I saw it before I felt it. I knew what would happen. I prepared for impact and when it hit, it hit hard. My body lunged forward causing my head to bash against the steering wheel. Next thing I know the vehicle was spinning knocking the breath out of me. Then, it happened. The car flipped. I felt like I was a rag doll being thrown around by a small child.
I caught a clear glimpse out the window and realized my car had fallen off the edge. I was falling down a mountain. I was going to die. The car hurled towards the ground making impact. It fell on its side, the side I was on. My head slammed against the hard, rock beneath me. The side window had long since broken. I felt this unimaginable pain then there was nothing.
I blinked. Once. Twice. My eyes slowly opening. My mind gradually comprehending what had happened. It took awhile but then it hit me. I had been in a car crash. I should be dead. I tired to look around to gather my surroundings, but that just made a searing pain shoot through my head. It felt as if I were on fire.
Okay. Breath. You have to breath. Take notes. You took a first aid class. No one is here to help you. You have to help yourself.
First, what happened? I was in a crash. Where am I? At the bottom of the mountain.
Now, check for injuries. Can I move?
I wiggle my fingers and they seemed fine. I slowly move my left arm then my right. I wince as a million needles prick my skin. Or at least that's what it felt like. So, now I know that's bruised, but I do not think it's broken. I take a deep breath then continue to inspect the rest of my body.
At some point I find that I can move my head, without the pain being unbearable. I look down at my body and regret it instantly. My left leg bone was sticking out of my body. It brought tears to my eyes. And in that moment I began to break down. It's as if I finally understood my situation and I was terrified.
Once I had calmed down some, I looked around to get a better understanding of what happened. I was laying on my side, slightly dangling cause my seat belt was holding me up. In order to get out I had to climb out the top. And I honestly didn't think I could manage that. Not with several broken ribs, a broken leg, possible head damage, and a sprained arm. I had always considered myself to be strong yet right now I wasn't so sure anymore.
My breathing was strained as I thought of all the horrible things that could happen to me. But the thing that got to me the most was the fact that I was completely alone. I had no one to hold me or to tell me that it was going to be okay. No one to help me get out or to tell me you can do this. And that is the worst way to die. To die alone.
Ella, get a hold of yourself. You have a family. You have a daughter and a loving husband. You can not die here. Not today.
With this new found motivation I move my hand to unbuckle myself. My body falls a few inch causing my injured parts to flame up. I bite my lip, holding absolutely still as the pain subsides. I needed to sit up. I lean against the roof of the car. I needed to get out of the car. However, I knew if I did this I would feel even more pain then I was feeling now. It had to be done though.
I had finally gotten myself in a sitting position after minutes of torturous pain, when I heard the sirens. I laughed. It was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. Before all this if someone had told me that the sound of sirens would ever bring me joy I would have laughed in disbelief. But now I couldn't have been happier.
Maybe I would make it after all. That was when I smelled the smoke. I looked to my left to see it coming from the hood. Shit! My breathing quickened as I realized the trouble I was in. It was bad enough before but now I had to get out fast. A lot faster than I had planned if I want to live. But how could I do that?
The only way to get out fast enough was to climb out of the front windshield where the smoke was coming from. The space to get out wasn't very big and it wasn't likely I could move quickly enough to escape in time.
I closed my eyes to gather myself and all I could think about was my little girl. She had just turned three. I smiled at the memory of her little giggles when I would chase her around and those gorgeous brown eyes. She got them from her father. I thought of Erik and how luck I was to have found him. He was the most incredible man I had ever met. I knew then that I had to survive. If not for myself then for them.
Determined, I laid down angling my body in a position I could crawl in. Tears were streaming down my face as I moved forward. My whole body ached begging me to stop. But I had to go. There wasn't time to think anymore.
When I surged forward my arm brushed against the hood. The heat from within burnt my skin making me quickly pull away. I tried to avoid touching it again but it was hard since I had such a small space to crawl through.
The more I moved the more my head began to ache. My eyesight started to blur, making it harder to move. My eyes closed. When they opened next, several minutes had passed. Or at least that's what I guessed due to the change in scenery.
The smoke was more intense then it was before I had passed out. It flooded my senses, blowing straight into my face. I coughed struggling to breath. My throat burned with every cough. I wasn't sure how much more smoke I could inhale. I needed to move. I reached my left arm in front me pulling myself forward then I did the same with my right. I forged ahead. I could feel the life draining out of me with every movement. My strength failing.
Somehow, I had made it. I was out. I had carried on until I was a few feet away. I lay on my back, tired, looking up at the sun. I could see a shadowy figure moving down the mountain. I smiled. You did good, Ella, you did good.
I heard the explosion before I felt it. My body jerked, yanking me into the air. I screamed in pain as I hit the ground, feet away from where I first laid. My back landing on a rugged rock. It's sharp edges, pierced through my shirt digging into my skin.
I could hear shouting in the distance. It seemed farther away than it actually was. They were coming for me. I admired their admiration though they were too late. I knew I wasn't going to make it. I had broken too much and it was becoming harder and harder to stay awake. It was nice that they tired.
The last thing I saw before I blacked out were yellow boots smudge with dirt running towards me.
