章 14: chapter 14
"Dad! Dad!" Oliver clutched unto his throat and pleaded as he felt his vision slowly begin to fizzle out.
His father's hands continued to tighten against his throat without easing off. He could see the evil in the man's eyes and no matter what he did and regardless of how much he pleaded, the man seemed intent on whatever evil was driving him.
Oliver kicked at ordinary air, missing the man's legs every single time, His eyes bulged out of their sockets and threatened to pop out too.
"You deserve it, you little bastard! You deserve to die! The world will be a better place without you in it!" the voice continued to scream.
Oliver felt his consciousness leave him as the hands being pinned around his neck slowly eased away. While he remained there, flattened out on the ground, the stench of gasoline tickled his nose and jolted him back up. Smoke filled the air within seconds and the fire rapidly hurried its way towards him as though it had been targeted to him and him alone.
"Burn in hell you abomination", the masculine and recognizable voice chuckled derisively as he watched the dark figure slowly shut the room door with Oliver still inside.
With the rapidly approaching fire and smoke invading his airways, Oliver coughed and kicked against everything in sight.
"No! Please, no!" he screamed as loud as his voice would permit him.
Oliver awakened to the sight of his room with the familiar poster of his favorite rock band plastered against the wall opposite his bed. His breath was laden and his heart broke every beating limit it could ever set. Hurriedly wiping his face clean of sweat, he rushed out of bed and into his slippers.
Oliver yanked out his drawer and helped himself to a coin from the bunch of coins in there. Without further ado, he picked a sweater, put it on and hurried out the backdoor without waking anyone up in the house.
Out in the dark, freezing cold and sweating at the same time, he took to his heels and began to run into the darkness. Something about the darkness seemed to soothe him rather than scare him but he could swear that he still felt the soot in his throat as he ran. It felt as if he wanted to outrun everything he had just witnessed before waking back into reality.
"Run, Oliver!" the disturbing voice at the back of his head screamed.
"You have nothing to live for, you piece of shit! Run!" the voice said.
Without attempting to look back for any reason whatsoever, like a man being chased by hellhounds, he took to his heels. Sweat broke through his face, mixed with tears as they dropped into his eyes. The memories came flooding back like a stream of bad ideas and regardless of how much he tried to cast them aside, they just wouldn't stop.
He wanted them to stop. He wanted them to end however way possible.
"I need to be there", Oliver recited as he sprinted ahead into the darkness.
Each step forward dragged him away from the bosom of light which surrounded his home and its environs. It wasn't his first time trailing those paths, but they seemed mangled as he forged ahead. The path ahead disappeared and appeared in what he could term to be his vision failing him. Oliver was determined to get to the river no matter what it was going to take him.
There was just no stopping.
It was the first time in weeks he was having the crazy dream. It came back in full force this time around and he couldn't fight his way out of the damning memory.
"Shit!" he cried as he fell to the ground and managed to get back up again.
His knees were bruised, his nerves edgy and his vision continued to fail as he managed to keep himself from falling for a few more minutes. The easiest option would have been to drive to the bridge, but that was far more dangerous when he was in his current state. Losing control with the car could send him plunging to his death.
More so, the bridge was always a short distance away from his house and he could see the lights that brought him hope, shining brightly atop the bridge.
"One step at a time", he smiled as he slowly grabbed hold of the bridge and began to drag himself towards the center where he would make his wish.
His ankles hurt and felt like a knife had passed through the flesh around it. His knees creaked as well and regardless of how much he tried to empty his mind, all he felt were smoke and the crackling sound of burning objects filling the air, while he wasn't even sure his heart was pumping any blood through his body anymore.
With what felt like the last strength within his bones, Oliver leaned over the railing and looked into the river for the umpteenth time. He wondered if this time was the charm and if he wouldn't have or need to keep tossing coins into it with wishes. He placed the coin to his lips, muttered his wish in the faintest and weakest tone, before letting it go into the river.
He remained there, hanging down and staring into the calm river beneath. The coin barely floated yet, and it shone back brilliantly, captivating Oliver's eyes as the silver looked even more alluring under water. He pushed backwards and hoped to relieve himself from the railing as he was beginning to feel better, but a gush of unexpected wind blew past and fast.
"Oh no!" he exclaimed, losing grip as he tilted over the bridge and managed to hang onto the underside for a moment.
His voice betrayed him as he attempted to scream for help, while his sweaty grip let him down in the most painful time. With his breath becoming slow, his fall looking certain and with no angel in sight to come to his aid, Oliver let go of the railing and allowed himself to fall backwards, with the last thing he would see, being the dimly lit moon up in the sky.
***
Five Minutes Before
Vukan arrived earlier than usual, determined to get a good view of Oliver before he would leave, he was accustomed to actually seeing him leave but never seeing him arrive and after repeatedly coming to the bridge for the past week, he finally caught a break when he saw the young man slowly begin to make his way towards his spot.
Vukan hurried back to his car to get his coin and flicked it in between his fingers as he watched Oliver spend what looked like eternity in getting to the middle of the bridge. His movement was sluggish than usual and he didn't seem to command himself before tossing the coin into the river as he often did. It left Vukan puzzled and wondering at the same time.
"Is something going on with him?" Vukan asked himself.
They had texted some hours before and Oliver had not sounded as if something was bothering him. In fact, he did more of the teasing this time around, prompting Vukan to accept defeat.
"Something isn't right", Vukan noted to himself while he watched Oliver begin to struggle for balance.
He tossed the coin in his hand aside, began to cautiously make his way towards the bridge in hopes it was nothing but theatrics and he wouldn't need to actually do anything or even be seen. So far so well, his visitation to the bridge had remained hidden and he wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.
His heart sunk as he watched Oliver go over the railing and out of sight. His movement quickened and he got himself to the spot where Oliver had been standing just some seconds before. Sadly, Vukan had gotten there a little too late as he heard the splash from the body meeting the water down below.
"No… not a chance in hell! Oliver!' he screamed before taking off his shirts.
Climbing the railings as fast as his legs could permit him, he jumped and never for once thought about what could go wrong.
"He cannot swim… he cannot swim!" Vukan told himself after recalling the conversation he had with Oliver about what his fears were.
Oliver had mentioned the fact he could not swim even while he said that wasn't his major fear.
"I have one more but I don't feel comfortable telling you just yet", he had said.
It was what they had last spoken of before communication went flat between the two of them. Vukan searched for Oliver, knowing full well he couldn't allow the boy to die, even if it meant giving his life in return.
Few minutes later, a drenched Vukan managed to pull Oliver's body out on the river bank. Exhausted, short on breath and unsure of whether or not they were going to make it for a while when they were inside the water, Vakum had no time to catch his breath or care for himself.
He flipped Oliver on his back and began to administer CPR. Thankfully, it was one of the classes he had taken during his swimming lessons.
"Come on buddy! Come on! Don't leave me! You can fight this!' he muttered while performing CPR on Oliver's body.
Oliver's breath suffered and with each passing second, Vukan struggled with thoughts of Oliver actually dying through drowning. He ripped off the silk shirt he was donning, applied pressure to Oliver's chest and watched the boy gurgle some water from his throat before spitting it out.
"There you go!' Vukan cheered him on.
Yet, Oliver remained without moving his body. He simply laid there limp, Vukan shrugged his body, hoping for a response but Oliver's breathing had suddenly ceased, showing his body was taking a tool for the worse.
Vukan reached for his pocket to find his cellphone but soon realized it had been with him when he dived into the river and it must have fallen from his pocket while he swam.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" he exclaimed in frustration. "Oliver! Oliver, please wake up!'
Oliver remained silent, barely breathing and without showing signs of improving. The temptation to go and get some help dawned on Vukan, but he might not be back in time and that scared him. There was the option of carrying Oliver up the riverbank, but it sounded easier than done. Carrying him across the gritty terrain would prove impossible unless Oliver, someway, found the strength to get up by himself.
The entire melee brought Vukan some severe migraine and confusion slowly began to set in too.
He regretted having to be the one to see Oliver fall into the river, since he wasn't able to save him. He regretted having been there that night and Oliver even showing up at all.
He leaned his head into Oliver's chest and wept. "This isn't right. This should not be happening".
Even while they were just beginning to click, it still wasn't fair that something terrible had to befall Oliver all of a sudden. Beads of tears rolled down his cheeks as he rammed his fist into Oliver's chest in anger.
"Wake up! Wake up damn it!' he raged, hammering his fist into the limp boy's chest.
Thoughts of how the Douglas family would take the passing of their only son drenched Vukan with sorrow. Thoughts of how his own parents would perceive the entire scenario bothered him gravely, to make matters worse, they could assume he had shoved the boy over if witnesses came through claiming they had seen them have some issues on their first blind date.
Everything about the situation was unsettling to say the least. His head boiled and his heart felt empty. The echoes of pain marauding the walls of his soul could be heard across the turbulent river. It was a miracle that he had managed to get the body out while the river began to grow in treacherous waves, yet, the miracle wasn't complete.
He wanted more. Oliver definitely needed more.
"Please, just wake up", a tearful and extremely fearful Vukan pleaded.
Like clockwork, Oliver coughed and sputtered out water. Upon his first movement, he returned to the flattened state he had previously been, before tilting to his side and coughing out water endlessly, with the jubilant Vukan rushing to his side.
"Get it all out, buddy! You need to get it all out", Vukan instructed him.
Oliver rolled flat on his stomach to let out everything he could, before finally raising his head to look at Vukan. They locked eyes for a moment, with one party looking oblivious and unsure of what had happened. Vukan wished he could explain everything to the blank looking Oliver, but not yet. He figured there would be time.
"We need to get you to a warm place", Vukan noted before crawling over to assist Oliver to his feet.
The man bore some weight truly, as Vukan struggled to assist him entirely off the ground. Vukan led his back atop the bridge and hurried over to get his jacket which he had tossed off in the first place.
'You should wrap yourself in this", Vukan insisted as he handed out his dry and warm jacket to Oliver.
Oliver wasn't sure about what he was looking at, but he was certain he had been pulled back from the brink of death by Vukan. The raging storm behind them as the river threatened and howled, indicated things had gone terribly wrong for him just some moments earlier. Vukan walked over and assisted in getting his jacket around Oliver as best as possible so he could gain some warmth, while he cuddled himself and tried to brush his body to ward away the cold.
Oliver dropped his head in shame; he had been saved by the same person he chastised for being inhumane and coldhearted some weeks back. It seemed surreal that it was Vukan who had been destined to risk his life to save him from drowning. The act in itself oozed bravery and demanded a great deal of respect as well.
Oliver looked up and whispered, "Thank You".
Vukan had turned around in that moment after hearing something scurry around in the bush.
'We need to leave here and get somewhere safer and warmer, especially for you", a worried sounding Vukan said.
It was absolutely odd to see Vukan take charge in such a manner. He had suddenly transformed from the selfish, self-centered individual Oliver assumed him to be, into a guardian and a protector all in one. The "take-charge" attitude in itself was remarkable to witness and it was a turn-on for Oliver even while he shuddered from the cold in an aggressive manner.
"Get up, slowly", Vakun instructed while he wrapped his arm around Oliver to provide an extra layer of warmth before leading him to the car.
Vukan had barely helped Oliver into the car when he noticed Oliver was pointing out, towards the river banks in the distance.
"What is it?' Vukan inquired.
"There… there…. There is a dog out there", Oliver replied.
The heavens had begun to cackle, and a downpour soon ensued. The wind howled and made visibility poor, while the heavy downpour only worsened things. In the distance, barking atop its voice and stranded with its body caught between a twig, was a puppy. Vukan wasn't sure there was anything he could do to assist the dog in the first place.
He turned to look at Oliver, who continued to shiver within the warmth of the car, but could very much tell the boy believed so much in him and the fact he could do something about the puppy. Vukan wasn't one who fancied animals much, but he wouldn't stand and watch one get hurt. He battled his way against the wind and managed to keep his feet firm on the gritty floor.
Debris flew in and from every direction, causing him to shelter his eyes while the puppy seemed to have moved from where it was. The poor thing was trying to get to safety, but the might of the wind and the treacherous downpour was just too much for its tiny frame.
"Shit! It is going to drown", Vukan realized as the persistent puppy continued to do its best to defy and work against the odds.
The wind tossed it around a bit before it managed to gain a steadfast ground on a rough patch. Vukan raced over just in the nick of time to grab hold of it and hold it tightly to its chest. The fearful dog grabbed hold of Vukan tightly, whimpering and shuddering as they began to head back for the car.
"We are almost in my car", Vukan said with so much hope in his voice.
His hope soon dashes right before his eyes as he watches a huge log swing in his direction, with the wind sashing it right across his face. In one loud heap, Vukan went to the ground on his side. He was certain the dog was safe, before blacking out immediately.
In the moment, he saw nothing but pitch dark. A flicker of night enticed him in the distance but he couldn't quite find a way to reach out to it. A faint voice bellowed his name as loud as possible, but it still wasn't enough to cause him to awaken. Vukan felt at peace in that darkness, even while his senses told him the world around him was shooting to hell.
Vukan felt something nudge against his face in a ticklish manner, prompting him to open his eyes. The puppy had stayed by his side and managed to nudge him back to consciousness by licking his face. The storm had not subsided one bit and his car could still be seen in the distance. Determined more than ever to get them across safely, he lifted the little darling up from the ground, and marched against the ferocious storm towards where his car was.
"We aren't ending here", he said to the puppy before they got to the car.
He helped the puppy into the backseat, before falling into the driver's seat with his entire body wet and feeling numb.
Oliver gawked at Vukan with awe.
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