Next Move

Chapter 1

The beeping of the monitor was really starting to annoy him now. It had been three days and he was no closer to figuring out who was responsible for this and nor did he fully understand what was going on. All he knew was that his friend was now lying on a hospital bed almost clinging for her life and the people who had put her there would have killed her if he had not shown up on the scene.

The monitor beeped again and he got up and pushed back his hair from his tired face. It had been more than three days since he had barely slept more than a couple of hours and he stepped outside the room to get some coffee. He checked his phone to see almost ten messages from Ava's roommate and a coupe from his friends and even a few from his mom. He just turned it off without replying, he knew everybody was still pretty shaken about the whole ordeal but he did not know what to make of the situation either.

The hospital corridor was filled with telephone noises and people bustling about. The coffee was as bland as the day before as he looked around the waiting room quietly sipping it

"Mr. Greenwood?"

He looked up and shook the hand of a man in a white coat who was presumably the doctor.

"I am Dr. William Sango and the doctor in charge of Ms. Ava Harding's treatment. I was told you brought her to the ER?" He was a middle aged man with a few graying hairs and slight Asian features.

"Uh yes doctor. What is the situation looking like? Last I heard she was still critical-"

Dr. Sango gave him a small smile. "Ms. Harding seems to be stable for now. There was a complication during the surgery but we could move past it but it will still be a while before she can get back on her feet. Could you tell me what happened?"

What HAD happened that night?

He had been writing in his bedroom with his usual hot chocolate when he had received a text. It was almost midnight and it was quite usual for Theo to write quite late into the night, as he claimed he felt most creative during the night and his publisher had been behind him for the latest manuscript which had been overdue by almost two weeks.

The text was from Ava and he sat up straight on his bed when he read it. It was extremely cryptic but it was enough to make him leap out of the bed and grab his jacket and car keys as he hurried out of his front door.

Theo did quite understand the series of events he had witnessed after that and all he had been able to process was that his friend was in dire need of medical attention as he had driven her to the nearest hospital where she had been in a series of surgeries.

"All I understand, Doctor, was that it was some accident and I brought her here as soon as I could." Theo answered in what he hoped was a convincing tone. He was pretty shaken but he did not want to alert any authorities before he found out exactly what Ava Harding had been involved in.

If he believed Theo's story or not, Dr. Sango nodded and patted his shoulder informing him that Ava would be awake by tomorrow and would be under observation for a couple of days after that.

Theo thanked him and looked through the door to see her lying with tubes attached to her. He took out his phone as he stole one last glance at her before he answered his texts assuring everyone that everything was under control. He looked at her last text again before he swiped to the next chat.

Fenstow Park. The trees will whisper louder tonight. Help.

-A