I Know Places / b.s.

Prologue

It only took a split second and the next thing I feel is pain. The two headlights that blinded me minutes before have left green flashes in my eyes every time I blink, making it hard for me to see. We're upside down or maybe this is a dream. It doesn't feel like a dream.

The smell of gasoline fills my senses and I taste blood. My head hurts and I can barley focus on anything. It's dark but I see glass shattered everywhere.

The moment my adrenaline kicks in, the pain fades. I crane my neck slowly to see anything else and now I'm crying, tears flooding my vision completely. We are upside down and the only thing keeping me restrained is a seatbelt.

I suddenly hear sirens and red and blue lights bounce off the shattered glass. I hear footsteps running towards the car, stepping on broken glass as they come closer.

A flashlight blinds me when it  is shined into the car and I sob a little quieter, hoping that this will end soon. I'm still in shock and I don't realize that I'm not processing this correctly.

"Miss?" A man's voice willed my ears. "We're going to get you out of there, alright?"

I nodded slowly, my crying only getting louder as I feel the pain surface back in my head and arm. Pain shoots down my leg and I cry out in agony.

"What's your name?" The man asks.

I still taste blood. "Olivia."

"I'm officer Daniels. I'm going to climb in and undo your belt - there is gasoline leaking from your car so I need to get you out of there as quickly as possible," he explained.

Suddenly, I felt lightheaded. Things were spinning and I was losing track of time. The police officer was below me, reaching to undo the seatbelt but I could tell by his mumbled profanities he was having a hard time. He looked to the side of me and realization flooded my head.

"Charlie," I cried, "Charlie, wake up."

There was silence. The officer was working faster to get my belt off but my heart was racing in my chest.

"No, no," I screamed, "get Charlie first, not me - get him!"

The officer had this look in his eyes - one that I don't think I'd ever forget. A look of despair and hopelessness that made me burst into tears.

"Charlie!" I sobbed, "Charlie, come on, tell me you're okay - CHARLIE!"

In these following moments I'm on the brink of losing myself. Either I'm too exhausted or I'm dying. Right now, it feels like the second one.

The officer cuts the belt from my waist and wraps his arms around me as I fall onto him. He's pulling me out of the car and the smell of gasoline is much more prevalent.

"Get him out!" Officer Daniels yells.

There are more voices as I lay on the cold concrete. My fingertips feel the rough ground below me as tears drip down the sides of my face.

People say when you're dying your life comes back to you all at once, but right now mine is coming back to me in flashes: I'm six years old, at my birthday party. I'm thirteen, at my best friends beach house - running towards the ocean. I'm seventeen having my first real kiss. I'm suddenly eighteen, walking across the stage at graduation. At nineteen I'm laying next to Sage, out naked bodies intertwined in my bedsheets.

I feel warmth in my chest as my heart beat slows down. I'm losing myself in memories that I would do anything to relive. There are people around me - medics, I think - pulling me into a gurney. They're working faster than what my mind can process.

"Olivia, honey, it's going to be okay - Olivia, I need you to stay awake. Now tell me how old you are," one of the medics say - she's pretty, dark red hair with piercing blue eyes.

I try to open my mouth but my eyes are the only part of me moving. They're fluttering shut and I just barley see her face drop.

"I'm not going to lose you, Olivia!" she insists, "we'll be at the hospital very soon. You need to stay strong. It's time to hold on."

Another voice - male - fills my ears, but it sounds distant almost or maybe I'm starting to really go out.

"She's lost so much blood. Tell trauma to have a team on standby at the doors - also, someone needs to call for a CT, her head is pretty bad. I think she might some internal bleeding...."

His voice trails off and I hear nothing but ringing in my ears. My eyes flutter shut but I hear the woman medic say my name a few more times. I can't open my eyes.

I'm twenty and I see Charlie's smile one last time. He is laughing and we're discussing the movie we just saw. Now, I'm five and Charlie is seven. We're running around in a field of grass and wildflowers, ignoring our parents pleas to come in for lunch. When I'm six he holds my hand as we walk towards the end of the pier. He tells me that there are monsters in the lake, and I believe him. At fifteen he tells me that boys suck and he proves that he is loyal and protective. My entire body goes cold and I feel the outside world drift away from me.

Total blackness surrounds me, yet white light appears in the distance. It's getting closer and closer and closer until I'm torn from it and I gasp with air - reality surrounding me. My eyes are open and I'm breathing again.

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Note: Intense, right? :O
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