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It all happened so suddenly.
Dick and Wally were alone on the road, the silver Toyota going only five kilometres above the speed limit. It was still early in the day; the young couple were on their way to meet up some friends up to the lake when suddenly a deer came out of nowhere. The animal jumped in front of the car, smashing right against the windshield as Wally steered the wheels to avoid it. The tires screeched as they rasped against the road before the vehicle began to roll over multiple times.
Dick’s senses slowly came back one at a time.
His ears were ringing, the faint sound of the steam coming out of the engine only slightly audible. Every part of his body screamed in pain; he could feel something drip on his face. His nose felt cold and hot at the same time; Dick guessed it was broken. He could feel bruises forming along his chest and suspected that it was due to the seatbelt that was keeping him still. The young man’s thoughts were fuzzy; he felt as if he had been spinning in circles and decided to try to remain on a headstand for as long as he could. His stomach churned, and he wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he had puked his breakfast. The back of his mind suggested he goes to sleep so he could forget the pain and leave the mystery to be solved later, but instead, Dick forced his eyes to peel open.
It took a couple of blinks for him to get rid of the blurs and make sense of where he was. The first thing he noticed was the airbag deflating, the very cracked windshield and how his body was being held upside down. Dick attempted to take a breath in, which sent him into a small coughing fit. The memory of the accident suddenly came back to him as he looked at the blood dripping from his hair to what used to be the roof of the car.
“Wall-,” his voice was hoarse and rattled against his throat. Turning his head slowly felt like torture, the whiplash sending stinging signals to the brain. Fortunately, Dick was able to twitch his fingers, and he assumed that that meant he wasn’t paralyzed.
The small relief was quickly replaced by horror when Dick’s eyes set on his boyfriend.
Just like him, Wally was hanging upside down, but he seemed unconscious. The shattered window must have been the cause for the multiple scratches on his face. His arms hung limp, with his right one having an open fracture. Dick couldn’t get his eyes to look away from the faded red bone that was sticking out of Wally’s forearm.
“Wally!” The youngest called again, panic gripping on his heart and squeezing to the point where Dick felt like it was going to stop beating. “Wally, please, wake up…”
Dick ignored the pain that came with his vibrating vocal cords. He wanted to see his boyfriend’s green eyes; he wanted to see him awake. The young adult forced his arm to move through the deadening pain until the tip of his fingers reached Wally’s cheek. It felt cool to the touch, and Dick’s heart began racing as the worst possible thought instilled itself inside his mind. Tears began to run down their course, but instead of sliding over Dick’s cheek, they passed through his forehead, wetting some of the blood that had started to dry off.
However, as Dick’s palm gently cupped Wally’s cheek, the other adult began to stir. His eyes were glazed over as he slowly regained consciousness. Just like with Dick, it took him a few minutes to remember what had happened and understand in what situation they were in. There was a sharp pain coming from his broken arm, and his face felt like he had tried to kiss a feral cat. Wally felt strangely cold although the Toyota’s dashboard was emitting some concerning heat. The wipers were randomly going on and off; Wally felt as if he was being lulled to sleep and almost gave in before he registered his boyfriend’s soft cries.
Turning his head toward Dick, he slowly breathed out. “’m okay.” He wasn’t, but he couldn’t tell him that. Although his vision was still blurry, Wally noticed the blood tainting Dick’s sunkissed skin. “You’re hurt.”
The youngest chuckled, anxiety and relief mixing together. Sniffing loudly reminded him that his nose must be looking quite crooked or worse. He could taste blood flowing back inside his mouth. “It’s just a broken nose.”
Wally smiled hazily. “Awe, should I kiss it better like last time?”
Dick couldn’t help another giggle from coming out. He was so glad to hear Wally’s voice, it helped to ground him and make his brain think. “We need to call for help, maybe get out of the car.”He began to look around for one of their phones. Having an objective helped in distracting him from the pounding pains.
While he was still groggy, Wally attempted to be helpful and look for his cell by scanning the surroundings. The car was pretty much dead, there was a faint smell of gasoline, and while he couldn’t see the outside, Wally was sure it was just as busted. Looking out to where the window used to be, he could see the shape of the deer lying on the ground. He grimaced at the fact he had killed the animal, even though it wasn’t entirely his fault. Wally suspected that it was a female due to its appearance, and they usually had one or two young fawns at that time of the year. The idea of orphaning innocent lives created some great remorse inside his chest, and he blamed his brain for picturing the two babies fending for themselves in the wild.
The sound of the hood suddenly crashing against the ground startled the couple.
They looked at the steam coming out of the engine with fury, before exchanging a glare. They needed to get out; they needed to call for help. How come nobody was driving through this road? Where the hell did everyone go?
As Wally extended an arm toward the glove compartment box, a sharp pain spread from his abdomen and made all the nerves inside his body scream in agony. He forced himself to look at the source, and his eyes went wide at the realization that a sharp piece of metal was impaled there. The amount of blood coming out of the area was impressive, and Wally wondered how he hadn’t noticed it until now. A saying flashed through his mind: “the most lethal wounds are the ones you can’t feel.”
He looked toward Dick who, by judging his expression, had noticed the wound at the same time as him. Hell, Wally wouldn't be surprised if he had screamed earlier.
Neither of them was certain as to what they should say, so they remained silent for a moment before Dick began to attempt to open the glove box frantically. “Don’t move,” He ordered, “and don’t think of pulling it off, I’ve read that it could cause more harm than good.”
Wally watched Dick silently as realization dawned on him. If his assumptions were right, the metal piece had gone through or close to his kidney, and by judging the amount of blood that was dripping off the wound he wouldn’t be surprised if it had nicked an artery.
If they didn’t get help soon, he was going to die.
At the same time, Dick had forgotten all about his sores and was cursing at the glove compartment that was unwilling to open. His bloodied fingers tried in vain to pry it open, but only his broken nails threatened to fall off under pressure.
“Dick,” Wally called out to him.
The youngest didn’t pay him no mind as he was too focused getting upset with the “fucking piece of shit.” His anxiety took the form of anger, the longer he struggled, the more upset he felt. “C’mon! Open already!” Dick began to bang his fist against the handle, knowing full well this wouldn’t change anything.
“Dick,” Wally repeated more firmly, a hand reaching to his boyfriend’s fist. “Calm down.”
Dick looked at him with wide, teary eyes. How could he calm down when his lover was bleeding to death next to him? He remained still as Wally intertwined their fingers and led him through a few breathing cycles.
Once he was calmed down, Dick thought of a plan B; if he couldn’t get the one phone that was in the glove box, maybe he could find the other one. He thought about where he had last seen his phone and remembered his jacket on the back seat. Slowly, Dick peeked to the back of the car and sighed in relief when he saw the familiar black and blue.
Letting go of Wally’s hand, Dick attempted to reach it by stretching his arm as far as he could but to no success. He quickly glanced around to see if he could use something to reach it before adding. “I’m going to remove my seat belt.”
Wally looked at him, God he was already so pale, and nodded. “Be careful.”
They exchanged a small smile before Dick worked his way out of the belt while attempting not to fall on his head. It was a little awkward, but thanks to his acrobatic abilities, Dick managed to twist himself on all four. He could feel some pain coming from his ankle but didn’t take the time to check if it was broken or just twisted and wriggled far enough so his fingers could grab one of the sleeves.
Without losing any time, Dick fished his cell from the pocket. The screen was cracked, but thankfully, it was still working fine. He noticed that he had a few notifications; missing calls and texts from his friends, some pop up about software update and a reward waiting for one of his downloaded games. The little battery on the top right corner of the screen was red, and the number 3% showed next to it.
There was a split second where Dick considered who he should be calling first. On the one hand, he could call their friends and ask them to get them help. On the other, it might be faster to call the emergency line himself. Without wasting any more time, Dick typed the three digits and waited impatiently for someone to pick up.
“9-1-1 what is your emergency?” The woman’s voice was calm and professional.
“Accident.” Dick stuttered. The voice at the other end of the line asked him to repeat himself. “We got into a car accident.”
Dick’s bottom lip was trembling; he listened as the woman on the other side asked him a few more questions.
Whereabouts are you located? Is there any injured? Can you get out of the car?
Feeling overwhelmed, Dick couldn’t find it in him to answer. “He needs help–Please,” he let out a sob as he looked over his shoulder” please, hurry I– I don’t know what to do.” Wally wasn’t moving; he wasn’t even looking at him. “Oh God, he-he's bleeding a lot.”
“Sir, I need you to calm down.” The dispatcher interrupted. “I have tracked your location and help is on its way. Can you and the others get out of the car?”
Dick looked at the doors; they were crinkled and twisted. “I – I’ll try.” Dick stuttered as he attempted to push the one closest to him. Sucking a breath between his teeth, he jerked his hand back as he accidentally cut his palm against some broken glass. He shifted so he could use his good foot to kick it. The first try barely made the door budge. But before he could give it another attempt, his attention was drawn back to his boyfriend, who started to cough. “Wally! Oh, no, no, no please Wally hang on.”
Dick could hear the woman talk to him, but couldn’t pay attention to what she was saying until the call suddenly ended. “Hello? Hello?” He repeated.
No answer.
Looking back at the screen, Dick saw that the phone at shut off. “Shit!” A sudden wave of anger crashed into him, and he sent the useless phone flying to the end of the car before crawling back to the driver’s area. He looked at the pool of blood that had formed under his lover. Wally had lost almost all of his colours, his eyes were only half open, and he seemed to struggle to breathe.
“I’m going to get you down,” Dick whispered, one hand gently brushing the sweat off of his boyfriend’s forehead.
With the precision of a surgeon in the middle of a life-threatening surgery, Dick carefully maneuvered Wally down from his seat. He apologized when the wounded man gasped and placed him so he could rest against him, mindful not to touch his broken arm.
“It’s going to be okay,” Dick whispered. “Help is on their way…”
Wally looked up to him, his eyes not entirely focusing on Dick. “I’m tired.”
The youngest man felt his airway close shut. If Wally fell asleep now, he might never wake up.
“I know,” he started, “I know you are, but you need to stay with me okay? Just… Just hang in there just a little longer.”
Dick’s hand brushed Wally’s cheek, accidentally smearing some of his blood on his boyfriend’s face. Wally was so weak, yet he still managed to put on a smile.
“I always thought you had the prettiest eyes.” He took in a raspy breath, his chest struggling to rise and pushing the air out a little too fast.
“Shhh,” Dick hushed him. “You shouldn’t be talking.” He leaned close to his boyfriend’s face, placing a small kiss on his forehead. When he looked back, Wally’s normally bright green eyes were pale and almost lifeless. He felt his remaining hope fade away.
Wally was dying.
“Do you remember the bar?” Wally’s voice was just a whisper. It was weak and breathless. “The beach was so lovely… You were upset about the dolphin.”
It didn’t entirely make sense, but Dick understood what Wally was referring to. He was reminiscing memories from their pasts, mixing dates they’d had gone together
Dick couldn’t help but let out a broken chuckle; his scleras were red as tears fell from his eyes, and he forced a smile.
Gently, he patted Wally’s head. “I do, I remember them all.” He sniffed, not caring at how gross or how loud it was. “We still have plenty of dates to go to. You’re going to take me to that space museum next month, remember?” He bit his lip as he choked back a sob. “I’m going to drag you to another one of those cheesy plays.” He forced himself to smile, his bottom lip uncontrollably trembling as he tilted his head slightly.
Wally smiled weakly. He could barely see Dick’s face among all the blurs.
“We’re going to star gaze every night.”
His voice sounded so distant, but why? Wally wanted to listen to Dick more; he wanted to hear more about what they had planned to do over the summer.
“You'll get that degree in astrophysics and I'll work as a cop. And then-then we will move together.” Dick's voice was breaking, he wasn't sure if Wally could understand him among all the sobs. "We'll find a small apartment, it'll be cheap but we'll make it cozy."
He closed his eyes shut at the picture of them moving in together. They had toyed with the ideas multiple times over the years, and had agreed to wait after Wally finished his schooling before making the big jump.
"And then," Dick couldn't recognize his own voice, it was so frail, so high pitched. "Then we'll get married and we will have a beautiful wedding." The last word came out like a broken cry. "And I'm going to love you so much."
Dick looked at his boyfriend as he let out a weak chuckle. "We'll piss each other off and get into dumb arguments. But we will kiss it better. We will make it all better." His hand gently brushed Wally's head. "Let's grow old together, yeah?"
Wally felt something touch his face, but he couldn’t tell exactly where nor what it was. It all felt like a dream, his body didn’t ache anymore, and he couldn’t taste the strong copper inside his mouth. He attempted to talk but wasn't sure if any sound was coming out.
Dick’s body shook more and more violently with each sob. He watched powerless as Wally’s life slowly faded away. He watched as his boyfriend's lips repeated the same words again and again until the remaining energy he had left focused on keeping him breathing.
The fade sound of sirens echoed in the distance, but all Dick could hear at that time was the shallowed breathes preceding one last sigh.
“I love you. Always and forever.”