The Accident

Days passed quickly and calmly because Brian had spent much of his time following the incident in his room; lying down, playing games, and generally passing time. The silence struck Brian at times like a forewarning of the impending storm. Everyone else in the home went about their chores as if nothing was wrong, but Brian suspected something was up. They'll converse casually to each other, but as soon as Brian enters the room, heavy stillness descends, and as soon as he leaves, they'll resume their chatter. They were obviously avoiding him now, but why? He had repeatedly apologized for what had transpired with Mr. Gladstone. He was aware that they were intended to teach him a lesson, and that they had succeeded in doing so, but why are they acting this way now.

It had been a week since the episode with Mr. Gladstone had occurred, and his family had continued to be nasty. It didn't faze Brian anymore, and he was getting used to this whole no-speak thing, but the only thing that troubled him now was that he hadn't talked to anyone in a week. Yes, it had been a week since he had spoken to a living being, because the only thing he could talk to was his bed-time buddy, Roddy, a stuffed cowboy, and to be fair, he listened but didn't speak much.

It was 7 p.m., and the Douglas had just finished supper in what had become their normal style, with stillness dominating throughout the table. Brian had grown tired of this behavior, but every time he tried to speak, no one responded, and he eventually had to run annoyingly to his room. As he climbed up the stairs, he wondered, 'When will they get normal?'. He hadn't heard any of their voices in almost two days, and the prospect of being alone was driving him insane. He reached his room, opened the door, and sat on the bed. While thinking about his family's attitude, a thought occurred to him, and he leapt over to the other side of the bed and grabbed his phone. He sped through the contacts, but his fingers came to a standstill on the contact titled 'Jonathan.' Brian's best friend was Jonathan, with whom he had been friends for nearly ten years. Brian and Jonathan originally met in the second grade, and they've been great friends ever since. They'd share everything that was going on in their life. Brian hastily messaged Jonathan, inquiring as to his whereabouts. And nearly soon, he received the response, 'At home.' When Brian saw this, he began typing, telling him that he'd be there in 10 minutes.

Brian stood up, grabbed his jacket, and headed downstairs, towards the garage, telling his mother that he was going to meet Jonathan, to which she responded with stillness. Considering the silence as a sign of acceptance, he continued on his way to the garage, where he found his bicycle positioned alongside dad's car. He promptly took out his bicycle and began pedaling towards downtown, where Jonathan lived. He arrived at Jonathan's house after 10 minutes of restless riding and rang the doorbell. "Good day, Mrs. Taylor." Brian addressed himself to the bright redhead woman who had answered the door. "Hello there! Brian, how are you doing?, come on in, come on in "She said this while sidestepping and allowing Brian to pass. Mrs. Taylor interrupted him before he could open his voice, saying, "Jonathan's in his room." She moved into the kitchen, leaving Brian in the corridor, where he was removing his jacket. But this was usual because the Taylors never treated Brian as a guest, and he knew this place like it was his own. He put up his jacket and dashed upstairs to Jonathan's room, where he found him bent on his bed, holding his phone. "Speak of the devil, and he may appear," Jonathan remarked, "I was just about to message you." Jonathan was a tall fair boy with dark glossy hair that partially covered his ears; he was the type of guy that girls would go for. "Getting out of the house this late shows that you've matured. "Must've waited until your parents were knocked out," Jonathan teased Brian, but he faked a braying chuckle, "Oh! I'm sorry if I'm keeping you awake, but I believe it's well beyond your bedtime "Brian spoke abruptly. "Alright, now! Tell me what was it that drew you out this late "Jonathan inquired. Brian then took a deep breath and began telling him about the incident and how his parents had acted over the following few days, and after speaking for over 20 minutes, Brian's tongue came to a halt as Jonathan said, "Well, if you ask me brother, you messed up, like big time, and given what you did, your parents seem right." "Whattt!!!" "OK, so you believe I deserve all of this - are you... you know what, it's fine, I'm fine with it," Brian responded, his countenance changing swiftly as he spoke. "Yes! I feel they are legitimate, and instead of being so obstinate, have you considered apologizing to them? - what do you mean? "In a little hostile tone, Jonathan inquired. "Yes, obviously I have, and that a million times, but they aren't even willing to look at me - can we please just drop this? because just thinking about it gives me a headache ", replied Brian, motioning for Jonathan to simply drop it. "OK, just relax, we'll chat about anything else, um... so tell me how's life going apart from this?". They started chattering, and laughter erupted from where they sat.

"Oh shit! look at the time, it's becoming late, I think you should probably get going now," Jonathan exclaimed. But this felt strange to Brian because usually when it got late, Jonathan would invite him to a sleepover, but not this time. "I would have asked you to stay, but given the circumstances, I think it's better if you go," he said again. It was 11:15 p.m., so it was late. "See! zero phone calls, they don't even care if I'm not home.... you know what I'll just leave, cuz I don't wanna give them a reason to stay angry" Brian stood up and began putting on his sneakers, and within 10 minutes he was out peddling.

Brian cycled pleasantly through Winston Street, but as he passed it, he noticed that the road leading uphill was closed with signs that read, 'Caution! 'Work ahead.' 'How long have I been away?' 'This wasn't here when I first passed,' Brian reflected. Another sign he noticed directed him to a different path through the woodland. Brian knew the way, so he quickly put on his headphones and hurried into the forests. He drove casually, listening to music in his head, until he saw something that filled him with horror, and in that state of dread, he lost control of his bicycle and 'bam' he skidded off the road with his bicycle and bashed his head on a rock. The sight of the entire forest on fire, which had caused the trees to fall and block the road, was what triggered this catastrophe. Brian rose with his head throbbing and blood pouring from his brow, but he saw a guy emerge from the fire-ravaged woodland in his peripheral vision. The figure was walking towards Brian, clutching something shiny in his head that glowed like a torch in the twilight. He approached Brian and confronted him. Suddenly, his hand moved, as he pointed the sparkling object in his hand at Brian's head. Brian shook in sheer terror because now he realized that what the man held in his hand was some sort of a high-tech gun. Brian squeaked "Who are you? ..... take whatever you want, but please don't hurt me ". Hearing this, the man yanked the gun off Brian's head and tucked it in his gun pocket. He said in a cranky old voice, "You'll know me," and threw something like a dart at Brian, catching him on the ribs. Brian immediately slumped down, his eyelids slowly met, and the last thing he saw was the man walking back into the trees.