King s Proxy

"Kevin, slow down!" Natalia urged, her voice tight with fright and worry.

Kevin's eyes wavered as he gazed at the winding road ahead, the dashboard lights blurring together.

His fiancée, Natalia, clutched the door handle, her knuckles white with tension.

"I'm fine, babe," he slurred, swaying slightly in his seat. "Just need to get us home quickly. It's a great day! Woohoo!"

As they rounded a curve, a pair of headlights suddenly appeared in the opposite lane, barreling towards them.

Kevin's heart skipped a beat as he jerked the wheel to the right, but it was too late.

"Oh God, Kevin!" Natalia screamed, bracing herself for impact.

Their car smashed into the other car with a deafening crash, sending glass shattering and metal crunching.

Kevin's head whipped forward, his vision blurring.

"Holy shit!" Kevin groaned, the drunkenness clearing from his eyes almost immediately.

Natalia struggled to free herself from the airbag and hurried to the other car in panic, Kevin following suit.

On reaching there, she let out a terrified gasp at the sight before her. Both passengers, a man and a woman, were unmistakably dead.

She shivered and shrieked back, overwhelmed by the grotesquery of blood, glass, and shattered steel splattered all over. It was her first time seeing dead bodies, and the gruesome sight added to her horror.

Kevin's face paled at the scene. He stood completely numb for a while, trying to take in what had just happened.

"They... they are not dead, right?" She stuttered, her voice trembling in denial.

Her question pulled Kevin out of his trance. He ran his hands over his head, his face contorted in distress. "What do we do now? The police will be here any minute."

Dead silence followed, as if time itself had frozen.

Natalia started wiping imaginary sweat from her face. Her heart hammering, "We can explain...it wasn't intentional."

"No! Do you think they will buy that? We just broke the rules and murdered---"

"We?" Natalia interrupted, quite puzzled.

Kevin rushed over to her and held her hands in both of his. "Natty, I can't afford to go to jail. What will happen to my potential and my dreams? I just got my dream job today. That was the reason we went out to celebrate, remember? I'm my parents' only hope." 

He tightened his hold on her, shaking her slightly. "You love me, right? We have known and loved each other since childhood. And today our love is being tested."

"What are you trying to say, Kevin? I'm quite confused." Her face was etched with bewilderment.

"I am asking you for a huge favor," he paused, searching for any change in her expression. "Please take the fall, Natalia."

Her eyes widened in terror. She winced, as if his words struck her physically, and forcefully snatched her hands away from his.

"What--"