A New World

Chapter 6: How To Explain? - Part 2

Sky wasn't wearing his seatbelt. He'd been thrown from the vehicle, landing a horrific distance away. But worse, his foot had become entangled with the steering wheel, trapping him beneath the truck from the waist down. He was conscious, his eyes wide with pain and fear, but his face was pale and drawn, a stark contrast to his usual jovial expression. Before we could reach him, a Lincoln deputy intercepted us.

“I need to speak with you.” He said, his voice grave.

"How bad?" I asked, the question catching in my throat. I already knew the answer. I could see it in the faces around me.

"The truck is the only thing keeping him alive. They have him on a morphine drip. He won't let us remove it until his wife gets here." The deputy's words were like a punch to the gut.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. I watched as the paramedics continued their work, their movements precise and efficient, yet somehow detached. The firefighters stood by, their faces etched with concern, but their hands were tied until they got the go-ahead to lift the truck. The crowd of onlookers, kept at bay by police tape, murmured in hushed tones, their faces a mixture of morbid curiosity and sympathy.

We finally pushed past the deputy and knelt beside Sky. His eyes locked onto mine, a flicker of recognition in their depths.

"Hey guys. Playing hooky from work I see." He says, a pathetic attempt at levity. Jo and I exchanged a watery chuckle, tears pouring down our faces, blurring the already grotesque scene before us. "You should try some of this morphine. It's freaking amazing stuff."

Sky looked up at me, his face pale and slick with sweat. His eyes, usually bright with mischievous energy, were now dull and haunted. A ragged, rattling breath escaped his lips.

"Mark, I need you to do me a solid." I nod, the simple gesture taking Herculean effort.

"Ya bro, name it." I managed to choke out the words without bursting into fresh sobs.

"I need you to watch over my family. Make sure they won't suffer badly with me being gone."

Jo finally lost her composure. The dam burst, and she dissolved into a torrent of grief, clutching at his hand like a lifeline. Her hysteria had me perched on the edge, teetering between shock and debilitating despair.

"I promise you, but Sky, you're going to be fine. Besides, we got a huge pool party this weekend. I'm sure with enough garbage bags and duct tape, we'll have you floating around. We'll shove you around the pool. Besides, I'm a better cook than you are at the grill." We both chuckled, the sound hollow and jarring in the face of impending tragedy.

"We were shitface drunk trying to grill. Plus, it was only one time that I burned the damn burgers." He tried to laugh, but it devolved into a racking cough that sent a spray of blood across his face. I use my sleeve to wipe away the blood. He looked over at Jo, his gaze softening with a heartbreaking tenderness. "Little shadow, I'm afraid this is the only time you're not going to be able to follow me."

"No Sky! Don't think that way! We have the same blood type! We'll have them hook a line up to me, then to you! You're going to be just fine!" She pleaded, her voice raw and desperate.

The medics shook their heads grimly. It was no use. The twisted metal was the only thing holding Sky's shattered body together. Removing him meant certain death.

"SKY!" We heard Amanda scream as she came running towards us, her face a mask of terror.

She stopped abruptly, her face turning deathly white. Tears poured down her face as she stood frozen, her eyes wide with disbelief. She looked at me pleadingly.

"Why isn't anyone helping?! We have to get him to the hospital!" She went around, frantically trying to get anyone to help us, failing to grasp the gravity of the situation.

I had to wipe away tears before I went to her and held her tightly in my arms. She tried to fight me off, her body rigid with denial, but I held her firm. She eventually stopped, her sobs shaking her entire frame.

"Amanda, the truck is the only thing keeping him alive." She pulled away from me to look up into my eyes, searching for any glimmer of hope, praying that I was wrong.

"Mark, please tell me this is just a really sick joke." I sighed, hanging my head low to wipe away my tears. "You're telling me that this is the last time I'm going to have with my husband?" I raised my head, nodding slowly.

"Come on, Amanda." I said softly.

I watched her eyes as she went numb. The wild panic receded, replaced by a chilling emptiness. She nodded slowly, mechanically.

We walked over to him, kneeling beside Sky. He took her hand, kissing it lovingly.

"Hey, beautiful." His voice was weak, a mere whisper. "Don't look so sad. We had a good run, didn't we?" Amanda couldn't speak. She just squeezed his hand, tears streaming silently down her face. "Remember that trip to the coast? When we got caught in that storm and the car almost got washed away?" He managed a weak smile. "That was insane." Amanda sniffled, a shaky laugh escaping her lips.

"Yeah, it was." She managed to say as the tears streamed down.

"And what about that time I tried to fix the sink and flooded the entire house?"

"Oh God, don't remind me," Amanda managed to say, a small smile gracing her lips for the first time since she arrived.

The jokes continued, each one laced with a bittersweet ache. They were clinging to the memories, desperate to wring every last drop of joy from the dying embers of their love. I watched them, my heart breaking with each stolen moment. Jo, her face buried in her hands, sobbed quietly beside me.

"Babe, I'm so sorry." Sky says as tears keep falling. Amanda reached in, her hand gently stroking his matted hair, pushing it away from his forehead.

"Sorry for what, babe?" Her voice trembled, but she held his gaze, her love a beacon in the encroaching darkness.

"For leaving you like this. Believe me, I wanted more time with you and the kids." His expression was etched with regret, a pain that mirrored the physical agony he must have been enduring. Fresh tears poured from our eyes, a collective mourning for the future that was being stolen from us. "I want you and the kids to know how much I love you guys. Just know that I'll always be by your side. I will be watching over all of you. I love you so much, Amanda."

Their kiss was a desperate act, a final communion of souls. It was passionate, tender, and heartbreakingly final. They held onto each other as if they could stop time. They part as Sky smiles at her cupping her face.

"It's time for me to go babe." Amanda shakes her head sobbing. "I love you."

"I love you too." The emergency personal finally pull us away from him.

The rescuers started lifting the truck. Sky screamed in pain, a raw, animalistic sound that ripped through my soul. Blood began to pool around him. The rescue team worked with a frantic energy, cutting away the last vestiges of the wreckage that held him captive.

"Amanda!" He gasped, his voice barely audible. "I love you... more than anything."

"I love you too, Sky. So much." Her voice was thick with emotion.

"

Mark... take care of them!"

"I will, Sky. I promise."

Suddenly, the alarms on the heart monitor screamed, a piercing wail that echoed the terror in my heart. Sky went still, his body slackening. The color drained from his face, leaving him pale and gaunt. They got him out from under the truck. Then came the sound that will haunt me until the day I die. The heart monitor flatlined.

The doctor fought with a desperate fury, pumping Sky's chest, injecting adrenaline, yelling orders. Sweat poured down his face as he battled to bring Sky back from the brink. But after fifteen agonizing minutes, he stopped. His shoulders slumped, his face etched with defeat. He shook his head.

Amanda collapsed, holding Sky's head in her lap, crying out his name in a voice that was barely human. Jo and I broke down, our sobs echoing across the highway. Our lives were forever changed, irrevocably scarred by this moment.

The following days were a blur of grief and disbelief. The funeral was packed, a testament to the love and impact Sky had on everyone. I remember seeing his children standing by Amanda’s side, their innocent faces etched with a pain no child should ever know.

What killed me though was the kids. The twins were trying to climb up in the coffin with Sky. I had to pull them away but in doing so they began screaming. They were screaming for their father. They were pleading at him to wake up. How do you explain death to a two year old? Their screams will haunt my dreams till the day I die.