Panic (Part 2)

"Good morning."

River opened her eyes to see a room of blinding white. She blinked, and the room began to come into focus, along with a middle-aged man standing over her. She blinked again.

The man finished writing on some chart above her head and sat down in the chair next to her. "I'm Dr. Bright. What's your name?"

River took a few breaths before answering, still feeling as though her head was stuffed full of cotton wool. "Kate River."

She took a good look around the room for the first time and recognised it as a hospital. She was shielded from whoever was next to her by green curtains either side of her bed.

"What - what happened?" she asked, only vaguely recalling being carried in on a stretcher.

"You went into shock, Kate," replied Dr. Bright, shining a light into her eyes. "Nothing to worry about. It's your body's way of protecting itself, and it shut down. Still, it was lucky that you were on the way to hospital when you passed out. Can you follow my fingers with your eyes, please?"

River obediently did so. "How long have I been out?"

"About five hours," replied Dr. Bright.

"Five hours!" River exclaimed in shock. "I don't - what happened - I..." Suddenly her breath caught in her throat as she remembered. Slowly, she raised her right hand to her face, and focused in on it.

Carlton's blood still coated her hand. She nearly screamed, but caught herself just in time. "What - what happened to him?" she heard herself say.

"Lie back down and I'll tell you," said Dr. Bright, firmly but kindly. River glared but did so. "Now, your friend was taken up to surgery as soon as he arrived. He was in a bad way."

River started to shake, and Dr. Bright wrapped another couple of blankets around her. "Oh my god," she whispered again. "What - what happened? Why didn't his protective vest work?"

"The vest would have protected him just fine, but Mr. Carlton was very unlucky. The bullet hit him just at the neck where the vest met his shirt, and projected downwards into the torso, piercing one of his lungs and causing severe internal bleeding. He was taken straight into surgery, where he is now."

River nodded, trying not to faint again. The edges of the room had started to go misty and grey, and she heard a ringing in the distance. She took several deep breaths, and a bit of colour began to return to her cheeks. "I must go to him."

Dr. Bright pushed her back onto the bed. "Lie back down," he ordered, but his tone was kind. "Firstly, because although you are doing well, but you still need to rest. Secondly, because Mr. Carlton is still heavily sedated and in intensive care, so you can't see him. Thirdly, because there's someone who needs you more than he does right now. Can I bring her in?"

River nodded, and Dr. Bright left for a moment, returning a few minutes later with a girl walking beside him. A girl, whose wildly curly hair, big eyes and a pale face stained from crying, made her seem a lot smaller than she really was.

"Louise," River said, wrapping her arms around Carlton's teenage sister. "Louise, I'm so sorry." Louise said nothing, just held her.

**

They had only been waiting for two and a half hours, but it felt like several days. Neither girl could speak, they just sat there, side by side, waiting for the doctor to come in with news. Whenever anyone walked past, they both jumped, their hands gripping each other's in anticipation. But, inevitably, the nurse walked past their bed, and their hands relaxed. They would exchange a look, which said yes, I know. But at least it's not bad news. And then they would go back to their waiting in silence.

Louise was the first to break it. "He won't leave me, will he?" she said, in a tiny voice, not looking at River, just begging to herself.

River looked at her. She was young, too young to have to go through this. But wasn't everyone? She, too, felt too young to cope with it all. She squeezed the younger girl's hand. "I told him not to."

Louise made a noise which was half way between crying and laughing. "But he never listens to you."

River gave a small smile. "This time, he will." She paused, wondering whether they should continue the conversation. "He's strong, your brother."

The door at the end of the ward swung open, and a male nurse with a clipboard came down and stopped opposite River's bed. Both girls took a sharp intake of breath, waiting for the news.

The nurse smiled kindly at them. "The surgery appears to have worked," he said. "The bullet has been removed safely."

This last bit of good news was too much for Louise, who burst into tears. River, on the other hand, had picked up a note of caution from the nurse. "But?"

"But," he began again, "Mr. Carlton reacted badly to the anaesthetic. He's been moved into intensive care and is on a respirator."

Louise looked up. "Can we see him?" she asked eagerly.

The nurse hesitated. "He needs plenty of rest, but provided you keep him calm and don't touch the equipment,  I can let you have a couple of minutes," he replied.

**

"Mark!" Louise ran the whole length of the ward to the bed, skidding to a stop just short. Nervously, she stretched out a hand to touch her brother's, lying on the bed, being careful not to pull out the tube attached to it.

At the light touch, Carlton's eyes flickered open momentarily.

"Mark!" cried Louise again, and tears fell down her cheeks and dripped onto the blanket. "Oh, Mark, I knew you'd make it."

He was so pale, River thought. Too thin. He was a tall man, and regularly towered over her, but he was swamped by the blankets, tubes and machines that seemed to be attached to every part of his body. His eyes held neither that infectious sparkle that annoyed the hell out of her, nor that sharp detecting spark that she loved so much. "Hey, Mark," she said softly, and his lips quivered in a silent reply.

"What did you say?" asked Louise, leaning in closer so she could hear the silent words. River touched her shoulder to bring her back; she was dangerously near the machine that caused the artificial rise and fall of his chest.

"I think he said, don't cry on my blanket," she said with a small smile, and was relieved to see the faint twitch of his lips and a tiny nod in reply.

At that moment the nurse came back in. "You need to leave now," he said, "Mr. Carlton needs to rest. You may be able to return in the morning, if there has been no worsening."

River nodded and began to leave, but Louise stayed for a moment longer, squeezing Mark's hand. "Bye," she whispered, before following River out of the room.

To be continued...