The thin tip of a branch snapped and fell on the hood of the car. I had a second of relief before I heard the windshield crack. My eyes fixed on the glass as I saw the crack spread, the circles widening and creeping out until the windshield finally shattered and coated me with shards of glass.
Somehow I had the presence of mind to brace myself, to grasp on to the steering wheel and lock my arms. I looked over at Maddy. She was screaming, her eyes closed and her hands flailing around for something to hold on to. Her hand brushed mine, and I grabbed it, clutching it with every ounce of strength I had.
There was no blinding light when we finally hit the tree, only burning pain followed by darkness. Total, desensitizing darkness.
5
Noise. That’s what brought me out of the darkness I was trapped in. Voices, alarms, the screech of metal, the thud of running feet—all of it combined into one jumbled mess of noise. I fought through the black fog, tried to grab on to each faint sound, hoping it would pull me farther and farther away from the massive weight that seemed to settle upon me.
“No, not yet,” someone yelled, and the hands I could feel at my side vanished. I tried to move, to bring my fingers to my face and physically claw away the wet haze covering my eyes. But nothing would move. Not my arms, not my head, not even my legs. It was as if my entire body was crammed into a metal vise.
“Easy there.” The voice was back, unfamiliar and soothing at the same time. I felt my eyelids being pried open, the searing light burning into first my left eye, then the right. They fell closed and the light disappeared, the pain lingering behind.
“Can you tell me your name?”
“We have to move.” It was a woman now, her words sharp and curt.
Move? Move where? I wanted to sleep. Sleep? Wait. I couldn’t sleep. I needed to go pick up Maddy. She’d called me from Alex’s house, something about needing a ride home. Wait. No. I was at Alex’s. She was crying out on the back lawn. That’s why I was wet. Her tears were falling on me. Nope, that wasn’t right. It was the rain.
I shook my head, tried to piece together the flashes of information. None of them made sense. She’d said I was the nameless girl. A nobody. That, I remembered, and a bubble of anger resurfaced—anger laced with pain.
Pain? Wait … what? My head hurt. I mean, it freaking killed. Like somebody had taken a pickax to my eyes. And why was I wet? I concentrated on my fingers, got them to obey me enough to brush against each other. They were soaked but warm. Why was the rain warm?
“Stay with me.” There was the man’s voice again, but this time it wasn’t soothing. It sounded urgent, demanding.
My feet were cold. Shoes. I’d left them at Alex’s house. No, Maddy had left hers at Alex’s house. She had mine. She had my sweatshirt and coat, too; that was why I was so cold. At least I thought she did. I tried to look down, but my head wouldn’t move. It was plastered in place.
It hurt to breathe. I pried my eyes open and saw the flashing lights. What had happened to my windshield? Was that a tree branch on my dashboard, and what was with the red paint coating the jagged pieces on the passenger-side window?
“Hurts,” I choked out.
“I know.” I turned toward the man but couldn’t make out his face. It was blurred … hazy. “I’m going to give you something for the pain, but first, can you tell me your name?”