Point of Retreat (Slammed #2)(52)

"Will? Are you okay?"

I hear Caulder's voice. I open my eyes and see him sitting next to me. We're in an ambulance. He's crying. I try to sit up to hug him, but someone pushes me back down.

"Be still, Sir. You've got a pretty bad gash I'm working on here."

I look at the person talking to me. It's the paramedic that was holding me back. "Is she okay?" I feel myself succumb to the panic again. "Where is she? Is she okay?"

He puts his hand on my shoulder to hold me still and places gauze over my eye. "I wish I knew something…but I don't. I’m sorry. I just know I need to get this injury of yours closed. We'll get more information when we get there."

I look around the ambulance but I don't see Kel. "Where's Kel?"

"They put him and Gavin in the other ambulance to check on them. They said we would see them at the hospital," Caulder says.

I lay my head back, close my eyes and pray.

***

As soon as the ambulance doors open and they pull me out, I jump off the gurney.

"Sir, get back here! You need stitches!"

I keep running. I glance back to make sure Caulder is following me. He is, so I keep running. When I get inside, Gavin and Kel are standing at the nurses' station. "Kel!" I yell. Kel runs up to me and hugs me. I pick him up and he wraps his arms around my neck. "Where are they?" I say to Gavin. "Where'd they take them?"

"I can't find anyone," Gavin says. He looks as panicked as I do. He sees a nurse round the corner and he runs up to her. "We're looking for three girls that were just brought here?”

She glances at all four of us, then walks around the desk to her computer. "Are you family?"

Gavin looks at me, then back at her. "Yes," he lies.

She eyes Gavin and picks up the phone. "The family is here," she says. She listens. "Yes, sir."

She hangs up the phone and stands up. "Follow me," she says. She leads us around the corner and into a room. "The Dr. will be with you as soon as possible." She turns and walks away.

I set Kel down in a chair. Caulder sits next to him. Gavin takes his jacket off and hands it to me. I look down and realize for the first time since I took it off, that I'm not even wearing a shirt. I pull the jacket on. Gavin and I pace the room. Several minutes pass and I can't take it anymore.

"I've got to find her," I say. I start to walk out of the room and Gavin pulls me back. "Just give it a minute, Will. If they try to find you, you won't be here. Just give it a minute."

I begin to pace again. Every now and then I lean down and hug Kel, who's still crying. He hasn’t said anything. Not a single word.

She has to be okay. She has to.

I glance across the hall and see a restroom. I go inside and as soon as I shut the door behind me, I immediately get sick. I lean over the toilet as I vomit. When I think I'm finished, I wash my hands in the sink and rinse my mouth out. I grip the edges of the sink and take a deep breath, trying to calm down. I need to calm down for Kel. He doesn't need to see me like this.

When I look in the mirror, I don't even recognize myself. There's dried blood all over the side of my face. The bandage the paramedic placed on top of my eye is already saturated again. I grab a napkin and try to wipe some of the blood off. As I'm wiping, I find myself wishing I had some of Sherry's medicine.

Sherry. "Sherry!" I yell. I throw open the bathroom door. "Gavin! We have to call Sherry! Where's your phone?"

Gavin pats his pockets. "I think it's in my jacket," he says. "I need to call Joel."

I reach into his jacket and pull out his phone. "Shit! I don't know her number, it's in my phone."

"I know her number. Hand it to me, I'll dial it," Kel says. He wipes his eyes and reaches out for the phone, so I hand it to him. When he punches in the numbers and hands me the phone back, I suddenly feel sick again.

Sherry picks up on the second ring. "Hello?"

I can't speak. What am I supposed to say?

"Hello?" she says again.

"Sherry," I say. My voice cracks.

"Will?" she says. "Will? What's wrong?"

"Sherry," I say again. "We’re at the hospital…they…"

"Will! Is she okay? Is Kiersten okay?"

I can’t respond. I’m sick again. Gavin takes the phone from my hand and I run back to the bathroom.

***

There's a knock on the bathroom door a few minutes later. I'm sitting in the floor against the wall with my eyes closed. I don't respond to the knock. When the door opens, I look up. It's the paramedic.

"We've still got to get you stitched up," he says. "You've got a pretty bad cut." He reaches down and offers his hand. I take it and he pulls me up. I follow him down the hall and into an exam room where he instructs me to lie back on the table. "Your friend said you've had some nausea. You more than likely have a concussion. Stay here, the nurse will be here in a minute."

***

After I’m stitched up and given instructions on how to care for the apparent concussion I have, I'm told to go to the nurse’s station to fill out paperwork. When I get to the nurse's station, the nurse grabs a clipboard and hands it to me. "Which patient is your wife?" she asks. I just stare at her.