A Crossroad Of Stories

The storm night

"She's not breathing!" the young man shouted. "Dad, she's not breathing."

"Call 9-1-1." The man pushed his son aside and reached the girl. Her clothes were wet, a mix of blood and dirt on her face. Heavy drops of rain were falling on them, making it difficult to see clearly. The man knew that the ambulance wouldn't arrive on time. He had heard on the radio that multiple bridges had collapsed and the river had overflowed. "I'll save you," he muttered and checked her pulse.

"They are on their way." The boy came back.

The man started breathing air into the girl's mouth, holding her head in the proper place.

"We don't have time." He looked at his son. The boy was barely fifteen, yet he had managed to get the girl out of the water. "She doesn't have time," he explained and started chest compressions. "Get the flashlight from the car and stand near the road. Be careful," he said without looking at his son. He was only looking at the girl with black hair.

Ten minutes had passed when a dazzling light blinded him. Soon, he heard the thunder in a close distance. The rain had covered everything, but he didn't stop.

"Let me see," he whispered as if the girl could hear him. His fingers reached to her neck, checking her pulse. "Yes," he mumbled. The pulse was faint but it was there. She was alive. He brushed away some of the dirt on her face and held her hand until the paramedics arrived.

"We'll get her to the United Hospital. It's the only one that still has electricity," one of them said as they were lifting the girl from the ground.

"We'll follow you."

The boy touched his father's arm, his question left unsaid, but his eyes could speak louder.

"We have to. Your mother would want us to."

The young man nodded. "You are right."

They got into the car, following the ambulance and the girl with black hair. The rain had stopped but the destruction was evident around them. Trees had fallen, cars had crashed, houses had flooded...

"I can't remember a storm like this in all the years I've been here," the father said as the hospital came into his view.

They parked and went straight to the information desk.

"A young woman was brought a few minutes ago. With dark hair. She was drowned," the old man spoke rapidly.

The woman sitting behind the computer barely looked at them. "Are you her family?"

"My son and I found her." A tone of annoyance was evident in his voice. "Is she okay?"

"I don't have that information. You should wait at the emergency wing." The woman started typing on her computer, unbothered.

"Now, dad?"

"Now, we wait."

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Elektra opened her eyes but closed them at once. The lights were blinding her, and the tall figures around her scared her.

"You are in the hospital. You are safe here," a gentle voice informed her.

Her eyelids trembled, and her lips parted. "Water," she whispered, her voice hoarse and tired.

She felt her upper body being lifted and then, a glass touching her lips. She gulped hastily, the water running cold and refreshing in her mouth and then, in her esophagus.

"Do you remember what happened?" a second voice asked her.

Opening her eyes again, she tried to focus her view on the man who spoke. She started feeling euphoric as if the water was her medicine.