HUNTED ~ STEVE ROGERS [2]

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Call ahead and tell them she's waking up." Someone was talking in my ear, a woman. Antiseptic stung my nose as I breathed it in. My eyelids felt heavy, and all my limbs were stiff and creaky, like an old door. There was an engine rumbling, and my body trembled slightly, like I was in a moving vehicle.

Turns out, I actually was in a moving vehicle.

I opened my eyes, the lights above me making me blink before I could see anything. A woman hovered above me, her lips turned up in a smile. Everything was white, and sterile. Slowly, my limbs almost refusing to cooperate, I sat up. Around me were machines, oxygen tanks and bandages.

I was in the back of an ambulance.

"Hey, don't worry. We're going to take care of you," the woman, touched my arm gently, her voice meant to be calming and reassuring. But everything that had happened came flooding back to me all at once. I spotted needles on a tray next to me. Fear clutched at my heart.

"Did you take my blood?" I murmured, my mouth still not quite working. The woman smiled sweetly.

"We just need to make sure everything is in order," she said, staring intently at me. My eyes were to the floor. I felt groggy and stiff, like my blood was maple syrup and I couldn't move properly.

"Did, did you take my blood?" I asked again. If they took a sample of my blood, things would get a whole lot worse. I couldn't let anyone find out who I was.

What I was.

"Wow, your eyes are, very green. Have you been taking any recreational drugs or narcotics?" The woman sounded worried, and slightly scared now. I was low on energy for sure, so the glow of my eyes wouldnt be as bright, but it still wasn't exactly normal.

This as getting nowhere. She wasn't answering my question. I sighed. Why did it always come to this?

I reached out and gripped her collar, drawing her face towards mine. She cried out, and the other paramedic in the ambulance jumped in shock.

"Tell me, did you take my blood?" I hissed, feeling the numbness of my limbs wash away all at once. Her eyes widened.

"No, no we did-" she was cut off by the other paramedic, who upon seeing what was happening had decided to stab my arm with a needle, filled with what I assumed was a normal anaesthetic. Foolish, thinking it would work on me.

"Stop the vehicle," I said loudly, shaking my head to clear the fuzziness. They sat, motionless. I pushed the woman up against the wall, and she whimpered.

"I said, stop the vehicle."

"Chris, stop the vehicle," the man said to the driver, his voice trembling as he looked at me. I kept my mouth hard, and my face emotionless. I was running out of energy fast, and I needed to get back to Greenwood Avenue before the paramedics called the police.

The ambulance stopped, and in one swift movement I wrenched open the door, buckling its hinges and bending the metal. The paramedics yelled after me as I leapt from the vehicle and took off running into the dimly lit night.

I wasn't sure exactly where I was, but in the street light I saw I was on Manchester St, not far from the centre of town. I tore past the orange cones and danger tape, dodging shadowy figures stumbling on the footpath. The cut on my cheek had been cleaned up, but now that blood was pumping through my body it began to bleed again, running hot down my neck. Soon, I began to feel the burning in my muscles, the raw, seething pain in the lungs as my energy depleted with every step.

I felt in my pockets, but there was only an empty packet of cigarettes and my lighter, now useless.

I had a sudden thought as I pulled out my phone, a little scratched around the edges but still working. I had made a promise to Steve that I would call him if anything went south. I stopped running, and double over, gulping in huge breaths of cold air.