Chapter 25 SMASHED SKULL
THIRD PERSON'S POV
Warning: This chapter contains vivid and disturbing descriptions of a fatal accident. Reader discretion is advised.
“I’ll drive you,” Jolie said softly, opening the car door for Emily, who smiled at her gesture.
“Thank you,” Emily murmured, sliding into the seat. Her gaze drifted toward the window, a faint smile lingering on her lips. Today was a success, she thought. Everything went perfectly. She felt a rare sense of gratitude—toward both Erica and Jolie.
“When can I start my revenge?” Emily asked suddenly, her eyes still on the passing scenery. Jolie remained focused on the road—she was a skilled driver, her grip steady and confident.
“Soon,” Jolie replied. “Be patient.”
Emily sighed. “Miss Erica could destroy Giselle with one move. Everyone respects her. Why’s she holding back?”
Jolie smiled faintly, keeping her eyes ahead. “Why destroy her easily? Erica wants her to bleed, Emily. Some people only learn when they watch their own world fall apart. Erica has plans for Giselle, a simple death would be too merciful.”
“Death?” Emily asked, her eyes widening at the word.
“Ye—”
Jolie’s sentence was cut short by the deafening crash of metal on metal.
A speeding truck slammed straight into the side of their car, the impact so violent that the vehicle was lifted off the ground. Jolie’s grip slipped from the steering wheel as the car flipped through the air—once, twice, before smashing through the bridge barrier landing into another road.
The world became a blur of screams, screeching tires, and breaking glass. Smoke billowed from the engine as the wrecked car hung half-suspended on the road, flames licking at the twisted frame.
“Call the cops!” voices screamed in the distance.
Jolie’s eyes fluttered open. Her vision swam in and out of focus. Blood ran down her forehead, dripping into her eyes, onto her cheeks. The ringing in her ears was deafening.
Pain seared through her skull...shards of glass embedded deep in her skin.
“Emily…” she croaked weakly. Her throat was dry, her voice trembling.
No response.
She tilted her head toward the passenger seat, her heart sinking.
Emily was unconscious—pale, limp, blood running from her nose and mouth. The seatbelt had kept her from being thrown out, but sharp pieces of metal had pierced through her forearms, pinning her in place. Her white dress was soaked crimson.
“Emily!” Jolie cried again, her trembling fingers reaching for the seatbelt. But as she tried to move, a new wave of agony tore through her.
Her gaze dropped and froze.
A thick metal rod had impaled her side, buried deep between her ribs.
The scream that ripped from her throat echoed through the chaos outside. People gathered around the wreckage, some shouting, others holding up their phones, recording every second. But no one stepped forward. No one helped.
Her body shook violently as the pain coursed through her veins, her chest tightening with every breath. Blood poured from her lips as she coughed, her vision flickering in and out.
So this is what dying feels like… she thought, her body trembling as if ice were spreading through her veins.
She reached down toward the shattered phone beneath her seat, but her arms barely obeyed. Every movement sent a shock of agony through her body. Her lungs burned.
“Help…” she screamed, voice raw and desperate. “Please, someone help!”
But no one moved. The crowd just kept screaming, filming, their faces pale and horrified.
Then, suddenly...the car’s electronic system flickered to life.
The dashboard glowed red. The engine roared.
“No… no, no, no!” Jolie gasped, panic flooding her voice.
“Destination: Riverbank Crossing,” the car’s automated voice announced calmly.
The wrecked vehicle jerked forward, its crushed tires spinning, metal screeching against asphalt. It began moving on its own, its system malfunctioning, wires fried from the impact.
“Stop! STOP!” Jolie slammed her foot against the brake pedal, but nothing happened. Her foot pressed harder, her scream filled the air....but the speed only increased.
The brakes are gone....they were faulty.
Her eyes widened in terror.
A white light suddenly flooded her vision, headlights. Another car...coming straight at them.
“Jolie…”
It was Emily’s faint voice, barely audible, her eyelids fluttering open for a second.
Then—
CRASH!
The second collision was brutal. Time seemed to freeze. Jolie saw them...two children in the other car, no older than ten, with their parents in the front seats.
Her heart dropped.
Both cars launched into the air, metal shrieking. The children screamed—a sound that tore through her chest. Glass exploded like rain. Steel beams bent and snapped towards them.
The kids weren’t wearing seatbelts. Their small bodies were thrown through the car’s interior, weightless, colliding with windows and seats as blood spattered across the glass.
“Not the kids…” Jolie gasped, tears mixing with blood on her face.
Emily’s voice trembled beside her. “I… can’t feel… anything.”
Then came the final impact.
The cars hit the ground....upside down—with a sound like thunder.
The noise faded. Everything went still.
Jolie and Emily hung lifeless, their arms dangling from their shattered windows. Blood dripped steadily from their wounds onto the concrete below. The car’s mangled frame creaked, hanging halfway off the bridge, one small shift away from falling.
The crowd gathered again, voices trembling.
“They’re still inside…”
“They’re not breathing…”
“The car’s gonna fall!”
Across the road, the family’s vehicle was nothing but crushed metal. Passersby pulled out the lifeless bodies of the twins and their parents, covered in blood and glass. Phones rang in the distance.
“Two vehicles down....multiple victims....faint pulse on the family. The other car’s about to fall into the river!” someone screamed into a phone.
People ran to the bridge’s edge. Below, they could see Jolie and Emily’s broken bodies, unmoving.
“They won’t make it,” someone muttered under their breath. “Even if we pull them out…”
Then, a piercing scream ripped through the air.
Everyone turned.
A few feet away, the truck driver lay sprawled across the asphalt, his skull crushed against the pavement. His blood pooled in a wide, dark stain, fragments of bone and brain matter scattered beside him.
People froze, some fainted. Others vomited. The smell of gasoline and iron filled the air.
It was chaos.
Sirens wailed in the distance, flashing lights closing in, but it was too late.
The bridge groaned, with one final metallic crack, the wrecked car gave way—
......and fell into the river below.
SPLASH.
Then....
Pitch black.