Seven Thousand Hours

Chapter 41| Dark was the night

Silence really was a scary sound...

"Der" she whispered, the lump in her throat constricted her breathing. She didn't know where about she was, all she knew was that she was upside down. "Derek" she said a little louder, not daring to turn her head to the side. "Derek!" She shouted. She decided to bite the bullet and look over to him, only to be met by an empty seat.

Her heart dropped.

"Derek!" She screamed but she was only met with silence. She looked around as she tried to find an escape route. Without much thinking, she reached up to unclip the seatbelt that was constricting her lungs, dropping head first into the car. "Crap" she hissed in pain. Scrambling out the side window, she caught her wrist on some glass before she started to cry. "Derek!" She cried as she looked around. It was dark and all she could see was lights from the city dancing on the shattered glass that covered the road, almost like stars. She looked back to the car where the drivers side was completely crumpled.

"Derek" she cried more as she stumbled over to the banking on the side of the road, breaking down in tears as she checked over her own injuries. She yanked out a shard of metal that was wedged in her thigh, quickly applying pressure and frantically pulling off one of her socks, making a tight bandage. Her head was bleeding but it seemed like only a minor laceration. She lifted up her shirt as she observed the black bruising on her abdomen from where the seatbelt, and Derek's arm, had saved her life.

"Derek!" She screamed louder, this time standing up. Wandering around the area of the crash, she'd noted that the truck driver had driven off and all that was left was Derek's car. "Come on, Der" she whispered to herself as she looked for him. As she stumbled round the corner in search of him, she saw a small heap in the middle of the road. "Derek?" She whispered as she began running over. "Derek!" She shouted again. Once she reached the concealed figure, she then realised it was only his winter jacket, and her mind was indeed playing tricks of her.

"Damn it!" She screamed before slipping on the jacket to keep herself warm as she continued to look for him. After 30 minutes of searching, she couldn't keep going much longer. She was exhausted, her head was still bleeding and she was now coughing up blood. All she wanted was for Derek to be okay, and she knew he had to be around somewhere. She sat back on the banking where she previously was, taking a moment to steady her breathing as she felt a panic attack rising in her chest. He's not here to calm me down.

Her breathing was staggered as she clutched her chest. Before she even realised what was happening, she was vomiting up bright red blood into the bushes. "That can't be good..." she said to herself as she collapsed back onto the banking. She laid back, her mind dizzy and her vision blurry as she tried to summon the strength to stand back up and look for him, trying her best not to fall asleep.

She was suddenly scared by the rustle of a bush, her heart pounding in her aching chest as adrenaline coursed back through her veins. She looked at the bush, waiting for an Elk or a coyote to appear, but nothing happened.

But the bush rustled again.

She jumped up and ran over the road to the bush which was on the other side of the barriers on the cliff side. There she saw Derek laying face down, his hand gripping the branch as he shook it violently.

"Der!" Meredith shouted as she jumped over the barrier and down the banking to reach him. She jumped down next to him, hugging him tightly as he rolled onto his side. "Here don't move." She stilled him. She wanted to check his injuries but she could barely see him it was that dark, only the lights of Seattle were helping her.