Interlude 3: Accident Flashback
Wildbow owns Worm
Author's note:
Welcome to this episode of The World is my Layout! I apologize for the temporary halt in content, but as you know,
@DrYuriMom is a doctor. Due to sick colleagues and an overabundance of virus cases, she is quite busy and will be unable to do any writing for her characters for at least 3-4 weeks. Therefore progress on 4.1 has been halted. I did not want to put the story entirely on hiatus so for the next few weeks I will be bringing you an Interlude every Wednesday. Each interlude will covering something other than the main plot, mostly reactions to it. This particular chapter is the promised Accident Flashback. Please enjoy this chapter of The World is my Layout.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
This Saturday had started out like any other in the Hebert or Barnes households, with Taylor and Emma sprawled out on the fold-out living room couch of whichever building was hosting their weekly sleep-over. In this case, it was Taylor's house.
The morning sun playing through the drawn curtains and the scent of bacon frying in the kitchen soon awakened both however. A few minutes later the pajama-wearing girls were once again on the couch watching the Saturday Morning Cartoons they enjoyed every weekend while they wolfed down the bacon, eggs and hash browns lovingly cooked up by Danny.
Normally the pair would stay pajama bound and glued to the TV till noon when the Saturday programming changed. Taylor and Emma had other commitments today, however. Today was Arcadia Middle School's orientation day and Annette would be taking them to get their schedules sorted out and their ID cards printed. Afterwards, Emma would be leaving with her family to go camping up in the mountains for the next week.
So around 10 o'clock, the girls were dressed, brushed and prepared to go. The drive was pleasant and the school activities caused excitement for the new school year to well up inside them. As they waited in line for their ID cards, Taylor and Emma could only chatter about their future classes, what they would learn in them and how they couldn't wait to see how acquaintances made in previous years were doing.
Once this was done around 12 noon and new IDs were clutched in hand, the two girls separated at the Barnes' car but not without a quick farewell hug first. They waved to each other as they parted until each was in their separate vehicle.
As the Barnes family car drove off, Taylor turned to her mother who was starting up her car. "Alright Mom, now that that is done, can we go back home so we can finish the Lord of the Rings marathon? I'm excited to see how they represent the ghost army that refused to serve."
Annette smiled while shaking her head, "While I'm glad that you want to experience Tolkien's works in the medium of film, we need to go out and do some errands. For example, we need to get you some new school supplies. That Alexandria backpack of yours has gotten ragged and the Armsmaster lunchbox is dented and it's paint is peeling off. On top of those needing replaced, we need to get everything else too."
Taylor's face and voice became petulant. "But Mooomm. Can't that wait till next week when Emma is back? There will still be supplies and we can shop together."
As Annette turned the car out of the school parking lot, she shook her head more firmly. "And get caught in the last minute school shopping rush? No Taylor, we need to get it done now, before the selection gets too poor. And don't take that tone young lady or I will let you stay in suspense about The Return of the King."
Taylor's eyes widened. "You wouldn't!" She protested.
"Yes, I would." Annette proceeded to drive the car towards the nearest shopping center. "While educating yourself about English Literature in its many forms is something I will always applaud, sometimes there will be other things that are more important. Like shopping for necessities. Besides, school supply shopping is supposed to be fun."
Taylor grumbled a little but nodded her assent. As she thought about it, she had to agree that her mom had a point. "I suppose picking out a new backpack and a new lunchbox would be fun," she said, some excitement entering her voice.
"That's my girl!" Annette encouraged Taylor as she began to go through the next intersection on the way to her preferred shopping center.
Annette and Taylor would not get to do the 13-year-old's school shopping that day. Danny would have to do it later next week while both were laid up. For in the next second, a certain driver on their latest high in an invisible car filled with drugs shot through the red light and t-boned Annette's car on the driver's side.
There was a tremendous crash and the Hebert's car was violently pushed into the crosswalk of the lane to the right and up onto the curb. Taylor felt something in her lower right leg snap. She screamed in pain and nearly blacked out, but managed to stay conscious. Through heavily lidded eyes and a sudden killer headache, she looked over to see if her mom was okay.
Annette had made no sound during the crash. She hadn't had time. The crash had immediately knocked her unconscious. Taylor could see that the driver's door was partially caved in and the glass in both doors on that side were shattered. She lifted her left arm, which was weak from the shock and shook her mom's right shoulder. "Mom, are you okay?"
There was no answer. Annette's eyes were closed and Taylor saw that her mother's breathing was shallow. Too shallow for it to be healthy. She also saw that Annette's left leg and left arm were bent at unnatural angles.
Not caring for her own injury, Taylor shook her mother's shoulder again. "Mom, wake up. Please wake up. Don't leave me alone here!" She shouted in distress. Only later would she realize that Annette may have gotten a concussion and it may have been a bad idea to move her mother at all.
It was at this point that there was a strange whirring noise, and a heavily built car flickered into existence. Taylor forgot her mother for a moment and stared at the now-visible car that was lodged in the driver's side of the Hebert's car.
Another woman stared right back at her, her face almost albino white in shock. Taylor noted that she was dressed shoddily and had a poorly crafted mask that used some kind of visor as a base. The woman was holding one arm gently, as if it was broken, or at least sprained.
An invisible car, a woman with a mask? Is that Squealer? Taylor instantly became incensed, despite how slowly her thoughts were moving.
How dare she!
Taylor was prepared to go on with a mental diatribe, but the woman seemed to recover and reversed her vehicle out of the wreck and turned it away before driving off. Taylor could see that the front end was damaged, but not severely enough to disable the car. Grumbling in a very upset manner, Taylor turned back to her mother, who had still not awoken.
"Come on Mom, wake up. Don't leave me alone. Please," begged the girl. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted her mom's phone, still sitting in the center cup holder, undamaged. Slowly reaching for it, her hand shaking in sudden fatigue, she dialed 9-1-1.
A kindly sounding feminine voice answered almost at once. "Brockton Bay Dispatch, what is your emergency?"
Taylor tried not to let any emotion influence her voice but somewhat failed as she heard her anxiousness and pain speak."This is Taylor Hebert, H-e-b-e-r-t. I-I, I need an ambulance and something to help us out of our car. I don't know if they'll be able to get my Mom out of the car without the Jaws of Life or something." She took a breath, tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she stared at her unconscious mother.
The voice on the other end was immediately all business but was still kind in tone. "Where are you dearie? And what happened that you need help?"
Taylor sniffled, "We were crossing the intersection of Arcadia Boulevard and 12th Avenue when one of Squealer's invisible cars t-boned our vehicle. Mom's door is smashed in and she is unconscious. It looks like she has a broken left arm and left leg. My right leg is broken as well. Please, can you send help," Taylor pleaded desperately, "My Mom won't wake up."
Taylor could hear shouting in the background as people reacted to her report. Did the dispatcher have her on speaker?
The woman's voice came back on the line. "An ambulance, fire engine, and police car have been dispatched to your location, Taylor. You are in a good part of town so they will get there within 3 minutes."
"T-Thank you."
"Please stay on the line until they get there dear." The voice on the other line almost sounded like a concerned grandmother, "Now, what's this about Squealer crashing into you?"
Taylor shifted in her seat, trying to relieve the stress in her body. The movement only caused pain to shoot up her leg. "Ow, ow, ow." She exclaimed, clenching her teeth to stave off a scream. "Mmm… One second we were driving through the intersection and the next we were t-boned and pushed up on the curb. There was no warning at all. Then the other car appeared out of thin air. The person inside matched Squealer's general description." Taylor whimpered at the memory and the pain welling up inside her leg.
Through another painful exclamation, she could hear the Dispatch woman mutter something about reporting the incident to the PRT. "Thank you, sweetheart. I'll get that to the people who need to know. Stay strong Taylor and try not to move, we don't want you to aggravate your injuries."
"Yes ma'am. Thank you." Taylor could hear sirens and they were rapidly coming closer. She began to feel the adrenaline caused by the crash wear off. "I don't know if I can stay awake Ma'am. I'm trying, but everything hurts. My leg, my head…"
"Try not to fall asleep dear. If you have a concussion too, you need to stay awake." The dispatcher's tone was urgent, "Tell me about your parents, Taylor. What do they do for a living?" The woman was attempting to keep Taylor awake by making small talk.
Taylor smiled, her mind shifting away from the accident for just a moment, "Mom's an English Professor at the college. She's a nut for J.R.R. Tolkien. Dad's the Head of Hiring at the Dockworkers Union. That's his title anyway. He practically runs the place single-handedly."
There was more muttering or something like it from the phone. Somewhat deliriously now she considered that the cops and firefighters had their own unions so they probably knew of her dad. The blast of a Fire Engine's horn came, and Taylor could finally see the flashing lights of the vehicle coming from the direction of the nearest station. A police car rounded the same corner Annette's car was pushed onto. It deftly avoided the bits of metal and glass that were in the street.
While the police car blocked off the road to prevent civilian cars from passing through the accident zone, an ambulance screamed up to the scene from the opposite direction. Taylor looked back at her Mom, and tried one final time to wake her up with her desperate words. "Help is here Mom! Please, wake up."
Yet there was still no movement from Annette besides her shallow breathing. Frustrated, scared and in great pain, Taylor called out as another shock of pain went through her leg. It was finally enough to overwhelm her. As the fire truck pulled up and men streamed from it with the tools to help her and her mother out of the car, Taylor finally gave in, the sensation and grief too much for her.
The last thing she heard was the dispatcher lady telling her to stay awake and emergency workers trying to open the car doors.
Destination
Agreement
