Limbo

Familiar Face

ASHLEY:

TAP

TAP TAP

RAT-A-TAT TAT CLICK

These sounds penetrate my brain, sounding very familiar, but I can't quite figure out why. My eyelids feel very heavy, almost like I've been drugged, and as I try to force them to open, I hear Jinxx say, "Dude! Will you please stop doing that? You're gonna break the damn window, and you're making me crazy!"

"Sorry, man," I hear CC reply. "You know I do that when I'm nervous." When he says this, I finally place the sound. It was the incessant tapping he does when he's stressed out about something, which has actually driven both Jon and Yanni to pitch drumsticks out the window of the bus on a couple of occasions. I'm kind of confused for a second, wondering what he has to be nervous about, and then I remember the break in, and finally manage to get my eyes to actually open.

When I do, I also belatedly realize that I'm lying down, and not in my room, so I try to sit up. Before I can, though, both of them are next to me, holding me down, and CC says, "Whoa there, cowboy, let's hold off on that a bit. Just take it easy, okay?"

"Yeah, you've had a rough couple of days here, Ash, so don't try to rush yourself," Jinxx agrees.

I open my mouth to ask what the hell they're talking about, but only a sort of croaking noise comes out, and I realize that my throat feels like someone has taken a cheese grater to it. I make a motion towards my mouth, and CC grabs a glass off the table and pours a bit of water into it. "Here you go, man. But go slow, okay? You don't want to make things worse," he says, handing me the glass.

I take a small sip, and almost wish I hadn't, because the first swallow almost feels like I'm swallowing broken glass, but after that, it gets a bit better. After a couple of sips, I manage to whisper, "Where are we?"

Jinxx gestures around the room with his hand, and responds, "In the hospital, of course. Can't you tell from the five-star decor?"

"You've been here for two days, bro," CC informs me, looking more serious than I think I've ever seen him. "You were on the kitchen floor when we got back, Charlie and Andy had to do CPR on you to get you breathing again. And Jake said that the EMT's had to do it again in the ambulance, because they lost your pulse. We've all just been hanging out waiting for you to wake up."

"Where are they? The guys, I mean?"

"They'll only let us stay in here two at a time," Jinxx informs me. "Andy and Jake were here most of the morning, they went down to find something to eat about an hour ago, and then they were gonna crash in the lounge for a little while. I guess one of us should let them know, and probably the nurses, too."

CC dashes out into the hall, while Jinxx finds the remote for the bed and helps me get into a sitting position. As he helps adjust the pillow, he remarks, "It looked like you must've done a pretty good job on at least one of them. The cops got blood samples, so maybe they can get a match on somebody."

I just sort of stare at him for a second, and just as the door bursts open, and everyone practically falls into the room, I say, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I didn't get a chance to do anything, the guy came at me from behind."

"Then where the fuck did all of the blood come from?" Andy inquires, as a nurse starts checking all of the monitors around the bed. "And why did the kitchen look like somebody blew it up?"

"And who the hell threw a soup ladle through the kitchen window?" Jake demands, but before I can even try to answer, the door opens, and a cop walks in.