The scene was in complete silence after the wreck, but it was broken very quickly.
"WE GOT COPS!"
The voice rang over the quiet, and chaos broke loose. Surprisingly, it was Jenny who was the first to reach the fallen racer, as Kyle reacted just as quick. He jumped into his truck, starting it and swiftly backing over to the scene, using the Chevy as a barricade of protection against both cars and people alike. The Yamaha lay in a mangled heap of metal further down the road, and the flashing blues helped clear the traffic. Kyle jumped right out of his truck again, over at his friends side in a second.
"What do we do?" Jenny asked. Kyle shook his head.
"I don't think we're supposed to move her," he said. "In case her spine is damaged or something."
With the exception of the slightest rise and fall of her torso, Emma was unmoving, half on her face, half on her side. The eye shield of her helmet was shattered, as her head had taken much of the impact.
Flashing lights pulled up next to the pair, and Kyle looked between the car and the accident scene.
This is bad, he decided, finally.
The cop hurried out of his car, calling for help over the radio as he reached the three, assessing the damage.
"What happened?" he asked.
Kyle and Jenny looked at each other, both wondering whether to lie or not.
"Her front tire blew," Kyle said after a brief moment of hesitation. Jenny nodded.
"She was propelled into the air, it looked like the bike may have hit her while they were both airborne, but it happened so fast."
Sirens were quickly approaching, the street was nearly deserted.
"Was there alcohol involved?"
Kyle shook his head.
"No. Not that we're aware of," he answered. "I'm her roommate," he continued, as a second-thought.
The officer turned to the blonde, who returned his gaze in momentary confusion. It quickly dawned on her, and she added to Kyle's statement.
"I'm his girlfriend, but I also work with her. We're both bartenders, we've taken numerous alcohol safety courses. Em knows more than anything not to drive if she's been drinking."
The cop had taken out a pad of paper and was writing down the statements. He waived them away as the ambulance pulled up to the scene. As quickly as they arrived, two EMTs rushed over to the fallen racer.
"Was she racing?" the officer asked, not beating around the bush. The couple looked at each other.
Kyle gave in first.
"Yes," he admitted reluctantly, knowing the possible severity of punishment that would follow.
"Who runs it?"
Kyle blinked.
"Sorry?"
"The races. Who hosts them?"
Kyle shook his head.
"I honestly don't know. That truck's all I have, can't exactly race it."
He did not mean that he could not risk its good condition, just simply stating the truth. Seated high of the ground, with all-terrain tires, the Chevy was much too big to maneuver like the smaller, more speed-friendly sports cars.
The officer looked at him, doubtful.
"Honestly sir, I only came to look after Em."
Kyle looked over his shoulder, as the medics moved Emma to the stretcher, before wheeling her to the ambulance. They had left the helmet on the road - it had been removed with great care.
"Not exactly successfully," Jenny added in an undertone.
Kyle shook his head, turning back to the officer.
"I know as much as you do: there was a race here, you showed up, people scattered."
"And did you know anyone else?"
Kyle did not hesitate.
"No one that was racing sir," he said evenly, not breaking his gaze. It was mostly true, as he was not even acquaintances with most of the other racers aside from Letty, Vince, Jesse, and Leon.
Kyle nudged Jenny, nodding towards the ambulance. The blonde got the message and hurried over to the EMT, who was ready to climb into the truck.
"I'll be needing your contact information."
Kyle obliged. Thanking him, the officer followed the ambulance away from the scene, undoubtedly going to wait for the biker to wake up.
"They wouldn't tell me anything of her condition. Just that she'll be at the hospital."
Kyle cursed quietly.
"She doesn't have medical insurance," he hissed, more to himself.
Jenny shifted, and Kyle looked around at the damage.
"She'll probably want this stuff," he said finally, nodding to the mess of bike debris. The road cleaners would be by shortly to take care of the mess left over.
"Em's weird like that," Jenny agreed.
Working together the two got most of the bike into the back of the pick-up, and the ruined helmet, leaving smaller pieces for the workers. Climbing into the Chevy, Kyle rested his head on the steering wheel, comforted only slightly by Jenny running a hand up and down his back.
"What the fuck are we gonna do now?"
Jenny did not have an answer.
"Look at it this way... at least she won," the blonde tried to cheer him up.
Though airborne, both bike and racer had come to a stop nearly ten feet pass the finish line. They had crossed only several seconds before Ant blew through.
With a bitter, mirthless laugh, Kyle agreed, starting the truck. Shaken, the pair drove off to the hospital.
"Hi," Kyle nodded to the nurse at the ER desk. "I'm looking for Emmaline Morgan. She was brought in a little bit ago, automotive accident."
The nurse promptly entered the data into the computer.
"Ah, yes, the biker. She's just out of surgery. Are you family?"
Kyle looked to his girlfriend before turning back.
"I'm her brother. Her power of attorney, too, everything can go through me."
The nurse added the information to the electronic file.
"A doctor will be out shortly," she waived them to the waiting room. The pair obeyed the unspoken command, and Kyle started pacing the small room, hands jammed in his pockets as Jenny sat on the arm of the couch, retaining her calm posture for the both of them.
"What's taking so long?"
The blonde checked her watch. Only a minute had passed.
"Kyle... you're doing it again."
"Doing what? What's 'it'?"
"You're-"
"Family of Miss Morgan?"
Not paying attention to Jenny being interrupted, Kyle spun on his heals, coming face to face with the doctor. He was an older man, perhaps his early fifties, but his brown eyes were alert and filled with intelligence.
"I'm Dr. Morris."
Kyle skipped his introduction and got right to the point.
"How is she?"
"Her body took a good beating, but she'll be okay."
Kyle stared, not satisfied with the answer. The doctor went on to elaborate.
"She is mildly concussed, but at this point it's mostly from the stress of the accident that's keeping her under. She should be up by tomorrow."
"Is that all?"
Dr. Morris shook his head. "Like I said, she took quite the beating. I'm assuming she landed predominantly on her right side?"
Kyle nodded, affirming the question.
"Her injuries support that. First off, do you know why she wasn't wearing thicker road gear?"
Kyle shrugged.
"She doesn't usually, I don't think. Well, I mean, she usually wears a proper jacket, but otherwise, it's kind of give and take."
"Well it would have helped, her jeans tore right through. She has some pretty severe road rash from the side of her abdomen to her knee, two cracked ribs, and more bruised. There is also a fracture on her hipbone, which will cause a great deal of discomfort, but it doesn't look like she'll need any further surgery. Just a lot of careful consideration and rest, and crutches for several weeks. Her right shoulder was dislocated, but we put it back into place; there will be some pain and discomfort for a few days, particularly when it comes to the crutches. Her jacket however saved her skin, and her boots saved her lower leg. Now, that's not to say that her left-side is completely okay - there are many bruises and some minor road rash. Her neck will also be very sore for a few days; her helmet undoubtedly helped a lot, but the angle of impact still affected the muscle greatly. As I said, she is also mildly concussed. It should not have lasting affects however - she'll have a headache for a few days, and possibly be disoriented and confused at times."
Kyle let out a long breath at the end of the explanation.
"When can she come home?"
"It depends on when she wakes up, and her pain levels, but she shouldn't be more than a couple days, at the most. She will need a lot of help, though."
Kyle let out a breathless laugh.
"Great."
"We'll also need you to fill out some information papers. Medical history, insurance forms, general information like that."
Kyle glanced sideways, but accepted the pro-offered clipboard of papers.
It was going to be a long night.
Emma did not wake up until almost noon the next day. Jenny had left for her day shift at the bar, and Kyle was typing on his laptop that he had grabbed from the house when he had stopped in.
Not having the energy to speak, Emma simply whimpered, a mixture of pain and fatigue.
Kyle did not notice.
With some pain, Emma reached out her left hand, accidentally hitting a button at the side of the bed. Unbeknown to the pair, a bell was ringing out at the nurses station.
"Ahh, you're awake!"
Kyle jumped at the sudden appearance. Recovering swiftly, his gaze followed the nurse's.
"Em! How you feeling? Wait, stupid question, I know. Are you okay?"
He paused again, wincing at the newer question.
Stupid, he chastised himself. You're a moron. Of course she isn't okay.
Emma simply blinked, dazed and confused at the whole situation. At one point during her initial examination, her contacts had been removed, and the room was a mesh of blurs and color.
"Waaa-"
Her voice was weak and raspy, throat dry. She coughed, wincing at the accompanying pain. It hurt to breathe very deep, a tightness settled on her chest.
"You were in an accident," the nurse started, as she rattled off the list of injuries. Emma groaned at the predicament, as though wanting to give up.
"My b-" she asked Kyle, as the nurse moved on to check her vitals.
Kyle was nodding, his sullen expression matched his tone. "Beyond smashed."
Emma whimpered, whether from the nurses prodding or her loss it was unclear.
"You won the race though," Kyle stole Jenny's line, attempting make his roommate feel even the slightest bit better.
It was ineffective.
The nurse left the two to themselves, with a short order to page the desk if any problems arose.
"Whe-"
"A couple days. I put in for my vacation time, the doctor said you'd probably need some help for a bit."
Another groan.
"Who-"
"No one yet."
Apparently he had composed a list of questions in his head that he knew she would ask.
"I figure they're all uncertain or still in shock. Or waiting for you to leave."
Emma slumped into the bed, not bothering to voice her other questions.
"Jenny will be by later."
Emma blinked at the ceiling, as though it offered her all the answers in the world. She felt numb, even without the medication she knew she probably still would.
"This sucks," she finally managed, voice slurred slightly.
For once, Kyle did not speak for her.
"Tell me about it."
Emma stared blankly at the ceiling for several more minutes before she blinked tiredly.
"How-"
"About fifteen hours. Maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less."
"Then why-"
"You're drugged. And, even though you've been unconscious, your body has not had a rest yet, you're pretty battered."
She could not even muster enough energy to reply.
"Don't worry about it. Someone will be here when you wake up. Just rest up, so you can get out of here sooner rather than later, yeah?"
Emma graced him with a weak smile, managing to nod just the slightest. She shifted as best she could to get more comfortable, but gave up after a bit, simply leaning back into the bed.
"Don't worry. You'll be fine."
It was the last thing she heard before drifting off to sleep.
Okay, okay... I know it's shorter than normal... and it took entirely too long... and I'm sorry. Very sorry. This year has been very rough for me, and it's just finally starting to settle for a bit, so I'm making the best of what I can right now. I hope to have the next chapter out shortly!