If You're Not Busy

Chapter 81 Frightened

I've added Part Two of this story here. It will no longer be in a separate story.

An officer helped a shaken Mariah to her feet. They called a doctor for her, who checked her over and just said it was a massive shock, that was causing her to collapse. He advised, that she be put to bed and given a sedative. Mariah tried to fight this, but the doctor just administered an injection in the end. Mariah woke up several hours later, thinking she'd had the wackiest of dreams, only to realize the nightmare had only just begun. Luckily while she had been sleeping so soundly, Tessa's parents Cindy and Carl had managed to land in Paris and had raced to her hotel. Hi said, Cindy. Mariah could tell straight away that she had been crying quite a lot. She could see Carl standing in the doorway, also looking upset. Mariah slowly sat up with Cindy's help. Is she alive? asked Mariah looking at Carl. He turned and left Cindy to it. Mariah started to cry. Hey, said Cindy holding her. Nobody has any clue at this point. Apparently, the bus was coming around a very sharp bend in the Pyrenees, they had got helicopters, etc on their way to the scene.

On their way? screamed Mariah they should have been there hours ago! Oh god sorry, said Cindy a slip of the tongue. I meant to say they're there already. We just need to give them time, before they can tell us anything. "Mariah" we will just have to be patient. On the bus, there was lots of twisted metal, sticking in people and lots of broken glass everywhere and bodies on the road! The scene that greeted doctors etc was not a pretty sight. The tour bus was lying on its side, luckily it had not gone over the ravine. Mainly because of the actions of the driver who was now dead. The car that was involved, wasn't so lucky. It had hit the bus head-on and then had veered over the side of the ravine. They would find no survivors. The bodies on the road had not survived the impact. Most of them had gone through some of the windows. Firemen were now checking inside the bus to help the injured, Tessa and Devon being two of them.

They were both in a really bad way. Devon was found pinned to the floor. They could tell he had broken both his legs and one of his arms was hanging off. He was losing a lot of blood. He was one of the first to get airlifted to the hospital. There were some walking wounded, who had just been taken by SAMU (the French ambulance) to local hospitals. After about twenty minutes of searching, they finally found Tessa hanging on to life. She was under a pile of seats and tables. One of her legs was twisted and had been harpooned by a piece of metal from one of the tables. She also had a massive gash on her head, and to top it all off she had broken one of her arms and a leg very badly. She was unconscious and also losing a lot of blood. They had to cut the metal pinning her, so they could get her out and airlifted to the hospital, which would be the C.H.U. De Toulouse in Toulouse. It was a major incident hospital. Devon had been flown there too.

Mariah was getting very anxious, back in Paris, along with Cindy and Carl. It had been hours since they had heard about the crash, and still, they did not know if Tessa and the rest of the crew were ok. I need to know said Mariah to Carl. This is driving me crazy! Mariah marched up to the woman who spoke perfect English and demanded she finds out something. They must know by now what's happening. said Mariah. Chantelle was a detective in Paris. Mariah was so glad when she spoke English when she arrived to tell her about the crash. I will do my best, she said as she left the hotel suite. Carl ordered more coffee for them. For one thing, the caffeine was helping them to stay awake. After about an hour, Chantelle entered the room. Mariah saw the look on her face and knew it was bad. She started to cry before Chantelle had got a word out. Cindy and Carl both cradled her until she stopped. Chantelle just waited to tell them the news. Okay, said Mariah in a very sad voice, tell us what happened. Chantelle stood up and told them that the car had come around the bend on the wrong side of the road, and hit the tour bus head-on.

It was the skill of the tour bus driver that stopped them from going over the ravine. Mariah and Cindy gasped. The car went down the ravine, and there were no survivors. Mariah burst out crying again. This time Cindy joined her again. I'm sorry to have to tell you, that the bus ended up on its side and there were people thrown from it, and unfortunately, they didn't make it either. But there is some good news. You're friend Devon, got airlifted and so did your wife Tessa after they had to cut her out of the wreckage. They have both been taken to the major trauma hospital in Toulouse. I'm sorry but they're both in a really bad way. So I suggest you pack your bags and we will fly you all down there. We have booked you into a hotel so that you can stay there as long as you need to. Thank you said Carl We'll let you know when we are ready to go. She left them to it and went back to see if there was anything else she could find out for them. Carl gathered up Cindy and Mariah.