The Unfortunate Ride

Chapter 6

26/07/2017. St Andrew's Hospital, Virginia. 11:03 hours.

Spencer had always been terrified by the darkness. He always said that it was because of the inherent absence of light. He did not feel scared by this darkness. It felt somewhat peaceful. It reminded him of the rainy days that he would spend curled up next to his mother as she read to him. He could feel the haze melting away from his consciousness. There were voices surrounding him, though they sounded like they were under water. There was a steady beeping breaking through the echoing warbling of voices.

"I think he's waking up!"

"Come on! Open those eyes for us!" It was loud. So loud. The noises were echoing around his brain. Spencer wanted to open his eyes, even for a fraction of a second, but his eyelids felt stiff. Concentrating hard, Spencer managed to open his eyes into small slits.

"There he is! Hi!" Spencer squeezed his eyes shut again. It was so loud.

"Penny, quiet!" Penny? Spencer tried again. Everything was blurred before his vision. He could make out two figures. As Spencer's eyes fluttered fully open, he was able to make out the bright, colourful figure of Penelope Garcia. Beside her was another blonde woman. JJ? Spencer's hazel orbs sluggishly looked around. White. An abundance of white. Spencer turned his head to face Penelope and JJ, a flash of pain coursing through his skull. Spencer closed his eyes again and groaned. His fingers weakly grasped at the blankets. Nausea crept it's way through his gullet and the room spun with dizziness. Spencer swallowed the nausea down.

As he swallowed, he caught the sensation of something hard lodged in his throat. His eyes snapped open. Spencer slowly lifted his right hand and gingerly ran his fingertips over the ventilator buckle and strap. His breaths came quick and fast as his fingers gripped and tugged on the neoprene strap. The bleeping quickened. A pair of soft, warm hands gently pulled his hand away. Spencer glanced over at the owner of the hands, his eyebrows raised in terror.

"Spence, it's okay. It's helping you breathe. The doctor is on his way," soothed JJ. Spencer gazed into her eyes, "Slow your breathing, Spence. Follow me." JJ took a deep breath in and then slowly exhaled. Shakily, Spencer tried to copy her, allowing the ventilator to force oxygen into his lungs. Penelope ran her blue fingernails through Spencer's tousled hair. A gentle knock sounded on the door. All eyes turned to Dr Harper who edged his way into the room.

"I see that Dr Reid is awake. I'm going to run a couple of cognitive tests before we take the ventilator off." Spencer glanced back at JJ in fear.

"It's okay, Spence. I'll be right here." Dr Harper moved to Spencer's left and tugged a pen torch out of his crisp white jacket pocket. He shone the light in Spencer's eyes.

"Pupils are now equal and reacting which is good. Dr Reid? I need you to follow my finger with your eyes." Dr Harper held up his index finger in front of Spencer's face and slowly moved it side to side. Spencer's eyes followed the finger, "Good. Can you move your toes for me?" Spencer's toes wiggled under the blanket, "Very good. Neurological functions appear to be intact. Once we have you off the ventilator, we'll get you to CT so we can see how your brain and lungs is doing. Oxygen levels look good so we'll get this ventilator out." Dr Harper flicked the switch on the ventilator, powering it down with a hiss. Spencer watched JJ as she guided him through the breathing exercises as before. Dr Harper pressed a button on the remote, the mechanics of the bed whirring as it brought Spencer up into a sitting position. Spencer grimaced at the pain that spread in waves through his ribs. Penelope smoothed the hair out of Spencer's face as Dr Harper rummaged through cabinets for equipment, humming a tune as he did so.

"It's okay, baby boy," soothed Penelope. Dr Harper returned with a surgical kidney dish filled with gauze and syringe and gently set it on top of the blankets. He unfastened the strap, the ripping sound of velcro filling the tense air. The strap hung loosely over Spencer's unshaven jaw. Dr Harper tore open the packet with the syringe and brought it up to Spencer's face. The odour of the nitrile gloves encasing Dr Harper's hands was suffocating. The syringe clicked into the port of the tube. Dr Harper drew the plunger back, withdrawing a small amount of clear liquid, then dropped it into the dish. He grasped Spencer's jaw with one hand and the tube with the other.

"Okay, Dr Reid. I need you to take a nice deep breath in through your nose, and then I need you to exhale slowly. As you exhale, I'll remove the tube. Ready?" Spencer slowly nodded, his eyes fixed on to the doctor's face, "Breathe in," instructed Dr Harper, "Three, two, one... And out." As Spencer slowly released the breath he had been holding in, the tube slid free of his throat. He took in another large gasp of air. Penelope held some gauze in front of his mouth as he broke into a coughing fit, rubbing soothing circles into his bare back. Spencer greedily gulped in air.

"You'll have a sore throat for a few days, Dr Reid. Only ice chips for now. We'll build you up slowly to assess your swallowing abilities. I'll go and arrange your scans." Dr Harper unfurled an oxygen cannula from the pump on the wall and gently inserted the prongs into Spencer's nostrils, hooking the tubing around his ears and securing it under his jaw with the toggle. He collected the dish and carried it out with him.

JJ was absorbed in her best friend's appearance. His usual stubble was replaced with a thick growth of facial hair. His lips were dry and chapped. The swelling had disappeared from around his eye. The bruising was slowly changing to a more red/purple colour.

"What happened?" rasped Spencer, confused by the sound of his voice.

"You were on the train that derailed. You remember?" responded JJ. Spencer furrowed his brow in thought.

"Yeah, I remember. What happened to me?"

"You had a bleed on the brain from a skull fracture, broken ribs, blood on your lung, dislocated shoulder and some metal tore through your calf muscle and chipped the bone," answered Penelope, using her fingers to help her reel off the injuries. Spencer looked as though his world had flipped over. He swallowed hard.

"How many survivors?" asked Spencer, his body tense as he awaited the response. JJ and Penelope glanced at each other. Spencer raised his head, a new determination in his eyes, "How many survivors, JJ?" JJ swallowed hard, desperately trying to divert her attention away from the steely stare of the man in the bed.

"One, Spence. Just one," she responded quietly.

"One?"

"Yeah, you, baby boy," answered Penelope. Spencer dropped back into his pillows, an expression of disbelief and grief written into his features. He closed his eyes.

"I'm tired. I need to go back to sleep for a while." The girls watched as Spencer quickly fell back into slumber. His muscles remained tense, teeth gritted and his brow knotted in concern.