~the incident~

                                    

                                          
TW: fear, injuries, blood.
autumn 2016
they shouldn't have gone out that night.
the smart choice obviously would have been to stay in the cabin. it was storming hard, torrents of rain pelting down onto the roof. 
but they didn't care.
the whole group was laughing and twirling in the heavy rainfall. 
claire skipped ahead while the boys pushed and chased each other. jess was close behind. there was something exciting about being outside in the pouring rain. 
"see that tree over there?" luke yelled over the wind and rain. "i'll race you there!" 
"okay, but be careful cuz it's really slippery-" 
jess's warning was cut off from the other three sprinting into the distance. she shook her head and joined them.
"this isn't fair, karl got a head start!" claire yelled.
the boy laughed in response, luke doing the same when he promptly passed claire on the trail.
"cheaters!" claire shouted. 
that's when it happened. 
feet slipping from under him. a shout, a scream, a fall. 
there was a ditch just to the right of where they were running. it was deep, fallen logs piled at the bottom. 
and luke had just fallen into it. 
"LUKE!" claire, who had just watched the whole thing happen, screamed. 
she ran to the edge of the ditch, where she could see her brother at the bottom.
fear squeezed the breath from out of her lungs, gripping her tight and refusing to let go.
luke was crumpled in an unnatural position at the bottom of the ditch.
and he wasn't moving.
instantly, claire began to sob. harsh, intense sobs wracking her whole body. she screamed his name over and over again, hardly hearing her own voice through the pounding rain and her racing heart.
karl and jess ran up beside her, horror flashing across their own features.
"oh my gosh." jess said, looking nauseous. "oh my gosh. luke!?" she yelled. 
jess began to panic, karl just stood frozen in place. 
"what do we do? what do we do?" jess repeated over and over, hardly breathing.
hysteric, claire started to scramble down the edge of the ditch. sharp branches and twigs scraped at her bare arms and legs as she descended.
karl promptly followed her down, jess staying at the top and yelling luke's name. 
as she went deeper into the ditch, thoughts whirled around in her head.