Short Stories

Camping Trip

  *Warning this story contains graphic and somewhat gory details. Descretion is adviced!*

  
    Ten year old Emma sat in the passenger seat of her uncle's red beat up pick up truck. She starred out her window the trees and mountains they were driving through excitedly. Her blue eyes mesmerized by the sights. Her Uncle Robert sat on the drivers seat singing along to the old country music coming from the radio.

  It was Emma's first camping trip and her parents finally said she was old enough to go. Her dad would be arriving the next day to the campdsite due to work. But Emma couldn't wait! She wanted to see the trees and the deer! And so Uncle Robert agreed to come a day early so they could show off to her dad their set up campsite. That way she could take all the credit.

  "Uncle Robert can we fish?" Emma asked turning to her uncle and pulling on her seat belt with excitement. Her question interrupted her uncle's singing.

  "No not today kiddo. Setting up the tent and fire will take us some time. We wont have any sunlight left," he explained. Emma pouted and pull harder on her seat belt. She pulled so hard it locked. She gasped as it slammed her little body against the worn leather seat. "You alright kid?"

  "My seat belt is stuck," she said uncomfortably as she tried to pull it away from her but only managed to get it tighter across her chest.

  Uncle Robert turned to look at Emma and reached across with his right hand and pulled on her seat belt (keeping his left hand on the wheel). "Try taking it off-" he gasped as he turned to look back at the road only to see a stag run across the road. Emma scared as the hit the breaks. Instead of the truck stopping it started to swerve on the road. Her uncle tried the get it back under control but the stag had not moved and they hit it head on.

  A tire went pop and Robert could only assume the antlers must have gotten a tire. He didn't have time to process that thought as he felt the truck start flipping on it's side. Emma's screaming ran through his ears and his heart stopped as the road suddenly ended and the truck went over a hill. His right arm shot to his side and he held it over Emma's chest. Dear God, don't let anything happen to the kid, please.

  Emma open her eyes slowly. Her curly blond hair was hanging up. Or...it was down? She turn her head and cried and it hurt to moved it. To her right she saw trees upside down..
Or... she was upside down. She sobbed and she turned her head up and gasped. Laying down on the roof of the car was her Uncle Robert. His body laid in an awkward angle and there was blood on his head. His right arm was broken and his bone was sticking out.

  "Uncle! Uncle!" She screamed and tried to reach for him only to realize her right arm hurt a lot. With her left one she unblocked the still locked seat belt and regretted it immediately. Her body fell over her uncles and she hit her alredy hurting head. She sobbed and started to nudged her uncles legs. "Wake up! Please! Uncle Robby!"

  She didn't know how long she cried out for him but eventually the sun went down. She tried opening the doors but they were both stuck. She screamed for help but no one came. She tide her uncles cowboy belt around his arm to stop the blood like she saw once on TV. She tried waking him but he didn't.

  Emma laid down next to her uncle and cried for hours. She wanted to go home. She didn't want to camp anymore. Or ever again. She wanted her mom and dad. She wanted her Uncle to be okay and to take her ridding on his horses.

  She slowly drifted uncomfortably while holding her still hurting arm and curled herself next to her uncle's unmoving body for heat.

  The next day her dad drove by. He saw the track marks and car debris. He ran down the hill and screamed out for anyone. Hoping and praying for his brother and his daughter to be save. Only he didn't. What he found was his brother dead and his little Emma using his body to keep warm. He broke the window and took her out. She was unconscious and her right arm was purple. But otherwise okay. Hi little brother however was dead. From what he could tell. He had place himself across Emma... and protected her.