Author's Note: So the explosive series premiere is tonight and this is my version of it. Hope you enjoy!
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ANCHOR
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CHAPTER ONE
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The motorway underpass was an array of screaming, painful cries and vehicles creaking. Smoke from the crashed vehicles hung heavy in the air, filling the lungs of all those impacted and affected by the horrific crash. Her senses were numb for a while as consciousness welcomed her back in waves, ebbing and flowing as she fluttered her eyes open and close. She was aware of herself hanging, almost in limbo, as her chest, arms and legs were restrained; a weak head as blood thumped against her temples; and a light body despite how heavy she felt. As she looked at her surroundings despite the blur to her vision, she noticed her blood pooling below her hanging figure, the contents of the ambulance scattered and thrown around the vessel, and with the squint of her gaze, the unconscious figure of Ruby lying in the corner, slumped on the floor in a heap.
She groaned in agony as the pain in her chest reverberated throughout her entire body. "Ruby…" she called out through gritted teeth, pain surging through her body like an electric bolt. "Ruby, wake up for me."
The young paramedic groaned in response to Alicia calling out her name but made no attempt to move. Alicia felt the heaviness overwhelm her head, causing her already blurred vision to blacken slightly. "Ahh…" Alicia groaned, her hand moving to the belt that was keeping her in place, its strong hold restricting her from breathing properly. Her pulse was low and her breathing was shallow and with the amount of blood she was losing, she knew it was a recipe for disaster.
The tourniquet had loosened in the crash and her entire hand and arm was stained with a crimson red, and as she watched the blood drip down from her hand and upon the ambulance floor, she knew she was losing more blood than she had anticipated.
Loud tapping on the back of the ambulance sounded and her head turned towards the sound, a rattle of fear in her chest. Her mind travelled back to the course of events leading up to where she was now: knocking at her door, Eddie being in her company, an argument ensuing, denial on his part, anger on hers, and then…
She closed her eyes at the mere thought of it.
The tapping continued, and her breathing became even more erratic. "Help…" she croaked.
The door to the ambulance fell open, and Alicia's eyes opened wide in shock as she saw the figure coming into view. "You… oh, Anna… help us… please!"
Anna Turner's own eyes widened in shock as she observed the state inside the ambulance. "Alicia?" she called out as she climbed into the overturned ambulance. "Iain told me to help assist…"
"Iain? Is he okay?"
"Yeah… he's okay despite all of this," Anna reassured as she moved towards Alicia. Her eyes fell upon the slumped body of the paramedic watching for the rise and fall of her body, and once she was happy for the time being with her condition, Anna turned her attention upon Alicia. "What happened to you?"
Alicia felt her heart judder against her chest at the thought of explaining to her friend the reasons as to why she was a patient in this circumstance, and she watched as Anna inspected her injury. Her grey hoodie was now soaked in blood, a horrific sight to behold. Anna met Alicia's eyes for just a moment.
"I'm going to help you down, okay? It's going to hurt but it's not going to hurt for long."
Alicia nodded and gritted her as Anna's hands wrapped around her and unclasped the belt that was keeping her prisoner and winced in pain as Anna eased her down as gracefully and gently as possible until she was sat in an upright position.
"There… that's better," Anna offered her a small smile. "Okay… put your arm up in the air and keep it there for me."
Anna moved towards the unconscious paramedic then, and Alicia kept her arm in the air and tried to control her breathing. Her entire body was cold and shaking mostly due to shock.
"Her name's Ruby," Alicia informed her with a wince. "She's a colleague of mine at Holby."
"Ruby, can you hear me?" Anna asked, her voice loud and clear. A small moan escaped the paramedic. "Good," she continued moving closer to her. "Does anywhere hurt, Ruby?" Another moan sounded and albeit small and slight, Anna noticed movement from the young woman. Ruby lifted her head up then, and moved her body around, uncurling herself from her previous position with a pained groan.
"My arm," Ruby winced. "It hurts like hell…"
Anna gently placed her hands upon Ruby's arm, moving it gently. "Does that hurt?"
Ruby nodded with a wince.
"You might have fractured it," Anna informed her. "Just stay there for me and keep breathing in and out slowly."
Anna moved her attention back onto Alicia. "Okay, I need you tell me what your injuries are whilst I fix you up. You're losing a lot of blood, Alicia. I need to know."
Alicia glanced over at Ruby who met her gaze, and as Anna followed Alicia's gaze, she knew it was a lot more serious than what she had originally thought. As Anna's gaze fell onto her friend, she watched the waves of emotion hit Alicia in that moment: the anger, the frustration, the sadness, and the pain of the entire situation hitting her all at once.
"Talk me through your injuries before the crash," Anna suggested knowing her friends silence meant something.
"I was attacked…" Alicia whispered, her voice was low, almost inaudible but Anna heard it loud and clear. "I was thrown through the back window of my house… there was an argument…"
Anna furrowed her brow, a flash worry etching across her face. "This was in your home? Do you know who did it?"
"I… I don't want to talk about it," Alicia whispered tearfully to which Anna nodded. "My artery… it's a cut artery… I'm bleeding to death, Anna…"
"No, you're not," Anna reassured with a sob. "I'm here, okay? I'm not going to let that happen to you."
As Anna rummaged through the paramedic medical bad and in the locker for a new tourniquet, her mind raced. In the year that she had been gone, Alicia's life had changed so much, and she wondered just how different life was since her departure from Holby.
"I'm going to clamp your artery, Alicia, and there's no way of telling you that it isn't going to hurt because it is," Anna commented, pulling her supplies towards her. "You okay there, Ruby?"
"All good," Ruby winced in response.
"Good," Anna replied, as she adorned sterile gloves. She reached for the tourniquet. "Ruby… I need you to call dispatch and let them know we need more ambulances on scene. We need back up. A lot of back up."
As Ruby business herself with calling into dispatch, Anna busied herself with changing the tourniquet.
"I'll try and be quick, okay?" Anna reassured to which Alicia nodded weakly. Anna pressed down on the brachial artery which caused Alicia to scream out in pain. The new tourniquet was ready and prepared as Anna slipped the old one from her arm. She felt the slickness of blood between her gloved fingers as she pressed the artery further into the bone, sliding the tourniquet up her arm and keeping as much pressure upon the wound as possible. The screams emitting from Alicia was terrifying and unsettling as Anna watched her old friend in so much discomfort and pain.
The tourniquet was in place and Anna tightened it firmly as she loosened the pressure upon the brachial artery.
"Other people have called it in and they're sending more help," Ruby informed them before falling silent as she listened to the operator. "Iain radioed in about you, Alicia, and they're sending an emergency doctor out for you. Doctor Keogh…"
Anna faltered for a moment then pulled herself together quickly. And even though it was quick, it was enough for Alicia to notice even in her current state.
"Does… does Dylan know you're back?" Alicia whispered, to which Anna shook her head. "Are you back for good?"
Anna was silent for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I'm back for good."
Alicia nodded with a faint smile. "Let's hope I'm still alive for that. It's been a long time, Anna."
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The ambulances raced through the streets of Holby, navigating their way through the backed up traffic due to the major accident on one of the busiest roads in Holby. The reason for the crash was unknown, the amount of information that had been given was limited, but all they knew was that there were many vehicles involved and many civilians injured, but most of all, three of her own were involved and possibly injured.
Connie among with a lot of her staff raced towards the scene of the accident, an orchestra of sirens leading the way into the night sky, a melody of aid fleeting in the brisk wind.
Dylan Keogh was assisting Sam Nicholls in an ambulance, Connie was travelling with David, Ethan and Elle in a medic vehicle, and Zoe was travelling with Dixie in another ambulance. The road seemed endless with their frustration and worry increasing as the need and urgency to get to scene became almost unavoidable.
"Iain radioed through," Sam informed Dylan as she weaved the large ambulance through the gaps other cars had made for them. "One of the patients before the accident is Alicia. He didn't go into it but it sounded serious, whatever it is."
Dylan reacted with a mere brow raise. Though he offered little emotion and reaction, his mind wandered at the potential injuries that Alicia could've sustained before and after the accident. It hadn't been the first time a couple of his ended up in the ED and he was sure it wouldn't be the last. His mind wandered back to her – a ghost, almost, but not quite.
"You're thinking of her again, aren't you?" Sam noted with a glance to her left. The man was silent, but his silence spoke volumes. Dylan had never been a man of conversation nor emotion, but she knew him well, a marriage licence confirmed that despite their marriage coming to an end. "It's her birthday today, isn't it? Have you heard from her?"
"No, Sam, I haven't…" Dylan commented with a sigh.
"I just… I was just wondering…" Sam replied with softness to her voice. "Why don't you text her? Wish her a happy birthday, open the lines of communication."
"I've not heard from her in a whole year, Sam," Dylan explained. "And it's not like I haven't messaged her since she left. But all my texts are left unanswered and unopened. I doubt I'll ever hear from her again. A birthday text means nothing."
"You don't know that," Sam reassured him. "She left for a reason. It must've been serious enough for her to leave suddenly."
"Too sudden to not send a text to me?" Dylan refuted, defeated almost.
"You never know, Dylan," Sam replied before falling silent. "You loved her, didn't you?"
Dylan was silent for a moment, his attention focused solely on the busy road ahead. "Yes… how did you know?"
"You looked at her the way you used to look at me… when we were both happy together," Sam's voice fell into a whisper as she waited for Dylan to reply, though he was silent.
The ambulance carried them to the scene of the accident, as they observed the graveyard of vehicles in the underpass, the weight of the world fell heavy upon their shoulders.
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"We need to focus now," Connie's voice came over the radio. Though it was calm and collected, she was shaking uncontrollably inside. The number of casualties that awaited them was an incredible amount, with all of them awaiting help for all kinds of injuries. The information she had was limited but she knew part of her team – her family – was involved and needing a clear head that she was known for. "We work well as a team. Let's not get too emotionally involved, people are relying on us to bring them some comfort."
Connie had been to a number of scenes and had stumbled upon a few too – and all had required her quick thinking and a clear head to handle the panic she felt when treating patients and trying to reassure them that help was either there or arriving soon. She had promised patients before, and she had learned the hard way of promising things she couldn't keep. She had been hopeful with every patient she came across, but experience had taught her a hard lesson by throwing curveballs. Patients that were predicted to die was able to walk out the doors of Holby and those who came in with minor injuries left the world and their families behind broken and in despair.
And over the years, she became cold when it came to be dealing with patients; no emotion seeping into her work. She needed to separate herself from her emotions knowing that it wouldn't be fair on the patient if she became too emotionally invested. Emotions were not a wise thing to have in the medical field.
But she knew her emotions would be tested more than ever.