The truck slowed and then stopped. A guy got out from behind the wheel and wavered as he strode towards us. I vaguely recognized him but didn’t know his name. He started shouting and cursing about us flashing our lights.
I gripped Jase’s
hand. “I think you should go now. He doesn’t look like he’s in his right mind.”
Jase put the Jeep in drive and pulled off as our friends followed behind. The man shook his fist at us as we passed and screamed something I couldn’t make out.
I didn’t let out the breath I’d been holding until his taillights disappeared. “That was crazy.”
“Hopefully, the sheriff arrests him.”
“No kidding.”
I switched the radio off; the upbeat music not a match for that close call.
Jase linked his fingers with mine. “They’ll get ‘em.”
“I know.”
The faint sound of a souped-up engine cut through the night. I turned in my seat to see headlights swerving out from behind our three vehicles to pass. The red truck had to be going about ninety miles an hour. “Is he insane?”
Before Jase could answer, the truck slammed into the side of our SUV. I screamed as we spun. There was a sickening crunch as we hit one vehicle and then another. I lost track of how many times we collided with things. And then, we were airborne.
My seat belt jerked me against the seat as the Jeep flew into a roll. Flipping over and over, the sounds were deafening until everything blinked out. No sound, no sight, no feeling. There was simply nothingness.
I didn’t know how long the nothingness lasted before I blinked against it. I heard shouts from somewhere. That infiltrated my brain before the pain. But once the pain appeared, there was nothing else.
A white-hot agony ripped through my body, tearing at muscle and sinew. I let out a whimper as I tried to move. As if that would help me escape the pain. But I couldn’t shift my position. The Jeep no longer resembled a vehicle. It had been crunched into something altogether different.
Panic lit through me at that thought. “Jase?”
My voice came out hoarse as if I hadn’t used it in years. There was no answer. Blood rushed to my head, and for the first time, I realized we were upside down.
“Jase.” His name was a plea. I tried to twist myself, but pain ripped through me. My seat was folded into the dashboard, my head and neck resting on its surface.
A low groan sounded from next to me. “Laik?”
“I’m here. Are you hurt?”
What a dumb question. Of course, he was hurt. There was no way he couldn’t be.
“I don’t know.” Jase’s voice sounded funny. As if he were on heavy-duty painkillers or something.
“Over here,” a voice shouted. “I’m going down.”
I tried just moving my arm. It hurt like hell, but I could weave it around the torn and bent metal. After a few tries, I felt a body. An arm. Jase’s arm. I patted it until I found his hand. I linked my fingers with his. But Jase’s hand was slick with blood.
My heart ricocheted around in my chest. “Jase, what do you feel?”
“Hmm?”
“Stay awake,” I ordered. I didn’t know much, but I knew that it was important to stay conscious.
“I’m awake.”
“Tell me about the house we’re gonna have one day.”
It was quiet for a moment, nothing but the sounds of creaking metal.