Escape: Part 3 of Sarasota Mist Dugan’s story #fridayflash #amwriting

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I’m glad to say that I made time to listen to Sarasota this week. I hope you enjoy the next part of her story, Escape.

Read part 1, The Trip on my former site, The Other Side of Deanna here.

Read part 2, The Hitchhiker, here.

Escape is rated PG-13, according to my standards.  

Escape: Part 3 of Sarasota Mist Dugan’s story, by Deanna Schrayer

Sara would swear someone had filled a sink full of soapy water and splashed around in it, causing bubbles to float before her and burst out dancing. The tiny white lights sparkled as her eyes fluttered open. She tried to sit up but it felt as if someone had poured concrete mix around her whole body. The back of her head pounded, pounded, pounded and the bubbles disappeared. Everything disappeared, all she could see now were big dark rings of fire.

“She’s awake!” Sara heard someone say, then a bony hand was holding her wrist, and patting her hand. “Now you just lay back and rest sweetheart,” the cooing voice said, “You’re gone be all right.”

“Has she said anything?” another voice further away asked.

“No sir, she just has woke up.”

“Ma’am,” the deep voice that made Sara picture a giant of a man was now right beside her. She smelled some sort of spicy food in the breath that touched her nose. “Ma’am, I’m Dr. Carr, the resident neurologist here at St. Anne’s. You’ve been in an accident but you’re going to be fine. Can you tell me your name?”

Blurry images formed before Sara’s eyes but neither the doctor’s nor the woman’s face was clear. “My….name?” she said, bewildered.

“They found you lying beside a crumpled car, no tags, no license, nothing. Do you remember what happened?” the doctor spoke softly.

Sara didn’t hear the question. She was too busy scrambling to recall who she was.

Several seconds of silence hung heavy before the woman, (an elderly lady Sara could see now), soothed her again. She continued to pat Sara’s hand as she said, “It’s all right honey, everything gone be all right, it’s ooookay,” over and over again.

“My name is……” Sara whispered then released a long string of moans. “I don’t know,” she finally choked out and she felt tears sliding down her cheeks, but she didn’t cry out.

“That’s okay,” Dr. Carr said, turning to adjust some machine that seemed to beat in time with the thrashing in Sara’s head, “we’ll worry about that later. Right now you need to rest. You’ve got a nasty knot on the back of your head and a couple broken ribs. Are you in any pain?”

Until that moment Sara had felt nothing more than the hammer slamming her skull. Now she realized breathing was difficult and thinking about it only caused her to gasp for air. “A little,” she said, or she thought she said.

“I just gave her a pretty good dose, Yolanda. Watch her breathing carefully. She’ll probably go back to sleep but call me when she wakes again.”

“Yes sir,” the nurse said.

As Dr. Carr left the room Yolanda jostled Sara about while adjusting what felt like multiple pillows around her body. Sara tried again to sit up but her head felt even heavier now, her eyes like someone was laying a thick blanket on them.

“Now, I’m gone be right down the hall if you need me honey,” Yolanda said as she placed a little stick in Sara’s hand, “you need anything, anything atall, you push this little button ya hear?”

Sara tried to nod. She gripped the button tight. She heard the soft squish, squish of the nurse’s shoes retreat until she heard no more. Sara stopped struggling and gave in to the dark dragging her under.

~~~~~~~~~~

“We gotta hurry Dan!” Jasmine whisper-yelled.

“I know that, you think I don’t know that! But how the hell are we gonna get her out of here?”

“We wouldn’t have to worry about it if you hadn’t run that big ass truck straight over her car now would we?”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry I said. How’s your arm anyway?” Dan had never felt so guilty in his life. He hadn’t meant to hurt his cousin or this woman, he’d only meant to tap the Camry’s bumper, or at least he thought that’s what he meant to do, (when he and Jasmine got in these big fights about their thievery methods he was never sure what he was thinking, after the fact), but the woman had slammed her brakes on the second he floored the truck.

Jasmine held her arm wrapped in a homemade sling aloft. “It’s all right,” she lied, “Now help me get her out of this bed.” She used her right arm to reach under Sara’s neck and lift her head. Until people saw Jasmine in action they’d never believe such a miniscule young woman could be so strong.

“What if she wakes up?” Dan whispered.

“She ain’t gonna wake up, the doctor just gave her a shitload of morphine, now come on, help me.”

“Why is it we’re doing this again?” Dan said.

Jasmine let a sigh of irritation escape her throat and ran the back of her hand across her sweaty forehead. “I. told. you. I had a vision when I saw her head bounce off the window Dan. It’s….” She didn’t have a clue how to explain this to anyone let alone her simple-minded cousin. “It’s just a feeling I have okay? We’ve got to take care of her, that’s all I know.”

Dan opened his mouth to respond but when he saw Jasmine’s jaw grinding he thought better of it, so he closed it back.

Together they huffed under their breath as they transferred Sara’s limp body from the bed to a wheelchair. Jasmine wrapped blankets around Sara as if swaddling a baby while Dan fidgeted behind the chair.

“Okay,” Jasmine said as she peeped out the door and pulled the wimple over her head, “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Not a soul was around when they eased down the hall to the door, stealing Sara away at three AM.

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