Chapter Text
Solas gathered his papers and shoved them haphazardly into his pack. Throwing the pack’s strap over his shoulder, his eyes swept the lecture hall one last time. No students had lingered. He was free to go home.
The university was silent at this time of night. As he walked across campus in the cool fall air, he reveled in the quiet. The fountain in the center of the quad shined, lit from the underwater spotlights. The beads of sweat that had coalesced upon his forehead during class began dissipating. He sat on the lip of the fountain, the cool spray at his back, covering his suit coat with dew.
He longed for it more often at the beginning of the semester. The bustling of the students during the day often kept him secluded in his office. Eventually he would become used to it once more but until then he would stay safely away from the crowds of pajama-clad college kids.
The main road that ran along the edge of the quad was all but deserted. He saw one car’s headlights, heard the reverberations of the bass. It passed and all he could hear was the fountain’s soft splashes.
Solas closed his eyes, basking in the night. All was as it should be.
TWINGSHHHHH.
Solas opened his eyes. The sudden piercing sound of metal against metal echoed upon the empty halls of the small campus. He stood, his eyes taking in the scene that was still taking place on the road.
Two cars had collided, one’s front reminding him of an accordion. He ran forward, his pack slipping and falling to the pavement in front of the fountain. He reached for his phone in his pocket. The sudden nervous sweat that had broken out in his palms made the phone slip and fall out of his grasp the moment it was out of his pocket. Cursing, he continued running to the wreck, phone crashing to the hard concrete behind him.
The other car was not as damaged as the first, one headlight still flickering weakly. He heard the engine roar as the car swung into reverse and backed away. There was a screeching noise as the owner floored the gas pedal, speeding away from the wreck.
“Hey!” Solas cried in confusion, “Stop!”
Solas reached the street and watched the car swerve unsteadily as it drove away. His forehead creased in anger. A hit and run.
He turned his focus on the car that had still not moved. There was no movement from anyone who had been inside. The entire front of the car seemed destroyed and yet a soft light seemed to emanate from the car.
A fire.
People were materializing out of the shadows, brought out from hiding in the night by the noise of the wreck. Solas did not know much about car fires but knew that if people got too close there would be injuries. The person inside…
“Fire!” he yelled, running to the car, “Stay back!”
He pulled at the driver’s door. He would not watch an innocent person burn to death. The door’s hinges had been damaged and the force of Solas tugging on them caused them to pop right off. The door fell at his feet and exposed the person stuck in the belly of the car.
The woman had been knocked unconscious, a large bloody gash on her forehead. The airbags were deployed but trapped her small frame against the car seat. Solas bent his head to get inside, hands struggling to get past the airbag and unlock her seatbelt.
The fire was now visible. The hood was rapidly catching. Sweat oozed out of his pores, the fire adding to his adrenaline. His hands fumbled out of sight behind the airbag, desperately grasping for the release mechanism. He felt a something solid and pressed down.
Click.
The seatbelt retracted and Solas righted himself, working to free the woman from its clutches.
He reached down, arms wrapped around her legs and shoulders. He silently thanked fate for the woman being so lightweight and short. Solas carefully maneuvered her out of the doorframe and stood.
As soon as she was free and in his arms he begun running from the car. The fire burned bright, oil dripping from a cut line onto the pavement. He ran until he reached the other side of the road, facing the quad and the fountain. Someone was waiting for him.
“I called the cops,” he said, “Is she alright?”
Solas recognized the speaker as a professor from the English department, Professor Tethras. He laid the woman in the grass beside the sidewalk. Apart from the gash on her head she appeared unharmed.
“I don’t know. She may have some internal injuries we don’t yet know about. Until we know we’d do best not to move her.”
“Right,” Tethras said, removing his t-shirt. He kneeled beside the woman and wrapped the t-shirt gently around her forehead to stem the bleeding.
Solas knelt beside the woman and Tethras, holding a hand to his forehead. The car was letting out occasional popping noises. Sirens blared in the distance.
So much for peace and quiet.