Dinner With Death

Chapter 2

Jesse squinted into the brightness straining to catch sight of the lone surfer. Melody had disappeared several seconds before, and he was starting to worry. The late afternoon sun had been momentarily blocked from view by a mass of clouds. Where is she?

A small dot caught his attention far off to his left. It must have been nearly a half-mile down the beach. Then a thought struck him. Jagged rocks were submerged under the water on that side. He had seen swimmers and surfers get trapped under or pinned up and pounded to death by the waves.

Jesse started to run, dropping his surfboard in the sand. The dot disappeared underwater, then surfaced again. He pushed himself faster. The dot was becoming larger and he could make out the dark hair in a wet mass on top of the water, floating in on the waves.

As he neared the still form washed on the sand, his breath caught in his chest. He dropped to his knees by her side and slowly turned her over. A long deep tear ran down her left leg from the thigh to the ankle and there were several bleeding cuts on her arms and face. Jesse grit his teeth when he noticed the large gaping hole that was torn into her side. It was bleeding heavily. Jesse quickly unbuttoned his blue Hawaiian shirt, folded it, and pressed it onto the wound.

"Come on, Mel," Jesse slid his arms carefully under her shoulders and knees. He lifted her light form easily and walked as fast as he could back to his car. Each minute seemed like a year to him as he trudged forward through the deep sand that threatened to unbalance him.

At last, he stumbled onto the parking lot and hurried to his red sports car. Reaching it, he fumbled to open the door, but finally managed to swing it open and place the unconscious girl in the passenger's seat. Jesse hurried around and climbed in behind the wheel.

Jamming the key into the ignition, the engine whined and refused to turn over. Jesse slammed his fist into the steering wheel, immediately regretting it. His hand stung from the impact, but the pain ebbed. Why did the car have to not work the one time he needed it too? He turned the key, and again the engine refused.

"Third time's a charm, right?" He asked the car. Another try proved the saying correct, the engine growling into life. Pulling onto the Pacific Coast Highway, Jesse flipped his phone from the holder and hit the speed dial for Steve. After the fifth unanswered ring, he murmured angrily, "come on, Steve, pick up!"

Jesse glanced at the young woman next to him. She was pale and he could barely detect her chest rising with each shallow breath.

Hold on. He thought. Just hold on.

~*~*~

Driving up to the ambulance entrance at Community General, Jesse easily flagged down three medics. He quickly explained the situation and the extent of the injuries while they rushed into the ER.