Chapter 3: Lights Out
Knox
Jax arrived with the car the rest of gang behind him. He helped me put her lifeless body in the backseat. He wanted to drive but I beat him to the driver’s seat, I couldn’t live with myself knowing I didn’t try to save her. It was the least I could do to ease my conscience and lower the survivors guilt.
“Boss you’re hurt too”
“I’m fine. She was being followed, there was a man I saw at my nine o’clock. Get me his head!” I roared the engine and drove off.
I was multitasking between focusing on the road as I kept looking back via the rear view mirror hoping she was going to move an inch. There was no sign of movement and even though the hospital was five minutes out I couldn’t help but feel like I was still moving slower and she was going to die.
“Move!” I hooted loudly at another motorist in front of me before overtaking he showed me the middle finger and on a normal day I’d have chopped it off shoved it right where the sun doesn’t shine, “Stay alive stranger, we are almost there”
The emergency wing of Fort canon General hospital was clear. When the doctors saw a speeding car approaching they already knew what to expect, a patient trolley was already waiting with two nurses.
“She’s at the back please save her” I begged jumping out of the vehicle.
“Leave it to us sir..”
“Save her. Please save her” I kept begging as one of the nurses restrained me.
“Prepare the OR, female in her mid twenties multiple contusions, head injury broken ribs and signs of internal bleeding from the chest…” The doctor kept describing her situation as she was quickly taken inside.
I was asked to wait at the reception and get first aid. My right leg was bleeding but I wasn’t even feeling the pain. There was also blood coming from my forehead from that impact with the street light post.
“Are you feeling any pain in the head sir?”
“No. How is she?”
“In surgery”
“Is she going to be okay?”
“I can’t promise you that but our doctors are going to try their level best to save her just relax. Is she your girlfriend?”
It was none of her business but again wasn’t she just trying to help me? Telling the nurse what happened was going to incriminate me in case she didn’t make it and police got involved. Of course I could have beat the case anyway but somehow it felt like I wasn’t going to live with myself. I had killed many people on the streets of fort canon and every death took a toll on me yet an accident was threatening to take an even bigger piece of me.
“It was an accident, I was on the bike and she was crossing the streets I tried to swerve but ended up hitting her. Can I watch what they are doing?”
“Unfortunately No. But sit back try to stay calm and I’ll update you every step of the way”
Sounded like a deal except there was no way I was going to relax. With a bandage around my head and on right leg and hand I kept pacing up and down the hallway saying a futile prayer. My phone was broken I couldn’t reach Jax and get an update on the man who was following her. Basically I was losing my mind and I just wanted to hit anything or anyone so hard to get all the anger out.
“Boss, are you okay?” Jax said coming from behind and I had never been happier to see him.
“I’m fine, you got him?”
“He got hit by a garbage collection truck before we could talk to him. It’s a dead end…”
“Are you sure he is dead Jax?” I grabbed his shoulder blades as though I wanted to reap them off his fairly old body in case he had failed me.
“Shot him in the head two times myself boss as far as I’m concerned if he wasn’t dead he died twice”
“Good work man, get me a phone and tell my personal emergency medical team to prepare the medical room. The moment she is stable enough to move we get her out of here I have a feeling whoever was after her is still coming”
Instead of executing the orders right away Jax was still standing there waiting for confirmation.
“What? You have a problem with that?”
“No boss but we don’t take in strays. You hit her and you took her to the hospital she is…”
“She is fighting for her life in there because of me Jax! She is not out of the woods yet as far as am concerned I owe her everything she needs right now!”
There it was, anger escaping my chest. Everyone around including the doctors and nurses in the hallways froze for a minute. And Jax, instead of looking at me like I was a yelling monster he gave me a hug. In his own way he understood what was happening to me. We had been friends since we met on the streets, he was way older than me but we were both homeless and dealing drugs to survive.
“She is going to be okay Knox. I’ll make the arrangements”
He left two guys with me in the waiting area and walked out talking to his phone. Although he understood my situation I owed him an apology. We had gotten that far because of trust and mutual respect. The sum is always greater than the individual, I had the mindset of the leader with a vision and he was right behind me with the ability to bring the vision to life. When I saw the nurse approaching I went to meet her halfway, it was a make it or break it moment. The next words that were going to come out of her mouth would shape the next chapter of my life and I must say she was terrible with breaking news when her face went cold I dropped on my knees, she was dead.
“Hey, get up. She is stable”
“What?” I quickly sprung back up, “You’re not kidding are you?”
“No, she is going to live”
“Can I see her? Can she talk?”
“No she can’t talk she is in a comma, but you can see her from outside”