Dust

Chapter 2

TIM POV: "If it's a girl, I think we'll name her Gracie." Faith says, her feet on the dashboard of the truck. I look over at her with a smile, and she smiles back. 

"That's perfect." I respond, grabbing her hand tightly. Her eyes shine, as she lays her head on my shoulder. 

"Now we just need to get preggers..." She laughs. I can't help but release a laugh myself, as she turns her head to look up at me. 

"I have a feeling that's the least of our worries." I say, putting my arm around her shoulder. She begins to kiss my neck as we drive. 

"I hope she has your eyes." She whispers, undoing her seat belt. I look over to see what she's doing, when I feel the glare of headlights against the side of my head... 

I look forward to see the car coming right for us in the wrong lane, and in a moment of panic, I jerk the wheel out of the path of the oncoming car, going to the left. The car clips Faith's side, slamming us into the barrier of the overpass. The concrete shatters like glass, as we plummet twenty feet down onto the highway below. My mind spins, as I try to process what's occurring before my eyes. 

The car is laying on my side, and Faith presses tightly against me. I can hear her groaning, as she slowly tries to prop herself up. 

"You okay?" I spit out, my ribs burning where the seat belt held me in. It takes me a few moments before realizing that she doesn't have her seat belt on. How is she still in the car?

I begin to inspect her injuries, when a sudden blow flips the car over several times. The only thing holding Faith in is my arms. I hold onto her crushingly tight, as we flip eight times. A semi engine break sounds loudly near my ear as we come to a stop. 

I feel disoriented. I'm not sure which way is up or down, as I go to unbuckle my seat belt. I slam down on my back, landing on a piece of broken glass. 

"Goddammit!" I yell in pain. I look over to the passenger seat to see no one there, as I hear screaming outside of the car. I crawl out of my window, and stumble away from the car, slamming down on the shoulder. My head is spinning, and the bright lights are blinding me. I rub my eyes, to see the truck is in flames, and crushed into a little metal ball. "Shit..." I mumble, I look around, hoping to see Faith walking around. When I don't see her, I get back up, and begin to stumble around the now frozen highway. On the other side of the semi, a group of people gather. They all scream orders at one another, while someone else holds tight to a phone. Someone leaves the group, leaving a small gap to see inside. Faith is in the center of them... 

I run over to her, pushing apart the crowd. I freeze in front of her. Her head is bleeding like crazy... I've never seen so much blood in my life... 

"Are they on their way?" A man yells to the woman holding tight to the phone. The woman nods. 

"Faith?" I mumble, hitting my knees. I'm too horrified to pick her up in my arms. I don't want to hurt her. I grab tightly to her hand, and realize she's shaking. "Faith, baby?" I say, this time a little louder. She doesn't react. Her eyes are shut tightly, as if she were forcing them shut. "Everything is going to be just fine honey. I'm going to be right here..." I whisper, brushing her hair gently away from her face. This reveals a giant gash on her forehead. My chest tightens as I realize her head is cracked open. I feel hot tears running down from my eyes as I stare at her helplessly. I suddenly look around at the group of people just staring at me... 

"Don't just stand there!" I yell. "Help her! Do something!" I begin to scream. The people all look away quietly. One comes with a blanket, another with a bottle of water... None offer medical care, like bandages or something to keep her neck stable. They know what I know... They know that all I can do is hold her until the ambulance arrives and says she's dead.