Voices

Chapter 7

  I was dumbfounded, struck, lost. My inventions had never failed me before. They showed me the amount of work and time I put in for them. My thermal camera was never wrong.

  Maybe it was,

  maybe it wasn't.

  "With all due respect, sir," the bulky guy who talked to Jason spoke. "He should've been taken into custody. We highly believe that your invention-"

  "You mean you believe," I retorted with a sigh. Jason? X? "If I may add, I have emotions too. I believe you all are highly trained to avoid that, but I also believe you're human."

  For the next half an hour in the car, nobody else spoke, not even Sir Bulky. I was thankful for the silence, at least they understood. I stepped on the gas with a little more pressure than usual as my thoughts were freed from their prisons.

  Was my invention wrong? Was Jason  infected with Virus X? It couldn't be, right? Not my nephew-

  "Sir, WATCH OUT!" all the government workers spoke simultaneously, their eyes wide open, very, very wide.

  As if they were about to die.

  I looked back front, and there it was. The massive lorry truck about to collide with us. My first thoughts ironically happened to be 'who's the driver?'. I knew that it takes time to slow down a vehicle, who wouldn't?

  That was when the rational thoughts hit me- like a truck. If I were to turn the vehicle, my car would slow down faster but the lorry would hit both front and back seats.

  But those were just thoughts. Who would have the time for thoughts at this moment-

  Wait, was time slowing down? Was this what we call 'the point where memories of your life would flash before your eyes'? I had to make sure this was recorded-

  The lorry hit us at full speed as the inflatable cushions burst out of the front seat, softening the impact.

  If only they had cushions for backseats. Sir Bulky and the other person beside him, they would surely lose their lives. Worst part, you ask?

  I had to watch them die before my very eyes. I could see their necks bent at an unspeakable angle as I closed my eyes, trying to block everything out.

  I could hear the sound of broken bones, being crushed as their faces hit the hard back of the front seat. Crunch.
 
  And then, suddenly, up went down, down went up. Something was pulling me up the ceiling and everything did too. The car was turned upside down. I looked at the worker beside me, looking at me in fear.

  Fear for their lives. Fear for his life. Fear of me.

  And, when I thought everything was over, I tried to give him a smile-

  Half the car was rammed by another car, caught up in the mess. I could feel the fresh air gushing past me, as he became part of the car and was crushed into the nearby wall of a building along the road.

  The red blood was gushing all around. Drenched me from head to toe, the blood sure was spilled quite a lot. Sir Bulky, the person beside him, the person beside me.

  Why on earth did I have to be the only survivor? Shouldn't I be responsible for this, this mess? Forget the slowing of time, forget Jason; forget everything, and let me-

  I felt something hit my face. I put finger on it, and stared at it for a second.

  Gasoline.

  I had to get out of here. I had to get out of here, before-

  I was blinded by what could only be the supernova of a star just right above me. All I could see was white, and the burning made it ten times worse.

  The heat was making its way to every part of my body. It was making its way through my skin.

  And here I was, thinking I could at least live and take responsibility. Maybe this was the punishment. I closed my eyes but the blinding light could still be seen, making the thin layer of skin covering my eyes seem as if it was not even there.

  So much for living, much more think about light and my eyes. What a great way to end a life-

  My eyes opened to see nothing but pure white, as my body convulsed and my lungs felt the need for air. I took in large, enormous amounts of it as I coughed really badly. My hands felt the wheel as I stepped on the gas-

  Wait, the car exploded. Why was the wheel here? Was it fireproof?

  It felt like a really long time until I could finally breathe properly. My eyes were useless; open and close, it's still purely white. No change. My arms came in contact while trying to take out the seat belt-

  Wait.

  Why was the skin smooth? My hands went all over my face. Smooth and painless.

  You will live, my head said, at least something in my head did. It started out as a whisper, and it became louder each second. There was also the headache forming, increasing pain. You will live.

  Was I infected too?

  What on earth?