Into the Sun

Screeching Tyres.

Panicked Screams.

Silence.

Helena opens her eyes, feeling disoriented. Sunlight streams through the cracked windscreen, casting a golden glow on her slumped form. The seatbelt digs into her chest as she searches with her hand to undo the release. It clicks free, loosening its grip on her, she takes a deep breath, the pain already fading.

She turns her head towards the passenger seat where Robyn had been. There’s blood on the headrest, the air bag has deployed. But the seat is empty.

“Robyn? Where are you?” She calls out, her throat hoarse.

Her hand fumbles on the door, opening it and stumbling out of the car onto the mossy ground beneath. She picks herself up, still feeling dazed and looks around. The car is a wreck; the bonnet wrapped around a thick tree trunk. It’s a miracle she’s unharmed.

She glances up at the road, they had careered off when the sunlight had blinded them, reflecting off damp tarmac, from the early morning rain, casting a flare across the windscreen. They hadn’t seen the curve in the road until it was too late.

“Robyn?” She calls again.

She moves around the other side of the car, searching for any sign that Robyn made it out okay. The car door hangs open, the moss there is disturbed. Earth indented with footprints.

But there’s no trace of Robyn.

Helena follows the trail of disturbed earth as it leads back up the bank to the road, where it vanishes. She looks back at her car, not sure if leaving it is a wise idea. She pulls her phone out of her pocket. No signal. “Perfect” she mutters.

Her eyes scan the empty road, hoping that someone will come along soon, but there’s no roaring ending, no steady thrum of tyres. Nothing. Just the sound of the wind rustling in the trees and birds chirping.

No one comes.

She feels like she’s waiting for hours, but the sun hasn’t moved, still beating down on her directly overhead.

She squints as her thoughts turn to Robyn, alone, hurt, lost. She knows that she needs to find her.

With one last look at her wreck of a car, she starts to walk down the road, keeping to the edge, searching for a house, a car, a person, anything. Her heel gets caught in a pothole, as she pulls her foot free there is a sharp SNAP. Helena stumbles, she looks down, the heel of her shoe staring up at her from the cracked asphalt.

“Just what I need,” she grumbles as she limps over to the nearby lamppost, leaning against it as she yanks her shoe off and lobs it towards the trees without thinking. As it vanishes out of sight regret washes over her.

“Crap”

She sighs and takes a shaky breath, removing her other shoe and letting it dangle by the strap from her fingers as she continues to trudge, now barefoot, down the road.

After a while she checks her phone again, greeted only by a black screen. Dead. No way to track the time, no way to call for help. Her feet keeping moving forward, one after the other.

In the distance she spots the steeple of a church roof, partially hidden behind the canopy of trees, a cross standing proud at the top. Helena feels relief flood through. A church, that means people. Help. She quickens her pace, maybe Robyn came this way too.

Helena weaves through the trees, always keeping the church steeple in sight, it grows closer with every step. Eventually the trees break into a clearing. She steps out into a graveyard, overgrown and quiet, at the rear of the church. She slows her pace, not wanting to seem disrespectful, she glances around at the various headstones, some old, some new. But there’s no people, no mourners for the dead. She clings to the hope that the church isn’t standing alone.

She rounds the church and is greeted by a magnificent sight. People. People everywhere. Old, young, men, women. In her excitement it takes her a moment to realise that something seems… off.

No one is rushing around, no one is walking with any purpose, or doing anything, for that matter. She approaches an old lady, cautiously.

“Hi, have you seen my friend? She’s about five-four, brown hair, blue flowery dress, possibly injured?”

The old woman blinks, seemingly confused that someone is talking to her, but then she smiles warmly. “No, dear. We don’t get too many visitors here. But you’re very welcome to stay.”

Helena is taken aback slightly. “Oh.. thanks, but I really need to find my friend”

“We’ll be here waiting for you, my dear, when you change your mind.”

Helena feels eyes on her, she turns and realises everyone in the hamlet is facing her. Some look shocked, some curious, others seem delighted.

A man steps forward, eyeing her suspiciously. “Are you staying, or passing?”

Helena takes a step back, wanting to keep space between them. “I’m just passing through.”

A child runs up to her and takes her hand, grinning up at her. she suddenly realises that this child seems to be the only one here, the majority of the residents seem much older.

“You don’t have to go, if you don’t want. I didn’t. It’s fun here. We all know each other. Nobody makes you leave.”

“Thanks… but, I’m actually just looking for my friend.” She pulls her hand away from the child gently.

A woman puts her hand gently on Helena’s shoulder, a comforting gesture. “Then find your friend, Helena, we’ll still be here when you’re ready.”

Helena backs away, towards the church, feeling uncomfortable, how does that woman know her name? Why do they all act like she’ll be back to stay with them? Something about this town is wrong, so very wrong.

She tries to keep her voice steady as she speaks, aware of all the eyes still following her as she moves away. She clears her throat, forcing a smile. “Thanks for… everything. I really need to get home. Which way is it to Renwood?”

Everyone raises an arm in unison, pointing, no one looks away, their eyes still locked on Helena. She swallows hard, resisting the urge to run.

“Thanks.” She turns and hurries off in the direction they pointed, her skin crawling with unease. She swerves back through trees, stumbling when a bank creeps up on her, she follows it down and can’t believe her eyes. Renwood. She glances behind her, how has she never noticed that strange village before, she’s lived here her whole life, and it’s so close.

Helena makes her way back through the familiar streets of her hometown, the loitering teens, the graffiti on the bus stop, the smell of freshly baked bread wafting from the bakery on the corner. She’s home. She continues down the high street and she spots her aunt and cousin sitting outside a coffee shop, with their dog, Sparky. He spots Helena immediately, barking and wagging at her, her aunt looks in her direction, tugging on Sparky’s lead. “Sush, Sparky. Sit.”

Helena sighs with relief. Family, just what she needs right now. She takes a seat at the table, leans back in the chair and reaches down to stroke Sparky. Her aunt glances down at him.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into Sparky recently.”

“It’s probably the heat. It is so good to see you, Auntie Claire. I feel like I’ve been walking forever.”

“It’s just the heat, mum. He’s fine.” Connor, her cousin, responds.

There’s a pause, Claire looks down at her mug of coffee, a flicker of melancholy crossing her face.

“Hey, did you know there’s this creepy little town just past the woods?” Helena laughs. “Thought I was going proper crazy when I saw it.”

Claire sighs after a while. “I don’t know, it’s all just so strange. It really makes you think.”

Connor nods sadly. “Yeah… things can change so suddenly.”

Helena looks at them, brow furrowed in confusion. “Hey, Con, have you seen Robyn? We were in a crash and I can’t find her.”

“Have you been to visit Robyn in the hospital?” Claire asks Connor. He shakes his head. “I really think you should, it would be nice for her to see a friendly face.”

“I…I can’t” Connor whispers, looking down. “It’s too soon.”

Claire reaches out and places her hand comfortingly on his. “I know. Come with me to visit Julie this afternoon? I can’t imagine how hard all this is for her.”

He nods. “Yeah, of course mum, Auntie Julie needs us right now.”

Helena looks at them confused, but at least she know where Robyn is, in the hospital. She doesn’t quite understand why her mum is taking it so hard, but Robyn was at their house quite a lot, so it’s possible she’s struggling. Maybe her mum doesn’t realise that she’s okay. She makes a mental note to check on her mum after seeing Robyn. She stands up from the table. “I’m going to visit Robyn, tell mum I’m okay and I’ll see her later.”

She doesn’t get a response. They don’t even look at her. But Sparky does, he wags his tail. She gives him another stroke.

“See you later too, Sparks,” smiling at the little dog. She feels lighter now, and turns from the table and heading purposefully toward the hospital.

It isn’t long before she finds herself outside the hospital. She has no idea what ward Robyn is on, so she heads to reception and joins in the queue, but people keep pushing past her, as though she isn’t there.

“Hey, I was next.” She states indignantly, as a woman walks right past her to the desk. The woman doesn’t acknowledge her complaint. Helena huffs and folds her arms. When the receptionist is free, Helena steps forward, a little unsure. “Hi, I’m here to visit my friend, Robyn Hawkin.” The receptionist doesn’t look up. Helena hesitates, then presses on. “She was in a car accident this morning. What ward is she on?” Still nothing, the receptionist seems too interested in her computer. Helena’s irritation flares. She opens her voice to speak again, but two nurses speaking in low voices catches her attention.

“Did you see the state the Hawkin girl was in when they brought her in?”

“Oh, I know, it’s awful. The poor girl. Has anyone told her yet?”

The first nurse shakes her head. “No. She’s not even out of ICU yet.”

Helena’s breath catches. Robyn’s in the ICU, and there’s something they need to tell her. Her mind races with worst-case scenarios. Maybe Robyn needs her leg amputated, or maybe they did a scan and noticed something else, something worse, like cancer. The possibilities are endless. Helena wraps her arms around herself. She’s worried sick about her friend, and it’s her fault. She was the one driving.

Helena scans the walls for the sign to the ICU, following the arrows to the ward, her pace brisk.

She makes her way to the large, secure double doors outside the ICU. She presses the buzzer and waits, growing impatient. “Come on!” she mutters, pressing the buzzer again. She places her hands on the glass to peer through, but no one unlocks the door.

Eventually, she spots a nurse approaching. They swipe their key card to open the door, and Helena slips through before it closes. “Finally,” she mutters, walking past the wards, searching each one in turn. Then she sees her.

Robyn. Wired up to various machines, face bruised and covered in cuts. Helena’s breath catches as she rushes to her bedside. “Oh god, Robyn, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. You’re going to be okay.”

A nurse enters, completely ignoring Helena, fussing with the IV that feeds into Robyn’s arm. Helena doesn’t mind, she’s too focused on Robyn. “She’s going to be alright, isn’t she?” Helena looks up at the nurse, tentative hope in her voice, desperately seeking reassurance. The nurse doesn’t respond. Doesn’t even look at her. Helena drops her gaze, “That bad, huh?” she says sadly, taking the nurse’s silence as a bad sign.

A healthcare assistant enters to check Robyn’s observations. She slips the blood pressure cuff onto her arm. As she waits for the cuff to tighten she engages the nurse in casual conversation, “When are they going to tell her about Helena?”

Helena’s head snaps up at the sound of her name. “Me? What about me?”

“I’m not sure. But the longer they wait, the harder it’s going to be.”

The assistant nods, jotting down numbers on her clipboard. “I just hope I’m not here when they tell her. I can’t imagine how distraught she’ll be.”

“I know. Me either. There’s no good way to tell someone their best friend is dead.”

Dead.

The word echoes through Helena’s mind like a death knell. She shakes her head, eyes wide. “Who’s dead?” she asks aloud, her voice cracking.

No response.

“Who’s dead!?” She demands.

Neither of them look at her. They finish what they’re doing and calmly leave the room, their footsteps fading down the corridor.

Helena stares after them. Frozen.

Then, she follows.

She wanders through the hospital, trying to get attention from someone. Anyone. Just one person to prove that they’re wrong.

She can’t be dead.

She’s right here.

She walked away from that crash, entirely unharmed.

There must be some mistake.

But no one sees her.

No one talks to her.

It’s like she isn’t there.

Then she catches sight of a polished metal surface and stops.

Her reflection should be there.

But there’s nothing. Just the corridor, people walking past.

She looks behind her, the same people, the same scene. But she’s not there.

Her shoulders slump, tears spring to her eyes.

It all makes sense now. There was no pain after the crash, no injuries. Everyone ignored her, everyone except Sparky and the people in that strange town. A town she’d never seen before, though it had always been there.

They all knew, and they were like her.

She makes her way out of the hospital and looks up at the sky. The sun hasn’t moved. It’s still directly overhead, like it has been all day.

She remembers the words the child spoke to her.

You don’t have to go if you don’t want.

She glances back at the hospital, one last time.

She thinks back to the people in the hamlet, they all seemed lost, waiting for something that would never come.

She doesn’t want to be like them.

The sun seems to burn brighter, it’s blinding, encompassing everything in front of her. She feels drawn to it in a way she can’t explain.

She steps forward, into the sun.

Feeling the warmth envelop her.

All her uncertainty fades away.

She feels free.

Happy.

At peace.