6 The Encounter

Suddenly, the car screeched to a stop. The windshield broke into pieces and pierced through Mom and Dad’s faces before the airbags caught them. Cassie had cuts on her body while blood dripped from my forehead. My vision was hazy, and my head felt dizzy. Slowly, I unbuckled Cassie’s seatbelt and mine.

Holding Cassie in my arms, I shook my mom and dad, but they remained unconscious. “Mom? Dad?”

Reaching out for Mom’s bag stuck in her stomach, I was screaming for help and took out her phone when I finally found it.

“911, What’s your emergency?” the operator answered.

“Please help us. Our car crashed into something and . . . please help us, please . . .” I burst into tears.

“I am here to help, Sweetheart. Can you tell me your exact location?”

“I-I don’t know where we are right now. We . . . uhm . . . we are on our way to Malibu Beach . . . to celebrate my birthday and . . .”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that, Sweetheart, happy birthday.”

“Yeah . . . thanks . . . but . . . my mom and dad . . . are unconscious . . . and bleeding . . . Please help me . . .”

“Are they still breathing?

“I-I don’t think so . . . I don’t know . . . Dad? Mom?” I tried to shake them again.

“We’ll be right there, Sweetie. Are you in the car?”

“Yeah, I am. I-I’ll try to get out and see . . .Stay right here, Cassie. Okay?”

Cassie replied with a whimper.

I pushed the rear door open and went out of the vehicle. Looking around, I saw its hood crumpled and broken, but there was nothing that the car could have bumped into. On the opposite side of the road, a signage said:

Malibu Highway 2KM

“Hello Sweetie?” the operator said.

“Hello?” I answered, confused.

“Yes Sweetheart? Can you give me your location now?”

“Ah . . . Malibu Highway. There’s a sign that says Malibu Highway 2 kilometers away. Please . . . hurry . . .”

“Thanks. Hang on right there, okay? Stay on the line, okay?”

“O-Okay . . .”

I went back to the car and got in as I waited for the emergency responders to pick us up. I held Cassie in my arms as tears flowed from my eyes, looking at my mom and dad who were slowly turning pale. The whole world felt like crashing down on me, and I couldn’t stand the sight before my eyes.

“Help us . . . Please . . . Help us . . .” I closed my eyes and whispered as I rocked Cassie on my lap.

My spirit felt alive when I heard a siren coming towards our direction. When the ambulance came into view, I picked up the phone.

“Hello? The ambulance is here!” I pushed the rear door open and ran towards the direction of the ambulance.

“Over here! Over here!” I waved my hands up in the air.

The ambulance stopped in front of me, and two women came out. A police car followed and stopped beside it.

“Hey, thank you so much. My dad is in the car, and my mom too,” I said, running towards the car.

I looked around when I received no response and saw them talking as if they didn’t see me.

“Hey! Over here!” I shouted and ran back towards them.

“Hey! My mom and dad are in the car. Please help us,” I pleaded.

Three policemen went out of the car and looked around as if searching for something. One of the paramedics was pointing at somewhere while the policemen were searching around. I started to get confused and frustrated that I kneeled on the ground and cried.

“Please . . . help us . . . please . . . please . . .” I said, pulling the garments of the paramedics who didn’t seem to see me.

“Hello? Are you still there?” I remembered the operator.

“Hello Sweetie? Are the responders . . . Hello? Are you still there? Hello?”

“Hello? What’s happening? I can’t hear you. There’s static on your line . . . Hello? Hello?”

At the heights of my frustration, I ran towards the car and opened the front door trying to pull Mom out first, but her body was stuck. I turned to the other side of the car and tried Dad, but he was too heavy. My concentration was distracted when I smelled something foul, and as I searched under the vehicle, gas was leaking out from the tank.

Trying to pull Mom and Dad out alternatively, my strength was running out when it wouldn’t even let me move them an inch out from their seats. All at once, the trunk burst into flames. I could hear Cassie barking and whimpering in the backseat. I rushed to her side and took her out. My head was spinning, and my sanity seemed to give up. As the flames consumed the vehicle, I ran away from the burning fire sensing it about to explode. My tears fell heavily hearing Mom singing with Dad cheering in my head as the stereo continued to play.

The car finally blew up when I was meters away. I fell down on my knees, screaming and crying in pain and fear. The paramedics and the policemen went back to their vehicles and simply drove away. The world seemed to spin in slow motion, and I could only hear my sobs as I watched them disappear away from me. I let my heart cry out for mercy until my voice ran dry.

The sun was about to set when I found myself walking in the middle of the road heading for nowhere. Memories lingered in my thoughts as I moved my steps onwards, unsure of what lies ahead for me.

I was singing Mom’s favorite song over and over without realizing that I have been talking to myself and crying for hours. I looked at the night sky and pretended to see Mom and Dad. Cassie woke up from her sleep and licked my face. My heart melted that I hugged her closer to my chest, bringing me back to my senses. Feeling my body about to give up, I walked towards the side of the dark road lit by the lamp posts nearby, hoping for help to come and save us.

In a blink of an eye, a car running at a fast speed screeched and hit me beyond my senses. Cassie flew into the air, and the last thing I heard was her whimpers and then nothing more but silence. I, on the other hand, was laying on the ground only seconds away from death.

“H-Help . . .” I whispered.