The Sweet Encounter (Completed)

Chapter Twenty-Three: Us

Brie felt a sudden sharp pain on her side. The muffled sound was clouding her thoughts. She managed to open her eyes and realized she was on the rigid asphalt. She felt something warm running down her face. Her hand wiped it away and she panicked seeing her own blood. Across the distance, there was an inferno of red and orange flames. The plane. Trey. She tried to get up, but the pain penetrated deeper into her side. Her hand rubbed against it. It was subsequently tender to the touch. She took in a profound breath and managed to stand up.

Everything she saw in front of her terrified her. The plane was damaged and she could barely see amongst the heavy fume from the flames. She steadily moved with all her strength looking for Trey.

"Trey! Trey!"

She looked in all directions, but saw nothing but debris scattered all around her.

"Trey!"

The flashing red lights and sirens got closer to the scene, but she didn't care to give them attention. She needed to find him.

Soon enough, she saw only the still motion of someone's legs. Please be Trey, she prayed. Please. Still gripping onto her side, she finally reached the body. Once she saw his lifeless body on the ground, she released a scream of shock. His head was covered with blood and scratches marked his face.

"Trey!" She was on her knees beside him and placed her hands on his face. "Trey! I'm here. Please, baby, wake up. We're okay. We made it."

She placed her hands on his wrist and with a sudden sense of relief, she could feel his pulse. Her ear grazed against his lips. He was barely breathing. Still alive. That's all she needed to know. She checked around for any injuries to his head, but didn't see anything. There was no obvious indication of injury to his body as she saw no blood on his clothes.

"M'am, are you alright?"

The medics came to her and tried pulling her up to stand. "No, please. He needs help. I'm fine." She took in a deep breath from the pain on her side.

"M'am, I think you're injured, let us check on you. The others will be here for him."

She pulled away from the men, "No! Dammit! I said I'm fine, but he needs attention now!"

They didn't fight with her and placed themselves beside Trey. After a thorough check, they gave him a mask for oxygen. She heard one of the men speaking to the radio on his shoulder.

"We need air transportation at Pine Island Airport. Blunt force trauma to the head on a male patient. Unresponsive."

Brie couldn't hear the remainder of the words as the blood rushed away from her face and she froze in time. Airlifted. He needed to be airlifted.

She walked towards Trey and the men tried to keep her from seeing him.

"No! That's my husband; please tell me he's alright." Again, the sharp pain stunned her, but she wasn't going to give up.

"M'am, you have an injury. Let us take a look until the chopper arrives, then we'll take you both to the Medical Center for further observation."

"Trey! Wake up! Please!" She finally gave in and fell to her knees. Everything seemed to move in a sluggish motion. He wasn't responding to her voice. The medics placed a blanket around her and all she could do was cry into his arms. Everything else became a blur as she held onto the blanket surrounding her.

***

She sat in the chopper next to Trey's motionless body. She held onto his hands, hoping he would squeeze her hand back. During the entire evening, she didn't care what the medic had told her about her possible broken rib. What she needed was reassurance that Trey would be fine.