It All Started With A Car Crash

A big thanks to Randi for her incredible editing skills, and her patience and guidance. There may be some errors, but they're all mine. Despite Randi's efforts, I couldn't help going back and tinkering...

Any people indulging in sexual activity are over eighteen.

*****

"Shush, stop screaming," I implored.

Unfortunately, the young girl had just heard the guy behind me yelling, "There's fuel on the ground, Jesus, it's going to catch fire."

Turning to the guy, I ordered loudly, "Go to to my car, there's a fire extinguishers in there." He turned and ran for my car.

The girl who was now in hysterics kept screaming. I was lying in the side of her car trying like hell to get the seat belt free. It was jammed that tight I had to resort to cutting it with a knife. Because the car was lying on its passenger side half in a ditch, access was difficult.

The car was pretty beat up, she had apparently hit a telephone pole sideways, smashing in the side of the car, spun around and ended up on its side. The girl was trapped, her leg broken, and the last thing she needed was to hear that guy telling her it was going to burn.

I could see the fear in her eyes; she was frantic. She pulled crazily at the seat belt, the problem being, once the seat belt was cut, she would fall further into the car.

She saw me put away the knife and her eyes bulged as she screamed. "No, please don't leave me..."

The doors were completely crumpled and there was no way in the world we could open them. There was also no way of getting her out the drivers door.

There was only one thing for it. I slid into the car over her. "Oh my god, what are you doing?" she screamed.

I hugged her to me. "I'm not going anywhere, okay. We'll get you out. Now that I'm in here, I can cut the seat belt and free you. Okay?"

She held me tightly, her tears flooding her face. The guy had returned with the fire extinguishers. "What do you want me to do?" he gasped.

"See if you can wedge open the hatch, we might be able to get her out that way."

He nodded as I sawed away at the seat belt. It was a good idea, but even with my training, I wasn't expecting her weight to smash me quite so hard. The belt let go with a loud bang, and she fell into me, screaming. Her leg was still stuck, and it was broken. The pain must have been excruciating.

I had to try and hold her up and reach across her to release the seat recliner so I could try and push her into the rear seat.

I heard the guy at the back smashing the hatchbacks rear window, and with a loud crack, it popped open. I sighed quietly. 'At least something went right.'

"Ah, fuck." I heard him yell. "You gotta get out, it's caught fire."

The girl started screaming as I tried to get her into the back seat.

To do it, I had to recline my seat and get in the back so I could pull her rather than pushing.

"Please, don't leave me," she cried hysterically.

"Shush, I'm not going anywhere without you okay. Now stop screaming."

'Yeah, that really helped,' I thought to myself. The world went black as the car filled with the CO2 from the extinguisher. At least it shut her up.

I pulled her into the back, choking and retching from the overpowering gas. It was impossible to breathe, but thankfully, he got most of the flames with the first shot and stopped.

It gave me a chance, and he climbed in through the hatch and we pulled her. Poor kid was screaming; the pain from her leg must have been terrible.

She feinted with the pain and probably the CO2; she had absorbed a lot as she screamed.

The car suddenly filled with smoke, horrible black toxic fumes as the fire started again. He jumped out to grab the extinguisher.

"Fucking hell, it's bad," he screamed. The car again filled with the fumes of the CO2 cannister.

It was impossible, bad enough that the only light we had was from his car's headlights, now the car filled with smoke and fumes.

I pulled dragging her centimetre by centimetre into the back. I felt his arms around me, tugging at my arms. I pushed her arms up over her head, he grabbed hold, and then there was another pair of hands, and she was pulled free. Close to passing out myself, I was glad to have them both dragging me out as well.

I don't think I had ever felt so pleased to be lying in wet sodden muddy grass. I lay on my back and sucked in huge lungs full of precious air. The putrid taste of the smoke was still impossible to ignore. The young girl was rousing beside me.

When her eyes opened and she realised she was free, she threw her arms around me, her tears flowing freely. "Thank you," she cried.

"Hey, it wasn't me, if these guys hadn't dragged us out, we'd still be in there."

When we turned, the night shy was now alive the flames fully engulfing the fiery wreck.

As I sat up, the second guy said. "Emergency services are on their way. They reckoned about fifteen minutes."

"Cool, I think we should make a splint for her leg. Have either of you got tie downs in your vehicles?"

"Yeah, I've got a set." The first guy said as he ran off to grab them.

Turning back to the girl, I asked, "What's your name honey?"

"Aroha," she replied softly.

"I'm Charli," I replied. "Listen, honey, this is going to hurt a little, but we have to splint your leg so we can get you away from the car. If it explodes, shit will go everywhere."

"Okay," she sobbed bravely.

With the tie down straps cut, we used a couple of branches from nearby trees to fashion some braces and we tied off her leg. She bit down hard trying to stifle the intense pain. At least it allowed us to get her out of the mud, and away from the car. The flames had now fully engulfed it, and the fire raged powerfully. The willow and Macrocapa trees along the fence line were also ablaze now, and the sky was illuminated brightly.

Kneeling beside her, I hugged her. "The ambulance will be here shortly. How are you feeling, do you have pain anywhere else?"

"Everywhere," she sobbed. "My whole body hurts."

The sirens cut through the night as an ambulance pulled up, followed by a police car. The ambos went straight to work on Aroha. The two police officers walked slowly up behind. When Rob, the tallest one, saw me, he said, "What the hell are you doing here, Charli?"

I laughed, wiping my greasy hair from my forehead. "I was on my way home. Came upon this guy over here trying to get into that bloody wreck."

He glanced over at the car. "Looks like you were lucky to get her out. Was she the only occupant?"

"Yeah, as far as I could tell."

We collected a couple of extinguishers from the patrol car and went to work trying to contain the fire. That was a losing battle, but thankfully, the fire brigade turned up and were able to get it under control.

Aroha was being loaded into the ambulance when I caught up with her. She still looked scared, which was fair enough. She had been through quite an ordeal.

"Would you ride with me?" she said pleadingly.

It meant getting Rob's partner to drive my car, but I climbed into the ambulance with her.

Once we were on our way, I asked, "What happened?"

"I dunno," she said quietly. "I came around that bend and the car just went ape shit. I lost control, and ended up in the ditch."

"No other cars?" I asked.

"No, just me. I'm sorry." She gasped as she burst into tears. "Dad's gonna kill me."

"No, he's not. He'll just be glad you're safe." As I looked into her eyes, I said, "It's his car then, huh?"

She nodded guiltily. "Does he know you have it?" I asked, getting nervous for her.

"No, shit... He's gonna skin me alive."

I reached for her hand, "We'll sort that out when we get to it. Do you have a license?"

Again, she shook her head. "No."

"Not even a learners?"

"No."

It was getting worse. "So why did you have the car?"

"I was scared, he's been angry a lot lately. I didn't want to stay there. He was pretty drunk and when he's like that he gets mean as fuck."

"What about your mum, or other family?"

"Nah, it's just him and me. It used to be cool, but lately he's been drinking and when he gets drunk, well, it's fucking awful."

Squeezing her hand, I said, "It's going to be okay. I'm sure he'll understand."

"I don't think you know my dad."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen." She sighed.

"If your dad's been like that, you could have left, gone somewhere safe."

"Nah," she snarled. "I couldn't leave him like that, and I got nowhere to go anyway."

"No whanau?"

"Nah, it's just him and me. He's gonna go off his nut. Fuck, now we don't even have a car."

We pulled up at the hospital, and we wheeled her inside. I stayed with her through admission, and only left once she was wheeled into the surgery to have her leg set.

Rob and his partner, Steve, turned up, and I gave them the few details I had. "That's a hell of a way to end your shift, Charli," Rob said laughingly.

"Yeah, I was looking forward to something to eat and an early night."

"Sounds like from what the guy back at the scene said, that girl was lucky you turned up." His face hardened a little as he added. "That was pretty stupid, climbing into a burning car."

"Huh, as if you wouldn't have done the same thing."

"Yeah, I dunno," he replied. "I like to think I would, but maybe not. Stupid but bloody brave girl. Well done." They both patted me on the back.

"Do you know her?" I asked.

Steve replied. "Yeah, I know her. She's been in a bit of trouble. Nothing serious, just petty shit. Her father's not going to be happy. He can be a mean bastard, as well."

"Yeah, Aroha said he'd been drinking a fair bit lately."

"Uh-huh, I've been called out to their place a couple of times. They live in that ramshackle old farm on Hutchings road. Used to be a nice place, but it's bloody rough now."

I knew the one immediately, the grass was up over the fence, gorse, blackberry and broom were everywhere. The front yard was full of old wrecked cars, piles of junk stacked up in front of the house.

"What happened? You said it used to be a nice place."

"Yeah, he went a bit nuts. His wife and two sons were killed in a car accident. Not far from tonight's accident actually. That pretty much did old Rawhiri in."

We shared a coffee before they headed off. I stayed to make sure Aroha was okay.

I managed to grab a power nap as I waited.

I had only moved there less than a month before, fresh out of the police academy in Wellington. This was my first posting, and I knew... nobody. In fact, I had never been here before. I lived in a farm house I saw advertised on the internet. It was nothing more than a cottage, but it was fully furnished, and cheap.

Small town New Zealand can be a bit daunting. I was a city girl, not used to this. None of my training had prepared me for this. It was mostly farms, the town itself was small, like only eight to ten thousand people.

It was a pretty steep learning curve, and I learned quickly that my sexuality was going to have to remain a secret. The police force might promote diversity, small town New Zealand was a different kettle of fish all together.

Having a lesbian cop was not going to be graciously accepted.

Aroha was wheeled into a recovery room, so I went it to keep her company and chat. She lay back, her head on her hands behind her head. She was a very attractive young woman. Her figure was hardly obvious inside the hospital gown, but I remembered from pulling her out of the car. She was skinny, not much to her, really.

Her eyes, they were gorgeous. So big and bright, her skin dusky, brown, smooth and firm. I sat beside the bed, waiting. I figured she had answered enough questions.

"I'm not joking, he's gonna fucking have me," she said. "Shit, he's gonna be so pissed off."

"It'll be okay. We can help smooth the waters," I replied with more confidence than I felt.

"Nah, you don't get it, he's gonna go off, fuck, he's gonna have a meltdown."

"We'll sort it, just relax. Try and get some sleep."

She turned her head to look at me. "Thanks, I should have said that first. I reckon you saved my life back there. Don't think them other two would have jumped in."

"Ah, it's nothing. I think they would have."

"Nah, you were pretty brave, don't reckon I woulda done it either. That was some brave shit, Charli."

"Cut it out. Nothing anybody else wouldn't have done. The good thing is, you're going to be okay. The leg's going to mend, and once the bruisings gone, you'll be right as rain. Be up and about in no time."

She giggled disbelievingly. "Wish I had your confidence. If you knew my dad, you might think otherwise."

Trying to change the subject, I asked, "Are you going to school, working?"

"Nah, on the dole. I'm to dumb for school, and I got no transport, no way of getting to work."

"Did you go to Uni?"

She sniggered. "Uni, shit, I didn't even get UE."

"Aroha, if your dad's hard to live with, maybe you should look at moving out."

"I can't do that. He's got nobody else. He needs me. I ain't got any money anyway. I can't afford to move out."

"You could get assistance. There are grants available."

"Nah, even if I could afford it. I couldn't leave him on his own."

We chatted for a while, she talked about how her father had changed and how much it had destroyed him when her mother and brothers died. It was a sad tale. I held her as she sobbed her way through it. Wow, she was an emotional wreck, as well.

Seeing her like that, my heart went out to her. I just wanted to hold her.

Our hug finished when the nurse brought in some meds to get her to sleep. I was sad to leave her. She'd made a hell of an impression on my soft heart.

I laughed inwardly as I climbed into my car. "My dad told me I wouldn't make it in the police force. I was too soft."

Now I feared he might be right.

Back at work the next day, I was greeted by my fellow officers who all gave me a rousing cheer. Apparently, the story of the crash had made the national news and the media had been full of it. I missed all of that, sleeping in late meant I had to rush to get here on time.

I was still doing probationary training. It meant never working alone and doing all the shit jobs. Just like every apprentice, I was treated to a lot of pranks and taunting. I didn't mind, it was mostly good natured stuff. After the previous evening, however, I was taken a little more seriously.

During my lunch break, I drove down to the hospital. I found Aroha sitting up in bed eating her lunch.

Her face broke into a weak smile as I walked in. "How are you feeling today?" I asked.

"Better, thanks."

Pulling a chair up close to the bed, I asked, "What happens now, are they going to release you?"

"Already have, they're just being kind cos I ain't got no way to get home.

"I finish at four. I could give you a ride home, if you like?"

"Choice, be nice to have somebody there when I get home, cos Dad's gonna go fucking off his nanna."

"Okay, I'll stop in about four-thirty and pick you up."

"How long ya been a cop?"

Leaning back in the chair, I replied, "This is my first posting, I'm still a trainee."

"I wanted to say ta for last night, aye. Them other fellas, they wouldn't have done what you did."

"You might be surprised, Aroha. People usually do the right thing. If I hadn't showed up, they would have saved you."

"Don't reckon," she snapped back quickly. "I'm glad you showed up anyway, so ta."

"No worries, I'm glad as well. Do you have any clean clothes to wear home?"

She shrugged glibly. "Nah, they cut me jeans off last night, and me hoodie was covered in blood and muck."

"I'll get you something," I said, picking up on her hint. "Do you need anything else?"

She shook her head. "Why're ya being so nice?"

"I'm just trying to help." I gave her a hug, as she was looking increasingly scared. "Don't worry about your father. I'll be there to smooth things over. Does he know about the car?"

She nodded, sighing deeply. "Yeah, the cops came this morning and told me they went out to see him. Apparently, he fucking lost it."

Tokoroa isn't a shopping haven. There were a couple of clothing and apparel shops, but they were expensive. The Warehouse was my only real option. I found her a nice pair of skinny jeans and a really nice top. Not really knowing what else to get, I found some panties, and as I was walking to the counter, saw a nice hoodie. The grey and pink went together pretty well with the top, so I got that as well.

Pulling up at the hospital, I started to get nervous. The other officers all warned me about Aroha's father. He sounded like a very nasty piece of work.

Aroha, at least, looked happy to see me. I hadn't thought this through. The jeans were a waste of time. With her leg in a cast, they were as much use as tits on a bull. I had done a little shopping for myself while I was there, and had bought a cute dress. When I held it out to her, she laughed. "Me, in a dress? Fuck, girl, what were ya thinking?"

I laughed at her response, but she tried it on, and it at least worked with her cast.

"Do I still get to keep the others?" she asked cheekily.

"Yeah, may as well." That brought about another hug, and we were soon on our way. As we drove past McDonald's, I saw the hungry look. "Do you want to get something to eat before going home?"

"Nah, I ain't got any cash."

I pulled into the drive-through. "What do you want, my shout."

That was a mistake; her order was huge. After collecting our order, I spotted the car park area at the school only had a couple of cars in it.

Aroha attacked her food like a starving animal, but it did give us a chance to talk. I already knew about her record, she had been picked up for shoplifting a couple of times. She and some friends got busted tagging the recreation centre.

It was when she opened up about her mum's car accident, and losing her and her brothers that I got an insight into the real Aroha. It was like opening a tap, it just flowed out of her. The tough exterior was nothing more than a facade.

She liked to act tough and make snide jokes about everybody and everything. Once you peeled of that outer layer, there was a really nice person hiding inside.

After we finished our food, we drove out to her home. What a flaming dump. As I had been warned, there was shit piled everywhere, the fences were falling down, the grass around the house was up past the window sills, there were smashed panes of glass, the front door hung off only one hinge.

As we parked out front, a very large man appeared from around the back of the house. "About fucking time, girl. Where the fuck have ya been?"

"Sorry, Dad." Aroha, spluttered.

His eyes fixed on me. "What the fuck are you staring at?" He stood there, in a badly stained, once white singlet, his ripped trousers hung loosely, tied around the waist with rope.

He was grossly overweight, his huge belly hanging over his trousers.

I held out my hand. "I'm Charli Temple."

He shook my hand begrudgingly. Aroha hobbled around on her crutches. "Serves ya bloody right," he snarled. 'Ya had no right to steal my fucking car. We're fucked now, can't even get to town."

"Sorry, Dad," she said meekly.

"You'll be fucking sorry all right," he barked "Get your arse inside," he ordered Aroha. To me he hissed, "You can fuck off as well." He was quite a scary sight; he might not have been tall, but he was at least as wide as he was tall.

Sucking it up, I replied. "If you lay one hand on that girl you'll be in deep water Mr, Watene."

"Fuck off, she's my daughter. Now get your arse off my property."

I could see, Aroha through what must have been the kitchen window. Not wanting to make the situation worse, I decided to leave. Driving away didn't seem right, but I was stuck. If I made a big noise, he would just take it out on Aroha.