What if I ain't no violinist?

110. Twoset Travellers II

Travelling together in some exotic country, Eddy woke up in the middle of the night. He heard Brett's soft snores next to him. Eddy wiped his brow and was surprised at how wet it was with perspiration. His forehead was also very hot. He tried to sit up but his body would not listen to him, he felt an ever so slight tingle of panic, a little concern because he didn't seem to have good control over his own body.

"Brett.."

He was surprised and disappointed with the whisper he could barely muster. He then decided he'd try to roll out of bed, thinking if he forced his feet to touch the floor he might be able to stand up and go get a drink. What he did was totally misjudged. Eddy had forgotten he had taken the side of the bed that was against the wall, except the bed had not been placed completely against it. There was a small gap between the wall and the bed, just enough for Eddy to roll right into. He had the bed sheet catch him like a hammock and there he was stuck, immobilised between the wall and the solid timber king size bed.

He was certain he wasn't injured and he wasn't in any particular pain, at least not yet, just in a bit of discomfort. He tried to wriggle out from the gap. He couldn't. He bit his lip and tried again to no avail. He couldn't even sit up on the bed before, there was no way he could get himself out of the tight gap in his current condition. Panic started to set in.

"B...Brett..??"

Eddy's throat was parched, his voice was hoarse and he could not talk loud enough to wake up Brett. Eddy was starting to get extremely uncomfortable.

He tried tapping on the wall. It was a concrete wall and it only hurt his knuckles without making much noise. He grimaced and tried tapping the solid wood bed frame instead. This time he was a bit more successful.

Tap tap tap tap...

Brett continued to sleep, his gentle snores in sync with Eddy's tapping.

Eddy then came up with an idea on how to trigger Brett.

Tap tap pause tap pause tap tap tap pause tappa tap tap pause tap tappa pause...

He started to tap the most irregular beat he could think of.

Much to Eddy's relief, he heard Brett stir.

Tappa tap tap pause tap tappa pause tap tap pause tap pause tap tap tap pause...

Eddy heard Brett groan...

"WTF...."

"Brett..."

"...Eddy?"

"B..Brett..."

Eddy heard the bed sheets rustle then felt the mattress bounce as Brett left the bed. Eddy bit his lip in frustration. It seemed like Brett had gone to the bathroom to check whether Eddy was there.

"Eddy?"

Eddy was feeling quite exhausted. He waited for Brett to come back from the bathroom to the bed.

"...Eddy??"

Upon Brett's return, Eddy started tapping the irregular beat again.

Tap tap pause tap pause tap tap tap pause tappa tap tap pause tap tappa pause...

"WTF... Eddy!?!?"

"Brett..."

Eddy finally heard Brett's voice nearer him. He must be leaning over the edge of the bed. Eddy felt Brett's hand on his head.

"OMG Eddy!! What happened !?!?"

"Help me..I'm feeling unwell and I'm stuck... I can't get out..."

"OMFG."

Brett initially tried to pull Eddy out with no success. It was too cumbersome to tug on Eddy's arm and Brett he didn't want to tug on the bedsheet in case it ripped and made Eddy fall even further. Brett then tried to move the bed to increase the gap where Eddy was stuck between the bed and the wall but the bed was extremely sturdy and very heavy. Brett eventually managed to tuck in his legs and sit between the gap and gradually stretch his legs out, inching the solid bed further away from the wall. Finally, the gap between the bed and wall was large enough for Eddy's body to land on the floor with a soft thud.

"OMG OMG Eddy are you alright??"

Brett grabbed Eddy's shoulders and helped him up.

"I.. need to lie back down..."

"Okay.. okay.. here you go...OMG you're burning up. I'm getting some water and a wet towel for you okay? I'll be right back"

Eddy sighed in relief as he saw Brett rush into the bathroom. The thought of a situation of himself travelling alone and this happening to him made him grimace in horror, the image of a dead body wedged between the wall and the bed for the housekeeper to find the next morning was absolutely mortifying. Thank goodness for Brett being there with him and thank goodness for Brett's meticulous attention to rhythm, which would often drive Eddy up the wall but was what had saved Eddy's life in this instance.