Decode Or Die

Prologue

6 weeks ago

My heart thumps hard, blood rushing through my ears, so much so that I don't hear the sound of the car honking behind me. I’m driving on the freeway at 60. That's quite slow, but I’m sweating like a pig. I swallow and take a look at Kate, who’s sitting beside me, looking at a grocery store pamphlet. I don't have time to look at Ramona on the backseat, but I am sure she's doing something equally unimportant which is absolutely insignificant for her existence.

I press down on the brake when I see a truck coming at us from the opposite side, horn blaring. My Ford doesn't slow down, jerking the wheel to the other side, I take a hard turn, shocking Kate.

“What's going on, mate? You okay?” She asks.

It's not a good time to lie. “The brake failed”, I blurt out.

There's no good in looking through the windshield so I gaze at her. She turns pale, her Hawaiian-tanned, olive skin is so white, she looks dead.

I bite my lip and murmur something. I don't even remember what. My life flashes before my eyes. I see Blake, in his black jacket leaning on my living room wall. All I can do now is swerve and wait.

"Oh my God! This can't be happening..." Kate murmurs.

I see a truck coming down the road, almost as if it was floating towards us. I try slowing down, a failed attempt which results in unexplained inertia. I swerve, rushing into another lane, right now, I don't really care if I get a ticket.

It was the biggest mistake I’ve made in the twenty-four years of my life...

I gaped helplessly as I saw a homeland truck rushing toward us. Most probably empty, because it seems to be coming at us at least a hundred and twenty miles per hour.

I don't understand what happens next. A loud crash drums into my ear. I instantly smell something burning. I don’t remember screaming… Maybe the shock left me speechless...

Unfortunately, my brand new car doesn’t deploy the airbags in time. I don't feel scared. I just feel excruciatingly upset.

The world seems to have turned upside down. I feel as if I’ve been dropped into a garbage-crusher. My head bangs my knees. My torso is thrown against the steering wheel. My head hits the windshield, warm liquid running down my face.

I feel a pang of pain from where I think my ribs are. My voice seems alien as I press the door open for Ramona, “Jump! Now!”

Then everything goes black.

Edited by: shrutiluvsbuks