“The Catalyst” Series
Chapter 40: Another Day, Another Emergency
We arrived home dejected and tired. The girls had done like
I asked, so the only people at home were family, though Becky and Melinda thought that if we were keeping up appearances, then it was OK for them to be here, so
we had two more for dinner. The only one of my girls left was Anh, since she
technically served as our housekeeper and her ability to pretend she didn’t
speak English would prevent her from having to answer any questions. However,
she planned on staying inside where no one could observe her easily. I’d
dropped Kitty off before coming home, reminding her not to say anything to
anyone, however needless such warnings were by now.
Just like the Sisters they replaced, Becky and Melinda greeted us at the door, hugging and commiserating with us. They both gave me a big hug,
neither one afraid to show me physical affection any more. Mom gave me her own
hug before steering us to the dining room table already laid out with dinner. I
guess when mothers worry, they cook, so now we have quite a feast awaiting us.
Despite not feeling hungry, I scarfed down quite a bit. Cate explained to our
sisters how she thought that was due to how the stress was likely draining what
little reserves I had, just before she recounted the troubles I’d had late
Friday night. I still felt a little ill at ease telling my parents about
my sexual endeavors, but everyone else in the family was well beyond that minor
concern, so they didn’t hesitate and no one reacted negatively. After that we explained
in detail everything that had happened to us. I mentally broadcast the
conversation to each of my girls, including Patricia. Cate worried doing so
would tire me even more, but I explained they deserved to know, especially
since they couldn’t be here. Besides, telepathy hadn’t shown any evidence of
tiring me before. Cate grumbled about that argument, but didn’t pursue it.
We discussed what had been said and what the reporter knew
about us. Dad remarked, unhelpfully, that another reporter, Albert Rodriguez, had effectively chased me out of New Orleans, and this one had chased me out
of St. Louis. I didn’t find such comparisons particularly soothing or helpful,
as they didn’t give me any insight into how to handle the situation. We
essentially decided it wasn’t looking good. About all we could do now was to
just lie low and hope she wasn’t smart enough to find us. Somehow I wasn’t
quite willing to pin my hopes on that.
The problem wasn’t so much her tracking me here to
Shawneetown. The problem was our presence in Carbondale, only a couple hour’s
drive from St. Louis. Since they both shared the same television airspace, any
news about me in St. Louis would alert anyone who’d seen me in Carbondale. All it would take would be someone volunteering some information about me, and
several people would be in trouble. I didn’t think any of my girls would leak
anything, nor the doctors or nurses at the hospital, but the patients or their
families were another matter, as were the other sorority girls at SIU. Plenty
of people had seen me and could link me to a number of enterprises.
After we recounted our story, Becky explained that Mom
called them in and they were going to stay over, replacing my girls and
hopefully confusing anyone looking for them. It was a far stretch, not likely
to fool anyone, but it was better than nothing. Still, I couldn’t see it
confusing anyone seriously interested in us. Both Becky and Melinda firmly told
me they’d provide whatever comforting my girls normally offered me, even if
that included cuddling with me in bed at night. I don’t think they meant it
sexually, so the offer was appreciated.
Finally, after way too much discussion, I had to explain
again that I had to get out alone to think, despite any objections to the contrary.
I explained that too much had been happening lately, between Lisa Woodall, Clara, and the evidence of my impending medical problems. Plus I also had to
decide how we were going to handle all the women around me. We might be able to
hide them away for a few days, but we needed some longer term plans. Melinda started to say something on the subject, but Becky elbowed her. However I wasn’t paying
them too much mind at that moment.
Cate warned me that I couldn’t call if I got into trouble
this time, but I simply asked her what more trouble could I possibly be in, and
that I was simply going for a walk, not a midnight skateboarding adventure.
Finally she relented and I headed out.
I managed to get as far as the end of the yard, my head
obscured by dark thoughts, when I almost ran into someone. I didn’t think much
of it, there are lots of kids wandering around at night here. But when he
insistently blocked my way I had to finally look up at him. It was dark and he
was wearing a dark jacket, black pants and black sneakers. His dark skin
blended into the dark background and his dark hair didn’t help either. I was
about to ask what he wanted when he asked simply, “You Alex Jennings?”
When I acknowledged that I was, thinking maybe this was a
delivery of some kind, he pulls out this great big gun that looks as dark as
the rest of him and points it right at my forehead. Oh shit, I thought to
myself, this is it. All that talk of an early death, all that worry about too
many responsibilities, all the anxiety about discovery, and it all ends like
this with some thug on my normally quiet street in my normally quiet town. I
instantly sent an image of his face and of him holding the gun, to each of my
girls, hoping to at least let them know what happened to me and who to look for,
since I was sure they’d want to exact whatever pitiful attempt at revenge they
could. I squeaked out a simple “Why?” and he just smiled.
“You scared, punk?” he asked. I thought this odd, so I
straightened my shoulders a bit and considered him. He was a big man, dark
skinned, with wide lips and a broad nose and deep set eyes. He had a thin
mustache and a number of tattoos on his face and neck. Pretty typical attire
for the streets, but hardly typical for this area of the country.
“Clearly, but not enough to play whatever games you want.”
That’s it, I thought, act like an arrogant jerk right through to the end.
Haven’t you already got enough people who want to hurt you without adding the
criminal with the gun pointing at your head?
“You should know your place,” he added cryptically, making
no sense at all as my mind again switched into slow motion as it typically does
when faced with danger. I saw his finger begin to tighten on the trigger. I
again sent as much detail about him as I could, including the few things we’d
said, then simply shut my eyes, trying to think of any possible way out that I
could. Thinking it was taking an awfully long time for him to pull a simple
trigger, I opened my eyes again. I’d assumed it was that stupid slow motion
shit again, just when it won’t do me any good. The gun was still there, the
finger was part way back, the barrel was resting maybe an inch and a half from
my forehead. I refocused my vision and looked into his eyes, hoping to somehow
make it personal for him, something they always tell you to do with potential
murders. However his eyes seemed lost. They had a glazed look about them. Then
I noticed his left jaw was hanging open and a small line of drool was hanging
from his lip. Slowly the gun started to slide to the side a bit and descend at
the same time. I watched as the gun began to drift lower and lower, first
between my eyes, then across my nose, then across the side of my mouth. What
the fuck is going on, I asked myself, unbelievably, as the gun drifted lower
and lower.
It finally dropped down to my chest, I still wasn’t out of
danger yet, but it was a damn sight better than my forehead, when I hear a
noise behind me. It took a second for the sound to hit me, then I realized what
it was, it was the front door opening. Suddenly the thug’s eyes brightened a
bit, and he seemed to wake up. He started to consciously move the gun again.
Thinking he’s going to shoot one of the girls I tried to block him, to get
between us when suddenly I see that same damn finger finally tighten.
That was it.
Suddenly I feel a sharp pain explode across me, the pain
both so sharp and so quick that I couldn’t immediately place it. I feel myself
physically lifted off of the ground. I didn’t hear any sound. No pop, no bang
and no explosion. Just the overwhelming pain, and I’m in the air once again,
just like I was back in New Orleans, oh so long ago. The pain makes it
difficult to think of anything other than its searing sting. I feel myself
hanging in mid-air, halfway between rising and falling, simply waiting for
gravity to finally call for me. My arms flail behind me as my body starts to
descend. I’ve got no contact point so I can’t press or shift myself. I can’t
bring my arms up to my face since they’re so far behind me, simply flopping in
the air. As I start to sink lower I finally hear some noises. It’s like what always
happens when everything switches to slow motion, you notice the strangest
things. However I realize these noises are voices, shouting voices. I hear a
pop of some kind, but not a gun or explosive pop, simply a pop like one of
those party poppers you pull during the holidays. I idly wonder why it should
matter if I’m already dead, then figure if I can feel this much pain I can’t be
dead yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
I finally managed to focus enough to recognize the lancing
pain in my neck, radiating throughout my head and my chest. A neck shot means
either complete paralysis or a severed artery. That is if it was actually a
neck shot. A bullet to the head can trigger all kinds of phantom pains, I told
myself. There’s no telling what a high speed projectile can do to the brain,
most of the people who suffer one of those never live to tell of it.
As my body sank lower I imagined I was sinking into a grave,
but instead of dirt there were colors and fabric. There was movement and
motion. There was sound and cursing. Finally I reached the ground and hit with
a heavy thud and my body bounced, jarring all of my innards. I could see
individual droplets of blood floating before my eyes, like you see in the silly
CSI shows on television. I got tired of all of it and tried to close my eyes,
but the pain kept interrupting me.
I thought of the girls. All the women I know and love, and
who depend on me. All those that I haven’t even met yet, who’ll never know of
me because they’ll never discover their abilities. I thought of Cate, my
parents and my sisters. Finally I thought of my two girlfriends.
Suddenly the question flashes across my consciousness, ‘Are
you OK?’
Hell no, I think to myself, I’m dying, you ass.
‘How badly hurt are you?’
Very, it hurts to think much. I’d rest, but it also hurts too
much to close my eyes.
‘WHERE are you hurt?’
What? My neck of course. I think it’s gone. I’m sure my neck
is severed, or the spine is broken, or the artery is sliced. It was nice
knowing you all. Say goodbye to everyone for me.
Suddenly I felt myself being shaken like a rag doll. I try
to protest but I can’t get my arms to work properly. Oh yeah, they’re paralyzed,
aren’t they. What’s that in front of my face? Why, it’s a hand. Is it one of
mine or someone else’s?
Another hand appeared and waved in front of my eyes. I tried
to focus around the pain and see the thing waving in front of me, but it moves
back and forth too fast.
‘SNAP OUT OF IT, YOU LITTLE SHIT! ‘
Damn, those spirits get mighty pissy, don’t they?
‘Come on, Alex, don’t give up.’ And at the same time
I hear, “Alex, Alex, speak to me?”
Which one is talking? Which one do I listen to? Which one
was yelling at me, and which one is shaking me? Why can’t I focus? Why does my
throat hurt so much?
‘He’s beginning to make more sense, keep going.’
“They say to keep working on him. They think he’s coming
around, but that he may be in shock.”
“Who... who am I... talking to?” I tried to ask. Instead it
came out “Waa... wha ma... taa?”
“Don’t talk, Alex. It makes it bleed more. Just lie still
till the ambulance gets here. But, Alex, please don’t go. Stay here with us.
You can’t leave us, you just can’t.”
I again gurgled a bit and could hear a wet sound that I
assumed was due to the bleeding.
‘Tell her I’m not going,’ I sent out to no one in
particular. ‘Hurt too damn much... to go anywhere.’ I didn’t know if it
would ever get to her, but at the moment it was my only means of communication.
Suddenly something was being pushed at me, then more pain
radiated from my throat as someone was trying to wrench my neck loose or
something. I could feel something wrapped around it so I could only assume they
were wrapping it with something.
Another voice spoke, seemingly from a distance. “They say
he’s coming around. He’s making bad jokes, so he’s somewhat rational.”
“Waa...” I tried to ask again.
“Shh, don’t talk.”
“She says he wants to know what’s happened.” I tried to nod
my head but pain lanced through me as I did, and I had to close my eyes at the
pain.
“We got him,” the voice responded. Now that I was starting
to come back to reality I could identify it as Cate’s, though it seemed remote
somehow. “We rushed out when Anh told us about your message. He shot you as
soon as we got outside, so Becky and Melinda tackled him. We called the police
and Gail before we came outside, so they’re on their way. I think Gail’s relaying your medical status.”
It was good to know someone was in control, because I had no
real memories after the initial event, what I can only assume was when I was
shot. I couldn’t imagine how two girls could overcome an armed gunman from a
distance, but I was still in too much pain to focus. I could feel myself start
shivering.
“Damn it, where are they?” Cate shouted out.
‘Alex, focus honey, don’t think about the confusion or
the pain. Think about us, those who depend on you.’ Once again, the mental
messages were instantaneous, and I could get the meaning quicker than if I had
to try to parse the language.
‘Can’t talk.’
‘We know,’ I received, and I could tell it was Gail this time. ‘Ambulance and police are on the way. Michelle is near.’
Michelle? I thought. Who the hell is Michelle? Finally I
could hear the sound of sirens. More movement caught my eye and I saw Becky moving Cate out of the way.
“Alex, are you OK? Can you move your limbs?”
I took a second to consider and tried to wiggle my toes. It
was hard to focus enough to do it because the pain was nearly overwhelming. They
seemed like they were moving, but I also knew you couldn’t always trust
yourself because of potential phantom sensations. Finally I lifted my hand up
to my face and noticed that it was covered in blood. Apparently I’d been
clutching my throat with it at some point.
“OK, it looks like it didn’t hit the spinal cord, but don’t
try to move, since there might be some bone damage to the spinal column. We
can’t afford to move you too much until we get your neck stabilized.” My sister
was proving her worth, not only as a scientist but also as someone
knowledgeable about physiology. Plus she was helping me focus past the pain
that kept demanding my total attention. I tried speaking again.
“Gaa, uugh, aah,” I got out along with plenty of gurgles.
“No speaking. No head shaking either. Just blink once for
yes and twice for no. It’s safer that way,” she assured me. I blinked twice in
rapid succession for her.
“That’s better. Though I should have added only blink once
for ‘OK’. They shouldn’t be much longer. You’re losing a lot of blood so you’re
going to be getting weak. That’s probably why you’ve started shivering.”
“He wants to know if anyone else is hurt?” I heard from
beside me, finally recognizing Melinda’s voice.
“It’s handy being able to talk like that. Guess you sent
everyone away a little soon, huh?” she asked me pointedly, obviously
disappointed in me not having anyone with me when I went storming out of the
house.
“No, no one else was hurt,” Melinda answered. “What happened
to the shooter? He looks like he had a minor stroke or something.” I blinked
once at her. She looked me in the eye. “That seems awfully lucky. Maybe just a
bit too lucky to be purely coincidental.”
“She says Gail doesn’t want any of us to say anything yet.
They have to work out what happened before we volunteer anything. Just play up
the difficulty in speaking, and we can answer any questions for him,” Melinda explained.
“He wants to know what happened to the shooter. Dad is
watching him at the moment, Alex. Frankly, he’s in no condition to do anything
to anyone. I’ll tell you, it’s dangerous attacking you. You always get injured,
but never as much as the person attacking you. I don’t think he could attack a
slug at the moment,” she told me, although I could only parse a small portion
of her words. The pain kept interrupting her sentences.
“Did you know the shooter?” Becky asked me. I blinked twice.
“Did you do anything to him?” I didn’t know how to blink ‘I
don’t know’ to her.
“He says he doesn’t know but it seems possible. He has no
idea how, but he also has no other explanation.” The sound of the sirens was
getting closer and I began to see a flashing red light.
“All right. No more speaking over the telephone. You can
keep talking to your girls, but we’ve got to pretend you can’t speak. They
should be here shortly.”
Soon after everything started happening. An ambulance pulled
up, followed shortly by a police car. Just as a paramedic was kneeling by me I
heard a cop shouting out for everyone to stay where they were. Becky started giving the paramedic her medical background, never detailing how far afield it
was, and describing what she’d been able to gather about me, telling him she’d
only just started checking on me after having wrestled with the shooter.
“Someone will have to look after him as well,” she warned
him. “It looks like my brother might have been saved by his having a stroke at
just the right second. Guess a life of crime has an effect on you after all,
huh?”
“I’d call that an incredibly lucky stroke,” he laughed. “OK,
Alex, is it? Can you follow my finger?” he asked, moving his finger back and
forth. I made sure to do it only with my eyes.
“OK, you’re responding a little slowly but not too badly.”
“He seems like he was in a bit of shock but seems to be
coming out of it,” Becky explained. “He’s also started shivering, but whether
that’s from shock or from blood loss is an open question.”
The paramedic quickly had me outfitted in a neck brace, and
he and Becky got me onto the portable gurney. The neck brace application was
made difficult by the need for bandages to prevent further blood loss, which
was also made difficult by their fear of moving my head at all.
The other paramedic had gone over to check my potential killer
after the police cleared him. Suddenly there was a quick commotion to the side,
as I heard several familiar voices screaming at me. The policeman yelled at
them but they ignored him and swarmed around me.
“You’ve got to keep back,” the paramedic warned them. “Who
are all of you and what’s your relationship with the victim?”
“They’re friends who live with us and help around the
house,” Becky informed him, further complicating my previous attempts to
distance their associations with me.
“Sorry, but they can’t come with us. Are you riding with us
or coming separately?” he asked my sister.
“I’ll get there with the rest of the family, but can my
sister Cate go with you? She’s really close to him and is likely to be
distressed. Plus, she’s the best one to keep him calm and focused, which might
be important when the doctors examine him. She was the first one to get to him,
and to get him focused and somewhat sensible.”
“Yeah, I guess we can manage that as long as she manages to
control herself,” he warned.
“You’ll also have to take him to Carbondale,” Becky informed him. “Alex has a special doctor there who wants to take responsibility for him.”
“Sorry, no can do. We have to take him to the nearest
facil...” My mother handed him a phone.
“His father and I authorize the transfer, as does the head
of the Carbondale Memorial Hospital, who’s on the phone.”
The paramedic nervously took the phone and listened for a
few minutes.
“Frankie, we’re taking him to...” the paramedic started to
tell his partner before he was interrupted by the policeman who shoved his way
in.
“You’re to take him to Carbondale Memorial,” he insisted in
a no nonsense manner. “Everything has been arranged.”
“All right,” the paramedic answered, “I guess we’re driving
all the way to Carbondale. How’s the other guy, Frankie?”
“Not good, but he’s not critical. He can talk, but he’s only
somewhat mobile. Is there any problem taking them both in the same van?”
Mom was about to object when Cate grabbed her arm.
“I’ve just been told you’re to take both to Carbondale, but they are to be taken using separate ambulances for obvious reasons. Carbondale has better resources than the closer facilities,” the officer instructed them.
“Make sure the other ambulance knows he’s supposed to be handcuffed at all
times. The handcuffs are to remain unless we’re assured by a doctor that he’s
not a threat to anyone. I’ll provide an escort, as they want us to keep an eye
on this one.”
“Take care, Alex, we just had to see for ourselves what you
looked like. We’ll go to the hospital and be there when you’re ready,” Shani
informed me. I blinked once out of force of habit, although it certainly wasn’t
necessary. I was loaded into the ambulance, and Cate climbed in after me after
I was safely strapped in and an IV was started on me.
“Be strong for everyone, Alex,” she advised me. “Allison, Brooke and Ryan will meet you there.” I managed to give her a limited thumbs up with
my strapped down arm as we started to pull away. It was only then that I
managed to finally evaluate what my general state was.
My head had cleared, although it was hard to think with the
shooting pain in my neck, no pun intended, please. I had a headache, probably
from smacking the back of my head when I landed on the ground. I was still
shivering despite their throwing a thin blanket over me. Apparently I hadn’t
bled out so it looked like an artery hadn’t been hit. Those accounted for most
of the vital organs in the throat, so I might just be in the clear, assuming
the bullet hadn’t hit my lymph nodes or something similar. I guess I might just
pull through this after all.
I knew I’d have to consider just how I’d managed to survive
that, since the odds of the gunman having a stroke at that exact moment seemed...
but my thoughts were interrupted as I started shivering.
The EMT riding in the back with us noticed this and tossed a
blanket over me, which Cate lovingly and worriedly fit around me so it covered
me properly. I glanced at my sister as we hurtled through the night heading for
the same hospital I’d been in so recently for a similar incident. She smiled
weakly at me and all I could do was try one myself, although mine ended up as
more of a grimace than anything else. She moved closer and held my hand.
“God, you’ve got this way of scaring everyone, Alex. You’ve really got to find a better hobby.” I tried to grin again, but it just generated
more throat pains.
“You know none of your women are ever going to be separated
from you again? They’re not likely to ever trust me around you again, either. I
keep letting you bully me into letting you wander the streets like you’re
invincible and have no enemies.” She paused for a moment.
“Have you thought about who might have arranged this?” Since
I couldn’t respond I just blinked once, but I had no idea if she’d been paying
attention when Becky was going through that with me. “We’re going to have to
hire armed guards just to walk you around the block.” She sighed in
exasperation. “I guess this means Gail won’t have any choice but to take your
offer. You need a full time body guard so protective of you she even sleeps in
your bed. Either that, or she’ll have to train me how to shoot someone. Maybe I
should have Anh train me in the oriental art of fireplace pokers?
“Do you have any idea how seriously you’d fuck us all up if
anything happened to you? We all depend on you. And what was that last movement
of yours. It looked suspiciously like you were putting yourself between the
gunman and us. That’s just stupid, Alex. You should know you’re much more
important to this whole process than any of us. The girls would all give their
lives for you, and your whole family would do the same thing as well. You’ve
got to get over this whole heroic male thing of yours, and think of yourself as
a valuable public servant instead. It’s more important to save yourself than
anything else.”
I started blinking repeatedly in an attempt to shut her up,
we certainly didn’t need for her to be spreading any more rumors about me. She
still had a tendency to give away too much in normal conversations held with
others around. I don’t know if she got the message or not, but she fell silent
while looking into my eyes for awhile.
“Jesus, Alex, I really love you, and I know everyone else
does too. Oh shit,” she suddenly recoiled. “I forgot to call your girlfriends.
We contacted everyone the girls thought were vital, but I didn’t call them.”
She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and started
dialing.
“Hello? Martha? It’s Cate. Look, something serious happened
to Alex. He’s been shot. Could you tell Kitty for me, and possibly call Chalise
as well. We’re on our way to the hospital as we speak. He’s stable right now,
but he’s lost a lot of blood.” She fell silent while listening to the response.
“He was shot in the neck. I’m not sure why the neck, but it
looks like the shooter had a stroke so he might have been aiming for Alex’s head and his arm just slipped.” She listened again for a couple moments.
“Thanks, I appreciate it. Tell Chalise and Kitty that he
sends his love to them. Bye.” She replaced the phone and smiled at me again.
“OK, that’s over with. They’re going to be soooo
pissed at you, Alex. You’ve got to find a way to stop having people try to kill
you. Couldn’t you just do something safe like bungee jumping, cliff diving or lion
wrestling?”
“Did I hear something about a couple of girlfriends?” The
paramedic asked while checking my blood pressure readings.
“Yeah,” Cate laughed. “He has two official girlfriends, a
whole group of wanna be girlfriends, several devoted household slaves, and a
dedicated family ready to do anything for him. You’re probably looking at the
one high school student with the greatest group of dedicated groupies you’re
ever likely to meet. How many young boy band singers do you know whose fans
would take a bullet instead of him? And then this lunkhead,” she said,
punctuating the thought with a punch in the arm, “goes and puts himself in
front of the bullet himself.”
The paramedic, I saw his name was Omar, looked at her
crossly but didn’t reprimand her for hitting someone on a backboard and wearing
a neck restraint collar. “He sounds like quite a young man. Too bad he can’t
dodge bullets?”
“Oh, he dodged it pretty well. I think the guy was aiming
for his head from about a couple feet away at the time. We were all in the
house when it happened. He’d just insisted he needed time to think on his own
and had stormed out of the house after demanding that no one follow him. I
can’t think of anyone who deserved to get shot more than he did, but I’d gladly
trade places with him, even if I’m not quite as good at dodging bullets as he
was.” Fresh tears were beginning to leak from her eyes, causing the various
bloody fingerprints all over her face to smear.
Just then we pulled into the hospital emergency bay and
everything got busy again. I took the opportunity to send a message to everyone
else.
‘Where is everyone?’ I asked.
‘I’m in the car with your family,’ Shani sent back.
‘Nikki and I are in a separate car with the others,’
Anh answered.
‘I was staying with Rebecca,’ Allison said. ‘She’s
currently watching Brooke’s kids, and Brooke and I are waiting for you at the
hospital.’
‘I’m driving down, I’ll meet you at the hospital, but I’m
talking off and on with Michelle,’ Gail told me.
‘Who the hell is Michele?’ I asked her, still
confused by the name.
‘That’s Officer Michelle McCallister,’ she reminded
me, and I suddenly remembered her. How the hell could I forget someone like
that? She’d been helping me quite a bit and I couldn’t even remember her. Well,
I guess I had an excuse of having almost been shot in the face.
‘Did you tell her anything?’ I asked.
‘There wasn’t much to say. All I knew was that you’d been
shot. It took a bit of juggling to get the proper calls made in the proper
order, but we arranged that while your sisters went out after you. Jesus, Mary
and Joseph, Alex, you’ve got to stop this type of thing. One of these days
someone’s going to succeed in trying to kill you,’ she responded angrily. ‘When
I get to the hospital, I think I’m going to give you a serious beating, that is
if you’re still breathing by the time I get there. What’s more, I think each of
your girls will want to strangle you as well, and then we’ll let your family
and your girlfriends work their frustrations out on you for a while. This is
serious. Everyone is pissed and crying, from what I hear your parents are a
mess. I think Cate has been putting on a brave front for you, but I know she’s
torn up about this as well.’
‘Well, if it’s any consolation, they
almost did
kill me this time. I was sure I was dead and I was busy trying to say goodbye
to you all,’ I told her.
‘Yeah, we got that. It’s pretty drastic, surprising
someone with an image of someone holding a gun in their face and telling them
goodbye and have a nice life. You’ve got to find a friendlier way of saying you
need your own space than that.’ I knew she was joking, but she didn’t seem
very friendly in her delivery. I guess that’s just my style, always piss off
the person with the gun.
By now I was being wheeled into an Emergency Room and
several people started swarming around me, so I was too distracted to converse
any further. I’d lost Cate when they wheeled me in. I couldn’t see her but she
may have just been standing a short distance away to avoid the confusion and
any blood.
“Don’t worry, Alex, we’ll take good care of you. It doesn’t
seem to be too serious,” Ryan consoled me, though it’s hard to hear how good
you are when people are talking about performing emergency surgery on you.
They were all very efficient. They examined me, determined
they couldn’t wait for an X-ray and took me to the operating room as soon as
they could arrange for everyone to be ready. There they put me under while they
sewed me up and checked for any fragments or any potential damage. That took me
out of any further action for a good bit. I just hoped I’d see some friendlier
and happier faces when I finally came to.
To Be Continued...