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Writers Review and Short Stories Group
December 2009 Short Story Contest Winner
Amelia with 'Scarlet Christmas'
Genre: Flash Fiction/Suspense
Word Count: 1,134
(December's Genre was *author's choice*, the topic was *Holidays(Anything pertaining to a holiday or holiday activity)*. The word count minimum was 300 words and the maximum was 3000 words.)
Here is a link: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/249093-december-2009
Here is the story:
I opened my eyes to a haze of scarlet, it was everywhere. I was lost in a sea of blood. I jerked my head to the side. Blinking, some of the scarlet went away, not all of it though. My body shrieked in protest. Then I remembered where I was. The cracked windshield was splattered with my blood. I glanced down to see the steering wheel, twisted at an awkward angle. I turned to the empty seat next to me.
Charlotte.
Charlotte.
Where was Charlotte?
The passenger door hung open. I looked at the empty seat again.
She was dead. Charlotte was dead. There was no way she could live with all of that blood soaking the seat.
I grunted in pain as I removed my seatbelt. I took inventory of my injuries, the ones I could anyway.
I was in agony, but all my limbs functioned. I had a gash on my forehead and another on my stomach.
I rolled myself out and fell into the snowy slush. I hadn’t realized how it cold it was.
That’s when I saw her.
Charlotte.
At least, I thought it was Charlotte. All I saw was a red heap of gore on the side of the road. Then my eyes latched onto the black tennis shoe. The one Charlotte had put on before we left her house.
“Charlotte?” I pushed myself up on all fours, immediately falling back down into the freezing slush.
I heard a soft gurgling sound. I lifted my head to see her body convulsing. I had to do something. Anything.
“It’s ok Charlotte. I’m coming just hold on.” I slowly lifted myself back onto my hands and knees. My brain swam around in my skull and I nearly fell over again. I began the slow, torturous crawl to the other side of the road. I was about halfway over when my arms slid on the slick asphalt and I collapsed. Nausea rose from my stomach to my throat in a fierce wave. There was a faint whirring noise. I looked to my right to see a car off in the distance. It was coming towards us, fast, too fast.
Would they see my car and slow down? Would they see me in the road? Would they hit me? I tried lifting myself up again but only succeeded in retching. I slumped back down onto the muddy asphalt.
I heard the gurgling again and my heart squeezed tight in my chest. I thrust out my arms and started dragging myself across. The asphalt was unforgiving on my battered body and brought my agony to new heights as it grated my skin.
I was blinded by bright lights as the car rounded the bend in the road. Terrified but too tired to do anything else, I curled my legs up and balled into the fetal position.
Brakes ground together hard and tires squealed. They must have seen me. God please let them have seen me. The lights swung left as the car flew off the road. I winced as metal tore into the trees and glass flew everywhere. It seemed to go on forever. I tensed as silence doused all of the noise. Were they dead?
A blood curdling scream tore into the night. I opened my eyes to see the small SUV on its roof. A woman wailed in the backseat while a man hung, unmoving, in the front. The woman was wild, sobbing and shrieking in turns, her words running into one another.
I uncurled myself to see Charlotte lying still a few feet away. I couldn’t hear the gurgling anymore. It was too dark to see if her chest was moving up and down. I prayed it was. I closed the distance between us and grabbed her arm.
No response.
“Charlotte?” As I looked closer, her eyes were wide and staring, sightless, into the night sky, as snowflakes fell on her bloody face. My heart exploded in my chest as I turned to the side and heaved into the grass.
“Hello? Is anyone out there? Help me please!”
My voice managed to scrape its way out eventually.
“I’m here.” I wasn’t sure she heard me until she started shouting again.
I stared into the sky like the corpse beside me. The corpse that used to be my best friend. The one I’d convinced to come to the Christmas party with me. The one I’d killed when I’d taken the bend too fast.
“Please help me. Please.” The terror in the voice brought to back to my surroundings.
“I’m coming, just calm down. I’m coming.” By pure will, I forced myself to sit up. I could do this. I bent over and put one limb in front of the other as a crawled over to the SUV. I had no idea how I was even conscious. Blood ran into my eyes turning my vision scarlet again. My stomach gushed the dark warm fluid with every movement. I approached cautiously as the gas fumes stung my nostrils.
“I’m here.” I took a quick glance into the front. The man hung upside down still strapped in by his seatbelt. I sucked in a deep breath, the metallic smell and taste of blood assaulting my senses and threatening to make me heave again. I climbed in through the shattered window, the jagged glass bit into my skin. I reached out and felt around his throat in the darkness. Giving up on finding a pulse, I held my hand in front of his face to feel any breath. There was none.
I fought the panic rising in my gut and made my way to the woman. I crouched down and looked around for a way to get her out while she groaned and panted in misery. I paused as my eyes landed on her pregnant belly.
“I’m going to get you out. Ok?” I didn’t wait for her response. I started kicking at the door with all the strength I could. On the fifth kick it gave way.
I couldn’t feel my feet or hands at that point. I somehow managed to get her back to the other side, her anguished screams battering my ears the whole way. My legs finally gave out and I crumpled down next to her.
I closed my eyes as the SUV went up in flames. Casting bright oranges and pinks across my eyelids.
She shrieked her grief and agony to the stars. I reached out, grabbing her hand. It was the only comfort I could give her. We lay there for what seemed like years; Her, hysterical with desperation and pain, me, silent, with the numbness creeping up my body. I couldn’t feel anything at all now. Not even the cold. I heard the sirens right before I slipped away.
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