This chapter is different, so pay attention to the key because the povs switch with the font

KEY:
Current time with Allison and Carmen
Flashback in Carmen's POV
Flashback in unknown POV

"Allison."

"Mhm?"

"I need to tell you something."

Allison looked at Carmen's face, noticing the seriousness in her voice. "What is it?"

"Sit down with me."

A frown forming between her eyebrows, she sat down slowly in front of Carmen.

Carmen took a deep breath. "I couldn't remember any of this. At all. It only came back to me when I saw him."

"Who's him?"

"Listen."

The dog was so badly injured and it hurt Carmen to think that anyone could be so cruel as to hurt a dog.

The dog whimpered as Carmen neared it, a small pool of blood surrounding it. Carmen searched for the injury and found a nasty gash in its leg. She reached a hand out to the dog, slowly, and waited until it seemed comfortable enough for her to touch it. She unwrapped the scarf around her neck and used it to wrap the cut tightly to prevent the blood from flowing. The dog barked and almost bit her hand.

Carmen winced, trying to communicate with the dog even though she obviously couldn't. I'm not trying to hurt you, she thought, I'm trying to help you.

A tunnel of light swung around the bend in the road, the only source of light in the dark street. The engine could be heard, getting louder and louder as it came nearer.

Because of how dark it was, Carmen couldn't tell what was happening, but the dog started barking madly, scrambling to get up.

"What's wrong?" she whispered.

The dog was panicking. Why? Danger? Carmen looked around, thinking that maybe someone was standing in the dark. But then she noticed that the car was coming closer and closer. It was going in a straight line on a bend.

It was too late for Carmen to do anything. She sheltered the dog with her body, hearing its desperate barks and painful whimpers.

It all happened so fast.

The lights were coming closer and closer. The engine was becoming louder, a powerful roar ringing in her ears. Carmen closed her eyes tightly, hugging the dog away from the car. She knew this meant she was going to take the full impact, but if the dog survived, then it would be worth it.

She didn't even realise what was happening when she felt a powerful force push her body, a pain surging through her. Her ears were ringing. There was a wet liquid in her mouth. Blood. There was a bark. Screams? Carmen realised that those were her screams. Her head was pounding, a force weighing down on it.

Her mind went blank. Her vision was gone.

It took a moment for realisation to hit Carmen's pain-induced mind. I just got hit by a car, she thought, trying to open her eyes. The dog. Where's the dog?

A sound went off. The air was silent; still. Something banged open. Crunching grass. Carmen managed to open her eyes halfway. Blood was crowding her vision. She whimpered in pain, unable to scream. Something was pressing down on her chest. Her head.

Light flooded the little vision she had. A shadow emerged, blocking the light from her face. It crouched down. A person? Carmen thought. She couldn't focus or understand anything because of the blinding pain. A sharp pain went through her head and she let out a torn scream, her eyes shutting tight.

HELP ME! she wanted to scream. WHY AREN'T YOU HELPING ME?

Forcing her eyes open again, she caught sight of a brilliant blue. Ice blue. A boy? Everything was too dark. He got up and walked back to the car, light flooding Carmen's vision again.

Help me! she cried in her head, struggling to keep her eyes open. She couldn't do it. The pain . . .

A sound. The engine switched on. A car door banged.

Wetness pooled in Carmen's eyes. It isn't blood, she realised. I'm crying.

A splitting pain shot through her head again, and she screamed in agony. She couldn't move. She wanted to, but the pain was too much and a heavy force weighed her down.

Blackness dotted her vision. Metallic wetness stuck to her skin, soaked her hair. She could feel it gushing from her head.

I'm going to die, Carmen thought before her eyes closed.

The siren cut through the silent night, the scenery passing by in a blur.

"The report said an injured female, correct?"

"Yes."

"But there's a male on the scene, too?"

"Correct. He's reported to be unconscious."

The paramedic nodded, pulling on her gloves. "Have the investigators been contacted yet?"

"Yes, they have," the other paramedic replied, looking down at her clipboard. "There are no witnesses."

The ambulance came to a startling halt and the doors are thrown open. Three paramedics grabbed equipment and two pulled the bed out.

The paramedic jumped off and immediately spotted the girl on the ground. Rushing over to her, she pulled the big piece of metal off her. Dismissing the thought that the metal made no sense, she yelled at the other paramedics to pick the car up to get it off the girl.

She stepped away to let the paramedics tend to her injuries, noting that the girl was still alive.

"The boy's unconscious, not to be woken any time soon," her friend reported.

"Is it? He looks like he barely suffered anything."

"It seems he lost control of the car and came barreling straight at her. There's a dead dog on the scene, too."

"Something doesn't add up. Have the investigators arrived yet?" she asked, looking at the tape securing the scene and the cars blocking the area. Red and blue lights flashed in the dark and distant sirens could be heard.

"They should be here any time soon."

"Let me see the boy. Do we have identification?"

"The detectives will arrive with that."

"Ma'am," a detective blocked her from getting too close to the car.

"I thought the detectives weren't here?" she asked, directing her question to her friend. Facing the detective, she said, "Listen here, mister, I've got permission to enter this scene. Now move aside."

Pushing past him, she stood beside another paramedic who was accessing the boy for any fatal damage.

No face injuries beside a gash beside the eye. Blood from the nose. Blood tricking down the face from the head. She wasn't convinced. An impact that hard on the girl and that fast around a steep bend like this should have affected the driver badly, she thought.

She called a detective over, one of the more friendly looking ones. "Study this one carefully," she said, watching the boy. "Something isn't adding up. Have you found any witnesses yet?"

"Before I answer any of that, aren't you a paramedic only?"

She showed her access to the detective without looking at him.

He cleared his throat. "I agree with the not adding up. I have my guys working from the beginning of the road to calculate everything. As for witnesses, there really is no one besides the three of them. Not that the dog's of any help."

"The girl will be in a coma for a while. It's only the boy you'll be able to question."

"That hard of an impact?"

"Yes. Which further proves my point of the boy being suspicious. Do you have identification?" 

"Carmen O'Neil and Scott Lawrence."

The paramedic raised her eyebrows. "Isn't he already being suspected of a number of crimes?"

"All of which have no evidence or proof, but, yes, he is a suspect."

Allison couldn't move.

Tears were running down Carmen's eyes as she replayed the scene. The paramedic and a number of detectives had spoken to her in the hospital once she woke up. But none of them mentioned attempted murder.

"Allison. Scott, the guy who hit me, is the same neighbour you had."

Allison shook her head wildly. "Never mind that, Carmen! He — he — it was attempted murder! This is serious, Carmen!"

"They must've spoken to my parents. My parents just haven't mentioned it to me. I didn't realise what the detectives investigating me meant, I thought it was just normal."

"Oh my God." Allison clapped a hand to her mouth, tears in her eyes.

"And he's been suspected of multiple crimes?"

Carmen nodded solemnly. "Rape must be one of them," she whispered. "What if . . . what if he's murdered people before?"

"Oh my God . . ."

• • •

When Carmen returned home, a police car was parked outside. Her heart started thumping and she ran in, shoving the door open and skidding to a stop by the lounge.

"Carmen. You're home," mum said, different emotions showing through her forced smile.

Two detectives stood. "Carmen O'Neil?"

She nodded.

"We'd like to have a talk with you."

Mum and dad sat tensely on the two-seater while the detectives sat on the three-seater. Carmen sat down in the only available couch.

"So, as you are well aware, Ms O'Neil, there was a boy in the car that hit you that night," the detective with the beard started, cutting straight to the point.

"Investigations were taken place day after day on the scene and,  yesterday, we discovered the most tragic thing."

Carmen's leg bounced unconsciously. She was glad they were wasting no time.

"Mr Scott Lawrence has been a suspect of a number of crimes for a few years now, and because he was in the car that hit you, we, as detectives, took it upon ourselves to look deeper into the accident and get answers."

"We're sorry to say this so bluntly, Ms O'Neil, but Scott Lawrence has been charged with attempted murder."

Mum sobbed and buried her face into dad's shoulder. Carmen couldn't react. That fact hit her while she was with Allison.

"We managed to find proof of the attempt, Ms O'Neil. It is only so unfortunate that he targeted you."

Carmen wanted to tell them about Allison, too, but she couldn't in front of her parents.

"Did you know about this?" she asked her parents. She wanted to know why they didn't tell her.

"Of course, honey, but we didn't want to bother you after all that has been going on."

She nodded stiffly.

The detectives got up, handing a file with further details to Carmen.

When they had left, Carmen thought everything over again.

The file said that Scott didn't  personally target people; he randomly chose the easiest-looking target. He's been accused of seven other crimes, the only one with proof being Carmen's case.

She phoned Allison later that night, explaining everything to her in detail.

And when the weight of the day finally dawned on her, she closed her eyes, hoping that tomorrow she'd wake up and it would all just be a dream.

Well. I don't think i did a good job at rounding everything up since everything seems so rushed, but oh well

We've come to the end guys. I hope you enjoyed this terribly written book with this terribly written ending

Anyways

Ill be posting two more parts after this so keep an eye out