the car. Three came out, one unconscious and heavily injured. He rushed to him first.

It was already too late to save him. Will grimaced, and closed the dead man's eyes with a hand.

He went to the next person. She wasn't as bad, but she was on the verge of falling unconscious due to her injuries. Will ordered the closest onlooker to come and apply firm pressure to the deep abdominal wound she had. The person scrambled to obey.

The third person was scratched up pretty badly, but not nearly as bad as the other two. He looked more in shock than anything. His eyes stared at nothing as another pedestrian knelt beside him and spoke to him soothingly.

Damage known, Will stood and headed back for the girl. She had to have her foot set as soon as possible so it wouldn't heal incorrectly.

Will had to walk around the vehicles to get to them, and he vaguely heard the sound of barking in the background. His eyes flickered to the sound for a moment. Ghosty. Will had closed the door. He was stuck in the car, jumping from seat to seat anxiously and barking loudly. All of this, Will saw in an instant.

In the next, the heart-stopping sound of a car screeching behind him made him turn around.

Something made a horrid snapping noise. There was red everywhere. In his eyes. In his hair. Everywhere. Pain flared in a searing iron brand against his head. His torso. His legs. All in an instant.

He was on the ground. Cold ice on his back. Black ice.

A voice was calling for him. A man's voice. Calling his name.

His eyes rolled in his head, trying to seek out the voice. Too much red. Too much pain. Can't see. Can't talk. Black ice. That's what it was. That's what it was. Black ice.

He recalled making some sort of gargling noise. When he tried to speak. But the words failed him. Wouldn't come out. Couldn't come out.

Where was Ghosty? He wanted to ask. Where was Ghosty? He needed to go home. To Clara. To Clare. Home.

But his mouth wouldn't work. Neither would his eyes. Why was he seeing red?

In the pain, a cloth rubbed away the red and was pressed against the side of his head. His eyelids flickered. But his eyes didn't want to work. He wanted to look up. All he could see was the black road. Black ice. Ripped black jeans. Old black army boots. The edge of an almost-black leather jacket.

Then snow. On the ground. Against his face. Snow hands, cold and soft. Like snow. Holding the cloth. Clearing his eyes of the red. Blood, Will recalled. That's what it was. Blood. Red. Not snow.

But there. The man. Snow skin. Snow white. Black clothes. Black ice.

"Hang in there," the man's voice said. "You'll be fine, Will. You'll be fine."

Will made a gargling noise again, this time weaker. There were other voices everywhere, shouting, screaming, murmuring. But the man's was strongest. Calmest. Soothing.

Will's pain faded. Shock. He'd die if he went into shock right now. He gargled again. Tried to move. There was nothing. He couldn't feel it. The man didn't act like he'd seen him move. Will was still going into shock.

Ghosty. Clara. Michael. Kayla. Katherine.

Katherine.

Ghosty.

Clara.

Will held on to that thought. Clara. She was safe. Ghosty was safe. They were fine.

His eyes slid closed as bright flashing lights danced in the distance.

Then there was only black.

~ΨΩΨ~

I give my love and thanks to those loyal few who have given me their opinion of this fic before now. You're the only reason I'm still writing this.

If the rest of you still want this fic to continue, hit me up on the review/comment box below. I'll hold on to the next chapter until then.