When Two Sides Meet

Chapter 6 : Back Up

The blurry lights surrounded her, the wailing of the sirens too loud. The walls seemed to close in on her, her lungs refusing to move, her eyes shrouded with darkness every time she blinked. Everybody and everything was too loud. The sound coming out of the people around her was not forming into words, but the emotion was. Anger. It was scary to watch, the menacing roars from bloodied mouths, fists curled up into balls of anger. But the worst thing about it was that she couldn't move and was tied down to a stretcher bed.

Cheryl was sure that she couldn't move even if she wasn't tied down. Her body ached so badly, her skin a mass of bruises from god knows where. As she surveyed the area, the bloody scene around her, she saw familiar older faces around her running and screaming, the younger ones chasing after them. They were teachers. Even without being conscious to see the scene, she knew fully well that teachers,
being teachers, had tried to take control of the situation. They had failed, obviously, but she couldn't help but think how well they had done trying to keep a rabid pack of school children at bay.

A face turned toward Cheryl,now assessing her heart rate and temperature.
"The girl's conscious again! Look!" The nurse shouted to the other crew members.
They all crowded around her with masks and wearing a surgeon's scrubs. They called out amongst the hundreds of sweaty children to a singular one, Margaret.

Margaret walked over. Her face was sombre.
Margaret looked around at the doctors and surgeons.
" Is she OK? " Margaret whispered so quietly that only a few people heard her. One particular doctor replied, who was probably the boss of the situation. He was tall and dark skinned, but Cheryl could swear she knew him from somewhere. He had a soft voice. It was calming, hearing him as she almost went back to sleep, but it was too loud and uncomfortable.

A look of relief flooded over Margaret's face. A look of serenity and relief against the others, who had no clear emotions on their face. It almost looked as if they had none at all.
A scream of unintelligible words came out from Margaret's red lips filled the air. She was happy.
" Oh my goodness, you are ok!" She squealed ." I was so worried for you. You almost died and had to do an emergency surgery! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! "
A deafening sound came from the crowd, but no one seemed to take notice. Cheryl's eyes were weary, and all she wanted to do was sleep and sleep, but she was kept awake by everyone around her.

Margaret's eyes were filled with tears, and some unlucky ones rolled down her cheek like racing cars on a track." Please don't go. I don't want to lose you.
Cheryl wanted to comfort her so much, but she couldn't. Her throat to dry, her lips to broken, so when she tried, all that came out from her mouth was a croak. It seemed that that was all she had needed in her life, that hug that she had been given by Margaret. It was warm and reassuring in the cold state that she was in. Margaret didn't try to hold the tears in this time as she let go from the warm embrace. They were like a waterfall. The teardrops cascaded down her soft skin, her silent snuffles once every while breaking through the silence. " I need you." Margaret spoke, her voice cracking as she repeated it over and over again. And just like that, they were both crying into each others shoulders.

Time passed before either of them spoke again.
" You're alive."
Margaret's red face laughed as she stood back up from the awkward position that they were in, Cheryl was still tied firmly to the stretcher, making it uncomfortable for the both of them. A doctor sent her off ,whispering something in her bejewelled ear. Margaret looked behind her for one final glance at the messy scene of the makeshift surgery room under the enclosed canopy as she walked into the roar of bloodthirsty children.