Mason (Trinity Academy 2)

ProloguePlease read Falcon before continuing with Mason

as all the books in this series are interconnected.Mason(Seventeen-years old.)

“How bad is this weather tonight?” Jennifer asks while we’re driving home after having dinner at Falcon’s house. “Oh! I almost forgot. I have a song I want you to listen to.”

My eyes shift from my phone to my sister. “Is it another one of those sappy ones?”

Jennifer smiles, knowing I’m only teasing her. “I’m willing to bet anything you’ll like this one.”

Picking up her phone, while her eyes keep glancing at the road, she looks for the song and a moment later guitar strings sound up. It’s a lazy melody at first. Jennifer grins at me when whistling joins the strings, and she reaches for the radio to turn up the volume.

When the car swerves on the icy road, she quickly grabs hold of the steering wheel with both hands. “It’s really bad out,” she mutters while her face is strained with worry. The words have hardly left her mouth when the car’s tail end begins to pull to the left. “Shit, Mace, I’ve lost traction!”

As Jen taps the breaks, I reach over to the steering wheel, but she snaps, “It won’t help. The road is too icy.”

The car keeps gliding and when it’s diagonally in the road bright lights fall on us.

“We need to move!” Fear prickles over the back of my head as my heart begins to pound out of control.

Fuck, they’re going to hit us.

The other vehicle tries to slow down, but they drive over the same patch of black ice.

“Fu-uuck!” A second later, they crash into my side of the car. “Jen!” a shout rips from my chest as our car begins to spin across the road.

“Shit. Shit. Shit,” she whispers as we uncontrollably spin into oncoming traffic. Flinging my left arm across Jennifer’s chest, I try to brace her for the unavoidable impact.

Jennifer’s side takes the full blow as a vehicle collides with ours, and the impact sends our car shooting backward.

“Mace!” Jennifer lets go of the steering wheel, and grabs hold of my arm with both her hands.

It feels like the worst rollercoaster ride of my life as our car pivots sharply before coming to a sudden standstill by crashing into a tree. The windshield shatters, and I can hear pieces of glass and metal falling. I quickly glance at Jennifer, and when her wide eyes meet mine, I feel a moment of relief. We both look down at the branch which crashed through our windshield but luckily stopped within inches of my arm.

“Fuck that was close.” My voice sounds hoarse from the horrific moment we just lived through.

“Yeah,” Jennifer whispers.

I begin to pull my left arm back, but the sound of squealing tires has me glancing behind us. I only have a second to react, and I throw my body to the left, trying to reach for the branch.

Our bodies are jolted forward, and I manage to keep my arm braced over Jennifer, with my fist tightly gripping hold of her sweater. A sharp pain pierces through my left arm before I’m slammed back against my seat, the sudden movement stunning my senses.

“Fuck,” I mumble. I try to pull my arm back, but when it doesn’t move, apprehension slithers through me.

It feels like time itself hesitates, but when I hear a gurgling sound, it’s forced to speed along.

In absolute terror, I turn my head toward Jennifer. The sight looks disturbingly peaceful as horror and anguish begin to war inside of me.

Her cheek is resting on the branch as if she just leaned forward and decided to fall asleep.

“Jen, wake up,” I stupidly whisper.

One breath.

Two beats of my heart.

My entire world – everything that represented home and family – warps into an unrecognizable mess.

Blood trickles from her mouth, and I hear the gurgling sound again.

I sit paralyzed, my eyes wide on my sister.

Slowly, the cold creeps into my bones and I gasp for a breath of icy air.

Scared out of my mind, I raise my right hand and reach out to Jennifer. The moment my fingers brush over her cheek, and I feel some warmth in her skin, I lunge toward her, only to be restrained by the safety belt.

“Jen!” Her name explodes harshly over my lips. Her eyelashes flutter and needing to get to my sister, I struggle to unclasp the safety belt and manage to free myself. But when I lunge forward again, I’m stopped by the branch pinning me to her chest. A jarring ache spreads through my left arm and up into my shoulder.

She gasps for air, instantly drawing my attention away from the pain.

My right hand trembles uncontrollably as my fingers brush over her forehead. “Jen?”

Somehow my instincts kick in, and I fumble for my phone, so I can call emergency services, but I can’t find it, and it makes desperation crush my heart.