Quick Thinking

Warning: Contains Explicit Language

 Shit. Shit shit shit shit fuck shit fuck. Holy fucking shit. I killed him. I fucking killed him. What the hell am I supposed to do? How are we going to get out of this god-forsaken mess?? Roan gripped the steering wheel with all his might, knuckles turning white. Blood was splattered all over the front of his car. The mangled corpse could still be seen lying in the middle of the road, though it hardly looked human anymore. Sitting in the passenger seat next to him, was a dear friend, Shyan, who was shaking with fear.

"Drive." She spoke quietly at first, her voice shaking with every syllable. 

"What?"

"Drive." 

"But I-"

 "JUST DRIVE!!" Shyan bellowed, her voice filled with panic. Her brown eyes were wide and desperate, begging Roan to do as she asked. But he couldn't. There was no way he could drive away with this on his conscience. He had just killed a man. He hadn't meant to. It was all purely an accident. Still, the thought of leaving-

 "You know I can't do that, Shyan." His voice was hoarse, as though he had been yelling for the past hour or so. Roan let his grip on the steering wheel loosen, let his hands slide down, and eventually, let go altogether. Trembling, he reached for his phone and began to dial.

"Don't!!!" Shyan shot her hand out to stop him. "Don't you dare!! Do you know what will happen to us?? Do you understand the kind of trouble we could get in for this?" She motioned to the corpse out on the road. 

Roan knew full well what would happen. But again, he reached for the phone, not daring to say a word. This time, she was more forceful. Her fingers latched unto his wrist, wrapping around it tightly. Her fingernails dug into his skin like daggers. With a yelp of pain, He let go, cradling his wrist in his other hand.

"What the hell?!" Roan exclaimed, giving her a mortified look. "Shyan, you know we can't leave him here!! Think about the consequences if someone finds him-"

"Think about the consequences if we get caught." She fired back, clutching the phone tightly in her hand. Her brow was furrowed, face full of pure determination. It was clear she wasn't going to let go anytime soon.

Roan gave her a bewildered look. 

"And if we did just run away? What if we ran away, and then we were found out? Ever think of that?!" He paused, taking in her expression. It was clear that she had not thought of this possibility. Still, she persisted.

"What do you think the cops are going to do when two drunk teenagers call them up to tell them they ‘accidentally’ killed someone? Do you think they'll care that we're just kids? You think they will show us any sort of mercy??? No. They won't. You know that!!!"

Roan’s eyes flitted to the blood-stained road ahead of them. She was right, of course. There was no way they would come out of this without being convicted.

“But if we own up, there’s always the chance that we’ll be spared, at least in some way. And it really was an accident!”

“Well from the looks of it, we might as well have just rolled right over him. This is bad, Roan. Really bad.” Shyan bit her lip, cautiously scanning the scene before them, just as Roan had. “Look. We can drive away now, and just pretend as nothing happened. Alright? We don’t really have a choice.” Her tone was bitter, yet firm, and she leaned over to grab hold of the steering wheel.

“We do have other options. And they’re far better than the one your presenting.” He muttered, shoving her away. “Now give me the phone.” She hesitated a moment, glancing down at the object in hand. The object that held so much worth at that moment. Their possible escape. She looked at it, dropped it to the floor of the vehicle, and crushed it underfoot.

***

Shyan watched as the horrific scene unfolded before. They sped down the road at top speed, drinks in hand as they laughed for no particular reason. Beer sloshed out of their cups, covering every inch of the car’s interior. It was all fun and games until she saw him. A man, probably around his 40’s. He walked across the road, slowly, as though he was content where he was. He got closer. And closer. Panic suddenly washed over the man’s face as they continued to approach. And yet she said nothing. She was too busy laughing along to some stupid joke. That is, until they hit him.

Being the stupid, ridiculously drunk teenagers they were, they had been speeding quite a bit. Hence the mess. But that was not what concerned Shyan as Roan slammed on the brakes. No, what concerned her at the moment was the fact they had just killed a man. And that they needed to leave before anyone caught them. And she made this very clear. But Roan resisted. Everything she said, every detail of her argument was rebuffed. And she couldn’t fathom why.

Hours seemed to pass by, and still, they argued. And even despite his recent defeat, Roan stuck to his former argument. No way was he going to leave. Along with mixed feelings of fear and guilt, Shyan felt something else. She felt anger. Frustration. Could he not see the kind of trouble they were in? Why wouldn't he just listen to her??

And that was when it happened. Sirens. The flashing of lights. While still relatively distant, they were clearly present. The sound rattled through Shyan’s mind as she sat completely still, holding her breath. Her eyes teared up. Her hands balled into fists. Her heart felt like it was about to burst open and tear her apart from the inside. They were done for.

“Shyan?! Shyan what do we do?!” Roan’s voice broke through to her, sending her tumbling back down into reality. The blood slowly drained from her face - the sirens had only grown closer. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come out. Nothing. 

It was clear they were too late. Their possibilities had run dry. The sound was close enough that it was safe to assume there was no time to drive away. If She wasn't scared before, she sure as hell was scared now.

Seconds later, Shyan spotted the cruiser in the rearview mirror.