My Little Pup

Chapter 16

Sirens blare around me. The strobing red and blue lights from the emergency vehicles dance across the tress lining the rural road. The smell of burnt rubber and smoke mingles together in the crisp night air. Shattered glass and debris litter the pavement beneath my feet.

Blurred silhouettes of EMTs and firefighters dart past me in their frantic rush towards two mangled, hunks of metal a few yards away.

The first vehicle appears to be the remains of a SUV. The front end and its mechanics resemble a crushed aluminum can with the engine cavity having been pushed nearly into the cab of the vehicle. With that amount of damage, this vehicle had to hit the other head-on at an excessive speed.

My attention is drawn to the other vehicle in question as the majority of the workers flock to its side. Unlike the first, the second car was struck square on the driver's door. The collision causing the car to flip multiple times before settling on its roof in a ditch. The workers hack and pull against the vehicle, struggling to create a wide enough opening in the torn metal to free a lone occupant.

Even though the car is practically unrecognizable from the wreck, something about it sparks a feeling of familiarity. I can't explain it, but I feel as if I know that car, that I've ridden in it before.

I hesitantly take a step forward to get a better view of the vehicle through the congested mass of workers. They appear oblivious to my presence, not so much as batting an eyelash at the sight of a civilian approaching an accident scene during a rescue.

Before I reach the wreckage, something catches my eye. In the grass a couple of yards away from the scene is a purse with its contents strewn over the area. It must have gotten thrown from the summersaulting car.

I spot a canister of breath mints, a shattered cell phone, and a makeup bag – items that you would expect to find in a women's purse. However, a wave of recognition flows through me once again, as it did upon first seeing the car.

Puzzled, I bend down next to the purse and rifle through it for anything that could explain my current feeling.

Ah ha – a wallet!

Expired gift cards and worn receipts are tossed aside until my fingertips graze the plastic edge of a driver's license. I hold the card up, squinting in the darkness to decipher the name.

Elizabeth Rachel Owens.

The flimsy plastic rattles in my trembling hands as my eyes travel from that to the upside-down car, where firefighters have finally managed to force open the vehicle and remove the bloodied body of a woman.

My mother.

Time slows as I jump to my feet and sprint towards the growing circle of medical personnel surrounding my mother's unresponsive form.

Despite my pace, I just can't seem to get to her. It feels as if there is a physical force holding me back. I fight against it with all my strength, practically crawling on the ground to reach my mother, but invisible arms lock around my torso, holding me in place as her image begins to slip away from view.

"Mom! Mom!" I screech into the darkness. Reaching my arm forward in a desperate attempt to get to her, even though the distance begins to grow between us. Her lifeless form eventually fading into the darkness.