Everything seemed to move at a slow pace for my mother and father as they stared at the car that my mother ordered us to look at in complete fear. Their bodies became rigid as they analyzed the car that I presumed would be a luxury car from the way they inched towards the window and stared at the car with a look of disbelief. My mother was not much of a car lover but due to the influence of my father, she could not help in sharing a car’s unique features whenever she saw something that piqued her eye.
“What is it?” I asked as I tried to crane my neck. I always found these instances amusing as they were supposed to be used to the sight of luxury cars as we have lived in this area for over a decade.
I knew that something was wrong when my mother jumped out of her seat which was right beside the ambulance back doors and rushed to wrap her arms around me. I scrunched my eyebrows at the sudden action and turned to look at my father who held the door handle tightly as he closed his eyes, as if he was preparing himself for something. “Oh Lord,” I heard my mother’s panicked voice shout into my ear and then felt a harsh jerk as the ambulance collided with another car.
My arms rushed to wrap my mother as she was the only semi-stable object that could keep me leveled. It was a poor attempt as we flew off of our seats shortly after the second collision. My mouth ached from my screams as I tried to hold onto anything we were all tossed to other sides of the car as it toppled. After some time, all that I could hear was the loud beating of my heart, the screams that were being muffled by the ringing in my ears and the sound of wheels screeching. Soon it all became a blur and I lost consciousness.
~~~~~~~
“You…”
“Lorna….”
I fluttered my eyes open as I continued to hear snippets of sentences being screamed into my ear. It was hard to decipher what was the person saying as my ears were ringing. “Hmm,” I answered as I looked around, watching as my blurry vision turned clear and saw the state that we were in. The interior of the ambulance was completely ruined as medical supplies were all over the place, I was positioned in such a manner that my elbows were touching the back of my feet and I could not have a view of the rest of the people who were in the car.
“Lorna, are you okay, my baby?” I heard the voice of my father echo in the car and I tried to turn towards the left, to where I thought that my dad was, but paused as a sharp shooting pain pierced my torso.
“I'm okay, Daddy, just in a lot of pain. How are you doing?” I asked as I tried to stop the tears that continued to flow down my face. “Where's mummy? Is she okay?” I asked once more as looked at the seats and the floor of the ambulance that was above me.
“I'm sure that she is okay but she is not responding,” he said and then paused as the door opened harshly. I gasped when I felt foreign, gloved hands moving my body away from the odd position and laying me straight. The sudden movement had caused the pain to become unbearable to the point that I couldn't even let out a scream but rather opened my mouth widely and tightened my fists as tears ran down my face.
“Sorry,” I heard a gruff voice utter under his breath and moved his hands to behind my knee and my neck so that he could lift me easily. I was able to get a full picture of the accident when the man who opened the door, lifted me and my head fell slightly backward. My heart skipped a beat when I was met with the sight of the squashed car, broken glass that was spread onto the road, and the sight of blood, slowly oozing out of the doors of the car. At that sight, I prayed that my mother was okay and hadn't fallen victim to the accident.
I was then led into the car and placed on a bed. He then walked towards the car and that was when I was able to get a glimpse of the man. He seemed like he was in his early 20s from his fashion choice of wearing baggy jeans with a loose cartoon-designed shirt. He had long brown hair that he tied into a low bun and a black cap to finish his look. He looked like an average man who wanted to just help those who were in need and I was forever grateful.
“You better get your hands off of me,” I heard from my father as he was pulled out of the car by the man. I gasped when I saw the large gush on his face that began at the right corner of his forehead and ended at his bottom right cheek. The gruesome sight of the inside of his cheek and the blood that continued to gush out of his wound and stain his face as well as his clothes made my stomach churn. My father had seemed like a person whom I could not even recognize as he had received countless wounds and bruises that desperately needed medical treatment.
“Get your hands away from my family and leave us alone,” he cried out as he tried to stand up and fell soon after from the wounds that were delivered onto his legs. “You bumped us and you dare to take my child. It would be a cold day in hell before you do anything to my wife and daughter.” He held onto the corners of the car, using the object to lift himself and walk towards me.
The man who received the wrath of my father stood tiredly and then moved into the ambulance when he saw my dad limping towards the car. I was wondering as to his reason that he allowed him to do whatever he needed. Hadn't he needed us to be cooperative to deliver us to the area that he wanted? I wondered about his reasoning as to why he had chosen to collide with the car when the street was empty. I was afraid of his reasoning and wished to have enough strength to stand up and walk away as I hadn't wished to see what awaited me at the venue where he would drop us off.
After some time my father arrived at the door and slowly pulled me out of the car. “We need to get out of here, anywhere,” he repeated as he lifted me into his arms and rushed me towards the forest that was beside the road.
“Daddy, no. We have to get mummy.”
“There's no time,” he said as he lifted me and limped further into the forest.
“There is time, Daddy, please. We can't leave her alone,” I sobbed as the image of the car became smaller and smaller. It felt wrong that we had to leave her alone whilst we searched to run away from the man. Although my mother wasn't responding to my father's calling, it wasn't right to assume that she was dead and it was morally wrong that my mother was used as a decoy to escape.
“You can't be caught, Lorna. You have to live so just keep quiet before he finds out.” I nodded as I placed my head onto his chest and sobbed at the desperation that was in his voice. I knew that he felt the same way that I did about my mother from the tears that ran down his face and his quiet sobs as he ran.
My father slowed down his running when the car was completely out of sight and he was sure that we were far away from the man. He groaned as he stood in the middle of the forest, searching around for any sign of roads ahead so that he could get us to safety. “Get my phone in my pocket and call the police,” my father ordered me as he continued to limp into the forest.
“I can't,” I whispered when my hands failed to move from the limp position that it was in. “I can't move any part of my body.”
He nodded at my response and slowly placed me on the ground, asking if I was hurt by the movement. When he received his satisfactory answer, he whipped out his phone from his pocket and then called the police. “Oh, hello. We need your help. There is a man who is after my daughter,” he started and I screamed when I heard the sound of a loud gunshot that sounded deafingly close.
I turned my head to look at my father who began stumbling and then collapsed onto the floor. “Dad,” I called out as I looked at his unconscious state and cried when I saw the blood beginning to pool around him. “No, Daddy, no. Somebody help me, please,” I screamed as I looked frantically around me, scared that the person who shot my dad would rush to do the same to me.
“You are more handful than I thought you would be.” I froze when I heard the same hoarse voice of the man who carried me out of the ambulance vehicle. I prayed that my ears were playing some trick on me but it seemed that it was nullified when I saw his face align with mine as he looked disappointedly at me. “Boss will not like this,” he said before he covered my mouth with a cloth and then I lost consciousness.
