Chapter 63: Waking Up

I lay in darkness. No stars, no sound, no sensation of any kind. At first I expected to start seeing the usual flashes of scenes from the killer's mind, but I quickly realized that this was a different place. For one thing there was no place to stand or sit, no up or down to orient myself to; I just seemed to be drifting.

I tried to lift my head and look around but it didn't work. As soon as I tried and failed I realized that I couldn't even see my nose. You never seem to notice it unless you're thinking of it but it's usually there between our eyes. That mine was gone suggested that here, as in the place where I watched the killer's memories, I was once more seeing with senses other than my eyes. Maybe I was. It didn't matter as no matter where I tried to look there was still nothing to see. I felt a slight panic try to rise but as quickly as it came it faded, and I faded with it.

I had no idea how much time had passed. I knew I had been out, but not how long. I didn't even realize I was waking up until a sound made itself known. It was a small sound, just a faint rhythmic pulsing that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. I opened my eyes. At least I thought I did. I couldn't really tell. Everything was still black. The sound felt drawn out, as if you were listening to a recording played too slowly. As soon as I thought it, the sound began to speed up and I knew the recording analogy was a good one. There was that distorted, 'trying to catch up, ' sound to it. Then I recognized it. It was a slow steady beeping sound. Something in my brain said 'hospital and then other sounds crashed in. The soft whisper of ventilation, distant voices, a television set, and at least two radios set on different stations.

There was a sensation of light low on the horizon and I realized it was just the bottom of my eyelid as it tried to open. Instead of black, everything was now a deep, smoky, gray. My eyes fluttered and finally opened. Everything was blurred but I could just make out the shadowy shapes of two people standing in my field of vision. They appeared to be standing at an odd angle but I quickly realized that I was laying on my back with my head turned to the right and I was viewing them down the length of my body. Perspective returned and I saw that they were actually two nurses standing several feet past the foot of my bed, looking at something and talking in low tones. Not too low as I could just make out their whispering.

"She's been here since he came in, won't leave," one said.

"Someone should love me so much. David was in the waiting room watching football when I had Carrie."

"She's his sister. Her mom's been coming in to stay with him so she can use the bathroom and eat. Otherwise she only goes if I'm here. Doctor drew the line at bringing in food."

"Let me guess, Houston? What an ass. They're going to feed him in here when he wakes up. What's the big deal?"

The next sensation to hit was the dryness of my throat, I tried to swallow but there was nothing there to swallow. My right arm was trapped under the blanket that covered all of my body that I could see. My head felt like it weighed several hundred pounds but I managed to roll it to the left and realized what they were talking about. My left arm was bare from just above the elbow to just above the wrist. At the wrist the bandages started again with the one holding the IV in place and continuing down past my knuckles. Just at the edge of my fingertips a mess of blonde hair started. I knew that hair; knew the touch and feel and smell of it instantly.

Allison slept on the side of my bed, one arm folded to support her head, fingertips just barely touching mine. My first thought was that her back was going to hurt when she woke up. I tried to speak her name but nothing would come out. With an effort I got my fingers to move and touched her hair. It hurt like hell to move my fingers and that triggered something inside. My heart thudded in my chest and the heart monitor picked up speed. At the first touch of my fingers Allison stirred, and by the time the nurses turned to check the change in the monitor she had turned her face to look at me. I could see the salty tracks where she had cried herself to sleep. Her hair was a mess, her eyes red and bloodshot, and I don't think I had ever seen her look so beautiful as she did at that moment. My heart gave an extra thud, my chest tightened and things began to hurt as I felt my own tears trying to break free.

She kissed my hand, squeezed it once and stepped back as the nurses moved to either side of the bed. She mouthed a silent 'I love you, ' blew me a kiss and pointed toward the door as she headed for the hallway. I knew where she was going and just nodded slightly.

One of the nurses began checking all of the various wires and tubes plugged into me while the other picked up the phone and dialed a quick series of numbers. She said something but the other nurse began talking so I didn't hear what it was.

"How are you feeling?" I rolled my eyes and she said, "Okay, dumb question. Are you having any pain?"

I tried to answer but nothing came out. I nodded yes.

"Mouth dry? Oxygen will do that. Here, suck on this. Don't chew it, just let it melt." She picked up a plastic cup and scooped some crushed ice out of a container near by, and then tipped the cup into my mouth. I suddenly knew how a man dying in the desert felt when he finally found the oasis and water.

My mouth seemed to suck up the moisture like a sponge. The wetness seemed to act as a catalyst to get my own systems working again. The first swallow hurt, a dragging pain like I just tried to swallow a rolled up ball of barbed wire. The second was easier; by the third my salivary glands had come back to life and things started to lubricate themselves again.

The second nurse began pulling the blanked carefully back, exposing my upper body. She lifted my arm and I grimaced as pain radiated up from my hand all the way to my shoulder.

"Sorry," she said with a bit of a smile. "This may hurt a little but I still have to do it, okay?"

I nodded and she slid a blood pressure cuff up my arm. She was right. When she pumped up the cuff I thought my arm would fall off. Actually, at that moment, I wanted it to. The thudding of my pulse when she pressurized the cuff didn't help any. The first nurse distracted me by gently turning my head back towards her and shining a small flashlight in my eyes.

"Doctor Houston will be along in a few minutes. Any sharp pains?"

I shook my head no and she moved down her list.

"Any numbness or tingling? Headache? Blurry vision..." I kept shaking my head until she was interrupted by a voice from the door.

"I'll take it from here, nurse, thank you."

She rolled her eyes and pulled back out of the way. The doctor picked up the chart, checked his watch and asked in an irritated voice, "Why are there no updated notes on this chart?"

"He just came to a few minutes ago, doctor. We're still doing the preliminaries, blood pressure is 112 over 68, pulse is strong and steady. I was just about to write it down when you came in."

The second nurse took over immediately, "His eyes are still a little dilated and slow to respond, but otherwise he is responsive and has not indicated anything unusual..."

"Unusual? Nurse, he's sixteen years old, how would he know what's unusual? That's your job, was your job, excuse me while I see if perhaps we can do something positive for our patient. We'll discuss this further later."

She started to pull away and I forced my first word out, "Nurse," I croaked and lifted my right hand slightly.

The nurse on my right took my hand gently and said, "Yes."

"Thank you," I said, my voice a little stronger this time. I read her name tag and added, "Cindy." Turning back to the other one I saw that her name was April. "Both of you."

They both smiled, the one on my left winked where the doctor wouldn't see it, the other one gently set my hand back down, patted it and said, "You're welcome. Now be a good boy and don't give the nice doctor a hard time. We'll be back to check on you later."

"Allison?" I managed to squeeze out one more word.

"I think she stepped outside to call your folks. She'll be right back."

"Who's Allison?" the doctor asked, then he seemed to catch himself. "Oh, the sister." This guy was losing points fast and his next statement cost him everything he had left. "Tell her to stay in the waiting area until her parents get here."

"But doctor..."

He shot her a look. "Yes, nurse?"

She cringed at the way he said it and I had had enough, "No," I said.

The doctor turned back to me and started to say something but I just plowed ahead. "I want her here."

The doctor's face began to get red. "I am in charge here! I will decide who stays and who... what are you doing?" he asked as I brought my right hand up and grabbed two of the wires coming out of my shirt. I yanked hard and several things happened all at once. The heart monitor went to zero and started the characteristic level tone you hear on all those hospital shows when someone dies. At the same time an alarm rang somewhere down the hall and you could hear voices as people rushed to answer it. A light just outside my door began to flash.

The doctor had gone white. I reached for the tubes coming out of my left arm and he suddenly came back to life, grabbing my arm to hold it back. I was very weak but I did my best to keep reaching. "Nurse! Take his arm. Calm down... Stop this immediately!"

By now Cindy was back and she grabbed my right arm and began pulling it back down to my side. I tried to raise my left arm and discovered it was actually tied to a board of some kind. I strained and the whole thing started to rise. The doctor grabbed my wrist and I cried out as pain flared up my arm. He had grabbed right on top of the IV. He dropped my wrist and a fresh flare of pain hit as my arm slammed back down on the bed. My vision swam red and I thought I might actually pass out. The feeling passed quickly but by the time my vision cleared the doctor was gone and April was checking the IV. The room suddenly got crowded as the crash team arrived. They stopped just inside the door as they realized that I was struggling and apparently not dead.

A huge black guy in bright red scrubs with little yellow smiley faces all over them stopped the cart and said, "False alarm everyone. He's fine, looks like he just wanted a little more attention from the ladies." He actually winked at me. "Everybody back to work."

Just as they were trying to get back out Allison ran up demanding to know what was going on. Somewhere in the middle the doctor had apparently stepped out because he intercepted her, grabbing her arm and trying to drag her out of the way. There was a blur of motion, the sound of flesh hitting flesh, and Allison shot through the door.

The ambulatory black mountain in the red scrubs was right behind her and grabbed her around the waist, pinning both arms to her sides.

"Jimmy!" she screamed.

"Whoa, girl! Hold still there. He's just fine," the black nurse said in a strained but soothing voice. He started chuckling as he looked at me and said, "Man, tell her you're alright before she hits me next."

My mouth was suddenly too dry to speak again but I nodded to Allison and she visibly relaxed. The nurse let her go and stood up to his full towering height again, "Alright then, now if..."

Dr. Houston bellowed, "Get herout of here!" from the doorway. I looked and saw blood leaking from his nose and fire in his eyes.

The black nurse stepped back and said, "Knock yourself out, doc, but you want her out, you're gonna have to do it yourself. Crowd control ain't in my contract."

"Fine!" The doctor started to reach for her again and I started trying to sit up in bed. Cindy was just reaching to reattach my missing monitor leads and out of position to hold me.

Allison saw me start to rise and screamed, "Jimmy! No!" She took three steps and grabbed my free hand. "Be still," she said.

I relaxed back on the bed but then Houston grabbed her arm. I thought she was going to hit him again when a new voice rang out from the doorway.

"Doctor Houston!"

Everyone turned to find a tiny little woman in a white smock standing in the doorway.

I saw the black nurse's eyes suddenly get very large and round as she entered the room. He stepped back and practically stood at attention, tracking her with his eyes as she passed.

"Thank you, Stuart. I think we can handle it from here."

"Yes ma'am," he said and promptly slid out the door. He stopped and tossed me a huge smile before disappearing.

"May I see you in the hall for a moment, Dr. Houston?" the little woman asked with a smile. "Cindy? Do something about that alarm, would you please? Thank you. After you, Doctor," She motioned to the hall and Dr. Houston dutifully led the way.

April whispered, "What I would give to hear that conversation." Then in a louder voice she asked, "Do you think you can behave yourself while we get this all hooked back up?"

"He'll behave himself," Allison assured her.

I nodded my compliance and relaxed back into my pillow. Suddenly I ached all over. Cindy pulled the top of my smock back and began reattaching the misplaced leads. The heart monitor stopped squealing and resumed its rhythmic tones.