When I wake, two women in scrubs are staring down at me. "…Hear me? Nathan?" I groan and try to push myself up into a sitting position, but they hold me down. "Don't move, Nathan. We don't want you moving your neck, okay? Now we're going to roll your bed to the CT scanner to check for damages around your neck, concussions, and broken ribs."

"Ribs…?"

"Yes, that and your arms are both casted." They take the brake off my bed and start pushing me down the hall.

"Am I in the hospital?"

"Yes, Nathan. We'll take good care of you." I'm much more alert now, and it's really hard to stay still. My head hurts like hell and I keep shifting, but the nurses keep fixing me. "Please keep still. You can't move while you're in the CT scanner. It'll make the image blurry."

"But my head..." I groan, "it hurts so much."

"The drugs are just starting to wear off. You'll have a headache for a few minutes, but we'll give you more painkillers once we're done with the scanner. Stay still." She presses on my chest lightly to push me back against the bed.

"Sorry," I mumble.

"It's okay, Nathan. We just need you to stay still." They stop the bed and lift me onto the CT scanner's "tray", then they step into another room. "Okay, Nathan, we're going to slide you forward to take some pictures of your head," says the nurse from a speaker under my head.

The bed jerks towards a huge circular machine with a big hole through the center. It starts clanging and hissing, and my breath gets faster, irritating my chest. The bed stops when my head is under the big, scary, loud machine. "No… I don't want to do this. Please let me out."

"Nathan, it's okay. Just hold still for-"

"I can't, please, I can't breathe. I can't breathe!"

"Please don't-"

"Get me out!"

I roll off the bed onto the floor. I re-bust my nose when it smacks the ground as I'm not able to catch myself with my casted arms. I try to push myself up, but two guys grab me before I can get anywhere. "Okay, sir, let's get you back on the bed. We can give you a calming agent for your claustrophobia."

"My... I'm not claus..."

"Mm hm, sure." They sit me on the bed and gently lay my head on the pillow. One guy sets up an IV while the other guy cleans up my nose. My mind starts to slow down with the drug.

"You need to keep still, okay?"

"Okay."

The two go back to his little room and he calls over the intercom, "Okay, let's try this again. The machine will make noises, but that's normal."

"Normal."

"Yes, completely normal."

"Completely normal. Completely normal," I repeat to myself. The drugs let me keep calm, so the scans can be done quickly.

They wheel me back into my room, but one of the nurses stays in the room with me. They tell me I'm not allowed to sleep until they come back with the results. "Nathan, you have to stay awake," the nurse reminds me every time I close my eyes.

A lab coated doctor walks in just as I'm about to lunge across the bed to knock out the nurse. "Mr. Drake, is it?" he asks, pulling up a chair beside my bed. He sets his clipboard on his knee.

"Yes."

"I'm Dr. Lu." He holds out his hand, expecting me to do the same.

I shrug and lift up my arms. "Um, sorry, but my hands are out of order at the moment."

"Oh, of course, of course. How could I forget?" He flips through a few pages of charts on his clipboard. "You are one remarkable person, you know. Broken and cracked ribs, a broken arm, a dislocated shoulder, and a severe concussion. It's a miracle you're alive to tell the tale."

"It's something alright..." I squeeze my eyes shut against the pain compounding in my head. "Can't you give me more of those painkillers? I think my eyes are about to liquidate in my skull and run out my ears."

"Ha, is that all?" Dr. Lu chuckles. "Your painkillers are wearing off, but we can't constantly be shooting you up with drugs. They're highly addictive."

"But it hurts."

"I know, Mr. Drake, but it's protocol. You're a fighter. You'll make it through. The critical life-and-death phase is over." Dr. Lu checks his clipboard again. "Now, the police are wondering about the details of the crash. Do you mind talking about it now?"

I swallow hard, but I nod. It'll be less suspicious if I just go along.

"Who was driving the vehicle?"

"My brother."

"And his name is...?"

"Uh..." I can't tell him that! Sam'll get arrested! "I, uh, don't remember."

"You don't remember your brother's name?"

"...No." He gives me a skeptical look. "It must have been the concussion. I guess I have am... am..." What's that word again?

"Amnesia?"

"Yeah, amnesia! Bummer, huh?"

"Uh-huh. Real bummer..." Dr. Lu writes something, then looks back up at me. "Can you remember if your brother was intoxicated or not?"

"He... I'm pretty sure he was... drunk."

"Hm, so-"

"But it was my fault," I interrupt. "I'm the one who yanked on the wheel to get us out of on coming traffic. I just feel so terrible and so guilty."

"Mr. Drake-"

"Please tell me he's okay."

"Uh, that's the thing..." He doesn't meet my gaze. "We don't know if he's okay."

"You... don't know? How can you not know?!"

"He wasn't at the wreck when your friend found you."

"He wasn't...?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Drake. It seems he's vanished."

Well, I guess vanished is better than dead. I go back to focus on the other half of his answer. "You said a friend found me... Who... Argh!" I screw my face up and slam my head against the pillow. "It hurts!"

"Whoa, whoa, stay still. Stay still." Dr. Lu and the nurse gently lay me back down. I know I'm not supposed to hear, but I pick up bits and pieces of what the doctor's whispering to the nurse. "...Pain... the dosage... higher..."

The nurse hurriedly leaves the room and comes back with another nurse who is thankfully carrying a bottle and a syringe. "This will feel like a pinch, okay Nathan?" the new nurse asks.

I nod as they proceed to roll up my sleeve. I wonder what would have happened if I said no. I look away as they puncture my arm and inject me with a clear liquid, mostly likely pain medication. Oh, yeah, I think to myself as a weird cooling sensation crawls through my veins. Definitely pain medication.

"Does that feel better?" Dr. Lu asks.

"Uh-huh," I answer with a stupid grin on my face, the one usually reserved for stoners and yogis. The pain gradually melts away. "Oh, that's the good stuff..." I turn to the original nurse and cheekily ask, "Can I sleep now?"

The three chuckle and the nurse responds with a nod of her head. "Sweet dreams, Mr. Drake. You deserve it."

No need to tell me twice...