Rhys Halliday walked towards his principal. He had a big smile on his face and shook the hand of the older white-haired gentleman. He had finally graduated from high school and was excited to enjoy the summer. After receiving his diploma, he looked out at the audience. His mother and father were sitting in the tenth row. It was such an exciting day for the whole family. His parents had worked hard to make sure that Rhys received a good education. It had been a hardship, but in the end it had paid off.
"We are so proud of you, sweetie. I just wish you had decided to go to university."
Rhys rolled his eyes. He decided he was going to work as a lifeguard for the summer and then figure out what to do. He wanted to travel, see Europe, and visit Australia.
"I know mom. We'll see O.K.?"
The rest of the night was uneventful and Rhys lay in bed thinking about the next stage in his life. He really had no close friends and was stuck in a vortex of sorts. He knew what he had to do, but would rather just sit around and do nothing. The only reason he liked lifeguarding was all the neat gadgets he got to use and, of course, seeing women in bikinis wasn't too bad either.
***
Rhys packed up the rest of the first aid equipment. It had been a very busy last day at the beach. Everyone was enjoying the beach before going back to school. He carried the box to the storage area and closed the door. He made his way to his car. The parking lot was empty and the fall breeze made him a little sad. He had told his parents that he would only work for the summer and then make more definite plans.
Driving down the highway, Rhys admired the new cars going by. He was still driving an old hybrid and felt like such a loser. Most people had solar cars and here he still needed gas. Rhys must not have been paying attention because out of the corner of his eye he saw a red car coming at him. Rhys still couldn't explain what happened next, but as he saw the flash of red and heard the screeching of tires, Rhys went from sitting in his car to standing at the side of the road. It felt like his stomach was being pulled in different directions and he closed his eyes so he wouldn't get dizzy. The sensation was like a dream. It was like he was in two places at once, sort of like when you're asleep. You feel the mattress and pillow against your body, but you also feel your feet walking on the ground. He blinked and watched the accident unfold.
The red car that had come out of nowhere smashed into his green hybrid. Both cars skidded into the cement wall and crashed with a fiery burst of flame. The red and orange flames licked the wall and he knew he only had a short time before his gas tank caught fire.
"Fuck." Rhys made sure there were no oncoming cars as he ran towards the red car. There wasn't much left as the front end was pushed together like an accordion. Rhys wanted to help the driver of the other car. It was the instinct he had as a lifeguard that made him do it. He always wanted to make sure others were safe. He saw a flash of blonde hair and in one motion grabbed her shoulder and pulled her out of the car. She clung to him and he carried her back to the safety of the side of the road.
"Oh my god. Oh my god." Rhys held her tight and ran his hands through her hair. He didn't have a lot of experience with girls, but figured that anything was better than nothing in trying to calm her down.
"It's O.K. You're fine."
"Fine! I am not fine. I was daydreaming about Europe and the next thing I know, my car was spinning out of control." The woman was about Rhys' age and had one of those stylish form-fitting outfits. She had a strange accent and Rhys wondered where she was from. She was definitely not from the D.C. area.
"Oh great. The police." Rhys looked up and the police car had landed between the two mangled cars. He was surprised it had taken that long. Washington's police department had purchased brand new hovercrafts with the most up to date GPS. The last crash he had witnessed, the police were there before the car finished skidding.
He watched as the officer walked towards him. He held the cornea scanner and the blonde woman and Rhys both stood still as he gathered the proper information. Rhys was still holding onto the woman and once the police officer finished looking over both their records on his tracking device and viewed the accident from the satellite picture, he looked up.
"Mr. Halliday. How did you get out of the car so fast?"
"Umm." Rhys bit his lip. He really had no idea how that had happened and now that he thought about it he didn't really remembered getting out of the car. He remembered being in the car and then he wasn't.
The officer turned to the blonde woman who was rolling her eyes and reaching in her bag for her cell phone. "Ms. Jones, you will be charged with dangerous driving. The fine will be in the mail." The blonde woman nodded and then grabbed her cell phone. Rhys assumed she was calling for a ride. The officer turned and faced Rhys.
"You'll need to come with me." Rhys glanced over at the cute blonde and before he had a chance to say anything he was whisked into the police cruiser. Legal proceedings moved so fast in the future. As the car took off towards the nearest police station, the demolition truck was already there cutting up both cars into small enough pieces. Recycling had become a way of life in the 31st century and almost every part of a car could be reused. Rhys stared out the window. His day had gone from melancholy to very bad. He didn't even want to think what his parents would say.
Rhys was dragged into the station and put in a room. He looked around and saw nothing. The walls were white. There were no windows. It was like a prison. Had he been put into jail? Rhys was startled and, a few minutes later, the door opened and an older woman dressed in a beige business suit entered. She was probably about 40 years old and had perfectly manicured nails along with perfectly styled hair. The material of her suit was most definitely the new self-cleaning type. Whoever this woman was, she was rich. Before Rhys had a chance to say anything, she began to speak.
