Chapter 11: Terry’s Story 01 – There Is Pain And There Is Pain

September – January – Year 1 & 2 The bar closed on time and the band was disappointed that Paul had left without saying good bye. They were packing their trailer when Eric noticed a car in the lot. He scanned the lot because they’d had their van and trailer broken into before and had lost all of their guitars and amps.

He scanned the lot and off at the edge of the lot he saw something on the ground.

“Hey guys? I’ll be right back.”

Eric walked towards the object to get a closer look and as he got closer he could tell that it was a body. He called back to the band and told them to call 9-1-1. He ran to the body and saw that it was Paul. He carefully checked for a pulse and found one. He also found a lot of blood on his hand. At that point he ran back to the van and got the band’s first aid kit.

Eric ran back to Paul followed by Gus, the bass player. He opened the kit and took out a sterile gauze and found the bleeding spot on the back of Paul’s head and pressed the gauze to it. Although it was clotted over, it was still seeping blood.

“Mate, be very careful to not move his head. There could be a neck injury or a skull fracture.”

“I know Gus! I was in the same first aid class with you. Please go over to the road and get that ambulance to get right over here.”

“You got it, Mate.”

Gus took off for the entrance to the bars parking lot and after several minutes Eric heard a siren and soon Eric and Paul were bathed in the headlights of the ambulance. Two EMT’s got out and took their equipment out and came to Paul.

A police car pulled up next to the ambulance and two officers approached the scene. One officer scanned the area to be sure that it was safe and clear. The other officer approached one of the EMT’s and asked some questions, The EMT pointed to Eric and the office approached him.

“Sir, are you the one that found the man?”

“Yes sir.”

The officer began asking several questions.

“Do you know this man?”

“His name is Paul. He was sitting in with our band tonight. We just met him.”

“Do you know his last name?”

“I don’t maybe some of the other band guys do.”

“The EMT said that he has no wallet. Do you have it?”

“No sir. I didn’t check for that. I found him, had the guys call 9-1-1 and then got our first aid kit when I found blood on my hands from his head. I haven’t checked the area to see if it is around.”

The other officer had his flashlight out and found a cell phone and a set of car keys. The phone was dead. He walked over to the only car left in the lot and pressed the button on the key fob. The car horn beeped and headlights came on. The officer opened the glove box and pulled out the rental agreement.

“I got his name. It is Paul O’Dell. We can get his personal info from the car agency.”

With a cervical collar in place the EMTs got Paul on a backboard and into the ambulance. The police spoke to the rest of the band and got as many details as possible. They scanned the area more to see if they could find the wallet or anything else. Finding nothing else in the area, the officers released the band and went to the hospital.

“Nurse, please bring me our John Doe’s chart.”

The nurse walked into John Doe’s room and took the chart from the foot of the bed, returning it to the doctor at the nurse station.

“Everything looks good except for him being unconscious. Have you noticed any movement at all?”

“No Doctor. We have made it a point to keep an eye on him whenever we walk by the room. If he was changing position or waking up we would know right away.”

“Well, let’s keep him on the IV and keep the antibiotics going. Change the dressing on his head on the posted schedule.”

“Yes doctor.” The head nurse answered as the doctor walked away and two police officers walked up.

“Hi. I have some info for you about our John Doe.” The first officer spoke.

“Great!”

“I just talked to his wife in Boise, Idaho. His name is Paul O’Dell and he was here for a professional conference. He is a coach and works with kids. This guy has two wives and two sets of twin girls. This guy is not your normal guy.”

“From what the band kids said the other night he also is a hell of a singer and according to the other people at the bar that I have spoken to, he is a good guy.” The other officer offered.

“I have contact info and I will give it to the front desk before I go. I’m sure the insurance vampires will want the info.”

“Be nice Jim!” One of the nurses chided him.

“Yeah, right. Well if you don’t need anything else we are going to head back to the paperwork.”

“Thanks guys.” The nurse smiled at the men and turned, never noticing that the paper with Paul’s info had fallen into the waste basket.

It was dark. It was quiet. My head hurt. I looked around the room and realized that I was in a hospital. Something was not right though. There was no beeping going on. I looked down to see that I was in a gown and there WAS a needle in my arm going to a stand and into a clear bag of something. There was just a little clip on my left index finger.

The door to my room was closed and looking around I saw that no one was in there with me. I did a quick re-examination of myself. Other than the IV, I had a bandage on the back left side of my head. It hurt to touch it. There were no other bandages or pains anywhere I could see or feel. I moved both of my legs, that was good.

I sat up and didn’t feel dizzy so I stood and rolled my IV stand with me and went to the bathroom. I found my clothes in a bag in the bathroom. I pulled on my underwear, modesty, I guess. Then I figured what the heck and dressed in my pants and socks and boots.

I thought about it some more and decided to pull out the IV. I didn’t feel funny with it in and I recognized the bag as just being a mixture of water and sugar. I carefully pulled off the tape holding the tube in place and gently removed the needle. I pulled on my shirt, noticing the blood for the first time.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I can’t remember the last time I walked around thinking about who I was. I was wondering whose blood it was on my shirt when it suddenly struck me that I didn’t know that. I didn’t know who I was. I couldn’t remember me. I panicked and ran to the door of my room. I opened it ever so slightly and saw a police officer standing there and that made me think about the blood. Was it mine or my victims? Was I a criminal?

I leaned against the wall and tried to pull memories out of the blackness inside my head. That is when I heard the nurse.

“Hey Sam, you want some coffee?”

“That would be nice. I don’t suppose that our man is going to jump up and run away. There are apparently some top people want to get their hands on him.”

“Come on over to the desk and have a cup. It’s a slow night and I am bored.”

I waited a few seconds and then slowly opened the door. The officer was gone and the hall was empty. What to do? Was I a crook? If I was, should I run? Was I a victim? I should let them know I was awake. Who was looking for me? I looked at my clothes and figured I was not the scum of the earth, but I was no fashion model. I looked at my hands wondering if I was looking at the hands of a criminal when I noticed the pale band around my left ring finger.

I had been wearing a wedding ring! It was gone. The blood! Did I do something to my ex-wife? Did she cheat and I killed her? Did I kill her lover? Did I cheat and kill someone who found me? I needed to be very careful. I figured that I would try to get away and then to find out if I was wanted for a good or bad reason.

I opened the door just enough to get through and closed it without a sound. I was standing in a corner. I heard voices coming from the hallway to my left, so I took the hallway to the right. The nurse station was probably near the elevator so the cop was near the elevator. I went looking for stairs. At the other end of the hall I found them. I opened the door and quietly closed it.

At the bottom of the stairs and stencil on the wall said, ‘Parking Level’, I walked out and looked for the exit arrows and followed them to a deserted booth. I kept walking out into the city. I couldn’t remember what city I was in. I couldn’t remember what city I was from. I walked out into the night.

It was still dark when I rounded a corner and found a Good Will drop box. I went around to the back of it and found that I was not the first to have an idea to break in. I opened the back and looked around under the light of a nearby street lamp. I went through some of the stuff and found some old shirts. I pulled off my bloody shirt and replaced it with one of the old plaid shirts.

I climbed out of the box and kept walking down the street. I still could not remember anything, and my head was throbbing. I was also feeling very hungry. The street was almost deserted and there was nothing that looked like a grocery store around. I continued to walk and soon came upon a couple of men standing on the corner.