Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. No infringements intended. All original intellectual property is solely owned by its creator; the author.
Uno
"… I am only interested in writing about characters who are at the end of their rope. And the rope is on fire." - B. Crouch
"Well, look who decided to wake up." The nurse said as she injected something into the girl's IV. "You should be dead right now." Her lips pinched together. "You realize that don't you? Do you know how lucky you are?"
The girl silently studied the nurse through an opiate fog. The woman's outline was blurry, like she had been sketched with a shaky hand. She could make out the kinks in the nurse's dark hair. They resembled twists of chocolate wisteria vines.
The girl scrubbed her hands down her face. There was gauze and tape near her hairline.
"It's a minor injury, just a few stitches. The doctor will be here soon to go over the rest of them." The nurse picked up a chart and began to scrawl on it, her expression full of contempt. "Your car struck a deer - a big ten point buck - it was a huge mess out on Route 9. You had no I.D. No cell phone or personal information. Do you even have insurance?"
She didn't respond.
"I'll take that as a 'no'." The nurse scribbled something down on the chart. "Do you at least know your name?"
"Yeah." the girl said, her voice dry, sounding like autumn leaves crackling. "Alice."
"Alice what?"
She let her head fall back on the pillow. "Just... Alice."
A man in black scrubs entered the room. "Ah, our mystery guest is awake. I'm Dr. Cullen. How are you feeling?" The nurse handed him the girl's chart.
Alice offered a strained smile. "I've had better days. Where am I?"
"Los Lunas Community Hospital. " He flipped through the pages on the clipboard. "So, Alice is it? Just Alice?"
She nodded and then winced at the pain it caused. "I hurt."
"We have hydrocodone and acetaminophen in your drip but if you need more there is a morphine pump -"
"When can I leave?"
"You've got a nice bump to the head - nasty concussion. You also suffered from several broken ribs and a hairline fracture to your pelvis. We are equipped here to handle most minor injuries, but we'd like to transfer you to a larger hospital in Albuquerque -"
"No!" She refused adamantly. The girl clumsily sat up, pulling her IV halfway out of her vein. Blood and glucose solution ran down her arm. "I... I have to go..." Her body swayed with a new wave of pain, knocking her back down.
"It's alright Alice. Just stay calm." Dr. Cullen motioned to the nurse and she calmly passed him a syringe. "I'm going to give you a shot to sedate you. It's also going to help with the pain."
"Please, just don't send me anywhere." Alice pleaded as the doctor injected her.
"If you insist, I'm sure we can accommodate you." He shined a penlight into her eyes, panning it side to side. "Is there someone we can call for you?"
"Your parents, maybe?" The nurse suggested.
"No." Alice told them, her eyes growing heavy. "There's no one."
Thanks for reading!