Harper drove relaxed, cool, confident, he belonged here, at least he appeared to be that way. On the inside, though, he felt afraid. His chocolate brown eyes showed a certain sadness, a certain nervousness that he couldn't get rid of. His dark, brown hair was starting to become over-grown and long, shading his eyes in a way that made them seem darker.
Rain lightly tapped on the windows and roof of the car, the noise, sort of aiding the darkened mood. The wind shield wipers continued to move back and forth, creating a repetitive noise, as it pushed the water on the wind shield aside.
The news buzzed on the radio. Something they said caught Harper's ears. "The search for seventeen year old Harper James continues, if you think you might have-" Harper cut off the radio, slamming his finger down on the button. He drove just a little bit faster, as if someone were behind him, following him. The last thing that he wanted to do was get caught. His hands clenched a little bit tighter onto the steering wheel.
A few minutes later, after he had relaxed, he pressed the button once again, but changed it to a radio station. He slowly sighed, letting out all of the tension that was building up inside of him. For a moment, just for a moment, he looked down.
When he looked up, his heart immediately skipped a beat. Standing not far ahead, was a large buck, which stared straight at his car. Harper was moving fast, too fast to stop before he would smack into the animal. In a panic, he grabbed the wheel, swerving the car to the side. What he did not expect, was to swerve so far. Before he could stop it, he lost control of the tires as they skidded on the wet roads. The rain, suddenly, seemed to pour much harder. Harper couldn't even see where he was going. Until suddenly, there was a loud crash, and the glass on the wind shield cracked slightly.
That was when his stomach flopped. He was falling. Everything in that moment seemed to move in slower motion than a moment ago. His heart raced wildly, pumping adrenaline through his veins. The car went diving straight into the water below. It was an experience like no other, as he sunk straight down towards the bottom, seeing the ocean from such a view. Such a terrifying, gut wrenching view.
It was dark, there seemed to be no source of light, no hope. The car quickly began filling with water. Harper's eyes wide, he reached down, snapping his seat belt off. He reached over to the door, trying to force it open, but to no avail, the pressure from the water outside sealed the door shut.
That's when the reality of the situation started to sink in. As the cool water came over his face, submerging him completely, he sucked in a breath of air, holding his breath, but all he wanted to do was cry out. He knew that no one was there for him now. No one would be able to rescue him. For once, he had truly gained his wish. He was completely and totally alone. The radio continued to play, but now, the music sounded muffled and demented. He didn't bother with it. He floated around the car, searching for anything to smash the window open with. At this point, it was too late anyways. Harper looked out at the darkness from inside the car. His lungs began to burn.
The clock stopped ticking. He was alive, but his time was up. His chance of survival was gone. He was just stuck in this moment between life and death, between now, and whatever was next. All he could do was wait for his heart to stop, for the true blackness to consume him.
If he could cry, he would, but instead he stared out at the unending blackness, waiting until he became one with it. As he was forced to open his mouth, to gasp for the non existent life, for air, the death began to fill inside of him. Water filled his lungs, and he started to drown. The very thing that brought life to this earth would be the thing that would destroy him. It was the most painful thing he had ever had to endure, and it would have been the last.
Except, the clock began to tick once again.
Harper woke up coughing, water coming up from his lungs. He was still, soaking, dripping, wet. He shivered, cold, but there was air around him, no water.He was still sitting in his car. All at once, Harper shuddered, then lurched forward and gently rested his head on the dash. He began to sob, bitterly, letting out all of the emotions that had been building inside of him, all of the fear that he had been forced to bottle away.
He was interrupted by a loud, intruding voice. "Honk!" It was a loud, male, goofy voice. It seemed to come from all around Harper.
Harper slowly sat up and looked all around, frowning heavily. He sniffed. He hiccuped. He was still dazed and confused. Water dripped from his hair and from his chin. Goosebumps were raised on his arms, as he shivered. Other than the sound of dripping water, and his own teeth chattering, there was silence.
Then, it happened again.
"Honk!" Except, a little bit louder this time. Harper flinched, jumping from his seat just a little. He looked all around once again, his eyes wide, this time slightly startled.
"Oh, sorry, did I scare you?" The voice asked, calmly this time. "I thought that's what cars were supposed to say." If the voice could have shrugged, it would have.
Harper had had enough. He screamed, then slammed his finger down onto the radio button, he was trying to mute the volume. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing.
"Are you trying to turn me off?" The voice sounded very offended. "That's just rude, buddy."