Dalton Georgia Train Wreck

## River's Perspective

### Leading up to the train wreck

River accidentally fell asleep while relaxing on his bed after a 14hr work shift. He fell asleep around 7pm. Jane, his girlfriend, started to worry around 9pm after not hearing from him once he got home

(this is because River got in a minor car accident once while driving home from work and she became paranoid if she didn’t hear from him.)

She knew he stayed up late and was afraid he had gotten hurt on the way home. She called him repetitively until he woke up and answered. Relieved, she apologized for her panic and wished him a good night. River instantly fell back asleep without hanging up on her. Smiling, Jane told him she loved him and hung up.

A few hours later (around 12am) Jane texted River. Another suicidal episode. She spammed him, saying how she’s “trying to fight the demons” and the *“Evil Angel”* in her head. River eventually awoke after receiving constant texts and quickly texted back to comfort her. After texting back and forth, River decided to finally call her. Even though he was extremely exhausted, he felt a duty to serve her no matter what. He called her back and listened to her woes, trying his best to stay awake and give her solace. After listening to yet another long rant, River passed out from utter exhaustion and dropped his phone over the bed. Now that his phone was on the floor, he could not feel (or hear) the phone buzzing.

Another couple hours later (now 2am) River woke up in a panic. Realizing he fell asleep, he launched after his phone on the floor. He read the essay of messages and panicked. He texted her over and over to hopefully get her to answer. With no response, River quickly jumped out of bed, pulled his shirt and pants on, and quickly drove to her house.

River took the hidden house key and barged into Jane’s house. With her family out of town, he didn’t worry about any parental backlash. He immediately called her name while rushing to the bathroom, a place he knew she attempted before. He tried for the door but it was locked with the lights off. He called her name again, this time more aggressive, desperate, more vulnerable. He wiggled the door handle and pleaded for Jane to be awake. After a long minute of River calling out to Jane, she finally unlocked the door from her knees and looked up to him with tears streaming. He quickly scanned her for injuries. She had a couple of long cuts on her arms and legs, but nothing hospital-worthy. He bit his lip as he fell to his knees and hugged her passionately. He held her tight and stayed silent as she wept. He closed his eyes tight, knowing how much pain she was in. After about 5 minutes, Jane was calm. River then helped her clean her superficial wounds while she sat on the bathroom counter. After some time in silence, Jane kissed him on the cheek softly as he finished bandaging her. He looked up and smiled with a bit of melancholic gratefulness. With red eyes, she thanked him and asked if they could go out for a drive so she could get some fresh air and get away from the house.

Jane enjoyed driving to calm her nerves. River always hesitated at this request when she was highly emotional, but he always gave in. He figured it helped her, so why not? They drove around the barren Georgia roads and even went off-road to enjoy the experience of freedom. After some fun and deep talks, River started falling asleep again. Something about the rocking of the car on a dirt road comforted him. After dozing off a few times, River became a bit disoriented and didn’t realize that Jane had parked on the local railroad tracks. After some time, River woke up suddenly to the touch of Jane holding his shoulder. She smiled at him in the 4am darkness. The kind of dark with hints of blue and orange in the night haze. She began to speak poetically, talking about how grateful she is to have him in her life. Something felt off, but River figured it was because he was still exhausted. Jane continued complimenting River on his devotion to her and how *“everything makes sense now”*. River smiled, but something still felt odd. She slowly spoke from gratefulness to self-hatred, but not with a condescending tone, she spoke with strange solace.