Queen of the Pack 1:4

Frustrated, Phillip tried to sit up again. He couldn’t let her get away.  It was crazy, but just the thought of her leaving sent a surge of panic through him. His weak, barely-there muscles strained against the straps. Pain lanced into his side making him hiss.

 “Whoa, careful there, mister, take it easy.” Hands pushed his shoulders back down. “We’ll be at the hospital in a few minutes.”

“No, you don’t understand. I have to see that woman, the one who helped me.”

“Relax,” another EMT insisted, his restraining hand joining the first man’s. “You can thank her later, dude. Trust me, you don’t want to try chasing down a woman when you’ve got broken ribs.”

Phillip lay back, panting, trying to calm himself. The man was right, this was ridiculous. If he wanted to thank the woman for her help all he had to do was get her name and address from the police report later. He didn’t have to do it right now.

Except thanking her hadn’t even crossed his mind. Not losing sight of her, that was the main thing. Even now something was prodding him to go after her.

He felt like he was losing his mind.

The ambulance ran with lights only, no sirens, thank God. He let his eyes roam the inside as it barreled down the highway toward Tampa General.

“Try to relax, Mr. Prevatte,” said the EMT taking his blood pressure for the fifth time. The young man leaned back, out of Phillip’s sight. “Better tell Keith to step on it. Guy’s gonna give himself a heart attack if he doesn’t calm down.”

Phillip almost laughed. Calming down was not an option. Not with the EMT’s whispered words sounding clear as a bell in his ears. His hearing was definitely changing, getting better. Not only that, but the words printed on the metal panels and shelves of the ambulance’s interior were beginning to jump out at him like fish from a murky pond.

…Warning…

…Glucose…

…Syringes, Saline, Pressure Bandages…

God, what was happening to him?

Phillip squeezed his eyes shut. He could hear his own heart pounding out a frantic rhythm. BuhBoomBuhBoomBuhBoomBuhBoom—

No wonder the EMT was freaking.

A deep breath and a bit of concentration and the beating became less frenzied, less desperate. Pressure eased behind his eyes. Maybe he had a concussion. Maybe that explained the weirdness with his hearing and eyesight. Everything would probably return to normal in a few hours.

Part of him knew that wasn’t the case. Part of him realized his life was about to change—had already changed—dramatically. And he wasn’t sure yet if that meant things were going to get better…or worse.