(New Light?) {On Hold...}

Chapter 6

          The sounds were like an explosion. Tires screeching and squealing, cars honking their horns, the screams and shouts, the sound of glass shattering. It seemed like it wouldn't stop. I feel a burst of pain as something strikes the side of my head. The last thing I heard was the sirens of the ambulances and police cars arriving too late.

------------------------------------------{Ethan}---------------------------------------------

          I'm trying to get to her before the accident. I have to. I should have been more clear when I told her not to get in the car. I see two ambulances and a police car go past me in the direction I'm headed. My first thought is that I am too late. I keep driving towards the crash until I see it. Five cars were in the accident. Two are still on the road, one crashed into the other's side. The other three went into the ditch off the side of the road. Two of them are still upright, but the other one is an upside down metal sculpture. My eyes open wide. 'No...' The metal sculpture of a car is Christian's car. I sit in a stunned silence for a moment, and then I get angry at myself. 'She might still have a chance if she made it.' I think to myself. I already know that it would be impossible for anyone to survive the crash without any major injuries. I get out of the car and run over to the crash where Christian's car is. The police try to hold me back, but there is absolutely no way that's going to happen. I push past them and stop next to the car. The sides are caved in and three of the tires are flat with metal twisting them out of shape. It seems as though there is no way to open the car to get her and her friends out. I hear something from inside the car. Quickly I shout to the police and the medics that there is someone in the car still alive. I will not lose all hope, not yet. As soon as the words had left my mouth, six police came over hurriedly to find a spot that they could safely pry open the doors at. I spot a part in the door that is twisted up and away from the car in such a way that there is a gap that can be used to open the car. The metal screeches as it is pulled and dragged along other parts of metal. My heart drops to my stomach. Nick is pinned between the twisted metal frame of the car and the torn up seats, but he is still conscious. He is cradling Karoline in his arms, protecting her from the jagged pieces of metal. "Take her," he says. "She's still alive, keep her that way." Ignoring the protests and commands of the officers, I carefully retrieve Karoline from the twisted mess of the car. I carry her to one of the ambulances, where at least a dozen medics are waiting. They take her from me and put her on a stretcher on the ambulance. I look back, the police officers are pulling the vehicle apart trying to get the others out. I turn back and climb into the ambulance so I can stay with Karoline.

          The rest was a blur. I remember getting out of the ambulance and following the medics as they rolled her into the hospital on the stretcher. I did not leave her side. The nurse had brought me a meal to eat after it was clear to them that I wasn't leaving. I didn't touch it.

          Two days after the accident she is still unconscious. I turn down another meal as her father and mother walk into the room. Her mom looked at her, I could tell that she had already assumed the worst. She just stood there in the doorway, staring at Karoline, a look that said so much more than any words could say. I looked at her father. He had already crossed the room and was crouching by the hospital bed. I closed my eyes a moment, thankful that one of her parents still had hope for her. Just then I did a double take. I looked at her father, crouched down beside the bed. His hands were folded, almost as if he was praying. Only that was just it, he was. He was praying. This struck me funny, seeing a fallen angel pray. Maybe they weren't completely heartless, and here was proof. One of Hell's angels was begging for his daughter, begging that they let him live. I had never seen anything like this and it awed me.

          The day turned to dusk, and dusk turned to night. Karoline's mother and father nodded to me as they left, but no more. I walked to the window, outside it seemed like nothing was wrong, even though here, in this little hospital room, everything was wrong. 'Ethan...' that familiar sweet voice said in my head. I was thinking about her too much, and now I was imagining her voice. "Let her be well again," I whispered to the darkness, "please." 'Ethan!' The voice came again, more urgent this time with a shot of fear in it. That's when it dawned on me I wasn't imagining her voice, it was her voice in my head. I spun around quickly, she was drenched in a cold sweat. 'Karoline? What's wrong? Are you okay?' I took her hand, she was cold, not the kind of cold you get from being outside too long in the cold, but cold as in someone who is dead. Her heart monitor started to beep a bit louder. I started to panic. 'This can't be happening.' I thought to myself, 'It just can't be.' I tried to shout for a doctor, a nurse, hell, anyone for all I cared, but no sound would come out. The monitor went flat and the high beep seemed to echo in the room. I could feel myself crying but I did not care. I didn't want to believe it, it wasn't true. All of a sudden the monitor started to beep normally again. The hand I held that was limp and lifeless only moments ago squeezed my hand as if to reassure me. I looked at Karoline's face as her eyelids fluttered open and looked around. 'Thank you, thank you so much.' I sent a silent prayer of thanks for her life. 'E-Ethan?', her voice was small and weak as she called out my name. She tried to sit up but I gently touched her shoulder and shook my head. "I'm here, its okay." Just then a nurse came in to check on her and as soon as she realized that Karoline was awake her eyes went big and she rushed out of the room to get the doctor. She looked at me, "What... happened?" she asked, "All I remember was that the car stopped so fast and there was a lot of noises, and then the waterfall of glass glinting light into my eyes and then I remember nothing..." she trailed off. I squeezed her hand, "You were in a car accident, you have been unconscious for four, almost five days since the accident. But you are okay now, and that's all that matters." I smiled at her, hoping that she was reassured, maybe even get her to smile just a little, but my words had the opposite effect. Worry and fear clouded in her eyes. Before I could even ask what was wrong she asked, "What about Nick, Christian, and Chloe?" I was silent, I wanted to answer her, but I couldn't, I had been so focused on her that I hadn't even thought about checking up on them. So I had no idea how they were doing. I saw the disappointment in her eyes. The doctor and nurse returned then. She turned away from me when the doctor started to ask her questions. Such as how she was feeling and what not. I knew it would help if she knew how her friends were. It was then that I left her side for the first time since the accident. I went to go check up on her friends, praying they were okay. Nick and Chloe ended up fully recovering, but her friend Christian... I wasn't sure how she was going to take it.