the Chasm

Chapter 1

Heavy breathing accompanied by the crackling sound of shoes meeting asphalt sliced through delicate evening silence.

They had returned again. The nightmares which had tormented her throughout her childhood had been the cause of her being passed from home to home like a common trading card and they returned each time she even considered slumber.

She always went for a run after one of her "episodes" (her friend's term for her waking up, in the dead of night, screaming like a raving lunatic.) The steady beat her feet created, whilst running, entranced her. This allowed her to calm her nerves and regain the minute sense of normalcy which she still possessed. She would often wonder if she could ever live a normal life but would quickly dismiss the thought, knowing all too well that her past would haunt her forevermore.

She stopped in the middle of the road to catch her breath. It was well past midnight and she knew that the chances of a car being out on this particular road at this time were slim to none. After her breathing had steadied, she started her little ritual of looking into the night sky in hopes of finding the answers to her biggest questions written in the stars.

Before her mind could fully register what was happening, her body hurtled through the air. She came to an abrupt halt when she reached a nearby tree and was encased in darkness.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

He had just come from the clinic again. His treatments were becoming progressively more aggressive as of late and he was no longer certain that he could withstand the amount of stress his body was under. His mother's hopeful face flashed through his mind. She had become his sole reason for living. If not for her pleading with him to hold on and "give life another shot," he would have just accepted his fate.

His thoughts clouded his mind to the point where he was no longer paying any attention to the road ahead, driving only on instinct. In a rush to get home to a nice hot meal and the comfort of his bed, he sped around the bend unaware of the panting woman's presence. The car had collided with her petite frame before he could come back to his senses.

He hastily removed his seatbelt and sprang from the car, sprinting towards where the bleeding brunettes body laid sprawled out over the roots of a massive tree. Blood streamed down her face as he considered his options. He could either call an ambulance which would take forever to reach them as the paramedics would have to navigate their way through the labyrinth of forest roads in the dark or he could take her to the clinic himself. He knew her neck wasn't broken - medical training was mandatory in his line of work- so he decided to take the latter option.

He carefully lifted her bruised and mangled form, laid her down on his backseat and wrapped her head in the spare gym towel he kept in his car before speeding towards the clinic from whence he came. This time, his senses were on high alert. He noted the tiniest of details like the trees zipping by in his peripheral view, the stark contrast of the white and yellow lines against the pitch black tar. Most importantly, however, he noticed the shallow breathing of the young lady behind him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

She was awoken by an incessant beeping and the faint hum of voices. The volume of the sounds increased with each passing second, amplifying her headache tenfold. After a minute or so had passed, she could distinguish one of the voices as her best friend, Jay's and then the other as her former foster mother, Claire's. (Claire had become the closest thing Liz had had to a mother when she fostered her and even though Claire couldn't afford to foster her into adulthood, they remained very close and always kept to their weekly phone calls.)

Judging by the pitch of their voices, they were in a heated dispute. Knowing how headstrong they both could be, Liz thought it best to intervene.

"Could you two take your bickering somewhere else? One of us is trying to get some sleep here!"

She was then bombarded with an array of questions. She couldn't comprehend a word of it though since they were both talking over each other and were speaking faster than any NASCAR driver could ever dream of driving. She did, however, manage to pick an "are you okay" and a "you scared us" out of the word-race.

"Of course I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

It was only then that she finally opened her eyes and took in the pale green walls and sterile equipment surrounding her. Why was she in a hospital? What happened?

Her mind drifts to sort of movie playing in her head.

'' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ''

A little girl is lying on a hospital bed, kicking anyone who dares to come near and screaming for her mother when a doctor enters the room and orders everyone else to leave. After almost everyone has left, the girl's cries subside. The doctor doesn't utter a single word. Rather, she holds up a glass of water in offering towards the frantic little girl. The girl nods once and the doctor goes to place the glass on the table beside the bed before turning around and walking to the chair furthest from the little girl's bed. She then sits down; leans back and closes her eyes.

The little girl sips the water and stares curiously at the woman who has now begun to hum a soft tune unknown to the rest of the world.

"What are you singing?'

The woman opens her eyes and smiles.

"Just something I've been working on. I like to write songs whenever I get the chance."

"Oh..." a long pause follows, "do you play an instrument?"

"I do actually. I play piano, violin and guitar. I tried the harp but couldn't get very far since I was studying to become a paediatrician. Do you play anything?"

"Well, my mommy was teaching me to play the piano but I don't think she can teach me anymore."

The girl breaks down into tears as the doctor gently asks, "why don't you tell me what happened sweetie?'

'' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ''

"Elizabeth, what's wrong?"

"You kind of spaced out for a bit there. Are you going to tell us where you went?"

"I would if I could."

"Okay then. Be all mysterious. I was just saying that I'm going to get something from the vending machine. Do you want anything?"

"No, thanks. I'm fine."

"That, you most definitely are not. You were hit by a car," the concerned voice of Claire beside her, "I always said that those little runs of yours would be the end of you!"

"Calm down, Mom. I'm still here, aren't I?"

"I'm sorry," Claire puts her face in her hands, "I've just been so worried. You've been out for a few days now and I feared you wouldn't wake up again."

It was only now that Liz noticed Claire's dishevelled appearance. Her hair was a bird's nest and the bags under her eyes seemed to emphasize how red her eyes were. Whatever had happened must have been really bad because Claire had always been the most put together person she had ever met. No matter the circumstances, she was always the perfect picture of a professional woman. She could handle anything thrown at her so her state was definitely the most shocking to Liz.

"Why don't you get some rest? I promise that I'll still be here when you wake up."