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Remember
Chapter 1
He could hear the tick tick tick of the turn signal, but it sounded like he was under water. His chest hurt, and when he opened his eyes, all he could see was the bright red of tail lights through a cloud of smoke. He coughed hard, and he groaned in pain, putting his hand against his side. He was slumped over the steering wheel, and his knuckles were covered his blood. He brought his hand to his face, and he felt the warm trickle of blood from his forehead. What happened?
He could hear sirens, but again, it sounded like he was under water, and he couldn't figure out how close they were. Were they coming for him?
He blinked a few times, and it was then that he saw the flash of blonde hair as a small little girl in a pink night gown came stumbling around the overturned car ahead of them. Jesus. He could hear muted sobs as screams came from the car.
"Oh God! Help! Please!" He groaned in pain, and he reached down to unbuckle his seat belt. When he heard the click and felt the release of the belt from across his chest, he reached for the door handle, only to find the door jammed. He shoved it a few times with his shoulder until it groaned and squealed on its hinges.
The little girl standing in the flood of his headlights was sobbing as blood covered her bear-patterned gown.
"Hey," he groaned, blinking as the world seemed to spin around him. "You ok, kid?"
"My mommy's hurt. I think my daddy's dead." She covered her face with her hands and turned away, and Daryl limped, hunched over as the pain in his side began to tear.
"Little girl?" he groaned, limping toward her, as she cowered against the front of his truck. "Hey. Little girl? You ok? You hurt?"
"My arm hurts," she whimpered, as he realized she was holding it pressed against her tummy. He knelt down in front of her, narrowing his eyes to peer at her in the dark.
"You dizzy?"
"Nuh-uh."
"You sure?"
"Uh-huh. My arm hurts."
"Alright, sweetheart. C'mere. Let's get you over here. Want ya to sit down 'til the ambulance gets here."
"My mommy. Help my mommy."
"Alright. Come on, sweetheart. Just…sit down over here. You start to feel dizzy, you holler, ok? My name's Daryl, so you just holler for me if you need me."
"Ok," she said with a sniffle, blinking up at him with tear-filled eyes. "Please help my mommy." Daryl led the little girl off to the shoulder of the road, and he peered around, trying to get his bearings. Where the hell are we?
"I'm gonna do what I can to help your mama, ok?"
"Mister? Are you a superhero?" the little girl asked. Daryl couldn't help but chuckle despite his pain.
"No, sweetheart. Not a superhero. Just a doctor." He patted her on top of the head and helped her sit down on the crumbling pavement. The pain in his side was a little better, but the pain in his head seemed to be growing worse. But he made his way to the overturned car, kneeling down on the passenger's side as broken glass scraped the palms of his hands. The screams he'd heard earlier had turned to whimpers, and when the crying woman turned to him, her eyes widened, and she began to sob.
"Hey. Ma'am? Ma'am? You ok?" She blinked back the tears and shook her head. "Hey. Listen to me. We've been in a wreck. Can ya tell me your name?" She stared at him for a moment before she started to shake.
"Sophia."
"You're Sophia?"
"N-no. Where's my Sophia? Where's my little girl?"
"She's safe. She's…yeah. She's safe." He turned to look over at the little girl who was anxiously waiting at the side of the road. "Hey. Sophia! Can ya call real loud from over there and let your mama know you're ok?"
"I'm ok, Mommy! I'm ok!"
"Oh God," the woman sobbed. "Are…are you ok?"
"M'fine, ma'am. Just focusin' on you right now."
"This is all my fault," she choked out. "Oh God. It's all my fault. I'm sorry."
"Ma'am, it's ok. I'm just gonna…your husband? Is he alright?"
"N-no," she whimpered. "He's not answering. He's…I think he's dead."
"Alright, you hear that? Hear the sirens?" She nodded. "Help is comin'."
"Are you s-sure? We're out in the m-middle of nowhere," she whimpered.
"Guessin' somebody drove by, seen it happen."
"They didn't stop? Who does that?"
"S'gonna be alright. I'm a doctor. You just…" He reached into the car. "You got your belt on. That's good. That's…now you just take my hand. Can you do that?" She nodded her head, and she reached out, letting him take her hand. She closed her eyes then, and he gave her hand a squeeze. "What's your name?"
"Carol," she whimpered. Just then, the flashing lights of a police cruiser came into sight, and Daryl let out a groan followed by a sigh of relief.
"Help's here. See? No time at all. You're gonna be ok. You're gonna make it out of this."
"I don't think I can," she choked out. "It hurts."
"I know," he murmured. "I know it hurts, but I got you, ok?"
"Ok," she breathed, blinking as the tears continued to fall, soaking into her hair as her belt began to slip from place. "God. Oh God."
"Hey. I got you." He maneuvered himself further through the window, helping hold the belt in place so she wouldn't slip out and hit her head against the roof of the car. He looked over his shoulder and hollered. "Over here! We need help! Over here!" The shuffling of feet against the pavement grew closer, and soon, an officer was kneeling down.
"Hey. Ambulance is just a minute away."
"She's slippin'. You gotta help me get her outta here."
"Sir, it's best we don't move her 'til the paramedics get here," the officer urged.
"I'm a doctor. I know that. But she's gonna fall, and she's gotta injure her spinal cord if she does, so I need you to help me hold her steady and lower her down. You think you can do that, officer?" The man stared at him for a moment, clearly not expecting the man in oil-stained jeans that drove a pickup truck to be a doctor.
"Yeah. I can do that."
"Alright. You just gotta…gotta hold her up, and I'm gonna slide the belt off real slow. You got it?"
"Got it," the officer said with a quick nod.
"Alright. Carol? Hey. We've got you. Alright? You're gonna be alright."
"Ok," she whispered softly, closing her eyes. "You've got me. You've got me."
"That's right. Just keep sayin' that. Keep believin' it. You're gonna be alright."
Together, they eased Carol out of her safety belt and slid her out of the car as more glass began to fall from the window frame. Daryl gently eased her down onto the pavement, making sure to hold her neck still as they put her down. Carol gripped his hand and squeezed it tightly.
"See? Told you," Daryl said with a reassuring smile as the ambulance pulled in, and the flashes of light made him feel dizzy and sick again. He shook his head, and he felt two hands on his shoulders.
"Whoa. Hey. You need to lay down, too."
"No. I just…what about the man? Her husband?" The officer made his way to the other side and knelt down. When he stood and met Daryl's gaze, he shook his head. He moved back over, and he knelt down next to Carol.
"Ma'am? You in any pain?"
"Yes, officer," she choked out, flinching as another wave of pain hit her.
"Hey, that's good," Daryl murmured. "Pain's good. Mean's your alive. Mean's you ain't paralyzed. You got that? You can get through it."
"I'm strong. I'm strong," she whispered, closing her eyes as she faded into unconsciousness.
