Aftermath

It was a cold Friday night. The heater in Phil’s car had stopped working and he was forced to bear the icy chill of the autumn rain. The street lights danced past him like lost fairies in the night. Phil let out an exasperated sigh as he watched the rain drops pelt against the screen while waiting at a red light. If only Dan was there by his side, the trip would not have been as boring and lonely as it currently was. Oh but of course, he should have known better. Dan was always caught up with work, coming home late at night, barely acknowledging Phil’s existence except for the occasional weak smile, if he was up for it. He would not even bother to make the time to visit their sick God-Father, already lying on his death bed and waiting for God to take him away. After all he had done for them ‒ the ungrateful prick.
A sudden onset of honking shook Phil up from his day dream.
“Oh…the light is green now…” Phil looked up at the blaring light while muttering to himself. He slowly maneuvered the beat up car and continued driving slowly towards his destination, giving him enough time to think.
“Sigh… I wish we could go back to when we first met Dan… When we were still best friends who enjoyed life together, you know? Back when we were radio hosts. That was fun eh? But now … We are like two strangers who never met. If only I hadn’t insisted on finding new jobs, we wouldn’t be in this mess …” Phil cried out to the air. The car ticked in response as though it understood his claim. He did a rather weak turn with a sigh. It was another red light.
“This silence is killing me.” Phil muttered as he flicked the radio to life. The song was ‘Fall out’ by Marianas Trench.
“Huh… that certainly fits the mood.” He commented. Phil hummed along to the song as the traffic light flashed green.
“Funny how you used to think I looked like the singer, Dan. I was rather proud of the compliment.” Phil wondered alone. The song ended and the radio host came on. Phil flicked the switch off before the radio host could begin to speak. He did not want the painful nostalgia to come back and pierce his already tired heart.
“I guess the pitter-patter of the rain drops would be entertaining enough… anything but the harsh memories.” Phil sighed. It was his fault. It was all his fault that they quit the job to find normal boring ones. He thought they were too old to be radio hosts and should have normal boring jobs and lead normal boring lives instead. Phil plunged himself into the silence of the night to bask in its tranquility. The roads were dimly lit at this point. Phil had to squint to see the road. The rain was not helping either, making the path look warped and blurry. There were no cars out and about at this hour. No sane person would be driving around at 2 a.m. in the morning. Well, except Phil.
Phil made the right turn he was supposed to make and made a shot at the blind turn. He maneuvered the car, slowly and steadily, still in his dream-like state. The fatigue of the night was slowly catching up with him. Suddenly, something shook him from his daze. He could not quite make out what it was. Then it slowly came to him. Loud honking noises and bright lights came from his right. He turned his head in shock as his pupils dilated, anticipating the impact.
Phil felt it all as if it was in slow motion. The impact of the crash slowly crushed his right arm, while glass fragments flew everywhere like confetti, piercing his skin and causing blood to ooze out. He felt a blood droplet roll off his cheek, mixing with his tears. He could not feel his legs. The impact caused the car to fly and spiral as debris flew everywhere like a ballet of collateral damage. He saw the world spin before him. “Like a merry go round …” He whispered. He opened his eyes to a blur of lights and he vaguely caught a glimpse of the lorry that hit him, speeding off.
“I’m lucky I can’t feel the pain,” Phil groaned. “But I think this is as lucky as I’ll ever get.” He smiled to himself. He could smell smoke coming from the bonnet.
“Ah… A fire… I guess I don’t have too long now… that was rather unexpected though…” He reached for his phone and dialed with whatever last remaining strength he had.
“Hello?” mumbled the other line. “I guess I’m coming home soon…” Phil gave a low chuckle. “It was fun while it lasted.” He whispered as a tear rolled off his cheek, dampening his lips.
“Good bye …” Phil whispered. “Wait… What’s happening, Phil? What is going on? Answer me! Phil!” Dan howled at the phone only to have it punctuated by a soft chuckle on the other end of the line. “Phil?” Dan slid down the wall in disbelief. He could hear the rain splatter and a soft cackle coming from…fire?
“Don’t do this to me Phil … I’m so … sorry…”