Safe Travels

Clive Barker

The first thing I thought of when I woke up was Clive Barker's Night Breed. I'm not sure what it was about my surroundings. Maybe it was a nightmare that I couldn't remember, or maybe it was the fact that this hospital looked vaguely like the one Aaron Boone woke up in. Whatever the case, I found myself thinking back to Alaine, and how much I'd like to watch Night Breed with her. She would love it.

Alaine!

She had been in the car. Along with...

Thomas!

"Shit shit shit..."

I scrambled around, grabbing at needles and tubes, then I twisted one wrong way and felt a searing pain shoot up my abdomen. A machine next to me was beeping rapidly, filling my ears like a siren and causing me to panic further.

Two male nurses; one with a baby face and light blonde hair, the other with a bald head and a dark beard, came in and held me down. They pushed me back on to the bed, careful not to harm me any further. The bearded nurse took out my IV carefully and called for the doctor.

The doctor looked very easygoing, the kind of person you'd see at a festival or concert just enjoying the ambience. She flashed me a smile and told the nurses to leave.

"The people you came in with are still alive. The car that hit you hit the driver's side, where the man was. He's in critical condition right now, but we think he'll be just fine. The girl was on the passenger side, she broke her shoulder and a couple of ribs while the car was flipping. You must've been in the middle of the backseat, because you're in the best condition. All we can see are some fractures in your ribs from the seatbelt. You've also got a concussion from hitting your head on the headrest, but no serious damage."

I nodded and wet my lips. "When can I see them?"

The doctor's smile faded. There was something she wasn't telling me.

"The man... Can't receive visitors right now. You can see the girl when she wakes up."

"What else. I know there's something else."

"Do you really want to see?"

I nod earnestly and sat up, careful to not hurt my ribs. The doctor sighed and led me down the hall to where Thomas was.

• • •

Forget Night Breed, what I saw was Hellraiser. Glass was embedded in nearly ever visible part of Thomas's body. The doctors were trying to take out as much as they could, pulling shards out here and stitching up a hole there. His shoulder was dislocated so badly I could see it from the window. His hair was matted with blood on one side, probably where the car hit. His left leg was twisted at an awkward angle. I saw a doctor point at it and make a kind of chopping motion with his hand.

I ran to the bathroom down the hall and threw up. The acid burned my mouth on the way out, and when I couldn't even purge the acids from my stomach I sat on the cold tile floor, convulsing and sobbing.