He awoke as if from a deep slumber, disordered and drowsy. Although his eyes remained closed he could hear the noise which seemingly surrounded him through a haze of disorientation. He tried to open his eyes but the lids refused to co-operate, as though they were weighted down. The noise around him continued to echo into his head, a cacophony that mingled together into a mass of indistinguishable sound. The unending resonance induced a painful rhythm of throbbing in his head that made him feel vaguely nauseous, but he was powerless to do anything to stop it. He felt painfully cold, and his body was a mass of ceaseless discomfort, so much so that he was unsure where one source of pain ended and the next began. He tried to move, but his body felt as though it were not his own. An oppressive fear had settled over him, pervading even the state of unconsciousness that had held him almost ceaselessly for the preceding hours. He knew he was dying, there was no point denying it. His training as a doctor would not let him ignore the obvious signs that led to the grim conclusion, and he knew that death was approaching. Trying desperately to stave off the impending fate which he knew awaited him, he attempted again to pry open his eyelids, and slowly, very slowly, he managed to break through the cement like grip that held them together.
Peering dazedly through the sudden burst of light that assaulted his senses, Jesse squinted at the indistinct shapes that were immediately available to his blurred vision. Confused by the presence of light when he had last been aware of ubiquitous darkness, Jesse was quite startled to realise that a good deal of time was missing from his memory.
Without moving his head, Jesse glanced around, the movement pulling at the muscles in his eyes as if he had not used them for a long time. Able to make out only a myriad of hazy colours he was, at first, incapable of distinguishing what he was seeing. Blinking slowly he became aware that he was in a car, and whilst his sight had not yet cleared enough for him to actually see the detail of his surroundings he distinctly felt the presence of other people. Allowing his eyes to remain closed in a prolonged blink, he felt endlessly relieved that he was not alone, Jesse relaxed slightly, comforted in the knowledge that he would not die alone. Taking as deep a breath as his lungs would permit, he slipped a little further back into the clutches of the blackness that had possessed him earlier.
The moment of relaxation ended abruptly as a sudden thought entered his mind. He flicked his eyes open, a flash of pain piercing them at the immediate intensity of the light.
I'm still in the car! He thought erratically, convinced that the man who had attacked him would re-emerge at any moment, brandishing the glinting knife.
Jesse tried to push himself up, thoughts of escape swirling through his mind, and immediately felt a shearing pain tear through his body, taking the meagre breath he had managed to inhale away from him. Mouth open in a silent scream of agony he fell back onto the car seat, every nerve ending in his stomach ablaze in fiery torment. Gasping mutely he felt hot tears pool in his eyes. Trying to regulate his erratic breathing he arched his head back to try and ease the passage of air into his burning lungs. Afraid to give in to the vapour of insensibility that was threatening to overwhelm him, he clung to his tenuous grip of consciousness, scared that if he should close his eyes he may not be able to force them to reopen.
As the moments ticked past Jesse was relieved to note that his breaths were slowly becoming easier. He blinked his eyes rapidly, trying not to let their closure linger for too long. His mind still telling him that his continuing presence in the car was a threat to the feeble grasp he held on life, Jesse tilted his head lightly to one side, trying furtively to gauge just how bad a predicament he was in.
His vision clearer than it had been since his return to consciousness, Jesse was able to make out a figure slumped crookedly across from him, bent twisted to one side and unmoving.
Jesse squinted ahead, confused. What he saw made no sense to him. If he was still in his own car, then surely there could be no one else in there with him. It wasn't possible – there was no room. Struggling to understand the sight before him, Jesse peered forwards, trying ineffectually to decipher who it was that lay so awkwardly.
The final murky remnants of sleep that remained in his eyes gone, Jesse was stunned to realise that it was Amanda who lay slumped in front of him.
Bewildered by this turn of events, Jesse felt a lurch of despair clench in his already painful stomach.
Amanda?! He thought frantically, wanting desperately to do something to help her and knowing, without real reason, that her current state was entirely his own fault.
Jesse stared at Amanda almost unblinkingly. Wanting to jump up and do something, anything, to help her, he found that in reality he couldn't bring himself to move for fear of the pain he knew it would cause. Exhausted from the effort the pain had taken, and fighting against the tide of unconsciousness that had begun to flow over him once again, Jesse scrutinised Amanda's face looking for any signs of distress. He was slightly mollified to see that her face was a picture of serenity, almost as if she were merely sleeping.
As the vacuous vapour of insensibility swirled over every pore of his being, Jesse found he could battle it no longer. Drained so entirely of energy he allowed his eyelids to flicker closed, and with the tumult of noise reverberating through his head, Jesse allowed himself to drift into unconsciousness.
The glass was cold against his face. He could feel the biting chill as it crept through his skin and onto the warm surface of his gums. Frowning, he pulled his head away from the window where it had rested, and snapped his eyes open. Lifting one hand absent-mindedly to rub his cold face, Mark peered around, momentarily dazed. He returned to full awareness with a thud as he realised the constant noise that had blared through his confusion was the car horn which continued to resound even still as Steve slumped across it, unmoving. Eyes focused on Steve Mark stood quickly and immediately felt his head slam painfully into the roof of the jeep. He cursed himself for his carelessness and rubbed vigorously at the sore spot, ducking down and noticing for the first time Amanda slumped on the floor of the car and taking in Jesse's appearance, his hand hanging limply, face slack. Mark froze. At a total loss as to what to do first, Mark took in the insentient forms of the three people he would consider the closest to him in the world. Steve, his son, unconscious across the steering wheel, oblivious to a roar of sound that would wake even the heaviest of sleepers from their slumbers. Amanda slumped ungraciously against the seats; and Jesse, ghostly white with what could be considered only as a visage of death.
Torn, he felt compelled to attend to his son, this in itself eliciting an uncomfortable guilt at the back of his mind. Having no knowledge of Amanda's status however, and knowing that Jesse was desperately ill, he knew he had to assess them all by way of triage before ministering to the most seriously injured.
Turning first to Steve Mark gently placed two fingers to the crook of his neck feeling for a pulse. Finding the beat strong and rhythmic quelled his immediate fears, and gently probing his son's neck for signs of spinal injury he found none. Ensuring his hands were steady Mark supported Steve's neck and manoeuvred him backwards, releasing the pressure on the car horn and bringing an end to incessant tumult of noise. The silence seemed immense, and suddenly made Mark feel very aware of his isolation – he was all but alone with three casualties and knew there was no way he could provide them with the care they required and deserved.
Finishing his assessment of Steve Mark was appeased to find no clear evidence of series injury. With reluctance he pulled himself away from his son to examine Jesse. Crouching to him, he felt for a pulse, determined yet scared that he might not find one. With trembling fingers he placed pressure against the carotid artery ensuring the pressure was not such that it should prevent the flow of blood. As the seconds ticked away Mark felt his stomach clench unpleasantly before he finally detected an infinitesimal vibration beneath his fingers. Leaving his fingers in place he counted the erratic pulse, calculating that Jesse was highly bradycardic and had quite a serious arrhythmia. Settling back onto his heels Mark surveyed Jesse. His profession told him it was not unexpected that Jesse's heart would slowly concede to the stress of his injuries, but his friendship with the young man insisted that he ignore the facts that were staring him so callously in the face.
Taking a deep revitalising breath Mark turned his attention now to Amanda. She had clearly sustained the least damage of the three, and had in fact regained consciousness during the time Mark had attended to Steve and Jesse. She was watching Mark, her brow furrowed.
"Amanda?" Mark spoke quietly, betraying the huge relief he felt that he was no longer alone in having to deal with the situation.
"Mark?" Amanda frowned more deeply. She could taste the metallic bitterness of blood in her mouth, and could feel a small cut where she had obviously bitten her tongue. Swallowing at the unpalatable taste.
"What happened?"
Mark didn't reply. He hadn't really given any thought to the cause of the accident, being more concerned with the consequences he had been faced with.
"I don't know…" Mark looked up from his kneeling position and froze. He hadn't noticed before – had been too preoccupied with Steve, Jesse and Amanda. The man, the cause of so much heartache and distress.
He had gone.
Note: I apologise profusely for the huge delay in posting this, there is more to come (hopefully) soon. I think the world is conspiring against me finishing the story what with everything that's been going on lately! My mum's been in hospital and I've had flu… the list goes on. Sorry again, and Merry Christmas!