Fan Fiction ❯ Depth Perception ❯ Crimson Tides ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: This is original fiction and is copyright © Oisin Vink 2005.

Please do not distribute this on any other websites without my knowledge / consent. Thanks.

 

O.K that sounded stupid, lol. Anyway I hope you enjoy the first chapter. Please take note that the first 9 chapters are in the present tense for an important plot related reason. No flames also.

 

 

Chapter 1: Crimson Tides

 

 

“The beginning is simple to mark.”

 

Every thing seems to be perpetually silent beneath the exterior of the car, besides the invariable bass-line of the tyres treading against the uneven tarmac and scattered pebbles of the desolate country road. From above, the moonlit glow on the windscreen, mirror like, reflects the shadows the dying leaves that autumn has yet to claim. We proceed down, delving into the burnt sienna canopy of nothingness.

 

As the monotonous hums from the car's engine translate into vibrations, rising up into the window, where my right hand has rested for the past half-hour, I glance over to the passenger's seat, where Abigail resides. She has been seated there in an almost somnolent position for the entirety of the journey, unspeaking. I linger on this for awhile and proceed onwards, contemplating our final destination. The window is abruptly opened by Abigail, the slender fraction causing an almost cyclonic up-draught in the centre of the car. As the breeze melds with that of the air conditioning cigarette buts begin to dance with the ash inside of the slightly ajar tray, as the white soot rises upwards, only to rest upon the already tattered and faded upholstery. Insouciant feathers.

 

Inadvertently our glances met; at first I was unable to decipher the realisation of danger that had become apparent upon the surface of Abigail's eyes. Blind to the oncoming peril I continued onwards.

 

As her pupils begin to dilate she sinks back into the small of the seat and opens her mouth as if to scream but no sound surfaces, as if all is lost. Concurrently, almost unbeknownst to me, the breaks screech and the car swerves to avoid… Being so detached from the situation I can only paralyticly gaze on as the car swerves violently out of control. The rapid, almost centrifugal motion pulls my eyes upwards, exposing their blood-shot whites.

 

Rather than having an out of body experience or events running in slow motion, erratic and nonsensical thoughts surge through my mind, momentarily darkness ensues, broken by an urgent cry “Kenith”. As the sinking feeling in my stomach descends I glance upwards through the now cracked, mosaic glass; shattered by some sort of collision. I can only watch as the front of the car draws itself ever closer to a crystalline surface, magnetic.

 

The hood of the vehicle breaks the surface of the water but the sound is negated by the crack of Abigail's scull impacting upon the dashboard. The humble aluminium frame of the car shudders violently with the rapid impact, shaking Abigail's now marionette like, unconscious body. Almost cinematically white water proceeds to surge in through the gaps in the floor, saturating my textile shoes and lending a fleeting, invigorating feeling in comparison to that of my prior dazed nausea. Instantaneously, like a motor reflex, my hand violently grapples at the door-handle, to no effect, the pressure in the car being too high to gain leverage against the onset of water. After the discovery the electric windows were short circuited the realisation occurs that the car has to sink before we can surface. Again my mind begins to drift with the gurgling rush. It's barely audible laughter taunting my every move.

 

The temporary buoyancy of the car has now departed, going head first; the floundering vehicle begins to submerge beneath the rippling water. Below the surface the headlights create an effect of luminosity as if to highlight the watery grave; murky shadows dance in the depths, beckoning to us. Suddenly, to my perplexion, I notice an ink like substance dancing around my waist. Blood, suspended in the water. Still almost drifting in and out of consciousness I flash back to my childhood, holding my cut finger below the surface of the stream, peering into the rushing current of blood, departing from its diagonal fissure.

 

Abigail's seat is now tilted backwards, it sways back and forwards with the enclosed tide. All but her nose and mouth are completely submerged. For a split-second I watch as the meniscus of the water around her painted lips break, giving her lip gloss a phosphorus glow. I then find myself climbing over her seemingly lifeless body to try to pull her chilling body to a better vantage point, in the back seat; dually gasping for oxygen in the shrinking air bubble. All is now vertical.

 

They say that when a car hits the water at 40 miles an hour it is the equivalent of driving into a concrete wall and as the car submerges below the surface all sense of direction departs. What was up is now down; the sudden oxygen deprivation leaves you with only your basic instincts and also leaves you almost unable to differentiate between left and right. Our most primal motor reflexes then leave us, in the moments before death although the brain still produces electricity long after the mind's departure. These thoughts overcome me as the crimson tinted water covers my mouth, the overwhelming and sharp salty of blood clouding my judgement even further.

 

All has now become surreal. In the face of certain death no one expects to experience a frightening comfort below the waves. To be soothed by the rising oxygen bubbles, almost resembling floating spheres of glass, crystal marbles. Being so close to becoming one with the waves is exactly like the moment when you awaken from a vivid dream only to realise that you're still sleeping. This is the fleeting moment, where all senses are at their most perceptive level. Liminality.

 

“Kenith, today all was not lost. The door opens. The light descends. Surfacing”.

 

 

That's the first chapter done! I hope you enjoyed it and I also hope you enjoy the next few chapters where the plot begins to thicken, extremely! Things start to become quite bizarre! Anyway I'm not sure if you can review stuff on this site yet, but if you can I really appreciate feedback! Thanks.