I didn’t really think about it, I just did it. My body moved on its own. When I saw that car getting closer to that golden retriever as it ran in the middle of the road, chasing after a bouncy ball the child threw, I knew the car was going to hit it. Knowing that, I still ran forward. Time suddenly stopped. The only thing I was aware of was the adrenaline pumping through my body, the unsuspecting retriever in front of me, and the scream of the child afraid for her dog. I felt my new uniform fight against the exaggerated movements as I ran towards the retriever, but that was in the back of my mind as I reached my target.
I could smell the strong, pungent smell of the car engine as I felt a slight stinging impact on my left side, then nothing. As the smell of asphalt clouded my nose and the bright blue sky faded before my eyes, my consciousness goes back to the events that led me here.
“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow!!” I yelled as I headed out the café doors.
“Thanks for your hard work today, Alice. Remember, new uniforms on the first!” My boss yelled after me.
“Got it!” and with that final comment, I headed to my car.
I worked in a small café. Nothing fancy, barely any room, but we had a lot of regulars. I didn’t like the fact that we had to change our attire. Our uniforms consisted of a nice shirt or t-shirt with jeans. Now, starting on the first of the month, we now had to wear a nice white button down shirt with black pants. This definitely wasn’t the type of place where that kind of uniform was required in my opinion. This wasn’t a nice restaurant, it was a nice, warm café where you could come in and feel at home. Honestly, the new uniforms wouldn’t help with that. But you know what; I wasn’t the boss, so I didn’t make the decisions.
I couldn’t wait to get home. I had the rest of the day to do as I pleased. That meant I had the house to myself and my dog, Charlie. I could finally run some errands, get the house cleaned and the laundry done, and I could be done in time to watch television, play video games, and play with my dog.
It’s how I usually spent my free time, and I didn’t mind one bit. I was only 21, I had plenty of time to date, get more friends, and start my life. For now, my life of solitude was nice, and I was going to keep that for as long as I could.
At least until my sisters come into the picture, I thought as I came into the driveway. I frowned when I saw my sisters’ cars still here. One of them was supposed to be at work, while the other one was supposed to be away for a couple of days. As I stepped inside, I could hear my sisters roaming around the house.
“Where did you put them?” the oldest, Emilia, shouted as she looked under cushions.
“I put them in the key bowl on top of the TV, where they’re supposed to be.” I heard my second sister, Anna, shout from down the hall.
“Well, they’re not there!”
“Then I don’t know where they are.”
“You were the last person to have them.”
“I know, but I don’t remember where I put them, so reminding me of what I already know isn’t gonna help you, is it?” Anna replied, getting frustrated by Emilia’s remarks.
I listened back and forth from the front door when my dog came to greet me. No matter what kind of day I’ve had, no matter what was going on inside the house, I could always count on Charlie to bring a smile to my face.
“Hey, hun. How’s my baby doing?” I asked as I bent down to pet her head. All she did was wag her tail and rub her head against my hand.
“I’m glad.” I smiled. I turned my head towards the television and something shiny caught my eye. I reached my hand out and grasped the keys that were on the floor. Shaking my head in disbelief, I stood up and walked over to Emilia, tapped her on the shoulder and held up here keys.
“There they are! Thanks Alice,” she smiled before shouting towards the back. “You missed the bowl!” She turned back to me. “I gotta go; I’m going to be late. I’ll see you Friday.” And with that, she gave me a quick hug and ran out the door.
I turned towards the approaching footsteps of my other sister as she rounded the corner.
“Hey, midget,” I greet with a smile. Anna frowned. She hated getting called that. But when you’re that short, you couldn’t expect me NOT to say something.
“Fuck off,” And as usual, she gave me the same response.
“Didn’t you have to work today?”
“Read the schedule wrong. I work tomorrow.”
“Ah,” I replied distractedly as I walked towards the kitchen to make sure Charlie was properly fed. I heard Anna follow me and continued to talk.
“So me and some friends from work are heading out tonight. One of my co-workers is leaving and we’re having a farewell night. Wanna come?”
“You know I have to wake up early in the morning,” I replied lazily, but part of me really wanted to go. I wasn’t a social butterfly. I only had a few friends and they all lived in my hometown. Even then, I wasn’t really much of a people person. I mean, I wanted to be. I wanted to go out, have fun, and not have a care in the world like most twenty-year olds do, but I also knew it wasn’t my scene. Plus, I know I’m not a morning person, and even when I had a good night’s sleep, it took everything I had to deal with the demand of customers that we had at 6 o’clock in the morning. I’m not sure how to explain it, it’s like I wanted to be a social butterfly, but I know that I’m not. I don’t really understand it myself, but that’s the best I could do.
“Oh come on, you need to get out there and have fun,” she pleaded. When she realized I wasn’t budging, she tried another tactic. “Tell you what, if you come out with us, I’ll buy you coffee, breakfast, AND get you a whole pizza tomorrow and leave you alone for the rest of the day.”
Damn it. If there was any way to bribe me, it was free food. The café doesn’t pay for much, so anything free was greatly appreciated. I struggled internally with myself when I finally let out a groan in defeat.
“Woo!! About time! I promise, you won’t regret this. I’m gonna go pick out your outfit.” And with that, she bounced away.
I sighed. I knew I was going to regret this. But secretly, I was glad that for once, I wasn’t the responsible one and let loose. I scratched my dog’s head as she leaned up against me.
“What did I just get into?”
“Anna I’m gonna kill you,” I grumbled to myself as I fiddled with my car keys. Last night ended up being a total bust.
We arrived with her coworkers and ended up going to four different bars and clubs. The night consisted of my sister getting drunk, me standing on the outside of her social circle while I drank Coke, the heels on my feet killing me, and in the end Anna ditching me for some guy while I drove all her drunk friends home. In the end, I crashed on my bed and slept through my alarm clock. I was officially three hours late.
I sighed in frustration as I put my keys in my car, declaring that Anna owes me a whole day’s worth of meals. As I turned my key, I turned my head as movement caught my eye. My next door neighbor’s daughter was playing fetch with her golden retriever. I gave a tiny smile as she laughed at the dog’s antsy display, begging her to throw the ball again. Complying with the dog, she threw the ball and it bounced out of the yard and into the street, making the dog run after it. It was so eager to catch the ball that, it didn’t notice the car coming towards it. Next thing I knew, I was sprinting towards the dog to push it out of the way.
I drifted in and out of consciousness. The scenery changed every time I opened my eyes; from people standing over me, to looking at blinding light as I was moved through the building on a bed, to people in white standing over me. All I could feel was a numb pain and this overwhelming desire to go to sleep. Having no energy to resist, I finally let go and let my consciousness fade into darkness, wondering if I ever did get that dog out of the way.
My eyes were still closed as my consciousness started to come back. At first I didn’t feel anything, but then a dull pain started to slowly spread throughout my entire body. I groaned in pain as I tried to open my eyes. Blinking rapidly as my eyes adjusted to the room, I looked at my surroundings and tried to collect my thoughts. White curtains were on both sides of me, with a side table that had a glass of water, a bowl of jello and a fruit cup were on a silver tray, and a television in the corner of the room, currently off.
At first I drew up a blank as to where I was, but as my memories started to slowly come back, I realized I was in the hospital. That’s right. I tried to push that golden retriever out of the way of the car and got hit instead. I don’t remember if I actually succeeded. I’m sure I could ask one of the doctors. If I’m going to be in this much pain, it better have been worth it.
My throat started to get dryer and dryer as the second’s ticked by. Glad for the water next to me, I reached over only for the glass to be knocked to the floor. Huh. I guess my fingers are a little stiff. I reached down to pick it up when I realized that I couldn’t see my hand, but instead saw a hoof. I stared at the extending hoof, wondering why it was here. I leaned away from it, but it just followed me. I reached my other hand to touch it, but another hoof showed up. I gasped at it appeared in my vision and retracted, only for it to do the same.
I stayed frozen and slowly waved my arm in front of me, only for the hoof to follow. My brain was making the connection, but I refused to believe it. I’m hallucinating. That’s it. I got hit pretty hard and I was going to be seeing things for a while. Trying to calm my nerves, I reached over to the silver tray next to me so I could get some food in me. It was a little hard with hoov-NO! They were hands! I was hallucinating. Using both HANDS, I put the tray on my lap, prepared to eat, but the reflection in the tray stopped me.
I threw the food contents off of it and looked into the tray. What stared back wasn’t my face, but instead looked like the face of an animated pony. With the last bit of my nerves snapping, I let out a piercing scream.