Impossible

Chapter EIGHT

'Beep... Beep... Beep'

I became very agitated by this noise as it made it's way down the foggy corridors of my mind. Never again could I bring myself to face it.

'Beep... Beep... Beep'

My eyes were reluctantly pulled from the darkness, something they became very professional at, and darted around the clean, bland room. A chlorinated smell filled my nostrils and I'd matched the smell of the cleaning products to those in a hospital.

I looked around again and tried to sit up, managing but only just as I fought against multiple tubes and monitors attached to me. There was an oxygen tube -that felt weird and awkward- thread in my nose, an IV drip stuck in my right arm and there were patches stuck over my chest that must of been connected to the beeping heart rate machine.

I trace my finger over a tiny bubbled scar now, remembering the pain of the IV needle being stuck when they tried to take it out.

"Jazza?"

"That's me." I replied to the small nurse who wandered in, looking down at her clipboard.

"Can you move your fingers?" I lifted my arms into view and watched as I made my fingers dance randomly. The nurse nodded and scribbled something down then asked me to do the same with my toes. That was when I had first noticed the bandages around my left one.

I'd wriggled my right toes before I asked, "What's up with that?" pointing to my foot clothed in clean white fabrics.

"Unfortunately you had severe frost bite to two of your toes. They had to be amputated." It was from then I'd decided I didn't like this nurse. She was too much like me; going straight to the point without much or any sympathy. Maybe... Just maybe it was a good thing, but I refused to accept it.

"Oh." I'd simply answered, not sure how to feel about the situation. After a few minutes of awkward silence I asked, "Is there anything else wrong?" I was beginning to feel a little fed up with the tid-bits of information she was feeding me. It was her job to give it all to me, not my job to have to ask for it.

"You suffered from hypothermia, which is now under control and you have a nasty chest infection. If you take the medication you'll be fine in about seven days. You also have a broken nose."

I lifted my hand to my nose out of curiosity but winced in pain and found a strip of tape across it. 'A broken nose? How did I even get that.' I remember thinking but I'd trace it back to face planting in the mud and ice when I saw Paul trip. Again I didn't respond until minutes later.

"Do you know how the others are?"

"I am not authorized to give such information," She responded with a robotic tone of voice and I knew she had previously used that line. "But I can allow you to wander next door." I showed a twitch of a smile and watched closely as she unplugged me from everything but the IV drip. As I watched, I had hoped she showed more empathy to those who were more sensitive than I.

The nurse helped me into a wheelchair and clipped the IV bag up onto a pole attached to the chair. I got halfway across the room and had found myself in a coughing fit. That resulted in difficult breathing so the nurse hooked me back up to a small oxygen tank which I had to carry in my lap. After thanking her I refused anymore of her help and weakly wheeled myself to the next room, thankful it wasn't far. I knocked on the door, from the height of the wheelchair I was too short to see through the built in window. Ambers cheery voice responded and some how I'd managed to push my way in.

Amber was sitting on the bed next to Maibelle who was lying back looking the same as I had moments before, tubes and wires leading trails from her drained body. I remained in the doorway and looked the two over, them doing the same to me. I noticed Maibelle's hair was all matted and Amber's chapped lips had been bleeding, I figured I must of looked similar when I tasted blood. Before I could ask, Mai came straight out with what was wrong with her as I reached the side of her bed.