by Wilder, L
Chapter 2
Ana
I cringe when the telephone rings, waking me from my nap. I almost don’t even answer, but I decide to take the risk. I look down at the screen, and I’m relieved when I see that it’s my father. He wants to take me into town later today for some shopping, so he can get a few things for the farm. He says he’s running low on feed for the horses, but I know it is just an excuse to get me out of the house. It’s been over a week since I’ve been anywhere, and I do need to get a few groceries, so I agree to go. It’s a “two birds with one stone” sort of thing.
After a quick cup of coffee, I decide to take one of my walks down by the lake. It is the only place I still feel a level of freedom. It is my one true escape from the hell I’ve been going through over the past month. I keep praying that things will get better, but they never do.
I grab my hoodie and scarf and head out my back door. The cool air nips at my nose, but fortunately it isn’t as cold as it usually is in February. As I step outside, the light from the sun makes its way through the trees, warming my face. I love days like this. This time of year, the weather changes at the drop of a hat. I know I need to take advantage of these beautiful days while I can.
I follow the gravel trail that leads down to the water and then begin my hike along the rocky edge. I love listening to the birds chirping as I walk along the trail. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, I can’t hold back my smile. I know spring is just around the corner. Soon, the leaves will start to change, bringing the lake back to life.
I’ve barely reached the water when I notice something lying along the rocks down by the dock. There is something familiar about its shape, leading me to step closer. I quickly realize that it is a person… a man lying face down in the water. I rush over to him, immediately filled with a sense of foreboding.
When I reach his limp body, I see that his head is barely out of the water. I quickly drop down to my knees, lifting his head, and place two fingers against the side of his neck, searching for a pulse. I don’t feel anything, but something inside me urges me on, telling me this man isn’t dead. Everything that had happened to me over the past month seemed to vanish at that moment. With newfound confidence, I feel like I’m a doctor again. I press my fingers firmly into his neck, determined to find his pulse. I breathe deep and try to concentrate on feeling something… anything. Relief washes over me when I finally find it. I kneel down in the icy water and the cold wind sends chills through my body. I plunge my hands and arms into the murky, dark water and reach under his shoulders. Bending and locking my hands under his arms, I wedge my feet in the mud and with all my strength, pull. We both fly backwards, his body landing hard on top of me, stunning me with its weight. I roll him off of me and quickly examine the body. Two bullet wounds catch my attention first, but they have to wait.
He shows no signs of breathing, so I tilt his head back and pull open his mouth by his chin. I stare down at his rugged, masculine face covered in cuts and wonder what had happened to him. I kneel by his side and lean over, covering his mouth with mine. I exhale, filling his lungs with my breath. I repeat this ten times and then recheck for any signs of breathing. There’s nothing, but I’m not giving up. I continue to give him CPR until he coughs and jerks to life. I roll him over onto his side to help get the water out.
A sense of pride fills my soul as I watch him take another breath. Seeing the rise and fall of his chest makes me feel more alive than I have in my entire life. At that moment, I wonder who had really saved whom. I grab my cell phone and call my dad. Luckily, he lives just down the road. It will still take him a few minutes to get here, so I remove my hoodie and press it to the gunshot wounds. I have to try to slow the bleeding while I wait for my father.
A look of utter shock crosses my father’s face as he approaches us. He isn’t the kind of man to turn his back on someone in need, so I have no doubt that he will do all he can to help. I watch as he tries to make sense of what is happening. He kneels down and lifts my hoodie. He lets out a deep breath as he glances over the wounds on the man’s chest. He shakes his head from side to side and then looks over to me.
“You have to help me,” I plead.
“What exactly do you want me to do here, Ana?” my father asks.
“He’s going to die if we don’t do something,” I tell him.
“I don’t know, Ana. Someone wanted this guy dead bad enough to shoot him twice and toss him into the lake. He had to be in some kind of serious trouble, and the last thing we need around here is more trouble. If this goes bad, you’ll never get back your residency at the hospital. You can’t be linked to a dead body, Ana. ”
I know he’s right, but I have to try to help. I want to become a doctor so I can save lives, but there is more to this than that. This isn’t just the urge to save someone’s life. There is something about the look on this man’s face that grabs me. I can’t explain it. I just have to help him. I have to.
“Please, Daddy. Just help me get him inside. I’ll take care of the rest,” I beg.
He walks over to the shed and grabs the old wheelbarrow. He runs his hands through his silver hair as he walks back over to me and says, “It’ll be hard to get him up the hill; he’s heavy.”
“Thanks, Daddy,” I reply, bending down to grab the stranger’s feet. My dad reaches under his shoulders, and together we carefully lift him up into the wheelbarrow. His head tosses from side to side as we push him up the path that leads to the house.
“Where do you want me to put him?” he asks.
“Let’s try to get him to my room. I’ll need your help getting these wet clothes off of him.”
“I think you’ve got more to worry about than a few wet clothes. He really needs a hospital,” he warns.
“You know we can’t take him there. Besides, there’s no time,” I plead. “He’s not going to make it much longer. Let me see what I can do to help him first. If there’s nothing I can do, we’ll think of something else.” As much as I know he needs a hospital, I just can’t risk it. I can’t trust anyone there. The entire hospital has been corrupted by the Thomas family and their money. Jason’s father is the chief surgeon on staff, and he’s known for being tough. No one dares to ask questions. I know there is something going on… some kind of secret, but I can’t put my finger on what it is. Over the past few months, strange things had happened in the hospital. When I’d started making inquiries, Jason and his father had done everything in their power to shut me out and make things difficult for me. They didn’t want anyone meddling in their plans… especially me. With all of that going on, I just can’t risk taking a stranger there. I only hope that I have what it takes to save him.
“I’ll work on the clothes, and you make a list of things you might need from town, and I’ll go get them,” my father says determinedly.
“Thanks. I really appreciate this,” I tell him.
“Just be careful, honey. We don’t know anything about this guy,” he warns, never letting me forget that I’m still his little girl.
“I will. Just hurry. We don’t have much time,” I urge him as I head to my room, preparing myself for what lay ahead.
Chapter 3
Sheppard
So this is what dying is like…. I see the face of an angel as I’m lifted out of the water. I try to focus on her as I’m haphazardly tossed into some kind of metal wagon. My lifeless body sways from side to side as I’m carried up some kind of rocky hill. I can hear her beautiful voice calling out to me, urging me to stay. I want to answer, but no words come out. Her hand brushes across my face, calming me, but shadows are closing in. There isn’t anything else I can do to stop it. It’s getting more and more difficult to breathe, and I can feel the life slowly drifting out of my body. She whispers in my ear. Her words are so soft, so gentle. There’s something about her voice…. She’s like a light, beckoning me through the darkness. I want to go to her, but the pull is too strong. I can’t get to her.
I feel myself being lifted a
gain and placed on something soft, and my body sighs with relief. I try once again to open my eyes. I need to see my angel one last time before I go. Something in my gut tells me she’s the only one that can release me from my nightmare. I fight with all my remaining strength, but I feel myself drifting away from consciousness. I panic. I have to see her… have to know that she is really here. I force my eyes open, and I can barely make out her face as she leans over me. Her piercing green eyes command me to stay with her, and for the first time since I landed in that water, I actually feel hope.
I try to take a deep breath, but the agony is just too much. The pain sears through my body, burning me to my soul. I can see her lips moving as she tries to talk to me, to reassure me, but it isn’t enough. I can’t fight the darkness any longer. As much as I want to stay here with her, there is nothing more I can do. I have no more fight left in me. I close my eyes, and the darkness devours me.
Chapter 4
Ana
My heart aches as I look at the stranger’s motionless body lying in my bed. My room doesn’t even look like the same place. I’ve done my best to prepare for the upcoming surgery, disinfecting everything he may come in contact with. Dad has already removed his clothes and laid a sheet over his lower body. He helped me clean and wash him up, removing all the muck from the lake. I wipe his chest down with betadine as I carefully examine his wounds. I am relieved to find that they aren’t as bad as I’d thought. I’ll be able to remove the bullets without being too invasive.
“He’s lost a lot of blood, Ana. There’s no way he’s going to make it through this.”
“I’m not giving up on him yet, Dad. I’m going to need some antibiotics,” I tell him.
“I’ll see if Sue can help us out. She’ll ask questions, but we can trust her. I’ll see if she has any painkillers, too. He’s going to be in a world of hurt if he wakes up. Call me if you think of anything else.”
I know that my dad has been dating Sue for several months, but he hasn’t actually told me about it. The silly man lights up like a Christmas tree every time he talks about her, though. She runs a small clinic in town, and she’s a really great doctor. I know she’ll have everything we would need. I only hope that she’ll give it to us.
I grab the IV kit and one saline drip from my medical bag and walk over to him. I gently place the IV needle into his arm, so I can start a blood transfusion. He will need the extra blood before I can try to remove the bullets from his chest. My blood type is O negative, so I don’t have to worry about him rejecting it. I give him just enough to stabilize him for the surgery, and then I remove the line from my arm. I replace the tubing so I can attach the saline drip. It will help increase his fluids and make it easier to give him his medications when they get here.
After scrubbing my hands with disinfectant, I reach for my scalpel and begin removing the first bullet from his chest. I’m immediately surprised at how shallow the bullet wound is. Luckily, something must have blocked it from going any deeper into his skin. A few more inches and it would have punctured his lung, leaving no chance that he would have survived.
The second bullet is much more difficult to remove. It is lodged in his lower abdomen, extremely close to his left kidney. After a great deal of work and two deep incisions, I’m finally able to extract it. He’ll have a major scar, but it will heal with time. Thankfully, neither bullet struck any of his vital organs.
I’m still stitching him up when my dad walks back into the room. “Got the antibiotics. Sue wasn’t sure what you would need, so she sent everything she could. She also sent two extra saline drips and extra pain medication.”
“Thanks, Daddy. I owe her one. Just put them on the dresser,” I tell him as I tie off the last stitch. I don’t have any time to waste. He needs to start the antibiotics before infection sets in. I inject the medication into his IV along with a dose of morphine that Sue sent. Dad is right. He’s going to be in pain when he wakes up… if he wakes up. That thought scares me a little. I don’t quite understand my overwhelming need to save this man, but I plan to do whatever it takes to keep him alive.
“How’s he doing?” Dad asks.
“Better than I thought, actually. His blood pressure is low, but his heart rate is strong. He should improve quickly now that the bleeding has stopped. Hopefully the meds will help with the rest,” I explain as I check the IV.
“So, what happens now?”
“We wait,” I explain. “It’s going to be awhile before we know anything. You can go home, Dad. There’s no reason for you to stay. I doubt he’ll even wake up for several days. I’ll call you if something changes.”
“I’m not leaving you alone, Ana. I wouldn’t feel right leaving you alone with this guy,” he huffs.
“Don’t be silly. Go home and get some rest. Seriously, I’ll be fine,” I tell him. I motion my hand over to the lifeless man resting in my bed and say, “It’s not like he’s going to wake up any time soon. I’ll keep an eye on things and let you know how it’s going.”
“What about Steven? You planning on telling him about your little project?” he asks, pointing over to the bed.
“Hmm… I’m not sure what I’m going to do. Let’s just see how this all plays out.”
“Ana…. Be careful,” he warns.
“I will,” I promise.
“I’ll be back in the morning to see how things are going. Just so you know, I don’t feel good about this,” he says. “I’ll call later to check on you.”
I nod and watch as he turns to walk out of the room. I should be nervous about being left alone with a stranger like this, but I actually feel relief as my dad’s truck pulls out of the driveway. Then again, it’s not like he’s going far. The farm is just a few miles down the road. Steven still lives next door, so I have plenty of help if I need it.
I sit on the edge of the bed and take a minute to look around the room. It’s a complete disaster. There are bloodstains everywhere, and I know it will take me all night to clean up the mess. My attention is drawn away from the havoc in my room to the handsome man that lies in my bed, fighting for his life. I quietly watch as his chest rises and falls with each breath he takes. I lean over and run my fingers through his sandy brown hair. My eyes roam over the muscles of his chest and arms, while I try to make sense of all the tattoos scattered over his body. They’re really quite beautiful and filled with intricate detail. It’s like they’re telling me a story… his story. I wonder if he might explain them all to me someday.
I get up and start to clean the monstrous mess I made. Every few minutes, I stop to check his vitals. Thankfully, he’s still doing well. His heartbeat is stronger than the last time I checked, and his color is coming back. I am beginning to think that I might actually be able to pull off this miracle.
After I give him his next round of medication, I decide to take a break. I grab a sandwich and go sit on the sofa. I turn on the TV, and just as I am throwing a blanket over my legs, my cell phone begins to ring. I reach over and answer it, assuming that it’s my dad calling to check in on things.
“Hello?” I wait for a response, but there is nothing. Only silence. The same silence that I’ve been getting for the past month. I look down and see the same number from the hospital.
“Why do you keep doing this? Why don’t you stop being a fucking coward and say something?!” I shout into the phone. I listen hard, hoping to hear some kind of response, but I can hear only the faint rustle of someone’s breath. I end the call and toss my phone down on the table. Shit! I drop my head back onto the couch and try to calm my racing heart. I don’t know why I don’t just give up. I know there is very little chance that they will ever call me back to work, but it is so hard for me to let go of that part of my life. I've wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember. I don’t want to let them win without a fight.
I turn on the TV and start flipping through the channels. I finally decide on the cooking channel and am just about to doze off when the phone rings again. I pick up
the phone and check to see that it is actually my dad calling before I answer.
“Hey.”
“You doing okay over there?” he asks.
“I’m fine,” I say, trying to reassure him.
“Any change in your John Doe?”
“Not lately,” I say, sitting up on the sofa. I probably need to go check on him again. “He was still asleep the last time I checked on him.”
“Call me when he starts to come to. I don’t want you to be left alone with this guy when wakes up,” he says firmly.
“Okay, but I don’t expect that to be any time soon.”
“It could be any minute, Ana. Just keep an eye on him.”
“I will… promise,” I assure him.
“Good. I’ll be by first thing in the morning.”
“Okay, Daddy. Goodnight.” I hang up the phone and throw my blanket to the back of the sofa. I walk down the long hall to the bedroom and stop cold when I notice the set of blue eyes looking back at me. I move a few steps closer, just to be sure that I’m not seeing things. His eyes lock on mine for a brief moment before they flutter shut again. How is he already waking up?
I walk over and sit on the edge of the bed. I run the tips of my fingers across his forehead, brushing his hair to the side. He feels warm to the touch, so I check his temperature. He has a low-grade fever, which concerns me. I’m afraid to leave him before the fever breaks, so after placing a cool washcloth on his head, I pull a chair over to the side of the bed. I prop my feet up on the edge of the mattress and lay my head back on the chair. It isn’t the most comfortable way to sleep, but I like being there with him. In some crazy way, it makes me feel safer just having him there beside me.
