Before The Sunrise

okay

Pounding. It's not just the pounding in my head that startles me out of the feverish, semi-conscious haze. A distant thumping rattles the wood I'm leaning against.

"James? James, are you here?" a voice yells, joining the pounding.

I blink. Where am I? It's dark, and hot. Amongst the throbbing, there's a black void in my mind. When I strain against it, something makes me shy away.

"James! Just let me know you're alive, and I'll leave, okay?" The pounding's getting more frantic, louder. It's making me dizzy.

Coach Bradford. That's the voice. The image of his concerned face emerges from the blackness.
I hear a door open.

"James? James, I—"

Coach Bradford's voice suddenly cuts off, followed by a muffled gag.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. JAMES! JAMES! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

My thoughts are slow. It's hard to focus around the pounding headache. And the smell. What's that smell?

I blink open my eyes again, but they're heavy. Coach Bradford's voice and footsteps are traveling around the house. I should call out to him, let him know where I am.

Where am I?

"In here," I try to call. My voice won't work. My throat burns when I try.

"James? James, please." Coach Bradford's voice breaks. There's a pause, and then, "I'm at 204 Chesapeake Street. My... my student. He's missing, and his—his father's dead. On the floor with a gun in his hand. Oh my god, there's so much blood and—his brain's like—" He coughs. "I'm sorry, his son, my student. He's sixteen, his phone's here, but he's not. Please send help, I can't find him."

"I'm in here," I murmur. There's this buzzing inside my head, and I'm shaking so hard my teeth chatter. I try to sit up, but I can't.

I lift my head, and it falls back against the door.

The door? The closet?

No. No. No. No thoughts.

"Wait, I heard something, a thump from the kitchen."

The door opens, and I spill out, crashing into the floor. Lights pierce into my eyes like daggers, and I groan, slamming them shut.

"Oh my god. James, oh my god. Please hurry." Something clatters to the ground, and suddenly Coach's hands are on me, checking my pulse, my temperature, my breathing. "Hey, can you open your eyes real quick?"

I open my eyes to slits, and I see Bradford's big silhouette, between me and the offending light.

"Coach?" I rasp.

"Yeah, it's me. Stay awake, okay? Help's coming. It's gonna be okay."

Something in my mind recoils at the last sentence. I sob quietly, but tears won't come.

"Shhhhh." His hand brushes over my hair. My whole body is shaking.

Suddenly there's more voices.

"DOA... suicide...cold, rigid..."

"His name is James, he's 16, he's allergic to penicillin. Please help."

"Thank you, sir. We'll take care of him. You need to stay back."

Hands press against my neck, my arms, my chest. "Pulse rapid... high fever, 104, dehydrated, overheated... pushing fluids."

They roll up my sleeves, and I hear a stark gasp. There's a slight pinch in my elbow.

"James. Hey, kid, eyes open."

I didn't realize I had closed them.

A finger taps my cheek, and I blearily squint up at a man with a mustache.

"Nice. Do you know where you are, James?"

"Closet," I croak, and then I cough, my throat feeling tight.

"Good. Can you tell me what hurts?"

I think... my head. Yeah, my head. And my chest. And my back, and my throat. "Everything."

"Okay, yeah, dumb question. Just one more, I promise. Any idea how long you've been in there?"

I shake my head. The movement makes me dizzy, so I let my eyes slip closed again.

"He stopped answering at 9 last night," Bradford's voice responds.

"Okay, twelve hours, ish. He's showing signs of severe dehydration and shock. We're gonna transport to Johns Hopkins. Does he have any other family in the area? Anyone we can call?"

Suddenly I'm being lifted.

"No. His mom's dead, and—Please let me come with him. I saw his wallet upstairs; he carries insurance cards. I'll bring them, I'll pay anything. Don't let him go alone."

"Okay, yeah, go get them. You can ride along, but I'm not sure about the rules right now..."

"Fuck the rules. Respectfully. Wait, don't take him this way. Go out the back door. He can't see that."

Can't see what?

I feel the hot sun against my face as I float outside.

Can't see what?

The void opens, and I suddenly remember cold metal against my face. My dad coughing up mucus onto my bare skin. The click of the door locking. Screaming, sobbing, crying in the darkness. The loud bang.

My eyes snap open, and I make a guttural, choked sound that reminds me of an animal. My lungs constrict, and the air is forced from my lungs. 

"Hey, breathe." I'm in an ambulance. "Let's get him some oxygen."

"Coach," I plead, my voice hoarse. "Where... Where's Coach Bradford?"

"Shhhh, don't talk." A mask is placed over my mouth and nose. "Here he is, James. See, he's climbing in right now."

A massive hand grips my own, and the white-hot fear cools. I turn my head to the side, and he's there, looking awful.

"You okay?" I ask him, my already shredded voice muffled.

He gives a wet laugh, and I see tears in his eyes. "Don't worry about me, dumbass."

I blink. "Am I okay?"

"You're not great," the voice of mustache man says behind me. Something cold and wet rests on my throbbing forehead. "Seriously, don't talk. Just breathe."

I need to ask one more question. "Is Dad okay?"

Coach tries to smile, but I catch the slight wince. Before he can talk, I whip my head in the other direction, turning to face the mustache man.

"No," I groan. "No." The loud bang keeps ringing in my ears, over and over again.

"Hey, you need to relax right now."

I can't breathe, even with the oxygen.

There's some shuffling. "He's not calming down. I need a sedative."

Coach Bradford's massive hand squeezes mine tighter, and there's another pinch.

That's the last thing I remember.

I'm going to try to update more often. I'm terrible with schedules though, so who knows. Aiming for twice a week.

If you're still reading, pretty please vote and comment because they make this much more fun for me when it's just radio silent reads I feel lonely

Anyway. Poor James :( There's about two more chapters in Part One, so we're about halfway through.

x. Sky