DEAD ON ARRIVAL

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Story

After a blissful weekend break visiting family you are in the midst of a long car journey home. You have at least another 6 hours to go and the rain is hammering down hard on the windscreen. It’s quite calming, actually. You drive continuously along the straight, unwinding motorway, there is not another car in sight at this ungodly hour. You listen to the rain as it plunders down creating white noise, filling your head with slow, soothing thoughts. You don’t notice your eyelids drooping until it’s too late. You see a flash, you hear a crash, you feel the impact and then… nothing. You feel as though you are floating through a black void. You don’t really know how long you’re there for, concept of time seems to escape you in this dimension.

Suddenly, you hear a scraping of metal, a swoosh of material. Someone is in the room with you, you can feel it. A man’s voice speaks; “It’s only minor injuries, he should be out within a week. He’s lucky, it could have been a lot worse. We’ll keep an eye on his condition and let you know if anything happens.” “That is a relief. Thank you, doctor.” A woman’s voice. You recognise it. You try to move but your limbs don’t respond. You start to panic but the more you try to move, the more impossible it seems. There is another scraping of metal and a swoosh and you feel the atmosphere become still again. Your dark plain submerges you once again.

Drifting in and out of consciousness, you feel a sharp prick in your forearm. It pulls you out of your stupor and you can hear a faint, rhythmic beeping sound. Upon focusing on it you realise it’s your heart beat. It’s reassuring until it begins to speed up… quicker and quicker, faster and faster. Fear burns through you and desperation kicks in but your limbs still disobey you and your lips ignore your desperate attempts to shout. You hear voices, panicstricken shouting, a woman frenzied.

“He’s going into cardiac arrest, we need a crash trolley in here now!”

Your inner self is hysterical but your body makes no sign. A long, unbroken beep rings out coupled with a painful silence. That familiar voice, your mothers, screams uncontrollably “He was supposed to live!”… But you are not dead.

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