The challenge for her now was what would she do otherwise?
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a loud boom and felt the van lurch to the right. Sydney grabbed the fabric seat back in front of her and braced herself as the van moved violently from side to side. She could see the driver grip the steering wheel with both hands, frantically trying to steer the vehicle in a straight line. As he pumped the brakes, she felt her body snap forward, causing her safety belt to tighten on her chest. A loud honking noise grew louder behind them, and something in her mind told her to brace for impact.
The screeching sound of metal against metal exploded in her ear drums as a car slammed into the back of their vehicle. The van wobbled precariously for a moment, and she wondered if they might topple over, but eventually the swaying stopped. Sydney had squeezed her eyes shut before the car hit them from behind and slowly opened them to survey the damage.
“Sydney, are you okay?” Alex asked as he unbuckled his seatbelt, facing her.
“I…I think so,” she said, her voice trembling.
He reached out to her and grasped her head between her hands, looking into her eyes. Then he ran his hands down her sides, searching for any damage to her body. Sydney could see beyond his shoulder that the Jamaican hills were now on her right side; the van had made a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn. They were facing the wrong side of the road, and the van had landed in a low ditch.
“Is everyone all right?” Marcel called from the driver’s seat. He turned around to face them, a small trickle of blood running down his forehead.
“We’re fine,” replied Alex, turning away from Sydney to look at the rest of the passengers. Dan Silva had not been so lucky. She saw his body crumpled on the floor and his wife, Sandy, hunched over him, her hands cradling the sides of his face.
“Dan, are you all right?” she said, the panic rising in her voice.
His response was a moan as he rolled over to make eye contact with her. He had a small gash on the side of his head, which seemed to be swelling before their eyes. To Sydney’s relief, that seemed to be his only wound. Alex left his sea t and knelt down next to him.
“Can you hear me, Dan?” asked Alex. The man blinked a few times and tried to focus on his wife.
“Yes,” he said weakly.
Alex looked at the pupils of his eyes and then up at the driver. “He probably has a concussion. Can you call an ambulance?”
“Yeah mon, no problem.” Marcel grabbed his phone and dialed 112 for emergency services. After he had relayed the information to the attendant, he phoned the transport company he worked for. “Help is on the way,” he said, gesturing to the man on the floor.
Dan was now in sitting position. He seemed to be collecting himself. “I’m sorry,” said Dan to his wife, reaching up to touch his head with a shaking hand. “I shouldn’t have taken my seat belt off.”
His wife did not respond but simply reached over to hug him.
Sydney was touched by the gesture. Seeing the way she comforted her husband made Sydney feel vulnerable and alone.
“I’m going to see what happened,” Marcel called back to them as he unbuckled himself and exited the van.
“Wait here,” Alex said, tapping her leg. He pried open the sliding door and followed Marcel.
Sydney, unsure of what to do next, grabbed one of her travel scarves out of her bag and handed it to the couple.
“Here, take this for the bleeding,” she said, handing it to Sandy.
“Thank you,” said Sandy as she looked up at her with watery eyes.
“I’ll be fine,” interjected Dan. He sat up and placed her scarf on his head. As Marcel and Alex walked around the van inspecting the damage, Sydney and the Canadian couple sat silently. She was too stunned to say or do anything, even take a picture with her phone. Fifteen minutes of this tense silence went by before the ambulance arrived.
While the paramedics insisted on checking out everyone in the van, only Dan required a visit to the hospital. As they loaded him into the back of the emergency vehicle, she could see Sandy holding his hand the entire way. Sydney was touched by the gesture of support and was again reminded that she was alone, except for Alex, whom she hadn’t decided she could fully trust yet.
Alex walked up to Sydney as she made her way back toward the van. He had been pacing up and down the road, talking quietly on the phone. He dropped his phone back into his pocket when he reached her.
“How are you feeling?” he asked. He looked genuinely concerned.
“I’m fine. Just a little shook up,” said Sydney as she pulled a hat out of her bag and pushed up her sunglasses. “How long did they say it would take before another car arrives for us?”
“I’m not sure. It could be a while,” he said with a shrug.
“So, what caused the crash?”
“Marcel thinks we blew a tire,” he said.
“You don’t sound too sure of that,” she said, fingering her wavy blond hair nervously.
“Well…” he said, dropping his hand into his right pocket, “the tire was blown. But I don’t think it was an accident. Come with me,” he said, wrapping his arm around her as they walked farther up the road, away from Marcel and the van.
Sydney looked around as they walked. The accident had left them stranded on the side of a gravel-lined road. To their right was a rocky beach with trees hanging over a long drop down to the ocean. To their left the hills rose up then fell inland. She could see a few low buildings up at the top of the hill, but they were far from inviting. It appeared as if they had been stranded out in the middle of nowhere. When they crested a small hill, Alex dropped his arm back to his side and turned to face her.
Sydney began to feel anxious. That feeling escalated when Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver object. It looked like a mini crumbled soda can.
“Is that a bullet?” Sydney in a loud whisper, the shock registering in her voice.
“Shh. Yes, I found it lying next to the tire after it had deflated.”
“So, someone shot out our tire? Why?” she said. Her mind raced with possibilities.
“I don’t know yet. But if they were able to shoot out our tire, then they had the option to take us out as well. But they didn’t.” Alex scanned the countryside around him.
She could hear seagulls squawking in the distance as he spoke.
“It was a warning, Sydney,” he said, refocusing his eyes on her. “Someone doesn’t want us at the wedding.”
“Who…who would do that?” Her voice shook as she spoke. Sydney had to hold back tears, as the new revelation hit her. Here she was in a foreign country, with a man she barely knew, who was hired to escort her to this wedding. It seemed that not only had her friend been murdered, but she was now in danger herself. She took a deep breath and tried to steady herself.
Alex seemed to sense her change in demeanor. He dropped the bullet back into his pocket and placed his hand on her arm.
“I wish I had more answers, but right now, we just need to keep going. I’ve got an agent who will pick up the bullet once we reach the hotel and run some tests. Once we have the results, we’ll know more about where it came from.” He raised his other hand and now held her gently with both his hands on her arms. “You’re doing great, Sydney. You’ve been very brave.”