Frostbitten: The Complete Series (41 page)

CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
EMERGENCY

Back sore and eyes heavy, Connor had been sitting on the same cheap plastic chair in the hallway outside of his mother’s room for nearly five hours. He had practically finished reading the entirety of A Tale of Two Cities, and he was nearly finished his weekend homework.

Despite his exhaustion and muscle soreness, he was proud of himself. For the first time in his life, he was actually ahead of his schoolwork. For once in his life, he felt as though he could do more than just shoot a puck. It was refreshing—and he owed it all to Wade’s persistence and patience.

For the first time in over a year, Connor could actually see himself playing hockey again. There was a light at the end of the tunnel—and the tunnel wasn’t as long as he’d originally thought.

Fantasizing about it, Connor began to doze off.

The hospital was unusually quiet that night. Only the occasional footsteps from a passing nurse cut the hum of the fluorescent ceiling lights above.

“Mr. Knight?” a female nurse said, pulling Connor out of his near-slumber.

Connor looked over at the nurse. She looked young—almost too young to be a working nurse. She had round cheeks and a cute little mole above the side of her lip. Her hair was long and dirty blonde—tied into a long ponytail. Her scrubs—the smallest the hospital had—were a bit too big for her petite body, which didn’t help her excessively young appearance. She was your classic girl-next-door.

“Yeah?” Connor asked, his eyes fighting to remain open.

“You’re welcome to stay here, but I imagine your mom would feel much better if you were at home, comfortable in your own bed.”

“Oh—I don’t mind,” Connor replied.

“Are you sure? Can I get you anything?”

“I’m okay, thank you.”

The nurse smiled and then walked away. Connor looked back down at his book, and continued to read, getting even further ahead of his coursework.

A couple of minutes later, the nurse returned with a clean pillow and a blanket.

“Here,” she said. “At least put this to use.”

“Thanks,” Connor said, accepting the gift.

“Your mom is doing well—I just checked on her vitals a few minutes ago. She should be okay to leave in a couple of days.”

“Great. Thank you so much.”

“I think it’s sweet that you’re staying here for your mom.”

Connor smiled. “I really don’t mind. She would do the same for me,” he replied.

The nurse laughed. “Sorry to keep bugging you—I’m not used to the hospital being this quiet.”

“I’m sure it’s a welcomed change.”

The nurse smiled. “You don’t remember me, do you, Connor?”

Connor stared at the nurse. “Sorry—Do we know each other?”

“Yeah—Well, sort of. We went to elementary school together.”

Connor stared at the girl for a moment longer.

“It’s okay—We never talked or anything. I don’t even think we were ever in the same class. My name’s Ava.”

Connor thought for a moment. His mind was too exhausted to place the name.

Ding Dong!

“Nurse May—Please report to the emergency ward. Nurse May, to the emergency ward,” a woman announced over the intercom. 

“That’s me,” Ava said. “I’ve got to go! It was nice talking to you.”

“I remember you—You were on the volleyball team,” Connor said.

“That’s right!” Ava smiled as she made her way down the hall, towards the emergency ward.

Connor looked back down at his book. He only had a few chapters left. He considered putting it away for the night, but he knew that with another hour, he could finish the whole thing outright. He did, after all, have the next day off of work and school.

But if he was going to accomplish such a task, he was going to need a coffee.

Connor brought himself to his feet. A nurse was hurrying down the hallway towards the emergency ward.

“Excuse me,” Connor said to the nurse.

“Yes?”

“Is there a coffee machine around here somewhere?” Connor asked.

“There’s one at the emergency entrance. It’s a vending machine, so you’ll need some change. I think it’s two dollars for a big cup. The coffee is terrible—just a warning.”

“Okay—Thank you,” Connor laughed.

The nurse continued to hurry towards the emergency ward. Connor reached into his pockets and pulled out a handful of change. He began to walk towards the coffee vending machine.

“I’m losing a pulse! Where’s that IV!” someone yelled from around the corner.

Connor stopped and listened for a moment. A crowd of paramedics, nurses and doctors were hustling down the hall, huddled around a squeaky stretcher.

“Where are we with those vitals?” a doctor asked with intensity.

“Um,” Connor could hear Ava reply. “The heart rate is low—dangerously low. He’s losing a lot of blood! Pressure is dropping fast.”

Suddenly, the whole medical caravan came barrelling around the corner, past Connor. One nurse was trying to set up an IV while two paramedics quickly led the stretcher down the hall. A doctor followed closely behind, attempting to assess the severity of the victim’s neck wound with a sonograph, and Ava had her gloved and bloodied hands pressed firmly down on the gushing abrasion.

On the stretched was Wade Fenner. His body was soaked in his own blood, and there was a large bite wound on his neck. He looked dead—completely unconscious. Nothing the frantic medical team could do would bring him back to consciousness.

“Stay with us, Mr. Fenner!” the doctor yelled. “There’s some serious internal bleeding in the throat. We’re going to need a tracheostomy, stat!”

Connor watched as the frantic caravan whipped around the corner and out of sight, leaving a trail of the dying teacher’s blood behind.

Connor stood frozen in shock, unsure of how to react. He felt a heavy lump grow in his throat as his heart sunk into his stomach. “What could Wade have done to deserve this?” Connor wondered.

“Please!” a female voice cried from the hospital’s reception. “I need to see him! Let me see him!”

Connor apprehensively began to walk towards the source of the crying woman. He walked around the corner and saw her—

Laura Fenner was screaming, being held back by two male nurses. She was trying to push past to see her dying husband, who was rushed to the operating room.

“Mrs. Fenner—Please. You can’t go into the operating ward. The doctors can do their job better without distraction!”

“Let me see my husband!” she cried.

The nurses continued to fight the crying wife. Wade’s blood was all over the floor from his frantic entrance.

Connor looked at Laura, eyes wide. Until now, the whole ‘Vampire Murders’ had just been news headlines. Now, they seemed so real—so close to home. The victims were real people—with families, friends, jobs—lives.

Laura broke free from the male nurses and began to run down the hallway, screaming and crying. She didn’t get far before she was caught and held back again.

Connor had completely forgotten why he’d left his chair. He hadn’t even noticed that he’d dropped his handful of change somewhere on the hospital floor.

He looked around in a tired, shocked and confused state. Standing by the door was a young toddler. She was only three years old, wearing a baggy pyjama onesie. In her hands was a stuffed bunny, which she held tightly to her little body.

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
LILY

In the all of the frantic hustle and bustle, the little daughter of Wade and Laura Fenner had become invisible. Nurses rushed past her, her mother was having a breakdown and her father was dead. She was too young to understand what was happening, so instead, she just stood scared, cold, and confused.

Connor too was scared and confused, unsure of what to do. So he did the only thing that made sense to him. He walked over to the innocent young girl..

“What’s your name?” Connor asked.

The girl looked up at Connor. Her pupils were dilated and her face was blue with cold.

“Lily,” the girl replied.

“That’s a pretty name,” Connor said.

“Thanks.”

“Why don’t you step away from that cold door?”

Connor reached out his hand. Lily took it gently and the two walked away from the screaming and crying madness.

“Where did they take my daddy?” Lily asked.

Connor stared into the girl’s eyes. “I’m sorry—I’m not sure.”

“Oh.”

“What do you want to be when you grow up, Lily?”

“I want to be a bunny rabbit.”

“A bunny rabbit?” Connor asked.

“Yeah.”

“You can’t be a bunny rabbit. You’re a human!” Connor said with a forced smile.

“My dad says that I can be anything I want to be.”

“Hm,” Connor thought. “You like bunnies?”

“I love bunnies.”

“Do you like other animals?”

“Yes.”

“What other animals do you like?”

“I like all animals. And turtles.”

“All animals and turtles?”

“Yeah,” Lily replied.

“Maybe you could be a vet.”

“What’s a vet?”

“An animal doctor. You would get to save hurt animals.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Or you could start a shelter for homeless bunnies, and other animals and turtles.”

“I could?”

“You can do anything, remember?” Connor said.

Lily smiled. “I like bunnies.”

“I know you do. Do you have a bunny?” Connor looked over Lily’s shoulder. The doctor was breaking the bad news to Laura, who collapsed onto the floor as her body was overtaken with grief. The nurses tried to comfort her.

“I have this bunny,” Lily said.

“That’s a lovely bunny. What is his name?”

“It’s a girl, and her name is Bunny.”

“Bunny? That’s a good name for a bunny.”

Lily smiled. “She likes carrots.”

The front door of the hospital opened and Michael ran in. His jacket, hands and face were covered in dried blood from the biker party. He looked around frenziedly and then spotted his mother and the bloodied doctor. He ran over.

“Carrots?” Connor said, looking back down at the little toddler. “Carrots are good.”

“Yeah. And pizza.”

“Pizza! Bunnies can’t eat pizza. They’ll get sick.”

“Really?”

“Really. Sometimes bunnies like foods that they shouldn’t eat—just like people.”

Lily looked down at her bunny. “I’m sorry, Bunny.”

Connor smiled at the ignorant girl’s innocence. Over her shoulder, he could see Michael trying to comfort his crying mother.

Michael’s face was ridden with rage. He held back his tears for his family’s sake.

“Why did that girl bite my dad?” Lily asked.

“What?” Connor asked.

“Why did that girl bite my dad?”

“What girl?”

“The girl in the alley.”

“You saw this happen?” Connor asked.

“Yeah. Dad was standing and a girl came and bitted him right on the neck.”

Connor’s heart skipped a beat as his hands began to tremble.

“Is my dad okay?” Lily asked.

Connor’s head was spinning. He slowly looked down at the young girl. “Huh?” he said sluggishly.

“Where’s my daddy?”

Connor looked up, unsure of how to answer the girl. Michael stepped up and lowered himself down to his knee. “Lily,” he said.

Lily turned around. “Michael!” she said excitedly.

Michael hugged his little sister.

“Where’s daddy?” Lily asked.

Michael sighed and bit down on his tongue to suppress his emotions.

“He had to go, Lily.”

“Go where?”

“I’ll explain it later, okay? Now isn’t a good time.”

“Why are you all red?” Lily asked.

“It’s a long story, Lily.”

“Are we still going to build snowmen this weekend?” Lily asked.

“I can still help you build a snowman, okay? But I have to go see mommy now, so that’s enough questions for now—alright?”

“Okay.”

Michael looked up at Connor, whose eyes were still wide—in shock.

“Thanks,” Michael said.

“No worries,” Connor replied. “Can—Can I do anything?” Connor asked.

“Can you watch her for a minute?” Michael asked, looking back at his crying mother.

“Sure—absolutely.”

“Thanks, Connor,” Michael said, forcing a smile through his pain.

Michael turned and walked back over to his mother. He was displaying an incredible amount of courage for the sake of his family.

“Hey Lily—Why don’t you tell me more about your bunny?” Connor said, dropping back down to his knee.