"Who Would've Thought Getting Knocked Down Would End So Well?"
Bad News
Opening the hospital door to room 1013, I was not sure what to expect. I stepped into the small room to see Mike lying on the bed, his eyes closed. He appeared to be asleep. His face and arms were covered with various cuts and bruises and his right leg was in a cast. Drew, Billie Joe and I walked silently towards the sleeping figure and settled ourselves into the cold, plastic chairs that surrounded the bed. Mike looked badly hurt, and there was still no sign of Tre. The three of us looked at each other with concern, our eyes doing the speaking our mouths never could.
A few minutes later, Mike began to stir. He lifted his heavy eyelids and blinked, attempting to adjust to the bright room. When he saw us he smiled, his usually sparkling blue eyes duller than normal.
"Hey guys."
Billie Joe was the first to respond. He lifted himself from his seat and walked to the bed. He placed his hand gently on Mike's shoulder.
"Hey man. How are you feeling? What happened? And where's Tre?"
Crystal blue eyes met smouldering green ones as best friends exchanged looks of sadness, confusion and anguish. Mike sighed.
"When Tre and I got into the moving truck, we knew that you three would take a long time to get to the house."
Mike's voice was raspy from lying down and having been asleep or even unconscious earlier. Drew stood up. Grabbing a pitcher from the side table, he poured Mike a cup of water and handed it to him. Mike took the cup appreciatively and took a sip.
"Thanks." He placed the cup on the table next to his bed and continued. Mike looked into Billie Joe's eyes once more. "Tre and I wanted to get a house warming gift for you and Amelia, to congratulate you on such an important decision you've made. Anyway, we still were not sure what to get you so we went into a department store to get ideas." Mike paused.
"We were debating between two items when three masked men stormed into the store and started yelling. They were robbing the place."
Mike hesitated and I shook my head in disbelief. "They had guns; they were serious, and frightening. A stampede resulted as people screamed and ran for their lives. I was knocked down and trampled. I think I must have lost consciousness at some point. I guess the robbers thought I was not a threat since I couldn't see them anyway so they left me alone." Mike looked down, avoiding eye contact with any of us.
"But... but Tre..." Mike halted as silent tears began to glide down his cheeks.
"Tre what?" I had suddenly found my voice but I sounded more like a lost little girl than anything else.
Mike sighed heavily and looked down. "Before I was knocked down, I saw Tre. He had run past one of the masked men. I guess they thought he looked at them too closely or something," Mike paused, "because they shot him in the back as he ran past them. I screamed, but I couldn't do anything. I was already being thrown down and pinned to the floor."
Mike broke down into a fit of sobs that caused his whole body to shake. Billie Joe's eyes opened wide with fear. Drew grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Hard. I swallowed a lump in my throat, afraid to ask what we all wanted to know.
"Mike? Is Tre... did he...?" I could not ask what I wanted to ask. I suddenly did not want to know. I was in too much shock to even cry.
"The nurses have been trying to keep me up to date. Uh, he's lost a lot of blood and he's in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit. They say that if he can survive the night, he'll probably pull through. But he'll need a lot of physiotherapy."
Billie Joe looked like a cornered animal; I was afraid that he would have a panic attack. He was in shock, we all were.
"How are you doing, Mike?"
Mike looked down at his cast. "It could be a lot worse, I think it was a good thing that I got trampled, as morbid as that sounds." He tried to force a laugh but it came out as a sob. "I'll heal. But I'll be ok only when I hear that Tre is all right."
Drew spoke up. "Are we able to visit him?"
Mike shook his head. "No. He may... he may not survive." He faltered for a moment as tears began to chase one other down his distraught face. "The doctors and nurses cannot have visitors in there, distracting them. They need to monitor his vital signs very closely." We all looked down sadly. There was silence in the room as each of us silently prayed that Tre would be all right.
Minutes later, we heard footsteps outside Mike's door. Figuring it was probably just a doctor or nurse, making their rounds, we did not pay much attention. When the door opened, however, we saw Claudia standing behind a terrified looking Estelle. Claudia, too, had fear in her eyes. Estelle ran to her father and hugged him, perhaps a bit too hard because he groaned at the moment of impact.
"Oof. Hey Hero."
After Mike re-explained the ordeal to Claudia and his daughter, Estelle released her tight grip on her father's arm and sat on the hospital bed, never leaving his side. Claudia sat next to me, horrified by the turn of events. She, like all of us, was scared about what would happen with Tre. We were not as afraid for Mike as his injuries were not as extensive as Tre's, but we were equally concerned with his well being, both physically and emotionally after such an awful experience.
The six of us sat in a tense silence, each with a thousand thoughts running through our minds. We were all so deep in thought that we did not hear the door open. A petite nurse with brown hair and sad brown eyes had walked into the room.
"I have news about Mr. Wright."
A few minutes later, Mike began to stir. He lifted his heavy eyelids and blinked, attempting to adjust to the bright room. When he saw us he smiled, his usually sparkling blue eyes duller than normal.
"Hey guys."
Billie Joe was the first to respond. He lifted himself from his seat and walked to the bed. He placed his hand gently on Mike's shoulder.
"Hey man. How are you feeling? What happened? And where's Tre?"
Crystal blue eyes met smouldering green ones as best friends exchanged looks of sadness, confusion and anguish. Mike sighed.
"When Tre and I got into the moving truck, we knew that you three would take a long time to get to the house."
Mike's voice was raspy from lying down and having been asleep or even unconscious earlier. Drew stood up. Grabbing a pitcher from the side table, he poured Mike a cup of water and handed it to him. Mike took the cup appreciatively and took a sip.
"Thanks." He placed the cup on the table next to his bed and continued. Mike looked into Billie Joe's eyes once more. "Tre and I wanted to get a house warming gift for you and Amelia, to congratulate you on such an important decision you've made. Anyway, we still were not sure what to get you so we went into a department store to get ideas." Mike paused.
"We were debating between two items when three masked men stormed into the store and started yelling. They were robbing the place."
Mike hesitated and I shook my head in disbelief. "They had guns; they were serious, and frightening. A stampede resulted as people screamed and ran for their lives. I was knocked down and trampled. I think I must have lost consciousness at some point. I guess the robbers thought I was not a threat since I couldn't see them anyway so they left me alone." Mike looked down, avoiding eye contact with any of us.
"But... but Tre..." Mike halted as silent tears began to glide down his cheeks.
"Tre what?" I had suddenly found my voice but I sounded more like a lost little girl than anything else.
Mike sighed heavily and looked down. "Before I was knocked down, I saw Tre. He had run past one of the masked men. I guess they thought he looked at them too closely or something," Mike paused, "because they shot him in the back as he ran past them. I screamed, but I couldn't do anything. I was already being thrown down and pinned to the floor."
Mike broke down into a fit of sobs that caused his whole body to shake. Billie Joe's eyes opened wide with fear. Drew grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Hard. I swallowed a lump in my throat, afraid to ask what we all wanted to know.
"Mike? Is Tre... did he...?" I could not ask what I wanted to ask. I suddenly did not want to know. I was in too much shock to even cry.
"The nurses have been trying to keep me up to date. Uh, he's lost a lot of blood and he's in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit. They say that if he can survive the night, he'll probably pull through. But he'll need a lot of physiotherapy."
Billie Joe looked like a cornered animal; I was afraid that he would have a panic attack. He was in shock, we all were.
"How are you doing, Mike?"
Mike looked down at his cast. "It could be a lot worse, I think it was a good thing that I got trampled, as morbid as that sounds." He tried to force a laugh but it came out as a sob. "I'll heal. But I'll be ok only when I hear that Tre is all right."
Drew spoke up. "Are we able to visit him?"
Mike shook his head. "No. He may... he may not survive." He faltered for a moment as tears began to chase one other down his distraught face. "The doctors and nurses cannot have visitors in there, distracting them. They need to monitor his vital signs very closely." We all looked down sadly. There was silence in the room as each of us silently prayed that Tre would be all right.
Minutes later, we heard footsteps outside Mike's door. Figuring it was probably just a doctor or nurse, making their rounds, we did not pay much attention. When the door opened, however, we saw Claudia standing behind a terrified looking Estelle. Claudia, too, had fear in her eyes. Estelle ran to her father and hugged him, perhaps a bit too hard because he groaned at the moment of impact.
"Oof. Hey Hero."
After Mike re-explained the ordeal to Claudia and his daughter, Estelle released her tight grip on her father's arm and sat on the hospital bed, never leaving his side. Claudia sat next to me, horrified by the turn of events. She, like all of us, was scared about what would happen with Tre. We were not as afraid for Mike as his injuries were not as extensive as Tre's, but we were equally concerned with his well being, both physically and emotionally after such an awful experience.
The six of us sat in a tense silence, each with a thousand thoughts running through our minds. We were all so deep in thought that we did not hear the door open. A petite nurse with brown hair and sad brown eyes had walked into the room.
"I have news about Mr. Wright."