At one point I think I came to. It could have been a dream, a hallucination, trick of the mind. Smoldering heaps of metal, acidic taste of burnt rubber, the familiar smell of gas. Smoke curled upwards slowly. Ragged scraps of tire lay motionless like dead bodies.

And then there he was.

Wearing the same shirt he always wore. Just as small. Just as scared. Dark brown eyes worried. He came closer. I wanted to hold him. Tried to call his name. Nothing. He was scared. He was going to run, going to leave me alone.

Like I had left him.

He looked at me once more and vanished.

"No, no, come back, please," my lips felt raw and wet. My skin burned and froze at the same time.

The warm fuzz of unconsciousness bit at my edges. The world was shaking and blurry. Fading to the safe dark nothingness. Someone pulled me from the car. Something screamed as my legs scraped the road.

"You're gonna make it, Twitch," Axel's steady voice, "You're gonna be just fine."

And then it was silent and nothing hurt anymore.