The blazing storm

Chapter 19

James watched as Darcy cried.  She wasn't fully conscious, but she spoke as she told the story the Chiron.  Chiron would occasionally look up at James for confirmation and he would nod regretfully. 

"Two years and nine months ago." Darcy said.  Her cheeks were wet with tears.  "I woke up in a hospital bed.  There was a strange beeping sound and it bounced around in my skull and it wouldn't go away.  I wanted to go back too sleep.  I was going to, but I heard James breathing beside me.  I had to force my eyes open.  My eyelids were heavy.  I saw James sleeping peacefully beside me for a moment.  He was gripping my hand." Darcy moved her right hand and James slipped his hand into hers.  Je loooked up at Chiron who was frowning sadly.

"Despite James deing my comfort, I remembered the look on Brother Toe's face when he died.  Then I remembered the fall we took.  I remembered sinking into the inky darkness.  How was I here, safe and sound in a hospital bed? 

When I opened my eyes, James was asleep beside me.  His fingers gripped mine so tightly I had lost all feeling in them.  Tears were plastered to his cheeks.  He had been crying in his sleep."

James took Darcy's hand in his and squeezed her fingers in his like she had just described.  Darcy twitched as the memories flooded her head like a tidal wave.

Two years and nine months ago
÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=

Darcy watched James as he slept.  Yes, she was sure he was the one anchoring her to the earth.  If he wasn't there beside her, she would be dead.  She gently squeezed James's hand.  "James." She croaked.  Her voice was hoarse like it hadn't been used in years. 

James didn't move.  Darcy forced her limbs to react.  They felt like they were made of lead.  Her joints ached with every move.  That's it, she thought.  I'm paralyzed.

"No." James said, in his sleep.  "You're not paralyzed."

Darcy blinked.  He vision was hazy but she saw James leaning over her.  Did she just say that outloud?  Wasn't James just asleep?

Two years and seven months earlier
÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=

James sat on the other side of the hospital room.  He had a small amout of stubble on his face and his hair was shaved down to his skull.  His clothes were new and comfortable looking like he was ready to run at any moment.

Something was stuck down Darcy's throat and she couldn't breath around it.  She started to panic, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't scream.  She couldn't even swallow.

An erratic beeping sound resounded in their room and people dressed in medical scrubs rushed in.  They started fussing over Darcy. 

"Is she alright?" She could hear James yell. 

Two years earlier
÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=

"I am very sorry M. Ambrose." A deep male vpice said.  "It is very unlikely she will wake up."

James stood at the foot of Darcy's hospital bed in front of a man two heads taller than him.  James pinched the bridge of his nose.  "I don't care." He said firmly. 

"May I suggest you let us unplug her?" The taller man said.

James completely lost it and stamped his foot on the linoleum floor.  "You touch her and I will make sure that you are the one who never wakes up!" He yelled angrily. 

One year and six months earlier
÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=

James sobbed at Darcy's bedside.  "Wake up." He cried.  "Just wake up."

One year earlier
÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=÷=

Darcy groaned.  In a matter of moments, she was fully conscious.  She could feel the breathing tube stuffed down her throat, the needles in the crease of her elbow, the heart monitor on her chest; everything.

She sat upright and ripped the breathing tube from her throat.  It burnt but at least it was out.  The hospital room was empty.  Good time to escape.  She swung her legs over the edge of the bed but as soon as she tried to stand, she crumpled to the floor.  Her legs were useless. 

She reached up and gripped the rail of the hospital bed and tried to hoist herself up. 

She was grasping the rail for dear life when James walked in carrying a cup of coffee. 

"Help." Darcy croaked weakly. 

James froze at the sound of her voice.  He looked up and the cup of coffee slid out of his hands and splashed to the floor.  "Oh my gods." He gasped. 

"Help!" Darcy nearly screamed this time. 

James was snapped out of his daze and he rushed to her side.  As soon as he had helped her stand up straight, he pressed a red button and nurses and doctors rushed into the room within seconds.  Darcy was leaning against James since her legs had been rendered useless.  Darcy was taken from James's arms and laid back on the bed. 

"What happened?" She asked the nearest nurse.  She ignored her and kept working.  Darcy's eyes met James's.  "What happened?" She repeated.

"You were in a coma for twenty-one months." A male nurse said cooly.  "This young man pulled you from the sea.  You were stabbed and nearly drowned."

Darcy's head spins.  She was unconscious for twenty-one months.  She squeezed her eyes shut but it didn't help with the dizziness.  As soon as the doctors and nurses were done fussing over her, James was able to take her hand. 

"Where are we?" She asked. 

A small smile flicked across James's face.  "Canada." He says. "In Ottawa actually."

Darcy bites the inside of her cheek. "How did we get here?"

James seems happy enough.  "My dad was willing to help." 

"And how did I not drown?"

"I pulled you up."

Darcy couldn't contain her feelings anymore and reached up.  She hughed James as tightly as she could, which wasn't very tight.  The stayed there hugging eachother as the staff filled out of the room to give them some space.