Inside the Shadow

Chapter Three: Unknown Fear -POV: Zachariah

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"Mairi!" I yelled as I ran toward the tragedy that had just unfolded in front of me. Mairi had been positioned perfectly on the edge of the tracks, stuck between the car and the smoking train. As I approached the scene, there was already a firefighter holding Mairi in both arms, carrying her to a nearby Gurney. I approached her and grabbed her hand. She wasn't awake and that really scared me. Blood covered the blanket she was lying on. Two paramedics came to rush her into an ambulance, so I let her go and followed behind them. As they began to raise her up, I thought about riding in the back with her to the hospital. I turned over my shoulder too my car and remembered I probably wouldn't get any ride back for it.

"Damn it, I love you Mairi!" I shouted as the door shut and they sped off. I turned towards my car and ran, trying to make up for lost time. I climbed into the driver's seat and started the car. Turning my vehicle all the way around to face Main Street, I followed the direction that the ambulance had recently gone. Gingerly weaving in and out of traffic, as if I could catch up with an emergency vehicle, a formerly unknown fear seemed to settle deep within my gut. 'What if she never wakes up?' I thought. I shook my head, wanting to clear the shadow, absorbing my every negative assumption of Mairis' condition.

I glanced in the rearview mirror and noticed how flustered I was, leaving my overly olive-toned face more Berry red. I rubbed my eyes and cheeks as if it would help keep the blood from rushing. I made a right turn and approached the entrance of Clover Valley Medical. A storm appeared to form directly over the building as if it were a warning. A shiver shot through my spine as I pulled in. While I was attempting to find a parking spot, a dove landed on the hood of my car. I paused and just admired its beauty; It gave me a little more hope that Mairi was going to get out of this with her life. I came back down to earth and noticed a spot open right in front by the handicapped ones. I parked and made my way to the emergency room, ER, entrance, locking my car behind my back.

(Beep Beep)

As I advanced to the building, both sets of sliding doors clanked open, and then shut behind me. I made my way to the front desk and came up to a white, blonde lady, maybe in her early 30s. Her hospital badge ID stated Betty. "Hi, Betty. Could you please tell me if there was a girl recently brought in from an accident named Mairi Noble?" She had greeted me with a closed smile. "Can I ask what relation you might have with said patient?" Becoming impatient already, I gripped the counter, containing the storm in my head. "I'm here as her boyfriend. I was the one with her. They're at the tracks. Please. I just want to know if she is awake or just still...." I stopped not wanting to really know fully in case Mairi was no more.

I looked down, aiming to hide the pain I felt, realizing she could be dead. She was hit by a train from all I saw. I should have gotten out with her, but I was weak. 'I am weak.' I thought to myself. "Mr...?" the lady questioned, trying to coerce a name out of me. "Just call me Zach." I responded. "Okay, Zach. When Mairi was brought in only 5 minutes ago, she was reported as breathing but unconscious. Now that is all that I am up to liberty to say. If you would like, I can let the doctors know you are waiting for any updates on her condition and one should be out to speak with you shortly." Betty said, apparently a bit annoyed that someone was questioning her as if this wasn't her literal job. "Please do so. I will be here waiting. Thanks." I muttered with a tight smirk, waving her off as if to say, 'I'm done with you.'

I proceeded towards the seats in the waiting area, knowing I would be doing a lot of that, waiting. I found a seat facing the front desk so I could see if anyone were to come to update me. 'At least I know she's still here for now.' I thought to myself, hoping it would stay that way. Trying not to show that I wanted to cry, I rubbed my sore eyes. I glanced around the room and saw a young lady closer to her early 20s reading a magazine on one side, and then an older man who was walking towards the exit with the assistance of a wide cane. I gazed down and opened my phone, hoping that at any moment I would be getting a new message from Mairi, telling me she needed me, or just that she loved me. This all just made me feel worse about her condition.