CHAPTER 9: THE CAR

I don’t want to just sit here and watch him burning inside the burning car. I don’t want to watch him die. I don’t want to have another Jayvee again. I closed my eyes and shook my head. I took a deep breath because I don’t know what to do. I panic but I can’t move. My head starts to ache again while my heart starts to beat faster than normal. I don’t know what to do. I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

“Devon,” I whispered. I looked at the balloon in my wrist because I cannot feel it in my wrist anymore. I looked up but it was gone and I heard the children screaming but this time it was not the scream of having fun but the scream of terror and panic. I saw the adults who’s guarding them carry the children one by one and pull them away from the burning car. Bring them somewhere safe. I heard screams from adults too.

“Call a fireman!” The man shouted and they were all panicking because they didn’t expect that the car would explode and burn in their weekend bonding. 

I covered my ears to lessen the scratching sound that I can hear, but covering my ears won't help because it gets louder and louder that makes my headache more. I feel like I can’t take it anymore. I looked at the burning car again and it crashed into the tree now and there’s a woman who grabbed the girl away from the car and the man sitting at the driver’s seat. I don’t know who it is. Maybe it was Devon’s friend but “Where are they going?” I asked myself. As my head starts to ache. The scratching continues. The scream is getting louder and I can’t take it anymore. I ran to the car and tried to look closer at who was inside while praying that it was not Devon. I want to open it and pull the man out but it is already burning. TOTALLY BURNING. I heard the siren from the fire truck and I saw people around me. Looking at me with their eyes wide open. Some cover their mouths because they can’t believe what they are seeing. They all look surprised, worried, and scared about what is happening. I looked at the child beside me and I was surprised because she was the girl from my dream. She is scared while looking at the burning car and she is crying sitting on the ground. Calling the man inside the car “Daddy” 

My head is spinning and I feel dizzy seeing this all, hearing the scratching noise at the same time. I tried to look around and I saw them looking at me. I looked at the balloon and it is back on my wrist, the car is not burning and Devon is wondering; looking at me. In an instant, I fell to the ground and lost consciousness. 

I woke up and I was already in my bed inside my room. I don’t know what happened next after I passed out. Maybe Devon and his friend brought me home. 

“Okay, thank you, I hope she is fine,” He said. I heard his voice from outside talking to my mom. I looked outside the window and saw him waving goodbye to my mom with his friend inside the white car that I thought was burning. 

“Don’t worry about her, she’s fine” My mom told Devon and Devon waved her goodbye for one more time before riding in a car and left.

I sat down on my bed and recalled what happened. I saw the car explode and burn after it crashed into a tree and there’s a girl in my dream crying, sitting on the ground while calling the man inside the burning car “ daddy” And now I am alone here in my room after I passed out. “How embarrassing,”  I told myself with dismay. I hope Devon will not get mad at me by embarrassing him in front of his friend and in front of other people. 

I didn’t expect that it would happen when we were in the playground. I heard my phone ringing and I immediately answered the call because it was Devon calling.

“I am just checking if you are okay,” He said

“Yes, I am fine,” I said while looking at the Hello Kitty balloon that he bought for me.

“I just don’t want to go out… I want to rest” I added and took a deep breath while thanking God that he is not mad at me.

“Don’t worry about me” I assure him that I am fine.

“Oh yeah, see you tomorrow in school then,” He said and I smile

“Of course” I answered

“Don’t worry about what happened a while ago… you’re cool” He said before he put down the phone. That made me smile more and whispered “Thanks” to him. Thanks for having him. Thanks that I have Devon beside me because without him. I don’t know what to do. I might be crazy now because I don’t want to involve mom and Nana Salve in this because they are too old now. They are supposed to be enjoying their life. Not worrying about my life. 

I sit on my bed again and recall everything that happened. I don’t know what is happening to me but I know that it connects in me. Maybe it was a vision. Maybe God gave me a gift after I came back from hell and maybe there will be a time that Devon and his friend will meet an accident and that is what I saw a while ago. It sounds weird but it happened because I believe that some people have that gift. They have the ability to know and see danger and death. They can see

premonitions and visions and what if it is a premonition? I need to save Devon from that freak accident. I need to warn him tomorrow when I see him in school. I hope he believes me but if he doesn't, at least I tried saving him but I can’t afford to lose Devon. I don’t want him to die. I will do everything for him to believe in me because I don’t want him to ride in the car, especially the white car. I want to make sure first that everything is okay before I let him ride in a car. 

While recalling everything. I started hearing scratching again. The sound of it is like a blade scratching into a metal. That creates an irritating sound that will make someone’s brain hurt for sure when they hear it and that is what I feel right now. I feel like my brain will explode because it starts aching again. 

“No… no… no” I whispered; not again. I tried to avoid it but I keep on hearing it over and over and it gets louder and louder. 

“Stop, please” I begged but it didn’t stop. I lay on my bed because I feel like the sound is pulling me down like a strong gravity. I spread my arms on the bed to make myself comfortable because I feel dizzy too. I looked up at the ceiling while my sweat was falling from my forehead and I felt like I wanted to vomit. 

I saw the balloon swaying as it was tied to the chair beside my bed. I think Devon tied it there. As I stared at the ceiling I saw the man weeping while holding a bottle of alcohol in his right arm. He is in pain and he is hopeless. He keeps on looking around while weeping and there’s the girl who keeps on following him. Emotionlessly. Her hands were bleeding and she was worried about the man who went out of the house. She wants to cry but her tears are already dry. The man keeps on drinking the bottle of alcohol that he’s holding. “What’s happening?” I don’t know but I know something bad is happening. 

“Daddy” The girl called the man daddy. He looked back at her and walked near her. He told her not to make noise and not to cry because everything will be alright. He carried the girl inside the car and he drove the car while drinking. He keeps on crying while the girl is silently looking at her. I didn't know where they were going when I noticed that I was already inside the car sitting beside the girl while her father was driving fast. 

“Daddy, I am scared,” The girl said while holding her shirt tight. Her hands are still full of blood and I know that she wants to cry but she is holding back her tears because she doesn't want to add on her father’s stress. 

“Where are we going daddy?” She asked but her daddy didn’t answer and just hushed her. 

He drinks the bottle of alcohol beside her. He keeps on drinking while driving. He doesn’t care about the girl behind her. He drives fast without knowing where to go. He drives at full speed like crying and keeps on saying “ No” by himself. As if he remembers something bad that happened and he cannot take it. He keeps on driving and driving at full speed while drinking a bottle of alcohol.

“Daddy, I am scared,” The girl said and she closed her eyes because her daddy is driving at full speed.

Until the car crashed. The daddy didn’t step on the break because he was driving at full speed. Everything got out of hand and we crashed the car. The dad died in an instant and the girl at the back tried to open the door while crying. She is so scared for her life. I can smell the gas and I can see some spark. Good thing that there is someone who opened the door for us. I immediately went out and the old man who opened the door with his wife carried the girl out of the car and we ran away from the burning car and it suddenly exploded. When we are already twenty feet away from it. The man puts the girl on the ground and she is silently crying calling her daddy; watching him burning inside the car. 

“No” She cried

“No” I whispered

And the fire truck arrived along with the ambulance and the policemen. The policemen immediately carried the girl and put her inside the ambulance and I saw a nurse attending to her. She keeps on looking at the burning car. Everybody is in panic and whispering and they’re passing in front of me. They cannot see me while I am looking at the burning car. 

I closed my eyes for a moment and then I opened it again. I am back inside my room again. I wiped my tears because I am already crying from what I saw. It is so heavy and full of pain. I feel my heartbeat because it is beating fast again. I moved my arms while staring at the ceiling because I am trying to come back to my senses. I saw what I saw and I was there like it was real. I know what happened to the car now and I don’t think it is still a premonition. I think it is an unsolved case that needs to be solved. I guess they are lost souls that are asking help from me and because of that. It gives me eagerness to know about what really happened to the girl because I know they are all connected. 

I stood up and wiped my tears again. I saw Hello Kitty looking at me. As if she is wondering what is happening to me. It was tied steadily on the chair beside my bed. I smiled at her because she was smiling at me. I am also wondering about what is happening to me. I felt strange each day. I went near hello kitty and  I was about to untie the balloon when it swayed fast even though there was not enough wind inside my room that could make it sway. I looked at it as if someone was swaying it. Playing it. I held the thread to make it stop and it stopped but someone grabbed my hand and I saw the girl standing in front of me. Her hand that had blood grabbed me. She looked at me and laughed and let go of me. She turned her back and hopped and disappeared while her laugh left inside my room which makes me shiver.