2 Chapter 2: To Help The Helpless

Luca's mind snapped from trauma, forcing the boy to disconnect from reality. He was stuck in place; staring into the unblinking eyes of his dead father was more than Luca could bear. Bile rose in his stomach as Luca turned his head and vomited. His terror kept him immobilized, even as blood and vomit pooled around him. That fear was helping to keep him alive, forcing him to choke back his sobs and tears, lest he to his ultimate detriment draw attention to himself. Eventually, after an unknown amount of hours, Luca stopped noticing the smell; Luca's senses had become deadened to it.

Silent tears rolled down Luca's cheeks as he silently screamed and raged in his mind. Unable and unwilling to use his voice, fearing the monsters would return. Luca feared the dark and whatever other dread secrets it hid. Even the phone he carried was no longer working, the battery since dead, and the service having disconnected long before.

Luca was spinning out of control as his thoughts raced. Desperation settled into Luca as he tried to wake himself from the nightmare he was in. Each time he opened his eyes, the terrible reminder of his fate remained as did his internal screaming. No, no, no. You can't be dead, dad. I need you. Please, dad, wake up.

As his body began to shake from fear and nerves, Luca tried unsuccessfully to escape into the recesses of his mind. Compartmentalizing himself, picturing he was anywhere else but inside the car. But even in his imagination, Luca could not find an escape. All he could see was his father's dead and lifeless eyes staring at him.

Luca snapped his eyes open, reality, unfortunately, grounding him, even as he mentally pleaded. Dad, please, you have to be ok. Luca willed and wished for his dad to say something. Still, no matter how badly he wanted and needed his father to be with him, guiding him, helping him, and protecting him, nothing change. Paul's eyes remained unmoving.

In his heart, Luca knew that no amount of wishing would bring his father back to life. Guilt weighed heavily on his conscience. On some level, Luca knew he bore part of the responsibility for his dad having been killed. If he had not been afraid if he had just gone with his father and tried to escape without fighting him over it, his father would still be alive. If Luca had not had a disability, they would have both been able to get away to safety.

Hours passed as the day became night. All the while, Luca remained trapped where he was, unwilling to try and move out from his beneath his grim hiding place. Throughout the dead of night, Luca would fall asleep periodically in short but miserable bursts. His arms cold, freezing as his body shivered from the chill of the night. The only mercy granted him was the relative heat of summer prevented him from dying of exposure. Or that the storm Luca had seen early on the horizon never hit him.

For Luca, the worst were the brief periods of intense awareness as long shadows plagued his mind, flooding him with fear as hits of adrenaline ravaged his body. His mind assuming that every sound he heard in the night belonged to one monster or another. Judging from the sounds of nails against stone, Luca knew the assumption wasn't entirely wrong. The car was moving a little as things better left unseen passed by.

The truth, though, was that even staring out into the night at the moving shadows was preferred to the alternative. Having to stare into his father's dead eyes. Luca wasn't sure if he could free himself, and he was too scared to try, and until he was ready, few other options existed.

Sheer panic flooded Luca's body as the windows of the car went completely dark. The car's suspension groaning as shadowy figures stepped onto the hood and the trunk. Luca heard the sound of bestial grows and sniffing of a predator.

Luca knew what they were, more monsters. Actual monsters, not just the nightmares that plagued his thoughts. He held his breath, trying to silence the sounds of his body. He heard talking in a language he had never heard before. His mind almost stretched to its breaking point as the figures jumped off the car and began milling about, sniffing the air. Luca closed his eyes, completely paralyzed by fear an absolute fear. Dad, save me, please. I don't wanna die.

When Luca heard the monster's move away, passing by the car and down the road, the flood gates opened of his emotions, and he cried. Tears flowed freely down his face as he sobbed. It was then that Luca knew he wasn't getting out of here alive. Even if somehow he got free from the car, he was still crippled. He wouldn't be able to outrun any of those things from a wheelchair, and that's assuming the road would be clear enough for him to pass over it in his wheelchair.

For the rest of the night and into part of the next day, Luca remained in place, unable to gather the courage to try and free himself to escape. When the sun came up, Luca caught his reflection in the rearview mirror. He was covered in blood, and it clung to him in coagulated lumps. Even his father's body was starting to change, appearing bruised and stiff as decay set in.

Eventually, as time passed, Luca would soil himself when he was unable to move from the spot. By midday the next day, Luca was ready to try and get out. His body ached all over from being cramped in the back of the car. The weight of his father's body shifting more on to Luca, making it difficult to breathe with the increased pressure against his lungs. Flies began to swarm, landing all over him, crawling over his face and his eyes. From outside the car, Luca could see a group of crows waiting patiently to feast. Their otherworldly gaze was never leaving him. He liked so many bodies on the road was marked for death.

As he grew weaker, Luca knew he needed to escape. Though he had no idea how to make that happen. Luca had no idea where it would be safe to go if somehow he managed to escape. Whenever Luca tried to think of what would happen once he was free, he couldn't imagine any ending that didn't result in a terrible death.

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"I'm all alone now." Luca realized as he talked to himself, his voice low. The noise was somewhat startling to him. It was the first time he had heard a voice in days. "First mom, now dad. It's just me. I have no idea what to do." Luca looked towards his dad, saying, "Dad, I need you, please; I'm sorry. Help me," But Luca received no response from the man, only the steady rot of his father's body and the smell of his filth as the flies crawled. The bugs and the maggots keeping him company.

Before nightfall, Luca finally found the courage to try and get free, not wanting another to spend another night in the car, fearing what night would bring. But when he tried to move his father's body off of him, Luca found his arms lacked even the little strength they had had before. No matter how hard he pushed the body, no matter how hard he tried to pull himself out from under it, neither budged. His little bit of strength was exhausted.

The more he struggled, the more Luca noticed the disgusting smell of fetid decay. His hands slick with blood made it difficult to gain any traction to grab onto anything. Luca lost more time as he broke down and cried at the helplessness of his situation. He was cold, his stomach hurting from hunger, his head pounding from dehydration. Luca knew his body was likely fighting all types of infections. He wasn't going to survive this. He felt himself slipping in and out of consciousness.

In the middle of the night, Luca summoned the last reserves of his energy. With one last effort, he grabbed his father by the arms and found them too stiff to maneuver or bend. Not wanting to give up, Luca tried to roll the body on its sides, but blisters that had formed on the skin burst. The skin itself ripping as noxious fluid spilled out, causing Luca to throw up again and pass out from the effort.

Completely exhausted, Luca let himself given into hopelessness. He was going to die, and there was nothing he could do about it. Too weak to even escape from under the body that pinned him in place. The only option he had left was to wait for the release of death to take him.

With dawn on the horizon, Luca lay delirious and barely clinging to life. Nearby Luca thought he heard the sounds of people calling out searching for survivors. In a haze, Luca watched in fear before ultimately decided his desire to live was stronger than his fear of dying. Monsters or not, delirious or not, Luca decided to answer the call.

"Here. Help me." Luca croaked with a raspy voice near-mute from dryness. "Please, save me; I'm trapped. I don't want to die. I need help."

But the voices didn't turn toward him. Luca heard the footsteps walking away, and their voices became harder to make out. Luca broke down into his last cry, an anguished wail of hopelessness."

"Hey, do you hear that, Dale? It sounds like somebody is crying over there. They might be trapped; let's check it out." Said a masculine voice.

Somewhat strengthened by the realization he might be saved, Luca shouted as loud as he could, a rattle more than a shout that came out as little more than a whisper. The effort was doing damage to his vocal cords, but he hoped it would do. "I'm over here; please help me."

"Hey Pat, it's coming from that car over there." Said Dale, his voice raised with concern as he moved toward the car. "Sounds like a kid. Let's do this. He probably needs our help. You know if it was one of our kids, we would want someone to help them."

For the first time in days, Luca felt hope that he would live after all. He was saved.