The rain was relentless now—no longer a drizzle, but a downpour that slammed against the windshield like fists of water. The wipers moved furiously, their frantic swipes barely keeping up, smearing streaks of light from distant streetlamps and oncoming headlights. Outside, the world was a blur—trees bent in the wind, road signs warped by the storm, shadows dancing on the edges of the high beams.
Inside the car, the mood had shifted.
Athena leaned forward slightly, her jaw clenched, both hands gripping the steering wheel at ten and two. Her knuckles were pale, her eyes locked on the sliver of road that remained visible through the sheets of water. Every nerve in her body was alert, calculating.
“Should’ve let me drive,” Sana said, trying to inject levity into the thickening silence. “I’m the queen of navigating stormy roads, remember that road trip to Coorg?”
Athena didn’t respond, her lips pressed into a firm line.
Sana glanced at her, brow furrowing. “Hey. Relax a little. You’re driving like we’re being chased by assassins.”
Athena allowed herself a quick breath. “It’s not safe. The curves up ahead are sharp, and this rain—” She didn’t finish. She didn’t need to.
The car's engine hummed steadily beneath them, but the tires occasionally stuttered over the slick pavement. Thunder cracked in the distance, loud enough to rattle their bones.
Sana shifted in her seat, her voice softer now. “Let’s just pull over, yeah? Wait out the worst of it?”
Athena shook her head. “No shoulder. And no visibility. We’re safer moving.”
Just as the words left her mouth, the road took a sudden turn—a sharp, narrow bend, hidden behind a slope of trees. Athena's eyes widened.
“Shit—”
She twisted the wheel, too late.
The tires screamed as they lost traction, the car jerking sideways before spinning out of control. The tail of the vehicle swung wide, fishtailing across the rain-slicked road. Sana screamed as her hands braced against the dashboard.
Everything exploded into chaos.
The vehicle slammed sideways into the steel guardrail. A sickening crunch echoed through the night as metal twisted like paper. The momentum lifted the car off the ground—then flipped it.
Time fractured.
They were airborne.
Glass shattered like crystal rain. The world spun violently—up became down, and down vanished into blinding flashes of white and black. The screech of tearing metal and the thunder of impact drowned out everything else.
Sana’s voice—just a breath of it—was lost in the crash.
A deafening silence followed, punctuated only by the hiss of the engine, the rhythmic tick of a dying turn signal, and the patter of rain now seeping into broken windows.
The car landed on its side in a ditch just off the road, crumpled like a discarded toy.
Inside, blood stained the leather seats. The air smelled of smoke, rain, and iron.
Athena’s head hung to the side, a streak of crimson running down her temple. Her eyes were half-lidded, unfocused, barely clinging to consciousness.
Sana’s body lay limp in the passenger seat, unmoving, her delicate bracelet tangled in shattered glass.
Then—
Darkness.
A breath caught.
Silence.
And the storm raged on.
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