An Unwanted Debt

Kiarra

I couldn’t breathe.

The black smoke from the engine was starting to come through the vents. The smell of the gasoline fumes was overwhelmingly intoxicating.

The panic began to settle in when I realized I couldn’t release the seat belt. The more I struggled, the tighter it seemed to get.

~Oh, Aidan, what have I done?~

The sorrow I felt was so thick I could’ve chewed on it. How did I get into this mess?

Why was running always the first instinct whenever something got tough?

Now that I was trapped here, now that I counted the seconds that stood between me and the end, I wondered if this was the final call.

There was comfort in knowing Aidan was here. I knew he would do everything he could to get to me, free me. But, still, there was part of me that felt I needed to come to terms with the fate I chose.

I couldn’t blame him for this or even the Kendricks.

I did this, and now I was about to pay for it.

I didn’t see this coming. The black SUV was like any other, passing me on the opposite side of the road.

Then, all of a sudden, I felt the punch of its front end with mine, and I was flipped, rolling toward the doom that was my new reality.

I heard the fighting around me. I couldn’t see them, but I could hear the snarls and yelps of battling wolves around me.

Was this rogues? Why did they come for me?

I struggled some more with the belt; it was cutting into the skin of my neck.

I tried to reach for the center console. Maybe Aidan had stashed a spare knife for convenience. I wasn’t so lucky.

“Aghhhh! Fuck!” I screamed out. I was pissed off at myself at this wicked turn of events.

I didn’t want to die. I wasn’t ready.

Something hot and sticky was on my forehead. It dripped down my face.

I touched it with my fingertips; it was blood. I hadn’t felt it, but must have hit my head pretty badly.

The smell of the gas was getting stronger. The longer I sat with it floating into my nostrils, the harder it called me to sleep.

I fought it. I knew that the moment I gave in, I wouldn’t likely wake up again.

~“Where are you, Aidan? I need you!”~

I waited, but there was no response.

Was he okay? Had he met his match out there?

My eyes kept closing. I felt my head nod, and I jerked myself awake again.

I wasn’t sure how much longer I could do this.

~“The gas, Aidan!”~

I didn’t have much more strength. He needed to get to me now.

“Kiarra!”

My head nodded forward. I was beginning to prepare to let go.

“Kiarra! Can you hear me?!”

There was a voice. It was faint. I wasn’t able to make out who it belonged to.

“Kiarra, call out to me!”

Was it Aidan? Had he finally gotten to me?

My eyes closed again; I drifted out until I felt a firm hand on my arm. It shook me awake.

“Kiarra! Sweetheart! I’m here!”

I opened my eyes, and the piercing eyes of my father stared back at me.

“Hang on, girl!” he yelled, “I got you!”

I nodded out of consciousness again, but I started to feel heat accumulating in my legs.

The truck was on fire.

I started to panic, to kick, to scream.

I didn’t want to die, not like this!

“Okay, Kiarra, okay!”

I felt the belt around me jerk against the force of James’ hand.

I saw the gleam of silvery steel. He was cutting me loose.

Suddenly, there was a powerful ~whoof~, and the front of the truck was engulfed in flames.

“The fire, James,” I screamed, terrified, “please! Oh my God!”

“It’s okay!” he said confidently, “I got you, kiddo, I got you!”

“Where’s Aidan?”

James didn’t reply, but the belt suddenly released and sent me head-first straight to the truck's roof.

The cut on my forehead was opened up. The blood swallowed up my field of vision.

James’s arm scooped me out of the truck, and in a flash, it seemed we were at the obnoxiously sleek sedan on the side of the highway.

As we approached, I saw the silhouette of what must have been Melody in the back seat. Aidan was in the driver’s seat.

All around the crash site, the carcasses of dead rogue wolves littered the ground.

They had fought hard for their lives.

We all had.

Out of nowhere, the truck exploded, sending shrapnel flying through the air. I shuddered.

If my father hadn’t reached me…

James opened the door for me; I sat beside Melody. I tried to push the thought out of my mind.

Aidan lifted his head, but he never looked back.

As he pulled away, Melody put her hand on mine just for a second before she turned to face the window.

She looked like she’d fought through hell.

I remained quiet as we returned to the pack lands.

I was grateful to be alive, but there was no mistaking the issue before us.

I was in debt to my father now. If it weren’t for him, pieces of me would’ve been flying all over that field, too.

I did not doubt Aidan’s love for me, yet as my eyes began to close, all I could think was—why didn’t you come for me?—