The Last Place

THE ACCIDENT

Soft sunlight slipped through the curtains of Eva's bedroom, painting golden patterns across the walls. Outside, the streets of Edinburgh were unusually quiet. A thin layer of mist hung over the rooftops, and the cold morning breeze carried the smell of rain through the half-open window.

Eva was still asleep, wrapped comfortably in her blanket, completely unaware that this ordinary morning would become the beginning of something she could never have imagined.

“Eva! Wake up, sweetheart. Your breakfast is getting cold!”

Her mother's voice drifted through the room.

Eva groaned and pulled the blanket over her head.

“Five more minutes, Mum.”

“You said the same thing ten minutes ago!”

“Then clearly, I need another five.”

Her mother sighed, but Eva could almost hear the smile in her voice.

“Come downstairs before I come up there myself.”

That was enough to make Eva sit up.

A few minutes later, she joined her parents for breakfast. Her father was sitting against the pillows on their large bed, reading something on his phone, while her mother arranged the breakfast tray between them. It was one of those little family habits Eva had grown up loving, eating together whenever the morning allowed it.

Eva reached for a piece of toast and took a sleepy bite.

“So,” her mother began, looking at her, “you have college today, don't you?”

Eva paused.

“Why wouldn't I?”

“Because of the flu outbreak, darling. Haven't you heard? Several colleges around Edinburgh have been closed temporarily.

Yours might be closed too.”

Eva looked up from her plate.

“What? Since when?”

“Since yesterday evening. They announced it on the news. There's been a rise in flu cases, so they've suspended classes for the time being.”

Her father finally looked up from his phone.

“Your mother is right. You should check the college updates before going anywhere.”

Eva frowned. She hadn't paid much attention to the news the previous night. She had been too busy organising her notes, listening to music, and promising herself that she would go to bed early.

A promise she had, as usual, failed to keep.

“Oh, I know about the closure,” Eva said casually, taking another bite of toast. “But today is different.”

Her mother raised an eyebrow.

“Different how?”

“We have our vaccination appointment at college today. They arranged it for the students, remember? That's why I'm going.”

“Then why didn't you tell us earlier?” her mother asked.

“Because it's not a big deal. I'm not even going for classes. I just need to collect some notes, and I'll be back.”

Her father lowered his phone.

“Eva, if the college is closed, why would you need to go there for notes? Can't you ask someone to send them to you?”

“Dad, I could, but I need a few things from the library. And the vaccination arrangements are already made.” She shrugged. “Besides, I don't want to fall behind just because everyone else has decided to stay home.”

Her mother studied her face for a moment.

“You're sure the appointment is still happening?”

“Pretty sure.”

“Pretty sure isn't the same as being sure, Eva.”

“Mum, please.” Eva smiled and leaned against her mother's shoulder. “I'll be careful. I'll check everything, get my notes, and come straight home. Promise.”

Her mother brushed a strand of hair away from Eva's face.

“Fine. But call me when you get there, and don't wander around unnecessarily. The weather looks terrible.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“And take your jacket.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“And your phone should be charged.”

Eva laughed.

“Mum! I'm going to college, not crossing the Atlantic Ocean.”

“Sometimes I wonder which one would be easier.”

Her father chuckled, and Eva shook her head, smiling.

For a moment, everything felt perfectly normal.

A warm breakfast. Her mother's endless warnings. Her father's quiet amusement. The familiar comfort of home.

Eva had no reason to think she would remember this morning differently one day.

No reason at all.

By the time Eva stepped outside, the clouds had thickened over Edinburgh.

She pulled her jacket closer around herself and adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder. The air was cold enough to turn her cheeks pink, and the pavement glistened from the light rain that had fallen earlier.

She took out her phone and checked the college notice.

The campus was officially closed for regular classes due to the flu outbreak. The vaccination arrangements, however, had been mentioned in a separate notice, though the details were frustratingly unclear.

Eva frowned at the screen.

“Brilliant,” she muttered. “Absolutely brilliant.”

She considered going back home.

For approximately three seconds.

Then she remembered the notes she needed, the assignments waiting to be completed, and the amount of work she would have to catch up on if she stayed home all day.

“Nope. I'm already out. I'm going.”

She slipped her phone into her pocket and started walking.

The streets were quieter than usual. A few cars passed along the wet road, their tyres hissing against the pavement. Shops were only beginning to open, and the trees lining the streets swayed gently in the wind.

There was something strange about the silence.

Not frightening. Not yet.

Just different.

Eva put on her earphones but didn't play any music. She preferred having them in when she walked alone somehow, they made the world feel a little less intrusive.

She thought about the vaccination appointment, wondering whether she would have to wait in a long queue. She thought about the notes she needed to collect. She thought about the message her friend had sent the previous night and how she had forgotten to reply.

Ordinary thoughts.

The kind that fill an ordinary morning.

She didn't notice the car at first.

It was approaching from the opposite side of the road, moving faster than she expected. Eva reached the crossing and glanced briefly in the other direction, watching a vehicle pass.

Then she stepped forward.

A horn blared.

Loud.

Sudden.

Terrifying.

Eva turned her head.

Headlights flooded her vision.

For one suspended moment, she couldn't move. Her mind registered the car, the wet road, the screech of tyres but her body seemed to have forgotten how to react.

Someone shouted.

She heard the sharp, desperate sound of brakes.

And then her bag slipped from her shoulder. Her phone flew from her hand, skidding across the road. The world tilted violently, and the cold pavement rushed towards her.

For a few seconds, there was only confusion.

A distant voice.

Footsteps.

Someone screaming for help.

Eva tried to open her eyes properly, but everything had become blurred. The grey sky above her seemed impossibly far away, and the sounds around her began to lose their shape.

She wanted to move.

She wanted to say something.

Anything.

But her body wouldn't listen.

A strange heaviness settled over her, spreading through her arms and legs. The world around her grew quieter, as though someone were slowly turning down the volume of a song.

Her eyes fluttered.

The sky blurred into a pale wash of grey.

And somewhere in the distance, she heard a voice calling her name.

“Miss? Can you hear me?”

Eva tried to answer.

She really did.

But the darkness was already closing in.

The last thing she felt was the cold against her skin.

The last thing she heard was the distant wail of a siren.

And then, slowly, gently, everything disappeared.

Eva closed her eyes.

And the world went silent.

End of chapter one.