Chapter Text
Her mind began wake. She heard... shouting? It was unclear, and she was...
She wasn’t tired. And yet, she had slept.
Her body, still slow to wake up from a slumber without exhaustion, did not quite make out what the shouting was.
More noises. Worry, panic. A rumbling. A squeal? Rubber on... something.
Her eyes slowly began to open, only to close in response to a harsh light washing over her.
The noises continued, for less than a second more.
Ashley’s body jolted.
She felt herself getting shoved sideways, the noises louder, her mind suddenly fully awake, but her body still slow to respond.
The blood rushed up and down her body, and she felt herself spinning, rolling, dizziness threatening to take over. Something held her in place, but that place was tumbling.
She tried to open her eyes again, and she wasn’t sure the world made sense. She was awake, wasn’t she?
She saw Elliot, looking back at her from... the front of a car?
Yes, they were in a car, and...
A piece of the situation fell into place: they were at his house, when Ellen got home. She saw a bright light, and Elliot’s hair had turned white- was still white- and he shouted at her, and suddenly she...
Another instant passed, and in that instant, the car spun once more, and she realized she was buckled in, and the car was tumbling.
Elliot shouted at her once more. “Endure.”
She felt the air harden around her, and her stomach turn, as the car rolled.
Finally, eventually, after an eternity and no more than a second at the same time-
Crash