They say that in your final moments before death, your life flashes before your eyes. Sarah now understood the true meaning of the phrase she would normally scorn.
Childhood days, school life, first paycheque, her baby…
As far as she could remember, the morning had been relatively routinely. She had set out looking for a cot, as to be prepared for the arrival of her child. The heat was intense and blisters were forming on the soft soles of her feet. The bag slung across her shoulder was rubbing her bare arms, the friction marks stinging her skin. Yet today was the only chance she had to shop for it. Work was proving to be a tough schedule.
Up until this moment in time, everything was as she remembered. How she ended up in this position…she was unclear about. She attempted lifting an eyelid, but pain crept up slowly from her jaw, before quickly stabbing at the right side of her face. Was she lying down? Searching for the muscles in her arm, she waited for the automatic reflex, but found none. Again, she seeked activity in her leg, met with an unfamiliar dullness. Maybe she was floating, that was an unusual thought. Then again this was an unusual situation. She couldn’t feel her body, what lay in front of her was blocked out…and there was pain, a deep throbbing from beneath her skin. She had the notion, this was death. Lolling her head to the side, she threw up what looked strangely like blood, and finally let the pain drift away into a chasm of blackness.
**************
Roughly ten metres away, the man lay on his back, staring into the blue abyss above him. There was nothing slow and painful to that crash. It had all just happened at once. Bang, his eyes wide in terror, suddenly understanding there was going to be a collision. Bang, his feet were separated from the silver-lined foot holders of his Viper motorbike. Bang, and here he was now, watching the whole scenario in replay in his head. He was vaguely aware of the sound of someone throwing up nearby, but other than that there was just silence. Not a calm peaceful silence, this was a choking silence. His lungs felt shrivelled and weak, his chest rising and falling in an irregular pattern. His hands could barely feel the asphalt beneath him, his arm in an awkward position behind his back. He felt as though he had just fallen and lost in a complicated game of Twister. And there was liquid, seeping out from his head. Water? No, it was too thick. In a moment of clarity, his brain spun slowly out of control. The last thing he remembered, it was…blood?
****************
Sarah screamed in pain as the dull throbbing in her head was met with something sharp, a needle perhaps? She was unaware of where she was or why she was there, but all that mattered at that moment of time was to tame the ache in her head. She tried to lift an arm to cover what felt like open flesh, but the way was blocked. Her arm was securely fastened down.
Now there was something else, or somebody else. A hand was dabbing the spot where the pain had emerged. As soon as the cool material came in contact with the area, she relaxed the tense muscles slightly. Much better. Now that was dealt with maybe she could try to catch a glimpse of her surroundings. Damn that cool material, it was in her way. She guessed she would have to make do with everything at the moment. Easing her position, she slumped forward and fell asleep.
*******************
Roughly ten pristine hospital rooms down from hers, the man lay on his back, staring into the sea of white above. He knew exactly where he was. He could remember those men in green uniforms coming for him and the other one. It was like a horrible scenario from ER. As quickly as a few seconds they had gathered round his small frame, twisted on the floor and carted him into an ambulance. He knew that was hours ago now. But the women…
He had only caught a glance of her as she was placed in the van before him, but from one look he learned a lot. She was pregnant. It was the one day he had been able to ride freely in the country without one recognition. Now not only had he injured her life, but the health of a baby was in serious jeopardy. As he lay rigid on the uncomfortable hospital bed, tears began streaming down his cheeks, stinging the open gash down the left side of his face. What had he done…
Outside his door he could hear voices. A doctor he presumed and, mom? He listened harder and became certain this was his mom, and she was crying.
“Mrs Kirkpatrick, please. Viewing time will be permitted after the operation. The damage caused to his lungs can be treated, but if not operated on immediately, it could lead to the internal injuries becoming fatal.”
The man on the bed gulped. His mother was sobbing.
“The operation will only take a few hours. I suggest you go home and get some rest, and he will be ready to take visitors tomorrow morning.”
The man heard the familiar sound of his mother’s footstep grow faint and the door to his room was quietly pushed open. He knew the doctor had entered and immediately he snapped his eyes shut. He wasn’t ready to deal with what this stranger was about to tell him. Not just yet.
************
Whereas the man a few doors down had just shut his eyes, Sarah had opened hers. She felt as though days had passed. In reality it had only been a few hours. The pain hadn’t fully subsided.
It had become an automatic reflex to reach for her stomach whenever she woke up, but doing so now she instantly knew something was wrong. Where the smooth bump of baby had been before, a rough line stretched horizontally across the width of her stomach. She whimpered as she ran a finger across, it was sore to touch. There had never been a scar there before and she knew something was seriously wrong. She began to breathe heavily putting a hand to her forehead. Ouch, there was a bandage covering a good deal of skin but even through the material, the pain was evident.
She threw the thin hospital sheet back and made an attempt to sit up, still ignoring her surroundings, but was distracted by someone entering the room. Deciding to ignore the doctor that had entered, she continued groaning in pain as the full effect of the strange mark on her stomach hit her suddenly. The doctor rushed to the edge of her bed and gently held Sarah’s head, easing it down to the pillow slowly. He took a seat to the right of the bed and gave Sarah a moment or two to calm slightly. She turned to met his stony eyes, her face a palate of emotions. Confusion, anxiety, sadness, pain. She waited for him to start talking but seeing he was going to remain silent she spoke for the first time in hours.
“Why?” Barely a whisper, she felt the inability to say any more.
The doctor stayed silent once again as he contemplated on how to break the news. He knew she was anxious to hear news of her baby, what had happened, how she had ended up here. Along with saving lives everyday and curing pain quickly, there were tremendous downfalls to his job. This was one of them. He took a quick intake of breath before beginning.
“My name is Doctor Smith and I work as a part of a team of specialists here at the Kingsville Hospital. This is-”
“Why is this here?” Sarah interrupted him shortly, pointing to her stomach, tentatively feeling the line one more.
The doctor sighed heavily. He had to explain it all without interruptions, that way it would be easier for them both.
“I know you are unaware of the incident that took place this afternoon but the circumstances were dangerous. There was a accident, which you were involved in and not only did effect you but also the baby.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It was a motorbike that hit you. Technically you shouldn’t have been able to survive, the fact that you did seems miraculous, unfortunately circumstances proved different for the baby. The direct blow to your stomach means the life of the baby was out of our hands before we got there.”
“So you mean…it’s…-”
Sarah stared at the scar. And she realised. It was stitching. The baby hadn’t survived the hit and once more, she would be on her own. She suddenly felt so empty in the room. All the information had come in one strike. She didn’t want to cry or yell, she just remained silent. But inside her brain was working overtime. She wanted to find the person on that motorbike. Find them, and hurt them. They had taken the life of her child and it only made sense to her at that point in time that their life should be taken.
**************
As the doctor slipped out from Sarah’s room he caught sight of the surgeon in the man on the motorbike’s room. Knocking, he entered and saw the man lying motionless on the bed, his body wrapped in a maze of multicoloured wires. The heart monitor by the side of the bed was still beeping, but the beeps were horribly slow. It looked as though the situation was grim. The doctor strode over to where the surgeon was adjusting equipment by the bed.
“I’ve just spoken to Ms. Klein. I think it’s best she has time to herself for a while. How did the operation go?” From the look on the surgeon’s face he didn’t know if he wanted to know.
“It went…it ran relatively smoothly. Most of the damage to the lung is cleared but there are small wounds internally I wasn’t expecting that look beyond repair. I think all we can do now is wait for him to wake up…hopefully.”
The doctor still looked concerned. “We can’t let any of this get out just yet. It’s too risky. Do you know who he is?”
The surgeon checked his file. “Um…Christopher Kirkpatrick.”
“Exactly. He’s a member of a boyband and if the press gets hold of this they’ll have a field day. Plus I don’t want to get Ms. Klein involved. For Christ’s sake, she’s just lost her child and the last thing she needs is the extra stress of keeping the media at bay. For both of their sakes, lets just keep things under control as they are.”
The surgeon nodded in agreement. The man’s life was at risk.
****************
Several hours later, after most of the pain in her stomach had subsided, Sarah felt strength enough to stand up. No one was in the room monitoring her and she knew she really shouldn’t do this without the permission of a doctor, but she needed to find who had driven the motorbike. It hadn’t occurred to her it was not just their fault that she had been hit. She was technically at wrong too, but at the moment all she wanted was to see the driver.
Sarah gradually got up with a substantial amount of pain, and made for the door. She pulled back the curtain that was covering the window in the centre of he door and groaned. Two men, one of which she recognised as the doctor she met earlier, were standing outside blocking her way. She made back for the bed but as she heard her name in the conversation, she leaned forward and listened harder to what they were saying.
…..“Well we’ll definitely have to keep her for another day or two. It’s Christopher I’m uncertain about. His progress doesn’t seem to be moving. It’s only really a matter of time before we’ll be able to tell-”
The surgeon who had been talking to the doctor was interrupted by the door beside him being swung open. Sarah stood shivered in her blue hospital gown.
“I want to see them.”
She doctor put a hand on her shoulder. “Come on. I think it’s best if you go back and rest.”
“I want to see them!” she screamed trying to barge past the surgeon. She was attracting attention but it didn’t really matter. All too quickly however, the pain of the stitching had returned. She had tried to stand up too quickly.
The doctor turned to the surgeon sternly. “Go and get a wheelchair. Now.”
The surgeon arrived seconds later and helped heave Sarah up into the seat. But she was struggling against them. “I want to see them!”
Once the doctor had successfully managed to sit her up he replied to her request. “Look, I know this is difficult, but I really don’t think seeing him at this moment in time is a very good idea.”
Sarah stayed silent for a second. So it was a man on the bike. Eventually. She stopped shrieking and lowered her voice to a whisper.
“Can I please see him. Just for a second.”
The doctor sighed and without warning pushed her away from her ward.
The surgeon stepped forward to block their way. “What the hell are you doing! He’s hardly in any fit state to receive visitors!”
The doctor stopped Sarah’s wheelchair for a second leaned in, talking under his breath. “All she’s going to do is see what condition he’s in. She probably already made her own conclusions about this guy and I just want her to know it’s not only his fault they’re both here.”
He turned round to grab Sarah’s wheelchair as she was trying to figure out how to undo the brakes. She tried to catch a glimpse of the other patients as they moved down the corridor but straining her neck was painful on her head wounds. It wasn’t just her stomach that was sore.
The doctor stopped abruptly outside a door and Sarah immediately memorised the number…just in case.
“Please don’t make too much noise. His condition isn’t very stable.”
Sarah nodded and the doctor pushed the door open. Her insides flipped. Any hatred she had previously for this man disappeared. She only had to take one look at his condition to know that..
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