by Rae B. Lake
Chapter 9
Daria’s POV
The ceiling was white, the walls were white, everything was white. I blinked my eyes a few times trying to focus on anything around me. All I could see was white. Slowly the furniture began to come into focus around me. I tried to sit up but something was holding me down. Tubes.
What the heck! What is this? Where am I?
Tubes! I must be in a hospital. That’s the only thing that made sense. I tried to talk but there was something in my throat, I could only guess it was another one of the tubes that I was seeing coming out of almost every part of my body. I wanted to scream but no sound came out. I could only lay back and pray that someone would come and check on me soon.
“Oh, look who’s awake.” A voice said from the side of me. I turned to see an older woman pressing some buttons on the machinery that was surrounding me. “You’re not going to be able to talk for a little while but I will run off and get the doctor so that she can talk to you.” She started to input something into the computer that was located on the cart in front of my bed. “You gave us quite a scare, I am happy that you are pulling through so well.” Finally, after doing everything that she was going to do, the nurse squeezed my foot and walked out of the room.
I wished she’d told me something, especially the reason why I was laying here like a science experiment. I wasn’t feeling any real pain but that could be from whatever medicine I was being given. I did a mental roll call of my body. I had both my legs and all the little bits that were attached to them. I inhaled and didn’t feel any pain in my tummy, my chest was a bit tight but nothing that was alarming. My arms were heavy but I could move my fingers and bend slightly at the elbow. That was good, all I needed was to be holed up somewhere with a broken bone.
What the hell am I doing here, and with this thing in my throat? Did I have an aneurysm? Stroke? Heart-attack? No, I’m only twenty-five, none of that makes sense. I got it, I was drugged. Maybe they had to pump my stomach!
I relaxed a bit, now that I had a great theory on why I was there. Now all I had to worry about was where Nika and Mallory were. I’m sure that they were here somewhere.
“Welcome back.” A light feminine voice wafted through the air. I turned my head to where the voice came from. A small Indian looking woman was walking toward me, a long braid swinging towards the middle of her back.
Again I tried to speak but nothing came out.
“I’m sorry, we’re going to have to leave this in for at least another day. For now just nod your head, ok?”
I nodded.
“Great, so tell me, do you know where you are?”
I shook my head no, I thought I was in the hospital but I could use a little confirmation.
“Well you are in the hospital, Grady Memorial to be precise.” She paused waiting for that to sink in. “Do you know what happened to bring you here?”
I shook my head no again.
“Well, you were shot in the chest…”
I didn’t hear another word after that. There was no way! I’d spent so many years trying to stay away from anything that would put me in any real danger and I get shot in the chest. I couldn’t believe it. I looked down trying to angle my head to see my chest and sure enough, there was a large bandage covering my right breast. I closed my eyes trying to remember the last thing that I was doing. The party.
I knew exactly where I was when I got shot, the Rolling Cobra’s club party. I had very little hope that they were able to find out who shot me. It was like a movie playing in my head. The man with missing teeth trying to talk to me. The cranberry juice in my glass, the small group of bikers standing in front of me and then nothing. That must have been when I got shot. I was never going to another party with Nika and Mallory again.
“A police officer will be by when we pull the breathing tube out tomorrow so that you can give your statement. As far as I’ve been told no one has been apprehended for this horrible crime. Lucky for you the bullet must have passed through another person or object before it struck you. According to the police, the bullet slowed down before you were hit. You will have a scar but the damage could have been so much worse.” She tapped my shoulder almost lovingly.
I nodded again, just so that she would know that I heard her. My eyes followed her as she walked out of the room, wishing that I could’ve asked her to stay. I closed my eyes, hoping that whatever medication was strolling through my veins would knock me out.
“I see that you’re healing up nicely and are finally awake,” A tall man in a leather vest with a cobra patch on the chest was walking to my bed. He was visibly clean but everything about his aura screamed dirty. He had blond hair and a long beard, grey eyes that possibly on any other face would be gorgeous, on him they were scary, “I would’ve been so upset if I didn’t have a chance to talk to you.”
I didn’t know this man but I could tell what kind of person he was, dangerous. Someone that would’ve ve run in the same circles as my mother. I wanted nothing to do with it or him. I looked around the bed to see if I could find the button to call the nurse. It was nowhere to be seen.
He must have noticed my eyes darting on the bed, “No, no, there’s no need to call anyone I just wanted to speak with you real fast, no problems.” He smiled a bit but it wasn’t genuine. “I know you had a bit of an accident at one of our parties. I just wanted to make sure that you don’t remember what actually went down? You don’t remember do you?” He tightened his hand around my wrist, just a fraction more pressure and I was going to have a broken wrist.
I shook my head no, trying to blink my tears away. I didn’t want him to see me cry but I was scared and could do nothing to protect myself.
“That’s good, I mean you wouldn’t want any big bad men showing up at your door because you snitched on them.”
I shook my head again.
“That’s a good girl. If I were you, I would just make up a story about where you were when the cops get here. I would rather they didn’t poke around where they don’t need to be. You don’t want that either. Just tell them that you don’t know what happened, that you were out walking and that’s the last thing you remember. Sound good?”
I nodded my head.
“Great! I will check on you again, you know, just to make sure you’re healing up well.”
I nodded again.
I would do anything I had to do to make sure that I never ran into him again. I was alive and healing, if he wanted me to lie about what happened to the cops, I would do just that. I didn’t want to have him show me what kind of pain he would put me through if the cops decided to snoop around his people.
He stood up and without a second glance, strolled out of my room like he had not one care in the world. Hopefully it would be the last time that I was going to see him. Once he was out of my eyesight, I closed my eyes and let the tears fall. How could this have happened?
Where were Nika and Mallory? I could almost hear what they were going to say but I could only hope that they were on my side with this. In fact, at this moment, I didn’t care what they said, I just wanted them to be here.
“He is absolutely right, there is no need to get anyone into trouble. I mean you’re alive, so no harm no foul right?” Mallory said shrugging her shoulders. She smiled at me to try and get me to see her point of view.
Nika and Mallory showed up at my hospital bed up after a day of shopping. They didn’t show the day before, apparently not being able to talk, meant to them there was no need to come and check on me, but it gave me so much time to just think about what I was going to do. Even though I was sure that the man who paid me a visit didn’t want me to tell anyone what he said, there was no way that I was going to just keep it to myself. I wanted a little bit of help and I was sure that if I told the girls not to say anything they wouldn’t. I was just surprised I got the reaction that I did. After I finished telling Nika and Mal about the mysterious man who basically threatened my life if I went to the police with any information tha
t suggested the club might be at fault for my wound, they were ecstatic, especially Mallory.
“What do you mean no harm, I was shot. Did you miss that?” I asked.
“No, and that truly sucks but how is that going to make up for us never being able to go to another one of those kick-ass parties again? You won’t-”
“Wait, wait! You mean to tell me you’re thinking about going back to another one of those parties after what happened to me?” I couldn’t believe my ears. I knew Mallory could be really self-centered, but I thought she would be just a little bit concerned about my safety, hell even with her own safety. Who’s to say that the next bullet that flies through the air won’t hit her?
“Of course, I mean what did you think? I would just not go? Those parties are epic. Everyone wants to go to one.” Mallory rolled her eyes.
“I don’t believe you!” I tried to raise myself up, but the pain in my chest knocked me back to the bed. “How could you want to go back there?”
“Look, just wait one second,” Nika stood up between my bed and Mallory, “I know what happened was really bad, but that doesn’t mean that all the parties will end up the same way. We just need to put this one behind us. Besides, I bet they will be so grateful that we’ll be invited to all the private functions now. People would kill to get on that list!” Nika rubbed my leg gently, all I wanted to do was kick her hand off. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings though. I mean maybe she was right, I would have to put this behind me at some point, right?
“So what do you think I should say? I mean the detective called and said he would be here later today.”
“I would make sure you give as little information as possible. Let him know that you were walking home from a party, that you were a little bit drunk and that you don’t know what happened.”
“But I wasn’t drunk, they can see that on my blood work.”
“They don’t know what your tolerance is, for all they know the alcohol left your system before you made it here.”
All of this felt wrong, but if it meant keeping Mal and Nika off my back and keeping that creepy man away from me I would make it work. “Speaking of making it here, didn’t the police ask you any questions when you dropped me off?”
The sisters shared a glance, “Actually we didn’t drop you off.” Nika said with a small smile on her face.
“What do you mean?”
“Get this, you were actually dropped off by some anonymous person, they left you in the waiting room. Didn’t leave any information or talk to anyone when they did. It was all very Jason Bourne.” Nika smiled like she thought what she just told me was cool.
“What? How could you not bring me to the hospital?” I should be used to being at the bottom of everyone’s list by now but this one really hurt.
“Honestly, we didn’t even know you were hurt until the next day, once everyone started screaming and running we just hauled ass. We waited for you for a while but the Cobra’s said we had to get off their property. We figured you high tailed it home already. We would have stayed if we knew that you were hurt, you know that right?” Nika moved a strand of hair out of my face.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Great, so let’s get this story together. We don’t want the Cobra’s to get into any trouble do we?”
“No, of course not Nika, of course not.”
“Nika? Mal? Where are you guys?” I turn around in circles mobbed by people dancing to a house beat. I can barely hear myself but I scream louder trying to find my roommates. I don’t recognize anyone here or know how I ended up at this party but everyone seemed to be having a great time. I turn trying to call out to Nika and Mal but no matter where I turn another body was in my way, dancing, screaming, and having a good time.
“Hey watch it!” I try to push my way through the crowd but either it was too packed or they were just not listening to me. “I need to get through!” I pushed again but nothing happened, it seemed like those around me were getting closer and tighter. “Hey! Let me out of here! Mallory! Nika! Where are you.” I shouted as loud as I could but my voice didn’t carry over the loud music. I was being squished and I was starting to panic. “Let me out!” I screamed putting my hands over my ears, trying to block the deafening sound.
I spun once again trying to see if I could see a way through the crowd but there was no room. Shoulders bumped into me, hands pushed me, I was being jostled from side to side. I turned to find myself facing a man in a leather vest. I couldn’t see his face but I could see a silver glint by his leg, my eyes went down to see what it was. A gun.
“No! Move!” I turned to push my way through the crowd again but no one budged. “Please, he has a gun! Move!” Still nothing. I turned back towards the man in the vest. He slowly raised the gun and aimed it at my chest.
“Please, please, don’t do this. Please!” I begged and tried to move the weapon from in front of me. It was like trying to move a brick wall, his arm didn’t budge at all. “Stop, please stop!”
He didn’t say a word to me, just pulled the trigger. The shot was louder than the music, it was the only thing louder than the music. I put my hands on my chest and could feel the warm liquid pouring out of the hole.
“No!” I screamed, “Please help! Help me!”
My whole body jolted up from the bed. I looked around the room expecting to see the man in the vest with the gun but of course, no one was there. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths to try and get my heart rate under control. No matter how many deep breaths I took I couldn’t get my hands to stop shaking. I don’t ever remember being so scared. It seemed like every one of my nerve endings was exposed to the atmosphere, I felt so vulnerable.
I turned over and buried my face into the pillow, letting all my emotions pour out of my eyes.
*Bang*
“Ahh!” The scream was high-pitched as it left my mouth, my head spun in the direction the noise came from, my eyes frantically trying to track the sound and spot the danger. They landed on a nurse passing my door and the book that she had obviously dropped on the floor, she apologized profusely as she picked it up and continued on her way. I pressed a hand to my chest still trying to get my heart rate to slow down to something resembling normal.
“Oh dear,” my doctor rushed into the room and poured me a glass of water, “here, take a few sips of this. You’re safe here, no one is going to hurt you. You’re safe.” She rubbed my back and held my hand as I cried and finished the water that she gave me.
“I don’t even know what’s wrong with me, it was just a dream.” I took in another deep breath and looked to her for answers, maybe this is normal for someone that has an injury like mine. “Honestly, sweetheart, I think that you may be suffering from some sort of Post-Traumatic Stress. You would need to be evaluated by someone from our psych team, but the good news is that if your eval comes back as I suspect it will, we have great groups and treatment options here.”
“PTSD? Isn’t that what veterans get after they come back from war?”
“Yes, exactly but it is not exclusive to soldiers, anyone who has had anything traumatic happen to them can suffer from PTSD. In your case, the gunshot wound was enough.”
“I believe it, every loud sound has me on edge. That dream was so real, it felt like I was right there again. Just waiting to be shot again.”
She gave me a soothing smile and placed the water jug back on the nightstand, “I can send some folks around to talk to you about what we offer to help you through this if that is something that you would like?”
“Yes, I would like that very much.” Finally feeling a bit better, I laid back down on the bed. There was no way I would be able to keep up like this. I was a nervous wreck and I just wanted to get my life back to at least where it was before this whole nightmare began.
Chapter 10
“This shit is crazy, I’m hearing nothing from the other groups about what went down at the Rolling Cobra’s clubhouse. Yet three more girls have gone missing. What the fuc
k is happening here? I thought this shit was going to be resolved by now.” Prez spoke with intensity, he was at his wit's end with the situation. It was one thing to have a problem and not know the solution but this clusterfuck everyone thought it had been dealt with, only it appeared that wasn’t the case.
“I already told you how we should go resolve this, let me in that clubhouse and I will take each and every one of them down.” Larry sat back in his chair almost too calm, besides myself, Larry was the next one on edge and ready to lose his mind.
“Larry, we are doing every goddamn thing that we can to find your sister, we just need to do this the right way.”
“The right way? Are you fucking serious, I just told you the right way! I am getting tired of this waiting shit. I want blood and all you want to do is talk.” Larry stood up with his hands clenched at his side. Prez the target of his aggression.
“You want to re-think that decision brother?” Wire stood right in front of him completely at ease, although that wasn’t much of an indicator, Wire was able to go from laughing to ripping someone’s throat out without so much as blinking an eye. He was lethal. Larry knew that he wasn’t going to win a fight against our VP, so he sat down.
“It may come to that,’ Prez admitted while moving towards the other end of the room, ‘Clean, what is the status of Cleve?”
“Cleve is dead,” Clean said point-blank.
“What! When were you going to let me know that?” Prez was clearly furious that he had been kept out of the loop.
“Oh, I mean after the lockdown there were still abductions happening, I just assumed that meant Cleve wasn’t the issue.” Clean shrugged his shoulders.
