Douglass and Rachael Masterson were driving from the great state of Montana. Helena, Montana to be exact, in route to Topeka, Kansas in November, to see their parents for Thanksgiving. It had been snowing for days through the mountains of Wyoming and upper Colorado, and the roads that Doug and Rachael were traveling were very slick at some points and were fair at best on other roads, and Doug wasn't exactly comfortable driving through these snowy conditions, but would rather himself chance it, then have Rachael do it.
Approaching a very steep downgrade, Doug decided to try to coast instead of gassing the little Toyota Camry that they were driving. Instead of the little car slowing, it accelerated and picked up speed, and the sheet of black ice in the middle of the road became the breaking point to the little car's stride, and it spun out of control into the guardrail slamming Rachael's blonde head into the window.
Thinking that he could steer out of the mess, Doug accelerated and backwards steered the car, and hit the sheet of ice harder now throwing the car into the guardrail and over it. Once, then twice the little Toyota rolled until it came to a screeching halt, ejecting Rachael out of the passenger's door into the snow.
"Doug!" she called, "Doug!"
Bleeding from the three-inch gash in her right forehead where her head slammed against the glass window, and the cuts on her right hand and forearm, and left leg where a branch had dug into her when she rolled from the car, Rachael mustered up all the strength she had left in her body and crawled towards the wreckage. Tears streamed down her precious face from her icy blue eyes, as she wondered about the fate of her twin brother.
"Rachael, I'm here, but I can't get out! Hurry!" Doug screamed from the car.
She pushed forward as she was now just mere yards from where her twin was trapped in the car. As she tried to stand to make more headway, the small car started smoking profusely and ignited in flames. Rachael realized that she had only seconds to free her brother from the wreckage, and she took a step in the general direction of the car and it exploded into flames as the fire had reached the fuel line. The blast knocked Rachael back to the ground.
"NO!" Rachael screamed with all of her might. "DOUG!"
Then she let out a blood-curdling squeal as she burst into tears and pounded the ground with her fist. "WHY GOD, WHY DOUG? NO!"
When Rachael realized that her screams, no matter how loud they were, would bring back the twin brother that she once had, and played with, and beat up, laughed, cried, and joked with, she fought against her wish to stay there in the mountains with her brother until she too died of hypothermia, and frost bite, she struggled to her feet to seek medical attention.
I.
Ashton. Ashton Mitchell, a 24-year-old truck driver from Aspen Colorado was actually in route back to his home in Aspen, from a stop in Wisconsin when he stumbled upon Rachael. There is a strip of hidden mountain roadway that he always drives, rain, sleet, snow or hail because of its beautiful mountainous terrain, and it's beautiful scenery. So as usual, Ashton was headed down this roadway, when he saw smoke rising from the clearing. As his eighteen-wheeler approached the scene of the accident, he realized that someone didn't make it out if this crash. He parked his truck and searched the scene for any surviving victims. He followed the footprints that Rachael had made back up to the car, and then up to the road.
Realizing that any living survivors would be a couple miles from here, he extinguished the little fire that was still smoldering with the fire extinguisher in his cab, called in the accident to the authorities over the CB radio, and started up the rig to head on down the road.
Approximately seven miles down the highway; Ashton sees a lump on the side of the highway that looks to be a person. Upon reaching the place that the lump is, he makes out pale legs, a black skirt, a red sweater, and blonde hair. Figuring it is the survivor; Ashton pulls his rig over and puts his flashers on. Jumping out of the truck, he runs over to the body and kneels down to check the body for any signs of life. There is a pulse, but the girl seems to be unconscious. He rolls her over onto her back, and performs rescue breathing. "One, (breath) Two (breath) Three, (breath)" he counts, but still no rise and fall of her chest on her own. He continues this process until he hears her breathing, and she stirs awake.
"Are you ok? Are you alright?" Ashton questions.
He lifts her limp body and rests it against his, and pulls her hair out of her face. A couple of strands were stuck to her forehead where the gash and her blood had coagulated and dried, and she jumped when he tried to gently move them from her head.
"What's your name honey?" he questions, "Are you alright?"
Still in major shock, Rachael just stared blankly out into nowhere. The entire situation played back in her mind when she was awoke, and just as Ashton went to open his mouth to ask her again if she was ok, she screamed in a high pitched shrill, "DOUG!" and seemed to convulse, and then she passed out in his arms.
"Hey Ma'am," Ashton tried to get this blood soaked blonde to wake up again, or even as much as stir, but to no avail.
~* ~
St. Mark's Rehabilitation and Medical Center was the closest form of medical help that Ashton came across after he placed the blonde into the cab of the truck and drove away from the place that she was found.
He took her out of the truck and ran her into the medical center and to the nearest employee that he saw. "I need a gurney for this girl. She was in a car accident on I-146 and she has lost a lot of blood. Not to mention the fact that I think she may have mild symptoms of hypothermia."
"What's her name?" the LN asked.
"I don't know, I did get her to wake up, but I am just the truck driver that passed the scene of the accident. The driver of the car perished in a fire and I think his name might have been Doug, but I am not sure. Please get her cleaned up."
A tear fell down Ashton's face as he placed the limp body on the gurney and the nurses and doctor's assistants swarmed her and took her into the emergency room of the Medical Center.
"I promise I will be back to see her. Please take good care of her." Ashton said looking down at his Hershman Trucking Company uniform that was now stained with blood.
The drive from Denver to Aspen was particularly long that night.
~* ~
Kelly. Kelly Lynne Deckard, the 22yr old girlfriend of Ashton Mitchell was of course waiting up to start some type of controversy like she always did when Ashton came home from work.
"Where have you been all night, and why are you all covered in blood?" Kelly snapped when Ashton walked in the door.
"Good evening to you too Kelly. 'Hi Ashton, how was your day?' every once and a while wouldn't kill you, you know? Instead you always want to jump down someone's throat."
"Well if you weren't always out on the roads, having me worried sick about where you are, maybe I'd be a little happier when you came home. Now answer my question. Why are you covered in blood?"
