Day 101

[from Y/N]

As the man sped off, away from the scene of the accident, he passed the silver Honda of Junko Kirishima going in the other direction. Junko had had her appendix removed six months ago, and was on her way back home from a follow-up appointment at the hospital, to check that everything was still okay. It was, and the doctor had given her the all-clear.

Junko noticed the other car's cracked windscreen as it drove past, and for a brief moment she wondered how the man was able to see out of it. Surely it can't be safe driving like that, she thought. Never mind visibility; if he has another accident, his windscreen's going to shatter completely. Well, maybe it just happened and he's on his way to get it fixed…

It was only a moment or two afterwards that she noticed a figure lying in the road, about a hundred yards away. When she realized what it was, her eyes widened in horror. "Oh my god!" she gasped. As she approached the stricken girl, she pulled over by the curb and exited the vehicle, rushing to the girl's side.

As Junko knelt down beside Yuuko, she could see at once that the girl's injuries were severe. Her face and clothes were soaked in blood, and one of her legs appeared to be broken. Her breathing was slow and laboured, her slowly-moving chest providing one of the few indications that she was still alive. Tears continued to slowly run down her blood-stained cheeks.

"Are you alright?" asked Junko on instinct, even though she could tell the girl was very much not alright. "Can you hear me?"

Yuuko began to cry a little harder, a faint smile appearing on her pale lips as tears of joy began to stream down her face. "Thank… you…" she breathed.

"What's your name?" asked Junko.

"Yuu… ko…" gasped Yuuko.

"Okay, I'm gonna call an ambulance for you," said Junko. "They'll take you to the hospital, patch you up, and you'll be just fine, okay?"

"Thank… you…" gasped Yuuko once more. Her hand fell onto her stomach, gently clutching at a shattered rib. She let out two little coughs, and a small trickle of blood began to leak from the corner of her mouth. Junko, growing more concerned by the second, hurriedly retrieved her phone from her handbag and dialled 119.

The phone was answered almost immediately. "This is the emergency services," said the operator. "Which service do you require?"

"Yes, hello," said Junko. "I need an ambulance quickly, there's a girl lying in the road and she's really badly hurt. I think she's been hit by a car."

"I see," said the operator. "What is your location?"

"Uhh…" Junko looked up, taking a look around in order to ascertain her location. "I'm at a three-way intersection, near the big clothing store. On the road to the hospital."

"Let's see…" There was a brief pause, presumably while the operator did some cross-referencing. "Ah, yes, I know exactly where you are. I'll have an ambulance dispatched to your location as soon as possible. In the meantime, try to keep the girl nice and still, in case she's suffered any neck or spinal injuries that might be made worse by moving around. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes," said Junko. "Of course."

"Okay, good," said the operator. "Is there anything else you would like me to do?"

"No, that's fine, just please, get here as fast as you can!" said Junko.

"We will, don't worry," said the operation. "Okay, goodbye."

"Goodbye," said Junko, and with that she ended the call, turning her attention back to Yuuko. The girl's face had grown paler, and her tears had stopped running; instead, thick, dark red blood was now trickling from her mouth and down her chin. Her condition was certainly deteriorating. "The ambulance is on its way," said Junko, trying to reassure herself as much as the girl. "You're gonna be just fine."

Yuuko let out another small cough, a bloody string of saliva spattering across her already crimson-soaked clothes. "I don't… want… to die…" she gasped.

"You're not going to die," said Junko. "I told you, you're going to be fine."

"I don't… feel…" Another blood-spattered cough. Yuuko closed her eyes. "I can't… feel…"

Junko didn't know what else to do. She didn't know what else she could do. Words of comfort, false as they were, now seemed useless and meaningless. The girl's life was slowly, irretrievably leaking onto the asphalt beneath them, and all she could do was simply kneel beside her and watch.

With the last of her strength, Yuuko reached out a blood-soaked hand and placed it on Junko's. It felt cold and wet, and suddenly Junko found herself struggling to keep it together. Tears of sorrow began to prick at the corners of her eyes for this poor broken girl, who five minutes ago she had not even known existed.

"What's your… name?" breathed Yuuko.

"Junko," said the woman, her voice starting to waver. "Junko Kirishima."

"Thank you… Junko…" gasped Yuuko. "You… cared…"

Yuuko let out one last, rattling breath, and her hand slipped off of Junko's and rested on the asphalt. Her short life was over.

Junko gasped, clasping a hand to her mouth in shock as she realized the girl in front of her was no more. A single tear of mourning ran silently down her face; she quickly wiped it away, and after a moment or two, she managed to compose herself. If this girl really was hit by a car… then that means… With another gasp, she suddenly remembered the car that had driven past her with the smashed windscreen, not a minute or two before she had reached Yuuko. Surely that was the culprit. If only I could remember its number plate…

 Junko's phone remained clutched in her hand, which now trembled slightly. Dialling 119 once more, she placed the handset back to her ear. "This is the emergency services," said the operator, in the same jarringly cheerful tone as before. "Which service do you require?"

It took a moment for Junko to find her voice, and when she did it was quiet and hoarse. "Umm… I phoned a couple of minutes ago, about a girl who'd been hit by a car…"

"Ah, yes, I remember," said the operator. "The ambulance will be with you in about ten minutes."

"That… won't be necessary," said Junko, glancing sadly down at the blood-stained corpse before her. "She's already… gone."

"I see," said the operator. "I'm very sorry to hear that. Well, the ambulance will still arrive for her, but they'll take her to the hospital's mortuary instead. Would you like us to contact the police as well?"

"Yes please," said Junko. "I… I think I may have seen the person who did this."

"Okay," said the operator. "A police car will arrive shortly after the ambulance, and they'll investigate the crime scene and take a statement from you. For that reason, please remain where you are until they arrive. Okay?"

"Okay," said Junko, nodding. "And… thank you. Even if the ambulance didn't get here in time… you did what you could."

 "You're very welcome," said the operator. "Thank you as well, for your co-operation."

"Of course," said Junko, nodding as her vision started to cloud up with tears once more. "I…"

"Goodbye," said the operator.

"Goodbye," said Junko solemnly, and the operator hung up. Junko continues to numbly listen to the dead line for a few moments longer, trying to come to terms with the events of the last few minutes. Finally, she could stand to look at the bloodied corpse no longer. Shakily climbing to her feet, she slipped her phone back into her handbag and began to walk back to her car, to wait for the police. The world around her seemed to be spinning. Her hand fumbled on the handle of the door, unable to open it. Finally she gave up and sank into a sitting position, her back resting against the car, her tears now flowing freely, inexplicably crying for a girl she had known for only five minutes.

"Goodbye, Yuuko," she whispered.