The Night Shift

Chapter Six: Tyler

I remember the impact of my body hitting the mat beneath me, and I remember the sound of my bones cracking and breaking. After the impact, all I could hear was a loud ringing in my ears. Josh's voice seemed far away even though he was hovering above me. The voices of the paramedics were muffled, and the words I did hear didn't match up with their lips; as if I were watching a TV show, and the sync of the sound was off with the visuals. I remember everything going blank in the ambulance, and then the color coming back into view a few moments after. Someone was squeezing my hand, I think it was Josh, but I couldn't move my head to see if it was or not. Everything hurt. I wanted to scream, but my voice wouldn't come out of my throat. I felt every bump and every small jolt from the drive. I was slipping in and out of consciousness, the roof of the ambulance coming in and out of view in blurs of bright white and silver.

After a large sudden jolt, above me had now turned a dark color. I couldn't quiet focus on it, with the lights being flashed into my eyes. Through my peripheral, I could see the color red flashing intently; the bright intensity making my head hurt even more than it already did. My ears were still ringing, and I was feeling sick to my stomach as I watched the dark sky turn into what I assumed to be the white ceiling of the hospital I was being rushed to.

There was loud shouting around me, but I couldn't make any of it out. I forced my eyes closed as there was another jolt of the gurney and the loud sound of doors being shoved open harshly. My fist became clenched, and I let out a harsh scream that only resonated inside my body and my mind.

I felt something go over my mouth and my nose, and I forced my eyes open, and made my hands clasp onto whatever was nearest to me. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as I made eye contact with the woman who was talking to me. The ringing in my ears had died down, and her voice was only distorted a little bit compared to all the voices I had heard earlier.

She noticed my pained expression, and began to stroke the back of my hand that was grabbing what I guess was her arm. Her voice was calming as she spoke, "Were going to do everything we can, Mr. Joseph. I'll be here the whole time." I felt the same pressure around my nose and mouth again while she finished speaking, "Just try to relax."

Just relax. That's all I had to do. Relax. She'll be here the whole time. They're going to take care of me. I'll be okay. Before I could repeat those thoughts in my mind again, everything went blank again. But this time I wasn't as scared. I knew I would be okay. I clung to those words that I heard before I went under what I assumed was anesthesia.

~~~~

"It'll be a little cramped, but we'll make it work."

I glanced over at Josh who was sitting behind his drum set. I looked around and frowned. This isn't where I was a few minutes ago. Now that I thought about it, I didn't know where I was now, or where I was before. I looked down at the ukulele that I was clutching tightly in my right hand, and then in front of me. We were in an empty venue. "Uh, yeah." I was beyond confused, "What were we doing again?"

"We were just talking about how we're going to have to change the bunking arrangements around, and finishing sound check for tomorrow's night show. We're about to play 'We Don't Believe'." I was now looking at Josh again. "You alright, Ty? You look kind of pale."

I nodded and turned back in front of the microphone and swallowed hard. Is this real? "I lost my train of thought. Sorry. It won't happen again."

Josh let out a small laugh, "Uh huh, I'm sure." He then started the beginning of the song, the beat of the drums automatically making me get ready for my entrance. We played the first verse and the chorus once, and then skipped to the ending. Just like every other sound check we did. I tried to act like I knew what I was doing, but something felt off. Something wasn't right, and I couldn't quiet put my finger on it.