Chapter Text
The trees breathed around her. Every gust of wind rustled the leaves in great bushels, and several loose, half-dead leaves clattered to the ground. Against her hip, her old discman jostled every time her feet went round and round as he biked along the country road. Rain slick leaves coated the road, thick enough that the line stripping was hidden from view, and her wheels had slipped on the dead leaves once already.
She wished that she could be out here every night to enjoy the cooling temperatures whenever the sun faded from the sky. The heat was a suffocating blanket during the day, humid and heavy until the sun started to set. At night, the coolness of autumnal days would emerge to hint at the snow that was lurking ahead of them.
The back of her calves were burning, unused to the heavy exercise she was getting. Her mom had made her try out for the track and field team last year. She had been allowed on the team, but she still turned out to be the slowest of the group. Eventually she'd begged her mom to let her quit after she'd cried from embarrassment and frustration after a meet where she'd come in last place over and over. Her mom had finally let her once she promised to do a different activity. Biking had eventually been picked as the lazy alternative after months passed. She had found her mother's old bike from Kmart laying around that worked just fine. It'd surprised her how much she liked it.
Flying down the s-curved road, she whooped a little at the pecks of wind on her cheeks. An idea popped into her head and she quickly fumbled with the strap of her helmet until she held it clutched in the dip of her waist. Behind her, her hair spread out like a great cape and she imagined that she looked like a great warrior on a steed like one of her fantasy books come to life. It would be a nightmare to comb out the knotted waves and curls, but she would deal with that later. A hot shower had her name on it and she would just douse her hair in the nicer conditioner her mom kept then work her purple comb through her hair. The knots would come out.
Her mom would be pissed when she got home but whatever. She tried to stifle the jolt of anxiety that grew within her. It'd be fine, she thought to herself, once her mom calmed down. She'd get grounded for maybe a day or two but her mom would still let her out. Her mom had told her multiple times that she was happy that she was exercising instead of locked in her room to read. There was a saying that it was better to ask forgiveness than permission for a reason, right?
What was important was how free she felt right now.
A large wall of wind rushed past her, strong enough that the bike's front tire wobbled. She dropped the helmet in panic and she heard the hollow thud several feet behind her while she tried to re-gain control. She jerked the handlebars too quickly and reversed the peddles too sharply.
Head over handlebars, she went flying in a great crash. Flat on her back, she coughed and wiggled like a beetle frantically attempting to straighten itself from its shell. By the time she caught her breath and pushed herself onto her feet, a car was pulled over on the shoulder, idling loudly behind her. A person was standing so that they were back-lit by bright headlights, so she couldn't really see the person well. Even when she raised a hand to block some of the light, she couldn't make out more than the shadowed outline of a man. She flinched when the man stepped closer. Still dazed, she clutched at her head when it started throbbing in pain.
"You need help, little lady?" The man asked, sounding a little worried. "You shouldn't be out this late."
"No thank you," She called, smiling politely. Where had she dropped her helmet? It'd been ten dollars more for the one she'd begged her mom for. "Sorry. Did you see my helmet at all? It's purple."
"I didn't see something like that. Just saw you on the ground and I wanted to check that you were alright." The man came a little closer and she realized that he was holding a bright flashlight. It was even brighter than the headlights. He lit up the brush growing wildly along the shoulder when he scanned the area.
He said, "Maybe it rolled off the road? Here, I'll help you find it."
Relieved for the extra pair of eyes and a little less wary, she smiled wide, "God, thank you so much, seriously!"
Happy that she wouldn't have to tell her mom that she'd lost the expensive helmet, money her mom said she didn't have, she stepped onto the sloping shoulder. The tall grass and hidden stinging leaves irritated skin exposed by her denim capris. Together they waded down the slope, until she couldn't even see her fallen bike on the road. She walked back the way she'd come with the man behind her lighting the ground when she kicked something large and hard that was hidden in tall grass. Shiny plastic glinted as it rolled away.
"Found it!" She cried, stooping to pick it up. She stood back up, clutching the helmet with both hands, relieved that she wouldn't have to tell her mom that she'd lost it. Another throb of pain burst behind her eyes and she winced, rubbing at her forehead.
"Hey, would you be able to give me a ride back to town?" She asked, not bothering to turn around and started to say, "It's getting late and-" when something hard hit the back of her head.
She went down heavy and she went down hard. She was out before she hit the ground.