Sharon Sala - Going Gone

The ride to the hospital was long, and the heater blasting in the front of the cab never quite raised the temperature in the backseat high enough to keep her comfortable. Even though the cranberry wool slacks and gray sweater she was wearing were warm, and her winter coat was good protection from the cold, she was shaking.

She paid the driver upon arrival, grabbed her bag and got out on the run.

* * *

Cameron was kicked back on the sofa checking his messages. The pretzels he was eating were all he’d had since dinner, along with the can of Pepsi at his elbow. Wade and his wife, Jo, had sent a text earlier wishing Laura well. He smiled, thankful for good friends. He was still scanning messages when he got a text from Tate. It was after three in the morning in D.C. That guy kept seriously late hours. He began to read.

How’s Laura?

Cameron popped another pretzel in his mouth and then answered.

Fighting infection and pneumonia.

So sorry. Nola sends her love. Keep us in the loop.

Will do and thanks.

He left the other messages for later, finished off the pretzels and washed them down with the last of the Pepsi. He was tossing away the trash when Sarah Doyle walked in.

The moment she saw him, she dropped her bag and started crying. Seconds later she was in his arms.

Cameron patted her on the back as he gave her a hug.

“It’s going to be okay, honey. She’s alive, and that’s a damn miracle in itself.”

Sarah grabbed his wrist. “Is it bad? Tell me the truth. Did she get worse? I’ve been scared through this whole freaking trip, afraid I wouldn’t get here in time, and at the same time, afraid to get here and learn the whole truth.”

“Come sit,” Cameron said, and filled her in on the extent of Laura’s injuries, then glanced at the clock. “The next visitation is at 2:00 a.m. You take it.”

When he suggested visiting Laura, she almost panicked, afraid of what she would see.

“We can’t go in together?”

“They do allow two visitors at a time, but I’ve been in several times already. She asked about you, and her attention span is brief, so having two of us there will only be confusing. You go alone, and once you see her, you’ll feel better, I promise.”

Sarah smiled through tears. “You are the best thing that’s ever happened to our family. I hope you plan on staying around for a very long time.”

Cameron managed a lopsided grin. “It’s definitely my plan, but Laura has the last word on that, doesn’t she?”

“You’re a shoo-in,” Sarah said.

“Want some coffee, or something to eat?” Cameron asked, using the mundane question to hide how moved he was by her words.

“Coffee would be wonderful.”

“Black, right?”

“Yes, please.”

He got up for another trip to the snack machines, and came back with coffee and a bag of M&M’s.

“I seem to remember this is a favorite in the candy dishes at your house,” he said.

“Thank you so much,” she said, took a quick sip of the coffee and then tore into the candy and popped a couple in her mouth.

Cameron answered a new text, giving Sarah some space while she ate.

When the candy was gone, she settled back with the coffee, holding it between her palms as welcome warmth.

“Cameron?”

He dropped the phone in his pocket and looked up.

“Was it bad at the crash site?” she asked.

He grimaced. “Yes, and you need to know two things. There were wolves trying to get into the wreckage, probably from day one. She’s still dreaming about them.”

Sarah clasped a hand over her mouth, too horrified to speak.

“The other thing is that she saved her own life. She managed to tend to her injuries with next to no supplies and kept herself warm enough not to succumb to hypothermia. She is one tough, amazing woman, and I am in awe.”

Sarah was crying all over again. “I don’t know what to say.”

“There’s nothing to say, but you needed to understand what she’s been through before you go in there. Her two coworkers died, as did the pilot.”

Sarah nodded. “Yes, I know and I agree. I’m just overwhelmed by everything.”

“Believe me, I understand,” Cameron said.

“I need to go wash off the tears and fix my face before I go in. Excuse me for a few minutes.”

“Good plan,” he said, and settled back onto the sofa.

When it was time, he walked Sarah to the area where she needed to wait.

“I’ll be in the waiting room when you come back.”

“Thanks,” she said, and went inside with the others as he walked away.

Sarah paused at the nurses’ desk for her sister’s location before moving past the other patients. She kept her eyes on the floor in front of her without looking at the people within.

She was scared; this holding area between life and death impacted so many others besides the patients themselves. Sooner or later they would leave, some breathing and some not, the latter leaving their families behind to deal with their grief. The common thread among all of them was the number of machines keeping them alive.

When she finally saw Laura she stumbled, then caught herself and kept walking until she was at the bed, pausing a moment to look her fill.

The dried blood staining the bandage on Laura’s scalp was a macabre reminder of what she had endured. The bruises on her face and neck were in coordinating shades of red and purple, and her raspy breathing under the oxygen mask made Sarah anxious. That would be from the pneumonia.

She knew about the stitches in Laura’s leg and the broken ribs, but after learning what her sister had gone through, she wondered if the scars that would last the longest would be the ones that remained unseen.

Aware that her time would be brief, she touched her sister first, then leaned closer and lowered her voice.

“Laura? Honey? It’s me, Sarah. Can you hear me?”

Laura’s eyelids fluttered.

Sarah spoke again.

“I’m here, Laura. Cameron is in the waiting room.”

It seemed Cameron was the magic word. Laura’s eyelids fluttered again, and then she opened them and saw her sister’s face.

“Sarah.”

Sarah cupped Laura’s cheek, then leaned down and kissed her.

“Yes, little sister, I’m here. Are you in pain?”

Laura sighed, winced, then blinked.

“Hurts.”

“I’m so sorry, honey, but you’re going to be okay.”

Laura fumbled for her sister’s hand, needing the contact to give her strength.

“Oh, Sarah, they died...they all died,” she whispered, and then choked on a sob.

“I know, honey, but that’s not your fault.”

Laura’s eyelids felt too heavy to keep open. She let them drop, then suddenly she remembered old horror and they flew open. Her gaze locked on Sarah’s face.

“There were wolves.”

Sarah tightened her hold on her sister’s hand, trying to find a way to ground her in the reality of the present, instead of the past.

“I know, honey. Cameron told me.”

Laura looked toward the exit.

“Cameron?”

“He’s still here. He’s in the waiting room.”

“Love him,” Laura whispered.

“I know you do, sweetheart. He loves you, too.”

“I want to go home,” Laura said.

Sarah smiled. “And you will, when you’re well.”

“Thought I’d never see you again,” Laura said.

In spite of Sarah’s determination not to cry, tears filled her eyes.

“Yes, well, I had the same fear when I first heard the news, but we’ve been blessed.”

“Best sister ever,” Laura said softly. Her eyelids drooped and then closed.

Sarah’s heart was full. She let Laura sleep, knowing rest was the thing she needed most. She said a brief prayer for her healing and left the ICU with the other visitors when time was up.