Saving Jasper | ✓ [COMPLETE]

Chapter 14 - Attending A Wedding

    Everything hurt. My whole body ached, but my head hurt the most. I lifted my hands, feeling as though weights were attached to them. I wanted to open my eyes, but something was stopping me. Why couldn't I open my eyes? And more importantly, where was I? Beneath my back was something smooth, hard and solid. Wasn't...I mean...weren't Serena and I just on the boat?

But, then I remembered. I was finally able to open my eyes slightly. Tyler hovered above me, a worried expression on his face. He relaxed slightly when he saw that I was awake. Forcing my head to the right, I located Serena lying right next to me. Her eyes were closed, and a nasty gash ran from her temple to her neck.

"Serena," I said in a broken voice, reaching out for her. Tyler grabbed my hand and placed it back on my stomach.

"Please stay still, the paramedics are on their way," he pleaded with me. I wanted him to go away. Where was Aunt Sophie? Before I could try and figure everything out, I heard the sirens. Tears built up in my eyes and trickled down my face. The sirens grew closer, and soon, I could see their flashing lights. "Your boat came off the radar. And with a storm like that, I knew something was wrong. I brought you both back in on one of our rescue boats," Tyler said quickly. Somewhere behind me, I heard the two different sirens of a police car, and an ambulance.

"Tyler--" I started, and he shushed me.

"Your aunt and uncle will meet us at the hospital. I knew she shouldn't have--" He closed his mouth and looked up, nodding to someone. He backed off when a man knelt down beside me. It took me a second to realize it was a paramedic.

"Hi, Charlie," he said to me. He reached into his shirt pocket and produced something that looked like a pen. He shone a bright light into my eyes and I recoiled slightly, wincing as a sharp pain in my head throbbed. He shone the light into my other eye, before clicking it off and putting it away. "Responsive," he said to the paramedics knelt beside Serena. "You're going to be okay, Charlie. We'll take you to the emergency room in this ambulance here." He gestured to the ambulance, and stood up as another paramedic approached me.

Emergency room? Why can't they just take me home? I wondered, panic sweeping over my body. The second paramedic was carrying a long, orange board. The paramedic who spoke to me, left and returned with a stretcher. They slid the board beneath my back, and strapped my legs down. The first one knelt beside my head again and smiled gently. He slid a mask over my face, and together, they lifted the stretcher. It moved ruggedly over the rocks and then was lifted again, as they shoved me away in the ambulance.

Where was Serena? What about her? I wanted to scream out to them, but I was too tired. The first paramedic sat beside me in the ambulance as the doors were shut and the ambulance jerked into motion.

"I need you to stay awake, Charlie. Okay? Stay awake. Don't close your eyes." He looked straight into my eyes and I blinked back another wave of tears. He told me not to close my eyes, so I didn't. I kept my eyes locked on his badge. James. His name was James. James looked at me for a moment, before turning away. He opened a drawer and rummaged through it. "I'm going to put you into a medically induced coma, okay? I'm afraid that your brain--well, I'll let the doctor speak to you about it."

He sterilized my arm with an alcohol patch and tied a rubber snake-like thing around my upper arm. I couldn't remember what it was called. He bent over my arm and carefully positioned it with his fingers. I looked away, a metallic taste building in my mouth. I felt the prick of the needle, the sting of the medication, and the pull of the sleep.