Witness

4| Hospitals and Heros

After the police, firemen, and paramedics arrived at the scene, I was gently pulled from my car and placed on a gurney as they loaded me into an ambulance. I stayed alert throughout the process, but the feeling of the accident and the sensation of being loaded into an ambulance was all too familiar to me, as images of my past accident flashed in my mind. Panicked, and after a final request to call my dad, I somehow lost consciousness before making it to the hospital.

When I finally woke up, I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but I was in a hospital bed with my arm now in a sling and a thick bandage over my shoulder. My dad was in the room, but he was chatting with an officer and another man off in the corner. The officer wasn't doing much of the talking, but the man next to him was holding something in his hands that looked to be an FBI badge. He was a very large man--muscular and definitely above 6' as he was much taller than my dad. He was dark skinned, bald, and looked to be in his 50's. He was dressed in a suit, and he spoke with conviction, his voice just loud enough for me to hear.

"Sir... your daughter is in danger. Now that she's medically stable, she can't stay here. As soon as she wakes up, you both need to come with me to the station."

At the mention of danger, memories of what had just happened to me came flooding back into my groggy mind. It was enough to completely overtake my body again and tears immediately sprung to my eyes.

"Dad?" I croaked out, wanting him by my side to provide me with a little bit of comfort.

Without hesitation, my dad rushed to me. He sat on the edge of my bed, placing a palm on top of my head and running it from my forehead down my cheek. "Hey honey. I am so glad you're okay," he breathed. On the outside, he looked calm, but I could see the fear and sadness in his eyes. Something wasn't right.

Off in my peripherals, I noticed the man in the suit exit the room and begin talking with one of the doctors. "What... what's going on? Why is the FBI here?"

My dad scrutinized my face for a moment as if surprised I figured out who the man in the suit was. "It's complicated, Emmy. They're going to explain it all to us, but right now they gave everyone orders to leave the hospital. They're going to discharge you, and you're to go with SSA Hale," he explained, gesturing to the suited man before continuing, "to the station. I am supposed to drive separately and meet you there."

My body trembled. There was so much to process. I couldn't wrap my head around what had happened, I was still sore all over and feeling groggy from whatever pain killers I was given, and now they were saying I had to relocate with an unfamiliar FBI agent without my dad?

I opened my mouth to question everything when the doctor walked in, ending the conversation.

"Okay, Emery. We are going to have to discharge you, so I just need to go over some things with you before you leave. How are you feeling?"

"Um... I'm okay." I answered. That was a loaded question, but I assumed he was only referring to my arm, which actually didn't feel too terrible at the moment.

"That's good. Basically, the bullet hit you in the upper arm near your shoulder, but you were extremely lucky with the placement. It didn't hit any major blood vessels and it was a to and through wound, which means the bullet exited immediately and didn't cause further damage. It's definitely going to be sore for a while because it went through the muscles, so you need to be careful with it, and it's best to keep the sling on for the next day or two; you don't have to sleep in it, but just when you're moving around. Take ibuprofen when you need," he explained.

I was listening to him, or at least listening as much as I could. I knew he said I was lucky, but honestly, I wasn't feeling too lucky at the moment.

"Wash the wound with clean water 2 times a day and do not use peroxide or alcohol; it could slow the healing. If you want, you can cover it with a thin layer of petroleum jelly, like vaseline, and a bandage, which is what you have on now. Replace the bandage as needed and make sure to keep it clean and dry. If you need, an ice pack can also help with the swelling," he rambled.