Shadows fell over the dirt road at the late hour, covering the lanes in a veil of darkness. There was little movement for a time, and then the white lights of a car broke the black as the vehicle drove quietly along.
"Ross?" In the car, the young woman with the silky blond hair turned her head to the man beside her. Gleaming in the moonlight, her exotic purple eyes seemed unable to hold back anything, and seemed completely loving as well. She wasn't one to be quiet when she was in a good mood, and she was in one at the moment.
"Hm?" the man was only slightly older than the girl. As he responded, he kept his steel gray eyes on the road and his left hand on the steering wheel. There was a deep hardness in him, one she had seen the first time she had met him. Not the sort of hardness that carries a darkness in the heart, but a sort that provides will to live. It was one of the many qualities she loved about him.
"Thanks again," she smiled warmly.
"Hey, no problem!" from the sound of his voice, he meant it. She knew he did, they had both enjoyed the movie. It had ended up playing longer than they'd thought it would, but that was okay. She was in no hurry to get back home.
"That was really… deep," she enjoyed movies of the sort that made the viewers think, and this had certainly been one. "All that stuff about fate being inevitable, about how we can't change anything no matter how hard we try. It was something to think about."
"I'd call it a bunch of BS," Ross smiled good-naturedly. Honesty was certainly not a problem with him, and Jen was glad of it. "If we had no control, how could we live like we do?"
"Yeah, I guess…" She was slightly disappointed, but didn't really mind. He was probably right, after all. Maybe the idea was farfetched. Maybe? Probably.
"Hey, don't worry," he grinned, reading the expression on her face. "There's more out there. Besides, it was just a movie."
"Of course! But I had a great time," she was sure he knew this, but said it anyway. "Whether what they said was true or not."
"Yeah, so did I, Jen," he looked up momentarily, than quickly leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek. Neither of them bothered to notice the oncoming car. "I love you."
"And I love you back," she leaned back into the seat. She really did, too. Head over heals, as they say. That was the sort of love she felt.
"Do you think…?" he began, but was cut off by a sudden, jarring impact from the front of the car.
The two were thrown forward sharply, without any time to react. Jen slammed her head against the dashboard, felt blood begin to trickle down her forehead, and she wondered in the back of her mind why Ross hadn't bought a car with air bags. In the front of her mind, she was glad she had at least been wearing a seat belt, and wondered if Ross had been wearing his.
Before she could get a chance to look over, the windshield shattered inward, showering glass over their shocked bodies. Jen saw her boyfriend wrench the wheel, but knew it was too late. She was slammed back against her seat again as she felt the car lurch off the road, slamming her wrist against the door, and then a sensation of disconnection and vertigo took her as an audible snap reached her ears.
There had been a deep pain steadily building inside of her body as the car rolled into the deep ditch. Now it exploded, sending bolts of sparking pain coursing throughout her body. She screamed, though she didn't know it, at the incomprehensible pain. It was unlike anything she had ever imagined and ever thought could be felt.
Beside her, she could hear repeated howls of pain, and almost managed to forget her pain. It sounded bad, he sounded really, really bad, almost inhumane. Was it human? Maybe not. What was it?
Suddenly she saw a flash of red, followed by a cloud of black that rolled in like a thunderhead. The black cloud swallowed her, stealing her pain and lifting her to silence.
Jen lifted her head slowly, expecting to feel fresh bolts of pain. When they didn't arrive, she knew something was wrong. Nothing hurt, she felt completely fine. As if nothing had happened.
Maybe she had imagined it. Maybe she had drifted into sleep on the car trip from the theatre. Was it possible? She dared to hope so. There was always that chance of being disappointed, but she figured she could chance it.
Looking around, she realized that she hadn't fallen asleep in the car. Unless, that was, she had been carried out. She was laying on a quiet hilltop in the moonlight, not sitting with her leg half-asleep in a seat. The dew on the grass sparkled, soaking into her clothes and cooling her immensely.
For the life of her she couldn't figure out where she was. It occurred to her that maybe she was dead, but she didn't think so, wouldn't believe it. She rather liked the thought that Ross has carried her out to a hill so that they could spend more time together.
That idea stuck in her mind like glue, and was enhanced when she saw Ross sitting nearby, staring off into the night. She smiled, easily accepting the idea that this was real, that the crash had been a dream, despite the fact that she had never seen the hill in her life.
She moved herself up into a sitting position, than got to her feet and stretched. Her back cracked slightly, which seemed normal enough. Almost everything did. How could it not be reality?
"Ross?" she walked over the soft grass to him.
He didn't turn his head, didn't even acknowledge that he had heard her. She bent forward slightly and repeated his name. This time, he turned his head and looked at her. The expression on his face startled Jen, and she had to catch herself from falling backwards.
What she saw on his face was a tired sort of surrender. He looked as if nothing mattered anymore, and it scared her badly. He'd never been like that, at least, not that she'd ever seen.
When he spoke, his voice was as weary as the expression on his faced. "Hello, Jen."
Unsure that she would be able to keep on her feet, Jen nearly collapsed into a sitting position beside him. "Are you okay?" Her voice was filled with the deep concern she felt for him. What had happened? He had been fine at the movies…
There was no reply at first. Then, with a slight sigh, "No."
"W-what's wrong? What happened?"
"What happened?" he followed this up with a short, rough laugh that Jen didn't like at all. It was nothing like the way he usually laughed, and there was something depressing and eerie about it. "What happened is that I discovered that there's nothing I could do. That I can't stop what's already happened."
She looked at him, uncomprehending what he was saying. "I don't understand what you're talking about…"
"Of course you don't," he waved his hand, speaking in a tone of voice that did nothing for Jen's nerves. "Because… because no one does until they experience it. You don't realize until it's too late. You don't listen to what you hear, no one does, and by the time you do it's too late… Please listen to me this time."
"Realize what?" she was frightened. There was no other good way to describe it. She was frightened, plain and simple. And then, "What do you mean, experience it?"
"Realize that life is futile. That you can't control what happens," he sighed again. "Experience… that's it, isn't it? Of course it is. At least, that's what I just said. Don't you realize what happened?"
Suddenly, Jen felt an urge to bolt, to get out of there. At the same time, however, she knew it would be useless. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. She had to know. For some reason, she had to know. Ross wanted to tell her, so she would listen.
"No… what do you mean?"
"Jen…" And just like that, Ross's eyes were starting to become watery. He was going to cry, and oh God, she had never seen him cry before, so something was really bad. "Jen, I'm so sorry!"
Without another word, he reached out and held her to him. She felt a coldness in his body, but ignored it. She had to know, had to understand. What was he talking about? Why was he so upset?
"Ross, what's going on? I don't understand!"
"I'm sorry," he repeated, gazing into her eyes. "Goodbye… I'm so sorry!"
Jen fell back into the darkness.
This time when she opened her eyes, Jen felt the pain she had expected last time shooting throughout her body. It was like being torn into, being ripped apart. She didn't think that was quite what was happening, but it was enough to make her realize that the crash had been reality.
"She's coming around!" voices floated into her mind, and she understood without thinking that they were from the medics. It didn't matter, not really. What mattered was Ross.
Was he okay? Dear Christ, she hoped he was okay. He HAD to be okay!
"Ross…" she tried to scream, though her voice came out as a dry yelp. It was enough, though.
One of the medics dressed in white leaned over her. She saw the eyes, saw that they didn't understand, that they didn't know how much she needed him to be alive, and suddenly didn't want to know how he was doing.
The medic looked away, turning to another, and Jen heard the voice. "Should we tell her that the kid is dead?"
"No…" she whispered hoarsely. Ross hadn't made it. That howling had been him. He was gone and she hadn't had a chance to say goodbye. Was that true, though?
"You don't listen to what you hear, no one does, and by the time you do it's too late… Please listen to me this time." That was what Ross had said. Sure, it had been a dream, but maybe it was the truth…
He had said goodbye, but she had realized too late. Realized too late, just as he had seen the car too late. It was always too late, he was right…
And she understood. Oh God, did she ever understand. She understood, and began to cry uncontrollably and painfully over the inevitable.