Jane fought through the drugged blurriness to find herself tied down to a gurney inside an ambulance. She could feel that the vehicle was in motion, but thankfully there was no siren.
She pulled a little at the bindings, but did not have the energy or the will to try a full-on attempt at escape. At least I’m safe from that ax-wielding monster, she thought to herself. I certainly hope that he was apprehended. Still, I don’t understand why I am in this ambulance. I wasn’t hurt.
Lost in her thoughts, Jane didn’t realize right away that she had company. But a quick flurry of movement brought her to awareness. A young man in a blue uniform sat at the far end of the ambulance, near the doors. He paid Jane no mind, as he wrote notes in a folder.
But that was not what had caught Jane’s attention.
A young woman sat on the empty gurney opposite her own. She stared at Jane with a sad look on her face.
Jane peered at the stranger. There was something odd about her.
“Who are you?” Jane whispered. “And why are you here?”
Silence from her strange companion.
The EMT had heard Jane, and he closed the folder. He looked over to his patient, surprised that she was awake. As he got up, the young woman turned to look at him.
Jane let out a startled scream.
The woman’s head was caved in, as if she had been hit with something heavy.
Like the back of an ax.
The EMT rushed over, grabbing a vial of medication. He emptied it into Jane’s IV as she screamed in terror, her eyes fixed on the opposite side of the ambulance.
Jane pointed. “It’s her! The girl who was killed. She’s right here!” She tried to pull out of the bands around her body, but the sleep meds kicked in rapidly. Jane fought the drug, but eventually she lost.
As she slipped back into oblivion, she heard a woman’s voice whisper, “Help me…butler…”
Nell had followed the ambulance to the hospital, and caught up with Jane’s gurney as they were wheeling her into an observation room.
A nurse caught her sleeve. “Are you family?” she asked.
“About as close as you’ll find, I’m afraid,” Nell replied, glancing worriedly at the struggling, moaning figure in the bed.
“We need to locate family members. Can you help?”
Nell shook her head sadly. “She’s alone in the world. I’ve known her a long time, and not once has she mentioned any relations at all.”
