Heart on Fire | Noah Sebastian

Chapter One

The sound of the rain bore down on the wreck as it lay in wait for emergency services to arrive. Worried drivers called emergency services but did nothing more to help - they barely could. They all stood around frantic - husbands trying to calm their wives, mothers trying to hide their kids in their car so they didn't have to see the carnage I created. Trauma was quickly engraving itself in the brains of tens of strangers and they all have me to blame. But at least they tried to call.

I can feel my heart pulse against my chest then the blood drip down my face in almost perfect synchronization. I can feel the air slowly trickle into my lungs as it dares to inflate against a possible broken rib cage. I can feel the tingling sensation in my toes and fingertips. That's a good sign, right? I can't tell which way is up, I rolled too many times to count. For some reason my car stereo works. It's currently playing Fall Out Boy's 'THNKS FR TH MMRS'. At least I can focus on that rather than the blood slowly pooling in my mouth.

I could feel the sweat droplets form across my forehead as the heat inside my car intensifies, which I find odd considering the rain outside. I've never known heat like this. I can feel the moisture be drawn out of the air. I could feel the moisture draw out of my throat with every panicked breath I took. My sweat barely fell across my temples before it evaporated. But the rain outside seems to get heavier.

I barely remember how I ended up here.

I can hear the sirens in the far distance but I know they're still not close enough. Emergencies like mine always seem to occur in the farthest, most hard to reach places. But let me assure you, us who need rescuing do not choose to be this far away. If anything, I'm sure any of us choose to be in this position at all. I certainly don't. I'd rather be parked in the driveway of my brand new home than be hanging wrong side up in my wreck of a car.

My broken stereo that continues to play music is actually the very thing that's keeping me calm, because its certainly not the long line of cars and terrified bystanders either side of my wreck that are helping. Its as though neither of them have stopped panicking or screaming the entire time and I try to fathom how one has not passed out from lack of oxygen to the brain by this point.

I can hear the bystanders eventually use their frantic energy to scream to move their cars as I hear some emergency vehicles arrive. The flashes of red and blue encompass my car in the reflection of my broken side view mirrors. I listen from my shattered window as they jump out and immediately get to work. I hear the panicked by standers of my carnage try to approach the personnel but they're quickly dismissed. Astonishing I know; The fact that I'm the point of focus and not the fact you have come across a messy car accident and are traumatized.

I hear someone immediately barking instructions at the rest of their team before I'm even approached. I hear them yell something about hoses and clearing the public from my wreck. I hear something in relation to fire? Oh god is my car on fire! Oh fuck this is it. This is where I die.

Soon enough I hear someone give the all clear that it was safe to approach my vehicle and to be honest, that's what gave me the most anxiety. Someone, or will soon to be multiple people, see me in this position. Why on earth does my anxiety decide now is the most appropriate time to kick in? Should I be thankful that someone is here to help me? Nope, we panic apparently. We don't panic at the bystanders, just make fun of them, but emergency services, nope we panic.

Someone in a yellow jacket and white helmet with red stripes kneels beside my broken window. "Hi there" I let out a small 'hey' as if it was impolite not to. "My name is Belle, I'm from the Fire Service, we're going to help you out here today" the lady in yellow introduced herself. She seemed so calm about this whole situation. She had a smile poke at the corner of her mouth and eyes that tried to meet yours but I felt too embarrassed to accept. I don't know why I felt embarrassed all of a sudden. Maybe I was just scared? I don't know how to feel right now. Am I in pain right now? Why am I panicking all of a sudden? I wanted to mentally batter myself for feeling this way in such a situation however I was kept occupied.