Never Forgotten

Part 18

Part 18

The cold dark water surrounded her and slowly started rising within the car. Her heart was beating fast as panic and adrenaline rushed through her body. She didn't feel the blood that was running down her face from the deep cut on her forehead. 
Marlena desperately tried to open the door but it was impossible. "Oh God...what I'm gonna do" she cried out, desperately looking for something to get her out of the sinking car. Finding nothing that was hard enough to break the window, she felt hope slipping away as water now reached her waist.

                                 ———-

John had been trying to call Marlena for the last hour to make sure she was okay after everything that happened at the church, but her phone went straight to voicemail.
He couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong, he felt it in his bones and his soul. Just like that time when Stella had kidnapped her and thrown her into the pit.

"John honey, what's going on? Why are you so tense?" Rebecca asked innocently.
He couldn't possibly know that something had happened to the pretty Doctor.

Placing his phone back in his pocket, John took a deep breath and looked around the room filled with happy people, who were enjoying the wedding reception.
"Oh..hmm...trouble at the office" he lied.

Rebecca knew he was lying and tried her best to not show her anger. "This is our son's wedding day...I wish you would focus on that and not work."

John knew she was right. He needed to be present and enjoy this special day and be there 100 percent for his son. So he pushed his fears and concerns to the back of his mind. He would try to call Marlena again in a few hours.

                                 ———-

The water was coming in faster, now reaching her neck. It was so cold that it made her limbs numb, paralyzing her. Time was running out.
She wasn't ready to die yet, she still had so much to live for, now more than ever. The thought of not getting a chance to say goodbye to her children and friends....and John, and never getting a chance to see their child.
Marlena started hyperventilating and tears streamed down her face as the reality of being trapped in the car, facing a horrible drowning death and the possibility of nobody ever knowing what happened to her.
"Oh dear God...please.....John..." she begged, the water now reaching her chin.

Filling her lungs with as much air as possible, Marlena made one last desperate attempt to open the door. Pushing with all of her strength, the door opened as the car was now completely filled with water. With her legs, she pushed herself out of the car and swam towards what she thought was the surface. Her numb body struggled in the cold water and she fought against the impulse to open her mouth and breathe in, as the weight of her wet clothes drew her deeper down the water.

"John...". She screamed into the water, letting out the last air before water filled her lungs... And then everything went black...

                                     ———-

John jumped in his seat and a cold shiver rolled down his spine. He knew that in that moment something was happening, something bad. And it couldn't only be something considering Marlena.
Abruptly he stood up, almost knocking over the table where they were dining.

"John..What's wrong?" Rebecca asked, surprised by his sudden move.

Staring into the air with an emotionless expression John whispered, "I need to go!"
Turning around and walking away from the wedding reception, he didn't know where he was going, he only knew that he needed to find Marlena and make sure she was safe.

Rebecca watched his retreating form and found her phone in her purse and opened the message from the unknown sender.

Rebecca: What did you do?

Unknown: The car went over the bridge and into the water.

Rebecca: What??? You weren't supposed to kill her.

Unknown: Well, now you never have to worry about her anymore.

Rebecca put down the phone. This wasn't her plan. She just wanted to scare Marlena, to teach her a lesson and make her stay away from John.
This scenario would probably cause John to drift even further away, which was definitely not what she wanted. She had a feeling that a dead Marlena would cause even more trouble than a alive one. And she could lose John forever if he ever found out, that she was behind her death.

                                ———

John had no idea where he was going but suddenly found himself outside Marlena and Roman's house, frantically banging on the door.

"Marlena...Marlena.." He yelled loudly, causing the neighbors to look out their windows, curious as to what the  commotion was about.

After 5 minutes of constant yelling and banging on the door, John was about to leave when a car pulled into the driveway.

"What the hell is going on here?" Roman shouted and got out of his cop car. "John...what the hell are you doing here?" He yelled as he saw who the intruder was.

John turned around and saw Roman walking towards him with an angry face. But right now he didn't have time to explain or try and soothe things out.

"Where is Doc?" John asked.

Roman couldn't believe the nerve of this man. Showing up at his house, looking for his wife, demanding to know where she was.

"How is it any of your concern where my wife is?" Roman said with venom.  

John took a deep breath to try and calm himself down and not physically attack the ignorant man in front of him. "Roman...I really don't have time to explain it to you..But I need to know where Marlena is. Something has happened, I can just feel it. So please can you put aside your anger towards me and just tell me?" he said with a resigned voice.

Roman eyes his rival. John did seem concerned but Roman wasn't about to help him. If something had happened to Marlena, he sure as hell wasn't going to let John be the hero, like he had been in the past. No, this time he would be the one who Marlena would look at with love, affection and gratitude.

"Sorry John...I can't help you" Roman said with a smug smile as he shrugged his shoulders.

Shaking his head, John knew he wouldn't get anything out of Roman. The man's ego was too big and could potentially do Marlena even more harm. And right now, John felt like time was running out.

"If something happens to her because you can't put your ego aside and work with me on this, then..." John couldn't even continue the sentence without wanting to strangle Roman. Instead he quickly walked past him, got into his car and slammed the car door and took off in a hurry.

                                      ————-

15 minutes later John bursted through the doors of the hospital, pushing people away as he made his way to the information desk.
Not caring about the line of people who were waiting for their turn, he walked past them with hurried steps.

"Did a patient just come in...Dr. Marlena Evans?"

The nurse saw the panic in his eyes and heard the fear hiding underneath his harsh tone of voice and figured it would be best for everyone if she just gave him the information he was looking for, despite the irritable looks of the people in the waiting area.

Looking at him with empathy, she turned to the computer. "No Sir, I'm sorry"

Closing his eyes, John tried to wrap his mind around where else he could look for her.
Think John..Think. A man cleared his throat behind him, snapping him back. "Thank you" John said to the nurse with a sad smile.

Walking back to his car, John took his phone and scrolled down to a name he hadn't called in years.

"Hello" A man answered.

"Hey partner...it's John.. I need your help"