Collision

Chapter 9

I didn't talk, even when Miss Debenham asked me what happened. I had never talked about my experiences with anyone, and now I had just told a detective of all people. I needed time, I needed to be alone, and Miss Debenham eventually understood that from my silence and left. I laid on my bed, until I heard a commotion in the hallway. " What is going on?" I asked Mr. Bouc, and I looked outside and understood. I looked at the director of the train before following Poirot out to the cold outdoors.

I followed side by side with Poirot who looked at me with a confused face, " I'm faster than you are." I stated simply as we ran down a flight of stairs. We ran onto the wooden bridge, and saw that he was a level under us. I swung from a wooden bar onto the level below, and continued running. My head was pounding, but I ignored it. Poirot joined me on said level a few moments later. The hooded figure fell down a ladder, but got up quickly. I jumped down a few seconds later, and Poirot slid down soon after. Poirot got ahead of me, and him and the hooded figure were neck and neck until Poirot tried tackling him. Their combined weights made the wood crack from underneath, and they both fell. The hooded figure fell two levels, while Poirot only one. I jumped, made sure Poirot was okay before jumping gracefully down to the level of the hooded man. He turned around in shock at me behind him, but in a swift movement I slid his legs out from under him and he fell. Unfortunately his weight made the wood collapse again sending us both crashing down into the snow.

I didn't faint, just the wind knocked out of me. I felt my head, and there was no blood, but I had a headache from the devil, and was dizzy as hell. So, I did not fuss when the blurred face of a blonde man picked me up, and carried me back to his cabin where his wife was. " Keep her awake Elena. I will be right back." he said though it sounded muffled. I felt my now wet clothes being taken off, a nightdress put on me, and heavy blankets as well. " Stay with us little flower." she whispered. I nodded, not stressing on the fact Elena had just called me "little flower" which was my aunt's nickname for me when I was a girl. Eventually I succumbed to the blackness, and all went silent.

When I woke up I had at least five faces surrounding me, " If this whole fainting business is going to be a common occurrence make sure only one face is standing over me at a time." I mumbled sarcastically. I sat up slowly, and saw the faces more clearly. The couple who I now knew for sure was my aunt and uncle, the detective, Bouc, Miss Debenham, and the doctor. I felt my forehead, and realized the stitches had been put in place. " Brilliant idea Dr. Arbuthnot. Those would have been painful otherwise." I said, and he nodded. " That was a nasty fall you took there. It probably made your concussion worse, but not terribly because the snow cushioned most of it. What I was worried about was hypothermia, but the Countess did the right thing, and you look much better than you did when I saw you first." he stated, and I nodded. " Are you alright?" Mr. Bouc asked. " Never better." I replied, smiling cheekily. He nodded, and him and the detective left, the detective wishing me a "feel better" before leaving. " I daresay he's taken a liking to you." Miss Debenham said, sitting at my bedside. " Well, who wouldn't with this face?" I replied, and all the people in the room laughed. " You scared me to death, you know?" she continued, and I nodded. " Sorry. But I caught him, didn't I?" I asked, and she nodded. " As soon as you are ready we will go back to our compartment." Miss Debenham stated, and I looked at the couple to her right. " Actually, can we have a moment please?" I asked. Miss Debenham looked at the doctor, and they both left, the doctor promising he would continue checking on his 'favorite patient' every so often. I looked at my newly found Aunt and Uncle who looked at the floor. " Uncle, Aunt. Let's talk".