Hours

1- Friday, May 18th

3:49 PM

A blaring horn.

The screech of tires.

A sickening crunch.

I open my eyes slowly, a loud ringing in my left ear. What just happened? I think, blinking in confusion. I look upwards, flicking blonde hair out of my eyes, and see the bright sunlight of a springs day. There's something there, but... I can't quite make it out. I turn to my left and see...

A girl. No, a woman. Sitting in my car.

Staring at me.

I scream, jumping backwards in my seat. She slowly moves her hand away from where it was resting on my shoulder. She doesn't even look startled, which scares me even more.

"Get- Get out of my car," I say shakily, moving as far back in my seat as I can. She opens her mouth to speak, but I cut her off. "I don't care who you are, get out now and leave me alone!" I demand, turning to unlock the car door.

As I turn, I see and comprehend what I couldn't make out earlier. My car...

Crushed against someone else's...

In the middle of the street.

"Kayla..." The woman says, but I barely hear her. My breathing becomes short, my heart rate speeding up.

"Wait," I say, turning to look at her. She looked ordinary at first glance, but now that I look at her more closely... she seems almost... fake. Unreal, untouchable, not a blemish on her skin, not a tangle in her ebony hair, nor a stain on her white blouse. She's almost glowing with perfection, and it unnerves me. "Who are you? What's going on?"

She sighs, looking ahead at the carnage and running a hand through her hair. This only causes more alarm inside of me, and I can hardly get my voice above a whisper as I wheeze, "What happened?"

The woman pauses, sighs, and looks straight ahead as she says, "Death."

The word hits me like a punch to the gut. I know why she's so perfect. I know why she's almost radiating with a glowing aura. I know why she's here.

There's an angel in my car.

"You... You don't- you can't mean..." I stutter, shaking all over. "Oh, God... Oh, my God. I'm-"

"Not you." She cuts me off without even a second glance at me. My heart stops beating.

Not me?

"What do you... I'm...?" I echo my thoughts, confusion rolling through me in waves mixed with terror and shock.

"Not you." She repeats. She raises a hand, pointing through my cracked windshield at the car opposite me. Through the dust and grime, I can barely make out a figure sprawled over the steering wheel. "Him."

A wave of relief passes through me so quickly that I have to put my head in my hands. I can't believe how selfish I'm being, but knowing that I'm still alive almost brings me to tears. "Oh, God. Oh, my God." I choke out again, blinking furiously to keep from crying.

"It's okay, Kayla." She begins to comfort me, "You can still-"

Curiosity gets the better of me and I cut her off, looking at the figure across from me. "Who is he?" I ask.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the woman still. Well, she doesn't 'still' so much as freeze. She turns to look at me for what seems like the first time, and asks in an empty voice, "I'm sorry?"

"Who is he?" I repeat, "The boy?"

She swallows, and asks shakily, "You... don't... You don't recognize him?"