Summary: So much can happen in a blink of an eye; lives can be lost, and the course of others' can be changed forever. (Alternative ending to Season 2 – Who Knew?)

The Blink of an Eye

I've finally spread my wings; I can fly, seventeen year old Matt Camden thought as he flew out of the confinement of his parents' home. All of his life, living as a preacher's kid, he had lived under his father's strict uncanny rules. While always wanting to rebel, he always had to put on that good boy image in the end knowing he had to do what was right. Every attempt at rebelling eminently failed; now, it was as if he had finally succeeded at pure rebellion.

He hadn't even smoked marijuana, not yet; regardless to what his parents thought. "Is this why you've never been able to hold down a job?" his father had spat at him during his outburst in there. No, I can't hold down a job because I have a prick for a father, Matt thought. Some might consider him lucky; his father did care about him. He cared far too much.

"…what if one of the younger kids had found this?" his father had asked him; the thought was still embedded in Matt's mind. "...if you would have thought about anybody but yourself for a second it might have occurred to you that the look that you just saw on Simon's face is the look of a kid who's just lost all respect for his older brother." Simon. Matt shuddered at the thought of losing Simon forever. He remembered the day his baby brother was born; it had been the happiest day of his life. Matt remembered his promise to baby Simon: "I'm going to be the best big brother ever to you, I'm going to teach you everything you need to know about life!" After having two little sisters, a baby brother had been a blessing. That had been eleven years ago; Matt had only been six years old.

People changed; Matt had changed since he was six. He wasn't the best big brother to Simon. He had let down all of his siblings, even Ruthie. Oh God, Ruthie, he thought. Poor little Ruthie; he knew she looked up to him. She's too little to understand, Matt decided, which comforted him slightly. He had to do this; he had to break free for once.

A rush of adrenaline filled Matt's body as he dove into the back of Mitch's car; Johnny D and Mitch were in the front. "Sup bro?" Mitch greeted his friend.

"Nothin', let's get out of here!" Matt stipulated anxiously. He kept glancing back at the front door just waiting for his father to come chasing after him, but he didn't. As they drove away down the street Matt kept turning his neck still waiting for his father to come running after them. He didn't.

"You're gonna have a blast, preacher boy!" Johnny D told him. "We'll show you how to have some real fun." Real fun, I could use some real fun, Matt thought. The wind blew in his hair as he looked ahead. His instincts told him this was wrong. He couldn't turn back now, it was too late. This was his chance; his change to experience what life was all about – his chance to breech out of his preacher boy image.

This is wrong, Matt couldn't help but think. He thought of his siblings at home; of Mary, of Lucy, of Simon, and of course of little Ruthie. I'm their role model, Matt told himself, they look up to me. He pushed that thought out of his head. This wasn't about them, it was about him. As much as he wanted to shout, "Stop the car!" he resisted. His mouth remained pinned shut by his teeth digging into his lip. The wind blew in his hair, across his face, and he felt a cold sweat dripping down his face.

"You look a little tense," Mitch commented, turning around. "Here, have this." He handed him a marijuana cigar, similar to the one he had given Matt earlier that day. Mitch handed him the lighter.

"That will relax your tension," Johnny D assured, taking his eyes off the road for a few moments to glance back at Matt.

Matt looked down at the cigarette; to smoke, or not to smoke. There he had two choices. Slowly, he found himself lighting the cigarette. He looked up to see Johnny D watching him, still not paying attention to the road.

"Don't you think you should be watching the road?" Matt questioned anxiously in his cold sweat, noticing the car beginning to swerve back and forth. His head begun to spin; he wasn't sure if it was because of the smell from the cigarette or because the car was off course.

"Preacher boy, don't worry, I've got me some eyes in the back of my head," Johnny D laughed, still disregarding the road ahead of him. Matt's attention focused to the road unnoticed by Johnny D. They had swerved to the other side of the lane and a blue Chevy was coming at them head on.

Matt's heart leaped a mile. Without thinking, he threw the cigarette out of the car. "Johnny D! Look!" Matt yelled in panic as he reached for the steering wheel. It was too late. He blinked as a whoosh of wind overcame his body preventing his muscles from functioning. A bright light flashed over his line of vision and all went black.

It was all over in the blink of an eye
Thousands of people walking by
a big black bird swooped out of the sky
nobody knew the reason why

- Procol Harum ~ "The Blink of an Eye"

Note: This is only a prologue, I know it's very short. This is just an idea I had after again seeing "Who Knew?" You all are probably wondering if I ever get happy ideas to write about. Nonetheless, let me know what you think, I do have an idea of where I could take this if people want me to continue.