In the close-confines of the car, Nick was unable to fight back. He could not turn around and shove Lara off of him. The car was still moving forward, but losing speed as the engine idled. Nick was grateful he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt as he would have been held in place, helpless. It also made leaning down and shoving open the driver’s side door that much easier. It was his only chance of escape.
The road zipped by as Nick leaned down, the rough gravel only inches from his face. Against all instinct, he kicked out with his legs and managed to launch himself out of the car. He hit the road clumsily, cracking his elbow and grazing his face against the unforgiving surface. He tumbled and rolled for what seemed like forever, every split-second filled with agony.
Eventually, he came to a stop by the side of the road. He lay there, disorientated and staring up at the sky. His vision was muddled, but as he craned his neck he watched his car carry on without him. It was doing no more than fifteen miles an hour now, but it had been fast enough that the fall had hurt him badly.
The near-new Alfa Romeo collided with the smashed-up saloons in the middle of the road and seemed to hop slightly upon impact. It came to a sudden stop, letting out one last grumbling whine as the bonnet popped free and exposed the turbo-charged engine.
Nick blinked his eyes, trying to clear away the dizziness and flecks of gravel. There goes my No Claims bonus.
Wearily, he rose to his feet. His right cheek felt like it was on fire and, as he prodded his face, he discovered that a patch of skin the size of his palm had been shorn clean off. The wound stung ferociously and was accompanied by a tingling throb in his elbow. If he hadn’t been wearing his thick woollen coat, things might have been even worse.
Nick looked around with no clue what to do next. His car was banged-up, but probably still drivable. Most of the damage was to the bodywork. The problem, though, was that he felt so shaken-up that he didn’t feel safe getting back behind the wheel. At least, not just yet.
Not to mention my sick neighbour in the back seat who was trying to bite me.
He needed to find a place to sit while his nerves calmed down. The hollow feeling in his legs and stomach was most likely the cumulative shock of the morning’s events finally catching up with him, mixed with the most current event of being in a car accident. The urge to vomit and the overwhelming desire to faint fought an ongoing tug-of-war over his existence. If he didn’t do something soon, the likelihood of both happening at once would be a good bet.
The country road was deserted, surrounded on both sides by fields. There was, however, a small garden centre fifty yards ahead. There was a good chance someone might be there – someone who could sit Nick down and help him make sense of everything.
He started to drag his feet forward, the loose gravel of the road crunching with every step he took. To get to where he was going, he would have to pass by the three wrecked vehicles in the centre of the road. It was then that he started to worry about Lara. Would she come at him again as he passed by?
Is she one of them now?
Them? Who are them?
Nick was in a constant state of confusion as to whether people needed help or if they were totally beyond it. Every time he tried to assist someone they ended up attacking him. Even his own wife and child had seemingly wanted him dead. It hurt his head to even think about.
Is their condition reversible, temporary, or what?
Why was Lara okay at first, but then ended up trying to attack me, too?
He stepped carefully as he approached his car. He could see that Lara was still inside and still moving about. She was hanging, partially, out of the driver’s side door. The airbags had deployed and were squashing her torso up against the seat. She was scrabbling at the gravel road and reaching out towards Nick with a hungry expression, but seemed unable to free herself completely from the car.
Once he got closer he could see the reason why. Lara’s legs were tangled up in the seatbelt. The more she tried to crawl away, the tighter the strap became around her ankles. She wasn’t going anywhere. Still, Nick trod carefully, steering clear of her clawed fingernails and bleeding jaws.