No… I don't want to die! Please… please! Why isn't this damn brake working!?
The terrified voice echoed through the speeding car, trembling and desperate.
It was the dead of night. Rain poured relentlessly from the blackened sky, hammering down like a thousand icy needles stabbing the windshield. The world outside was nothing but a blurred smear of streaking headlights and trembling shadows.
Inside the car, chaos reigned. The vehicle hurtled down the slick, winding road at a dangerously high speed. The driver - Avery Vale gripped the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles blanched white, sweat streaming down her face despite the cold rain outside. Her heart pounded erratically in her chest, each beat a frantic plea for survival.
The brakes… they're not working, why?
Her breath came in ragged gasps, fogging up the inside of the windshield. The wipers flailed desperately but couldn't clear the sheets of rain fast enough to make out what lay ahead.
"These brakes were fine when I left this morning," she muttered between panicked breaths, the words barely audible over the roaring engine and storm outside. "What the hell happened to them now!?" This day had already taken everything away from her.
The love of her life had betrayed her, the man she did everything for, the man who once promised her a future, a beautiful future.
She twisted the steering wheel with trembling hands, trying to pull the car into the shoulder, any patch of safer ground, but the car slid uncontrollably. Every attempt to press the brake pedal was useless, the pedal sinking deep with no response from the wheels.
Tears mingled with rain on her cheeks. "Please… I don't want to die. I can't die—not now. Not when everything I cared about was already ripped from me." Her voice cracked, trembling with raw fear and a stubborn flicker of defiance. "No… no, I won't let myself die. Not like this."
Frantically, Avery scanned the blurred road ahead through the rain-streaked windshield, searching for a tree or guardrail she could use to slow the car. Her vision blurred from the tears, the storm, and sheer panic. The flashing lights of other cars seemed impossibly distant, the road ahead nothing but a ghostly smear of darkness.
"Oh God… please… send someone… anyone… help me…" she whispered, gripping the wheel tighter as if sheer willpower could stop the car.
Unknown to her,behind her, the headlights of another vehicle flickered in and out of view through the curtain of rain. Inside that car, tension gripped the passengers like a vice.
"Sir… that car's brakes aren't working," the driver said in a shaky voice, eyes fixed on Avery's speeding vehicle.
In the back seat, a man dressed in impeccably tailored clothes sat stiffly, his face a perfect sculpture of calm and control—normally. But now, his usual aloof, ruthless demeanor was shattered by evident fear. Sweat beaded on his brow as he stared at the desperate scene ahead.
"Speed up, Nial," he ordered in a clipped voice, though it trembled just slightly with the weight of his worry. "Get our car in front of hers. Maybe it'll help slow her down."
The driver nodded grimly and pushed the accelerator harder, the tires squealing in protest on the wet asphalt as they raced closer to Avery's out-of-control car.
Seconds stretched like hours.
But fate was cruel.
A monstrous truck appeared suddenly from the side road, roaring like a beast. It slammed into Avery's car with bone-shattering force, sending the vehicle spinning wildly across the slick pavement. The truck backed up, then surged forward again, smashing into the car a second time with terrifying brutality — ensuring no one inside could survive.
Then the truck sped away, tires screeching, vanishing into the stormy night like a ghost.
Silence fell over the road, broken only by the pounding rain and the faint crackle of the damaged car's engine winding down.
Both Nial and Silas sat frozen for a split second, the horror of what they had just witnessed sinking in like icy water in their veins.
Without hesitation, Nial slammed on the brakes and pulled their car over near the wreckage. Silas sprang from the vehicle, heart hammering wildly in his chest.
He ran forward, feet pounding on the wet pavement, rain drenching his fine clothes but unnoticed.
The scene before him tore through his soul: the woman inside the twisted wreck was drenched in blood, battered and broken in a way no one ever wished to see their loved one.How he wished to be the one there instead of her if it meant her safety.
Without thinking of his own safety, Silas yanked at the car door, the metal screaming in protest. The jagged edge tore into his palm, ripping flesh and sending a shock of pain up his arm — but he didn't care.
He reached inside, fumbling desperately to pull her from the wreckage.
The wrecked car was screeching, it's external unrecognizable, shattered glass scattered everywhere, most dangerous-fuel was leaking from the car continuous, just seconds until it might catch fire.
"Boss! The car's leaking fuel! It's going to catch fire! Move away!" Nial shouted, but Silas was deaf to the warning.
Cradling Avery against his chest, he ran away from the twisted, groaning vehicle.
Seconds later, a deafening explosion ripped through the night air. Flames roared like a hungry beast, shards of metal and glass flying in all directions.
Silas shielded Avery's fragile body with his own, taking the full force of the flying debris. A jagged piece slammed into his shoulder with brutal force, knocking him to his knees.
Pain flared across his body, sharp and unforgiving, but he forced himself upright. Clenching his jaw, he staggered away from the fire, carrying her towards safety with every ounce of strength left in him.
"Boss! Are you alright?" Nial's voice trembled with fear as he hurried over, eyes wide with panic.
Silas barely nodded. "I'm fine. Start the car. We have to get her to the hospital—now."
He climbed into the back seat, gently lowering Avery's head onto his lap. His fingers brushed the strands of wet hair from her face as he tried to keep her still, knowing that any movement could worsen her injuries.
"Avery… can you hear me?" he pleaded softly, voice cracking. "Please, open your eyes. Look at me. Stay with me."
Nial watched silently from the front, eyes darting between the road and the heartbreaking scene behind him.
Silas, a man who rarely showed emotion or spoke unnecessarily, was now trembling, terrified for the life of the woman cradled in his arms. It was a side of him no one ever saw, a raw and vulnerable ache that none could understand.
"Avery! You idiot, wake up or I'll tell everyone you pick your nose!" he teased weakly, hoping to rouse her, though Nial's confused glance said he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Then, a faint, ragged breath. Avery's eyelids fluttered open, revealing a dim, unfocused gaze.
"I… it hurts," she whispered, her voice weak and broken, trembling as she tried to pinpoint the searing pain coursing through her entire body.
Silas kissed her bloody hand, holding it tightly in his own. "I'm here, Avery. We're going to make it. Just hold on for me, okay?"
Tears blurred his vision as she squeezed his hand, clutching desperately for life.
"Avery… Avery, we will get through this, don't worry," Silas murmured, his voice thick with emotion as he pushed her rain-soaked hair away from her blood-smeared face. "We're taking you to the hospital. You're going to be fine. You'll be okay—I promise."
Avery's bloodied fingers suddenly clenched his hand, weak but desperate. Her eyes were wide, filled with terror and unbearable pain.
"Is… is there someone?" she cried, her voice cracking as tears streaked down her cheeks, mixing with the rain and blood. "Please… please save me! I don't want to die! It hurts so much… please!"
Silas's chest tightened, and he bent lower, trying to keep her tethered to consciousness. "Avery, it's me! It's Silas—your Silas, remember?" His voice trembled. "Just hold on, stay with me. We're almost there. I'll save you, I swear I will!"
Her sobs turned more frantic, her breath hitching erratically. "Whoever you are…" she whimpered, her voice slurring as she clung tighter to his hand. "Something's wrong with my brain… I can't see anything. I can't hear anything! Please… plea…"
Her words faltered, trailing off like a dying whisper in the storm.
Silas froze.
Her grip on his hand slackened.
The trembling panic that rushed through him made his blood run cold. He stared down at her face—eyes glassy and unmoving, lips slightly parted, chest eerily still.
"Avery…?" he whispered, his voice breaking. "Avery, no. No—please, not now. Don't you dare do this to me!"
"Nial!" he shouted, his voice rising into a desperate roar. "Drive faster! Don't stop until we're there!"
"I'm going as fast as I can, boss!" Nial replied, the tires screaming against the slick asphalt as the hospital finally came into view like a lighthouse in the middle of a storm.
As soon as they pulled in, the ER staff rushed out with a stretcher, raincoats flapping and gurney wheels squeaking. Silas jumped out with Avery cradled tightly in his arms.
"She's not breathing!" he shouted. "She's not—do something!"
The medical team worked swiftly, transferring her to the stretcher. Silas didn't let go of her hand, running alongside as they wheeled her through the entrance, soaked and trembling.
"Avery! You're going to be okay! Just hold on!" he shouted, his voice cracking. His heart pounded so loudly it drowned out every other sound. Tears streamed down his face, falling onto her lifeless hand.
"Sir, you need treatment too—your shoulder's bleeding badly," Nial said, catching up and gently touching his arm. "You were hit by debris—"
"I don't care!" Silas barked, shaking him off. "She needs help! Just save her!"
They reached the double doors of the emergency operating room. Silas tried to follow, but a nurse gently held him back. "Please wait here, sir. The doctors will do everything they can."
"No!" he protested, voice hoarse. "She needs to hear my voice—she needs to know I'm here—!"
The doors shut in his face.
Silas stood in the corridor, drenched and shaking, hands curled into fists as he stared at the closed doors. Blood dripped from his injured shoulder. He didn't care. The only thing that mattered was the girl behind those doors.
He fell to his knees and pressed his hands together, something he hadn't done in years.
Please… please let her live. Just let her come back to me. I don't care what it takes.
The sound of approaching footsteps made his heart leap—hope, terror, and dread crashing together in his chest.
Dr. Hart emerged, pulling off his surgical gloves slowly. His face was pale and grim.
Silas sprang to his feet. "Why are you out here?! Get back in there! Save her!"
But the look in the doctor's eyes shattered him.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Blackwood," Dr. Hart said softly. "She… she was already gone when you brought her in. Her heart had stopped. We tried to resuscitate her, but…"
"No," Silas whispered, taking a step back. "No. No, that's not possible. She—she was just talking to me. She was still there. You're lying. You didn't try hard enough—go back in and fix it! FIX IT!"
"I'm so sorry…"
Silas's legs buckled beneath him. His knees hit the hospital floor hard, but he didn't feel the pain.
It was nothing compared to the agony exploding in his chest.
He clutched at his heart, gasping, his breathing shallow and uneven as if someone had just stabbed him through the lungs. His vision spun. The world tilted. The sob he tried to hold back tore from his throat like the cry of a broken man.
And then everything went dark as he collapsed to the ground beside the doors that had taken her away.