Who am I?

aftermath

My eyes opened to dusk. I saw the sky lit up with streaks of pink and the buzz of crickets just starting to sing. My head felt all cottony, I couldn't focus. I wanted to close my eyes again. Then it hit me like a freight train, all the memories of the crash at once. My head cleared up immediately, I tried to move but pain laced through my head and up my arm. 

Glass crunched under me as I struggled. My arm was pinned under a large tree limb, I could hardly feel it except for the pain. I looked around desperately. "Ohhh" Anthony groaned. He sat up slowly, wincing. "What happened?" the van was flipped onto its side and as I got a better look I realized that I was seeing the sky through a huge hole in the roof.

"I don't know" I said grimacing at the sharpness of my own voice. My head was beginning to pound. "Caleb! thank god you're okay!" He exclaimed. "I can hardly see you for a second I thought that you were dead." 

"Not yet." I attempted to laugh but the pain caused an intense wave of dizziness. "Zoe, Jason are you guys alright?" Anthony got no answer. "I think they're still out cold." I said. "Well, we can't just sit here, We're going to ave to get out and see."

He said and started to stand up wincing. "I can't move, a tree is pinning my arm." I said. Anthony put his arm out and suddenly the branch lifted. I slid out quickly before it smashed back onto the seat. Circulation returned to my arm so fast it hurt, yet I was grateful.

"Thanks." I said. We climbed out of the hole and rushed as best we could to the front. Jason lay peacefully strewn. "Jason wake up!" I yelled. He stirred a little bit. I slapped him in the face. He recoiled and his eyes snapped open. "What?" he mumbled.

"Are you okay?" I asked. "We got in a crash." His eyes widened. "Oh god, help me get out." I helped him part way through the window and he was able to manage te rest himself. The only problem was that his leg was gone.

He looked at the van and crumpled to the ground. His eyes looked distant and he was shaking. "H-help me get my leg." He said weakly. Tears were streaming down his face. I peered into the van and grabbed his leg. it was a bit dented.

Zoe and Anthony were comforting Jason. "It's okay." Zoe was saying, her eyes full of compassion. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder and his tension faded. He looked a lot calmer and level headed but still shaken. I passed him the leg and he put it on sighing.

"We're definitely going to have to stop in at Mom's. I need a new leg, it's a good thing these things are sturdy or you'd be carrying me." He laughed and got up. 

The Van took the most damage in the back. It was crumpled in with the huge tree limb protruding from the window. The whole thing was destroyed. We seemed to have tumbled down a steep embankment into the woods but we could still hear the highway and could seelight through the trees.

Slowly, we picked our way towards the light. We knew it was a gas station because it was the very gas station we were headed to when we crashed. The trek seemed to go on forever. Nobody said much, there was the occasional hiss of pain but that was pretty much it.

We stumbled out into the light and the dull throbbing in my head returned. We looked like a mess. "You guys should rest." I said ignoring the pain in my arm and head. I could see the full extent of their injuries and it made me feel fiercely protective and worried.

Anthony in particular was worrying me. He was hanging behind the rest of us moving a lot slower. He looked pale, holding his side and was struggling for breath. "You should rest too." Zoe said "We all need to." 

I shook my head feeling vaguely nauseous. "No it's okay, I'll go in and get us supplies stuff to get cleaned up. It's best that you stay out of sight. I'm the only one people can't see so I should get it. You guys look like a mess it'll attract attention. I'll see if there's any ads for motels around inside."

Reluctantly, they agreed and sat down behind the building. "I'll be right back." I assured them and went in. The light assaulted my senses. I was going to be sick the pain was too much. Warmth spread down my arm and I saw that I was bleeding.

I rushed to the bathroom. When I got in there, the door swung open  and some guy came in knocking me to the ground. I gazed up at the ceiling before the world went dark. For the second time that day, I passed out.