GO, DIE & COME BACK

CHAPTER 15: SEAT-BELT TAKES LIFE

Matt tried to start some conversation with her, but she was either not replying or keeping it very formal. His main motive was not to converse. He was just passing time and keeping it very casual until the opportunity arrived.

"Thank you, Nina."

That was the fifteenth time he was acting grateful to her. Till then, she started to ignore him or just nod.

It started becoming dark.

His mind was revolving around the night he spent with Victoria. When they finished kissing, Victoria cupped his face. "Tomorrow is a big day. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, but what do I have to do?"

"Here, take this." She handed him a photo of a man who looked like a mechanic. "When you and Nina were somewhere in private, he would start his work on her car."

"What work?"

"He will slit the gasoline pipe, so when you reach the highway, which comes on your way, the car will break down. You will go out and look into the engine. There, you will have a knife, which you'll use to cut the brake wires. That mechanic would have already cut the hand-brake wires. Then, you'll go to the back and start pushing the car."

"Wait! What?" He slowed her down. "Where will I push the car? Most importantly, won't anyone see me doing this?"

"One lane of the highway is under construction. You'll tell her that it was finished. There would be no workers present as it would be dark. Even the street lights are not present there. Just pray that the car stops where the half-completed bridge ends. Then you'll push her car to make it fall off the highway."

"Are you crazy? Won't she jump out of the car at once?"

"She can't. That mechanic will apply a strong adhesive to the lock for her seatbelt and also toggle the function of it. This will trap her under her seatbelt. She can cut it and rush out, so you have to do your work as fast as you can. She will be helpless inside. The only thing she can do is scream."

*  *  *

When the turning to the new incomplete highway was a few meters away from them, Matt came out of his thoughts.

"Oh! Take this turn." He blurted out.

"What? Are you sure? As far as I know, this bridge isn't completed yet."

"Yes, it is." Matt strived to frame any justification to make her believe. "And I need to get something for mom. I just realized it. If it is fine for you, can you please lend me some money to buy something for her? I'll return it to you as early as possible. Please?"

"No need to return anything to me." She riposted coldly.

"Alright. Thank you so much, Nina." He said it for the sixteenth time.

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes and swirled the steering wheel. Her car took the turn, and so did her life.

'Please. Please.' Matt was praying about what Victoria had told him, and at last, it happened.

The car stopped after some jerks. Nina tried to start it, but it didn't help at all.

"What the hell has happened?" She asked herself while trying to start the engine.

"Should I go and check?"

"Do you know anything about a car's engine?"

"Yes, I know. Let me try." Saying that, he went out and lifted up the bonnet.

"How do you know about this? I thought you only knew about varieties of cars but never thought you also knew their mechanisms."

"My father taught me all this." Matt blurted it out, as he had no answer ready for it.

Nina nodded, which seemed least concerned.

He brought out the knife, slid under the car, and cut the brake wires. Then, he bent into the opened bonnet and pulled out all the wires connected to the car's battery. In no time, the headlight went out. It was all dark then. "Matt! What did you do? Please don't make things worse. I think we should call a mechanic. Matt! Matt! Are you there?" Then she felt a sudden jerk from behind her car. It was a push. "Matt! What are you doing? What the hell are you doing? Please stop!" She tried to unbuckle her seatbelt, but it turned out to be futile. She pulled it as hard as she could, yet it didn't come out. Suddenly, she sensed something bad in front of her, so she took out her phone and turned on its flashlight. She saw the worst, most deadly thing that she had ever dreamed of. There was no bridge after two meters. She was standing on the verge of a dead end.

She screamed louder while struggling to let herself go. "Matt! What is wrong with you? Why are you doing this?" No answer came from him. He was panting. His muscles were aching, but he kept on pushing the car towards the end. Nina quickly turned to the phone, scrolled down the contacts, and stopped at Lynda's name. She was about to press the call button when two wheels went in the air, and that sudden jerk made her lose her phone. The front half of the car was hanging in the air, and Matt was madly pushing the remaining half. She fumbled for the phone, but she couldn't do it. The seatbelt was like a hurdle, which forbade her from getting down, and the car started dandling badly. "Matt! You told me that you were sorry. You wanted your family back. Is this what you wanted? You're a monster!"

Just then, her handbag came falling to her from the back seat. She grabbed it and took out a pocket knife. Matt was red with the force he was putting into pushing the car. Then the car was not on wheels. He had to drag it. Nina was breathing shortly and was scratching the blade across the strap of her seatbelt, which was running across her chest. It started tearing apart. They both had very little time and were using excessive force. The car dangled once again.

She had cut the first strap and turned to the second, which was across her legs. She began scratching it with the knife. Suddenly, she noticed that her phone was buzzing. 'Lady Lynda must be calling me,' she thought. It was becoming darker. She quickly waved everything away from her mind and focused on what she was doing. Her hands went red from gripping the knife tightly. She also bruised her right hand with that knife. 'Only a few centimeters of the strap left,' she thought. 'Only a few inches of the road left,' he thought. Those thoughts filled both of them with energy. After continuous effort and pain, Nina found herself free. She let out a sigh of relief and turned to the door.

She lost her control and was thrown to the wind screen. The world was revolving around her. The next thing she saw was Matt standing up there and staring at her. She realized that he was moving up, towards the sky, but actually she was going down, deep into the ground. Then a tremendous crashing sound came, and she heard nothing after that. The car didn't burst into flames, but it was shattered terribly, and Nina was nowhere to be seen in the debris. Matt kept standing there, staring at the shattered parts of the car. Moments later, tears filled his eyes, and he began crying loudly. His screams were deafening, but those didn't last too long. Soon, his lips broke into a satisfied smile. No more tears persisted in his eyes. He was looking through the clouds and imagining the wonderful and pleasing heaven he would create with Victoria. He took out his phone and called her. When she picked up, he said, "Work is done. She is dead."

On the other side, Victoria nodded in approval.