Call 999

The thing that made Madeline look to the side was a gasp. A gasp of a woman to be more precise that was followed by a loud metallic crash. Instinctively Madelaine grabbed the handlebar of the stroller so hard her knuckles turned white. Turning to the side she tried to figure out what was going on, on the side of the road there were two cars, a black one and a red one. The black one was crushed into the back of the red one. The engine of the black car was steaming and glass was scattered all around the street and the nearby sidewalk. Madelaine let out a sigh of relief at the realization that neither she nor her daughter was in any imminent danger but when the fear for her own life disappeared the dread at the scene before her came rushing in. There was a second of silence before the chaos ensued. First, there were screams of children, the children that were sitting in the back of the red car, one of the girls was screaming for her mother the other simply bowled her eyes out. Then a couple of passers-by’s rushed to the accident checking in on the kids and some were running to the front of the red car, Madeline didn’t know why they run to the front instead of the back until she realized that there was no one in the driver's seat. In the place where the red car hit the wall, Madeline noticed a pair of legs lying on the asphalt. She felt sick to her stomach, the driver must have been walking around the front of the car when the other hit it. She didn’t move, she just looked and only realized that she was holding her breath when the pair of legs moved indicating that the victim was alive and conscious.

“Somebody call 999!” she heard people screaming but didn’t see anyone moving to grab their phone. Madeline couldn’t help in any other way without leaving her daughter alone so she did what she hoped she would be never forced to do, she took out her phone and dialled the dreaded number. This was the least that she could do.

“Give it back!” Mia yelled at her sister as she held the Gameboy out of her reach. Zoe just laughed and continued to taunt her baby sister. Both of them were bored out of their minds, their mother promised to be quick as she left for the bakery but the five minutes felt like forever to the little girls. Suddenly a knock on the front windshield put a stop to the harmless banter, it was their mother waving a bag of their favourite cookies in front of her face for the girls to see. The Gameboy was instantly forgotten and smiles bloomed on the sister's faces, Mia started bouncing up and down in her seat and Zoe followed suit. Their mother shook her head smiling slightly and straightened her back to continue walking to the driver's seat. Suddenly Zoe noticed that her mothers smile faded and the happy sparkle in her eyes was replaced by fear, Zoe was confused, to say the least. Even more so when she noticed her mother raise her right leg up in the air and hug herself tightly with her arms as if she was bracing something. Zoe's confusion faded when the car abruptly jerked forward and a loud metallic crash rung through the interior of the car. When the car stopped moving Zoe heard Mia cry out startled and looking to the front of the car again she saw their mother slip down the hood of the car with a pained expression on her face.

“Mom! Mommy!” Zoe screamed as he felt tears falling down her cheeks. She didn’t know what to do, should she leave the car? Should she check on Mia, time seemed to pick up the pace and slow down at the same time, but Zoe just continued screaming for her mom. Suddenly the car door on her side opened and an unfamiliar face popped in.

“Are you girls okay?” the man asked looking both of them over but non of the sisters cared about their own wellbeing as they both sobbed and watched the front of the car hoping to see their mother stand back.

“Somebody call 999!” was the last thing Zoe heard before her senses gave out and all she could do was scream and cry.

“Have a nice day!” said the cashier as Marisa grabbed the bag of cookies and the spare change off of the counter.

“You too!” She replied smiling and headed for the exit. It was a warm summer day and even though she didn’t have anything important and exciting to do that day Marisa was just happy to be able to spend the Sunday with her daughters. Walking out of the bakery she took a moment to look at people she passed by and noticed a young woman pushing a stroller that reminded her of the one she had in her attic at the moment. The stroller was in fairly good shape even after being used for both of Marisa’s daughters, she smiled at the memories of long walks in the park pushing the cream coloured stroller back and forth on sunny days, this thought made Marisa nostalgic and an idea formed in her head, one she would have to discuss with her husband once she got back home but an exciting idea nonetheless. Walking back to the limited time parking space she slipped in in front of the hood of the car and lowering her head she caught her daughters attention by waving the bag of cookies in front of them. Both of the girls abandoned whatever pety argument they were in the middle of and started gesturing at Marisa excitedly. The smiles on their little faces made Marisa chuckle as she straightened back up to get into the car but a sudden movement she saw in the corner of her eye made her alert again.

Looking directly ahead she noticed a black car speeding towards them, she furrowed her brow when the car didn’t seem to slow down or stop and the realization hit her. The car was not going to stop. Marisa quickly assessed whether or not she had time to run but she in fact did not. Instinctively she raised her right leg and hugged her own torso trying to protect herself in any way she could, only hoping that the car wasn’t going as fast as it looked to be and praying to anyone who would listen that the girls would be safe and protected from the crash by the study back of the car.

The impact came quicker than Marisa expected and knocked the wind out of her lungs. The car bounced off of the leg that remained on the ground as Marisa slid down the hood of the car onto the ground. She didn’t feel pain right away, she was too shocked to feel anything really. Lying on the ground the adrenaline of the crash acted as a natural pain killer, her body felt paralyzed and for a moment she just lay there looking up at the clear sky until someone leaned over her and begun asking questions. Marisa answered as many of them as she could and moved her legs when the lady questioned if she was able to sit up or move at all.

“Are my daughters okay?” Marisa asked the lady, she quickly looked up and turned back to her.

“Yes, they are shaken up but okay.” The lady replied and this information was enough for Marisa to calm down. She felt herself drifting away and the last thing she heard before passing out was.

“Somebody call 999!”