The Untitled Story

Chapter 6

Todd woke up to flashing lights, sirens, screaming and immense pain in his legs. His vision was blurry, hands shaking and unable to move, the feeling of panic had set in. It was then Todd realized that the screaming was coming from him. The pain in his legs amplified with each jolt as he tried to move inch by inch.

As his vision cleared, he was able to see he was the only one in what was left of the truck, the flashing lights of the first responders vehicles bouncing off the broken glass shards of the windshield, molded metals from the cab of the truck glistening in his eyes. He looked at his hands, covered in blood, glass, and dirt. His heart sank.

"Help!" He screamed as loud as he could. "Help! I am over here!" It seemed the more Todd Hinky yelled the further away help seemed to be. As Todd sit and squirm anxiously in his seat waiting, he couldn't help but try to figure out what happen. Only seeming glimpses of lights flash, glass flying and the sound of metal crunching, the sounds, and images on constant repeat.

"Todd, Todd, Todd can you hear me?" The paramedic yelled in from the driver's side of the car. Coming out of the trance he was in, not knowing how much time had passed.

"I'm here, I can hear you. Can you get me out? My legs are killing me!"

"We are waiting on the saw! Its coming Just need you to hold in there a few more minutes, can you do that for me Todd?"

Moments felt like hours as Todd waited for the extraction team to arrive. Once on scene, they got to work, the grinding from the saw vibrated the whole cab, or what was left. Sparks flew, the smell of hot steal filled the air. Then silence.

"Alright Todd, we are going to get out of here, can you move?"

"No, I can't move my legs!"

"Okay, my partner and I are going to get you out."

The paramedics working effortlessly slid Todd out of the wreckage onto a backboard.

"Where is Lillian? Have you seen Lillian?"

"Who is Lillian?" The medics looking over at each other while wheeling Todd into the back of the ambulance. "There was only you and James."

Todd began to feel the overwhelming panic set in again. This time, there was a sense of dread that followed his exhale. "What do you mean only me and him? Where the fuck is Lillian! She was in the truck with us! You need to find her! Leave me here and go find her!"

Once at the hospital doctors and nurses rushed to Todd's side, his brother right behind them, looking at him through the window of the Trauma room. You could tell James was hiding something. This sure as hell sobered him real quick, huh? No matter how much pain he was in, he couldn't stop thinking about Lillian. Why wasn't she there, was she okay, did she walk away. Thought flooded his head as the doctors worked to set and support Todd's legs, right before they sent him to the operating room, Dr. Linz came to his head.

"Hey buddy we are going to get you well taken care of, okay? Your parents are on their way, but we have to get you to surgery, you lost a lot of blood and you broke both your legs. Your left femur and right shin. We're going to get you something for the pain."

Todd listens as the doctor tells the nurse to get him 10MG of Morphine IV STAT. Just before the nurse administered his meds he asked her, "Where is Lillian?" Then he faded out.

"James! James! What the fuck did you do!" Mrs. Hinky yelled from the waiting room. Confusion set over James as he tried to explain that he didn't mean to drive drunk, that he wasn't even that drunk and he should have listened to Lillian and Todd. He refused and now, she was dead. No matter what happened that night, that was one thing James could not live down. Even if he got away with it, the thought would live with him forever.

Lillian Smit, age 17, was killed in a single car accident on July 4th. She was a senior at Hidden Oaks High School. Funeral services to be held at Gunner Funeral Home on July 10th. Grief counselors will be made available for those in need. She is survived by her parents, 2 siblings, 4 grandparents, many aunts, uncles and cousins. Flower arrangements and donations may be turned into Gunner Funeral Home to help cover the cost.

Todd just stared blankly at the wall. No tears, just simmering with internal rage. He knew if he could walk, and thankfully for James he couldn't, James would be dead. He sat there, in the dark, knowing the life he had planned was over. He knew then what he had to do. As he folded up the newspaper article for the 10th time since he woke up, this time, he noticed the add. "Uncle Sam Wants you".

It had been 6 weeks since the 4th of July. Even though he was out of the hospital, he spent most of his nights alone, camping in the woods, drinking his sorrows away. He pulled out the newspaper clipping again. "Uncle Sam Wants You". He got up, whipped off the back of his pants, tucked his unkempt hair behind his ear, took one last swig, and headed into town. This was not part of Hinkys plan, if he had it his way, he would have just drank himself to death. As he approached the Army recruiter's door, he stopped. Patted his shirt pocket. "This is all for you baby girl."

Within three hours, Hinky was well on his way. He asked the recruiters for two days to handle what was needed at home. As he walked out of the office, he could only think of how proud Lillian would be of him in this moment. He smiled for the first time in months as he walked home. He knew this was the first step to making things right, if only for her.