A Ship Without Sails

Chapter 31

The driver sped up again, just as they approached the car. The three passengers' cries of joy turned to those of terror. Astrid's eyes went wide and she pulled Shayna back.

The motorcycle hit Astrid's car dead-center. The shrieking from the teenagers was cut off. All Shayna could see was smoke and crushed metal, until everything burst into flames. She wanted to look away, but couldn't. Her feet were glued to the spot on the grass, next to Astrid, yards away from her dying sister.

Astrid bolted towards the wreckage. Shayna was torn between holding her back and going to help. She hobbled onto the sidewalk, then peered through the smoke, choking. "Daisy!" she coughed. "Daisy, are you alive? Can anyone hear me in there?"

"Shayna! Help me," Astrid commanded. She was carrying a girl, not Daisy, in her arms. "Take her to the grass, as far away from the wreck as possible."

Shayna hoisted the girl over her shoulder, expecting it to be difficult with her crutches, but the girl was lighter than air. Shayna took her to the porch of Blake's house. She set her down and held her hand. "Meg?" she whispered, remembering the names Blake had given her when they asked about Daisy. Meg's eyes fluttered open and she sighed. "Mom?" she asked, her voice barely audible. Shayna felt her heart clench. She didn't know if or how to respond. This girl couldn't be over 18, and she was just skin and bones. Her skin was gray like Blake's, her eyes glazed over and hair falling out.

"Shayna! Here's another... I don't know if he's breathing," Astrid panted, placing a boy down next to Meg. She checked for a pulse, clicked her tongue, then threw her coat over his body. She then returned to the fiery mess, which was quickly becoming the only source of light. The streetlights were out and the moon was nowhere to be seen.

The sound of sirens and police cars wailing came from down the block. Red, white, and blue lights lit up the dark street. Meg and the other boy were rushed off in ambulances. Police swarmed the wreck, trying to find Daisy and the driver. Shayna still sat on the porch steps, her face buried in her arms. She knew that there was no way anyone could have survived longer in the fire.

Astrid joined her, shooed away by the firefighters and police officers. Her sunglasses returned to her face, but in the flickering lights, Shayna could see the tear streaks on her pale cheeks. She looked as defeated as Shayna felt.

"We found the other two bodies!" a voice shouted. "Both still breathing, get them to the emergency room!"

"Oh, my god, Daisy!" Shayna burst out, rushing across the lawn to the stretched. She had never seen her sister look so small. She was thinner and more ragged looking than the last time Shayna had seen her. Her tangled blonde hair was now short and black with soot.

"I have to go with her!" Shayna said to the EMT. The man smiled at her but wouldn't let her into the ambulance until Astrid showed him her badge. He hastily let them into the back and they drove off to the hospital, Daisy barely clinging to life.

Shayna resumed her position of head in hands for the ride and prayed for her older sister back. She prayed until she couldn't think of what else to pray to, she prayed until her head hurt and tears ran down her face, she prayed so hard that she wanted to explode, because she didn't want to lose her sister, who was never kind or helpful to her and yet had a strong place in Shayna's heart. Shayna's love for Daisy was unwavering, despite the countless times she had been tossed away and snapped at. It was a sister's love, unbreakable, even under such extreme circumstances.

Shayna found herself wishing it was her body in the stretcher, her chest that was only slightly rising now, her thin, fragile arms covered with ash and dried blood.

She took Daisy's hand and leaned close to her ear. "I love you, Daisy," she whispered. Her voice cracked at the end and she had to sit back so she wouldn't get her tears on her dying sister's dirty, gaunt face. She didn't want to, but she finally accepted that Daisy was gone.