Tragedy...

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~~~(POV: Ulysses Kennedy)~~~

~~~(Date: November 3rd, 2025)~~~

~~~(Time: 6:42 PM)~~~

~~~(Location: Highway back to Holden)~~~

The radio is playing some old rock and songs that we're made long before either of us was born. The traffic has been light, and the roads have been mostly empty. "There isn't anything I'd rather be doing right now... You know that, right..." My thoughts spill out my mouth without any control. The lack of control makes me feel so stupid.

My head is turned away from her, so I can't see her expression. It'd just make me feel more stupid. Her free hand comes across the car, and she runs her fingers through my hair. I turn and look at her, she's smiling as she watches the road. I lean closer for her, so she doesn't need to stretch so much. The song that we're listening to is interrupted by static.

She stops and tries to fix the radio, but she starts to slow down due to the traffic. In less than a few seconds, we're already stopped and waiting. "You ever seen traffic like this before in the middle of the night? The highways near Holden never get this packed..." We both see lights from fire trucks and ambulances, along with police cars.

It looks like the guard rail is broken, and there are other vehicles involved in the crash. "No, my mom always said accidents at night are far more common than in the day... Never thought I'd see it in my life..." It's a weird sight to see, and there isn't much we can do until the traffic is cleared from the accident. I hope that everyone is okay.

The station from the radio comes back, but it's not about a song... It's about an accident announcement... "Tonight, there has been a tragedy for the small town of Holden... A school bus for Holden High Schools basketball team was involved in an accident and proceeded to break through a guard rail and down a cliff..." My entire world goes silent and numb...

All I can feel is Hannah's tight grip on my arm... My eyes lift from the radio to the accident in the distance... My world is moving in slow motion right now... My friends... My team... I unbuckle the seatbelt, and I open the car door. Hannah's muffled voice is trying to talk to me. I shake off her grip, and I leave the door open.

Before I even know it, I'm full-on sprinting down the highway... The cold and dark are so overwhelming, and the blue and red sirens up ahead get closer and closer. After about a minute of full running, the world finally speeds back up, and sound returns to me. Before I can get to the actual scene, three police officers stop me.

They look at me strangely, seeing how tall I am and how out of place I am at the moment. "Sir, we need you to step back from the scene. There are peo..." His voice is drowned out as I see a body on a stretcher slowly being wheeled to an ambulance. It's Tyler... His body is mangled and covered in blood. My eyes shift and see there are other bodies that are aligned on the ground.

Before I can even think, I'm trying to break through the cops. My voice becomes dry from screaming my friend's names... "Oh, God!! What's happened to you guys!!" My screams are the only thing I hear, and my heartbeat. I push the cops aside, and they flop on the ground as I rush to one of the bodies that are on the ground with a white sheet covering it.

I peel the sheet away, and I see Coach Rodgers... Lifeless and unmoving... His chest is severely damaged, and I have to turn away as I puke... I feel multiple hands on my shoulders, and I'm pulled away from the body of a leader in my life... A person I learned from... I struggle free again... "Damn! What has this kid been fed!!" My focus is entirely on the rest of the sheets.

I lift the sheet next to Coach Rodgers, and it's Laden... He's only 16... Was... He's mutilated, and I try to catch my breath on my hands and knees... The cops get ahold of me again, and they drag me toward one of the patrol cars. They press me against it, and they stop being so forceful... Seeing how much I'm emotionally destroyed...

One of the cops sighs, and he whispers to the others about who I am... They all give sad and sullen expressions. "Listen, kid... I know this is hard for you... But you can't be here right now... Just wait outside the police tape and contact your guardian..." His words are falling on deaf ears... All I can see are my dead friends... All of them are dead...