The tires screamed against the ice-glazed road. Red was shouting something, but Alexander couldn't hear, not over the storm in his head.
He gripped the steering wheel tighter, blood pounding in his ears. The village signs blurred past. A flash of headlights. A turn too late.
Then the world spun sideways. Metal crunched, glass shattered. And everything went dark.
Red groaned, blood trickling from his forehead as he crawled out through the shattered side door. The car was smoking. The engine was dead, but that wasn't what scared him.
"Alex!"
He rushed to the other side, heart pounding. Alexander wasn't moving. His head slumped, blood seeping from his temple, and his leg was twisted at an unnatural angle.
"Damn it-stay with me, man"
Red yanked open what was left of the door, his hands shaking as he pulled Alexander out onto the snow.
He grabbed his half shattered phone. No signal. Just one bar.
He tapped into gps "Come on.....Come on..."
A blinking dot appeared: St Mercy Health post 3.2km. A village hospital, small, maybe even closed. But it was the only shot he had. He heaved Alexander onto his back and started limping through the snow.
Red stumbled into the small clearing, panting, his clothes soaked from snow and sweat. The clinic stood under the moon light -a squat, tired-looking building swallowed by silence.
Just as he feared
Closed.
He carefully lowered Alexander to the cold ground, then staggered forward the gate, blinking through the flurry. Rust coated every inch of it. One glance, and he could tell this place hadn't been properly opened in years.
"Goddamn it!"
"The fuck is happening!?"
He banged his fist against the iron gate, teeth clenched, voice cracking with rage and desperation.
"Anyone there?! somebody help us!"
Nothing. Just the echo of his voice fading into the hills.
Breathless and shaking, Red slumped to the ground, burying his face in his hands. His chest heaved. His mind reeled. Everything hurt, but not as much as watching his best friend bleed beside him.
A groan escaped from Alexander
Barely conscious, he turned weakly, eyes flickering open for a second just enough to see Red collapsed near the gate.
This is all because of the "Cubs
His thoughts were messy and slow, but the rage burned clearly. If he survive this... they'll pay. Every single one of them will pay for what they've done.
Jennie his sister knew the history, she knew the hatred between their families. And still, she gave her heart to a Cubs. Only for the bastard to toss her aside like nothing.
Alexander had driven through the night to confront him. To make him pay for breaking her. But anger clouded his judgement and now here they were. Wrecked, bleeding, frozen and stranded.
"And worst of all.....I dragged red into my mess"
Darkness crept in again.
Something bright pierced through the fog in Alexander's head. A sharp light flashes against his closed eyelids.
Am I dead?
Is this it? judgement?.
He winced, struggling to open his eyes. The light drilled straight into them, and his vision blurred.
A voice soft, feminine, and strangely calm cut through the icy silence.
"Are you alright?"
Not an angel, not a dream. A woman
His heart stuttered. A woman had touched him, and he wasn't burning. No rashes, no allergic reaction. Nothing.
was he hallucinating
"Red....." he whispered, lips cracked and dry. "my friend...." Then everything went black again.