III
/TheDarkWolf28
"Keep it going *thumbs up*"
:) Roger that.
/alpha lover02
"Wow this is turning out to be an amazing story."
Thank you! I appreciate that. Thanks for your feedback.
Six's Perspective.
I awoke early the next morning, once again reexperiencing my common nightmares. I've come to accept them as inevitable; something I just have to live with.
I was downstairs in the kitchen eating a BLT sandwich I had made for myself. Extra bacon, the way I like it.
It was around five, about an hour before sunrise. I wanted to go for an early morning trail run- I hadn't done so in a few days, so I decided to text Humphrey to see if he was up to come with me.
Humphrey likes the exercise, but I've never been able to turn him into a morning person.
My phone vibrated on the countertop only a minute or so later; a response.
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" He wrote.
I chuckled, knowing how much of a grumpy old man he can be in the morning.
"That's the point. Interested?" I wrote back, returning to my sandwich. I took a bite, before redirecting my attention to the tv in the living room. I had the morning news on, as per usual.
The host for the local news channel was talking about a small debris field expected to make entry into our atmosphere today. NASA informants issued a warning to the predicted area of affect.
"Hm." I said, taking another bite, not paying much mind.
*Buzz buzz!*
I looked at my phone to see another response from Humphrey.
"Alright, fine. I'll be there in 15" He wrote.
"Sweet." I said, finishing off my sandwich then walking back up to my room. I figure I should get ready if he'll be here soon, Humphrey doesn't live far.
I put on some compression shorts that reach down to your ankles, then put on some normal athletic shorts over those. I put on one of my pairs of colorful Nike running shoes, tying them securely.
I put on my compression sleeves and a normal sweat-wicking t-shirt. It was a vibrant mix of colors, matching my shoes. I went back downstairs and grabbed an available water bottle, filling it at the tap.
I checked my watch, seeing that I only spent four minutes. I let out a huff, collapsing on the sofa; bored as I waited for Humphrey.
Soon, he arrived; but before he did so, I packed a small duffle bag of extra clothes, socks, shoes and first aid.
He started knocking at my front door erratically, only halting when I opened it swiftly.
"Coffee!" He said loudly, grabbing my shoulders.
I laughed, pointing inside the house.
"Kitchen!" I yelled back, stepping out of his way.
He quickly darted into the house, over to the coffee pot where a freshly brewed cup sat waiting. I figured he would want that, since he's a pretty avid coffee drinker.
He quickly saw the steaming cup, almost melting in his shoes when he did.
"Oh, my lord and savior, Six." He said, bringing it to his lips, taking a loud sip.
I smiled, leaning against the door frame.
"Waitin' on you slowpoke!" Humphrey said, carefully running past me out of the house with the coffee.
I chuckled, grabbing a black beanie on my way out the door.
I unlocked my car, seeing Humphrey's car in the driveway next to mine.
"Good morning to you too, bud." I joked, looking at him over the car. He stuck his tongue out at me as we got in my vehicle. I started it up, throwing the duffle bag I had in the back seat carelessly.
I looked over at Humphrey as he practically cradled that cup of coffee. I laughed at the image.
"Maybe I should have given you a sippy cup for the road." I joked.
He gave me a dull look.
"Oh ha-ha." He said, bringing the rim to his lips. "Jackass." He said muffled, as he drank the essence.
"Been a while since we've gone running this early." I said, reversing out of the driveway.
"Mm, yeah." Humphrey started, placing the half-full cup in a cup holder. "Which trail did you have in mind? I remember the one we did last week; same one?" He asked, precariously.
"Nah, this is a far less popular trail. Not a lot of people know about it unless they do some digging on Google maps." I replied. "It runs alongside a river for most of it." I added. "Did you eat this morning?" I asked, looking at him for a brief moment.
"Yeah, fruit and cereal." He said, looking at me smiling as he reached for the aux cord.
I had a gross facial expression after he said that.
"What a mix, man- ew." I said, chuckling. "Actually, it depends on the cereal." I added.
"Fruit Loops." He said. I was disgusted.
"Oh, you're nasty nasty, huh?" I said chuckling, as he laughed, picking a playlist he had on his phone to listen to. He decided on the 'Into the Spider-Verse" Soundtrack, which I'll admit I quite enjoyed.
The trail was partially secluded; as-in you had to drive to a spot you wouldn't consider a road, and push through a treeline to get to the river.
We arrived at the base of the forest, stopping the car and preparing ourselves as the sun's waves barely crept over the horizon, illuminating the dense fog.
"Not gonna lie, doesn't look like much." Humphrey commented as he put on his small running pack.
I nodded before replying.
"I know, once we push past the trees here, there's a trail that leads further up the mountain." I said, pointing in the general direction we should go.
"We get lost, I blame you!" Humphrey joked, ready to go.
I locked the car, double checking Google maps that we were in the right spot.
"As always." I commented smiling, shooting him a glance.
Humphrey and I pushed through the treeline, getting smacked in the face with branches and swatting at spider webs. Eventually though, we got through it and were greeted by a rapidly flowing river, alongside a rather skinny trail; clearly abandoned and not maintained.
Humphrey and I made sure we stretched properly before beginning our adventure.
"Shit!" Humphrey exclaimed, falling over doing a stretch pose. I chuckled helping him back up.
We began with a fast jog, being sure to maintain our footing as we clashed along the path.
Humphrey and I competed back and forth as to who kept lead. It was surely entertaining; laughs heard throughout the immediate foliage. I was having fun, something I don't say very often anymore.
As the elevation increased, our exhaustion grew, as did our competitive nature. We were both taking shortcuts; sometimes finding that they weren't shortcuts at all. I'm glad I asked Humphrey to come along with me.
The crashing of the rapids was heard over our breath, and over our steps. I looked to my left to see Humphrey running alongside me, though his grin of enjoyment suddenly turned to an expression of shock, as he suddenly halted in his tracks.
"Six!" He screamed out, but it was too late.
I looked to my right as fast as I could, only to be pummeled by a wall of fur. I heard the beginning of a bear's roar as my concussed body limply flew through the air, directly into the murky rapids. The cold shock didn't last long before I realized what the hell had just happened.
I desperately tried to rise to the surface as my helpless body was twisted and turned through the water. My orientation was stripped from my senses as I tried to make sense of what was going on. I couldn't see, and I kept scraping along rocks and tree trunks in the water.
I began to panic as I was running out of oxygen. I finally managed to surface, trying to understand my position. A very large black bear clawed at the water in attempt to swim, swiping me in the process. It's massive paws dragged along my chest, leaving several deep gashes. I tried as hard as I could to swim with the current in attempt to put some distance between the bear and I, but the erratic water behavior is making it hard to do anything, even stay above the water.
My breathing has become extremely labored, partly due to the gashes on my chest, but mostly because of the water in my lungs. God, I hope the bear didn't take Humphrey down with it as well.
The river currents dragged me around like a ragdoll, when I suddenly hit my head on something really hard; losing consciousness.
Humphrey's Perspective.
I raced along the river with Six, watching him tentatively. The rapids showed no mercy; dragging him and throwing him around seemingly for sport.
The bear was hot on his tail, unintentionally. The river simply pushed them collectively. The mass of wet fur clawed at the water in a 'doggy-paddle' motion, in attempt to keep itself above water, swiping Six in the process. He fell under the water quickly, but I never saw him resurface.
"Six!" I yelled as I removed my shirt, about to make a realy stupid decision.
I dove into the rapids in the last place I saw him. For all I knew, he could be trapped; drowning.
I held my breath as I traced along the rocky riverbed, barely keeping my movements under control. I couldn't see a damn thing, the visibility was literally zero. My hands scraped along rocks and sticks, while I braced my legs for possible large stones I may run into.
Suddenly, I limply ran into an object flowing with the river. I quickly grabbed it, hoping it was what I needed it to be; Six.
As the river guided me through it's flowing lockets, I realized that I was in fact holding Six. He seemed unconscious. Either from the bear, or drowning. God, I'm hoping it's the former.
I rushed to the surface, amazingly still holding my breath. I made sure Six was above the water, as I struggled to swim parallel to the current to get to shore. The current made it very difficult to stay above the water.
Eventually though, I was able to get him onto land; however not without difficulty. I flopped him onto the ground face up as I crawled up next to him, gasping for breath.
The river pushed us back fairly close to the car. I was about to administer CPR on Six, but he suddenly started coughing violently. He rolled over onto his stomach as the water rushed out of his lungs, stinging him as it escaped.
"Jesus, kid." I said leaning on my knees, still catching my breath.
"What the fuck!" Six exclaimed while still coughing, though not as harshly. He started to get up, facing me as he did so. He stared down at his chest; ripped shirt. He put his hand to his slashed chest and grimaced.
I took a moment to realize the sight I saw.
"Six, you're losing a lot of blood." I said, watching it drip down him, falling to the ground.
"We need to go, right… now.." Six said, beginning to take a few steps in the direction of the car before falling to his knees.
"Six!" I said, rushing to his side. He raised his hand to me.
"I'm fine, I'm.. don't.." He tried to get out before losing consciousness again.
"Fuck!" I exclaimed, holding him so he didn't hit the ground. I instinctually picked him up firefighter style, double-timing it to the car. My exhaustion meant nothing at this moment. My actions now determine whether he lives or dies.
As Six's blood started seeping down my body, I neared the vehicle. My shoes squished with water in each step. I shifted Six's weight so I could reach the driver door. Locked.
"Shit!" I exclaimed. Six's car has the exterior buttons for coded entry. I don't know the code, though I see the keys sitting in the center console.
"Sorry buddy." I said, before punching through the driver side glass. The alarm began to howl as I reached into the door with my severely bleeding hand to unlock the rest of the car. I carried Six to the passenger side, sitting him down, grabbing a towel from the back to wrap around his chest. I placed the seatbelt around him, locking it against the towel.
I quickly closed the door and rushed to the driver's side. I opened the door and brushed most of the glass off of the seat before quickly getting in and grabbing the keys. I pressed a few buttons on the fob to deactivate the alarm. I started the car and quickly returned to main roadways. I reached into the glove compartment to get my phone.
"Hey Siri, directions to a nearby hospital." I said aloud.
"One option is BayCare Urgent Care on Davidson's Drive. Getting directions." Siri responded.
"Fuck it, that'll work." I said, reading the directions briefly. I quickly memorized the street names and places I need to turn before tossing my phone into the center console. Thankfully there were damn-near no other cars on the road.
I was definitely speeding as I carefully blew through vacant stop signs and street lights. I saw the brightly illuminated 'BAYCARE' sign ahead.
I quickly approached the building, driving to the 'EMERGENCY' entrance. I came to a quick stop, making Six's head fall forward. I pushed his head back, noticing his pale skin.
"Hang in there, buddy." I said getting out of the car. I guess the nurses inside noticed my 'urgent' appearance and three of them quickly came through the sliding door with a gurney.
I opened the passenger door and removed the seatbelt revealing a deeply red-stained towel. I picked him up carefully, as the three nurses were ready to take him inside. I followed their instruction and placed him on the gurney. Two of the nurses wheeled him inside, while one of them stayed behind with a pad and paper.
"What happened?" She asked.
"Ran into a bear, bear slashed his chest and pushed him into a river. Lost consciousness underwater, regained it to expel water from his lungs when I pulled him out only to lose consciousness again immediately after." I said, summarizing the event. The woman took a moment to write down a few things.
"What's his name, age?" She asked.
I hesitated for a moment, realizing that I couldn't say 'Six', since that's not his real name.
"His name is Cameron Ashwood. He's 19." I said almost reluctantly. He made me promise never, ever to say his real name. Only under dire circumstances. I feel this qualifies.
"-And what happened to you?" She asked, pointing her pen to my right hand.
I took notice of my hand, noticing that I was actually bleeding really badly. The glass from the window seemingly sliced it up pretty good.
"Breaking into the car- It's his, but the keys were locked inside." I reassured, realizing what I had said.
"Alright let's fix you up." She said, ushering me inside the building. "What's your name?" She added.
"Humphrey Westbrook."
"Alright Humphrey, I'm gonna have you come right back here-" She started, leading me into a hallway with vacant rooms on either side. "Go right on in, Dr. Williamson is ready for you."
"Thank you, ma'am." I said, giving her a slight smile.
"You're welcome." She said, smiling back before she walked away to do other doctor things.
I walked into the room to see two individuals. One of them is clearly older, reading a file. He turned around to see me. He took his glasses off.
"Hi there, you must be Humphrey. Heard you in the hallway." He said smiling. "Let's fix you up. Go ahead and take a seat right up there." He said, pointing to the raised, padded bed. He ripped open a bag, revealing a sanitized cloth inside, which he handed to me.
I used it to stop my hand from dripping blood everywhere. Dr. Williamson turned to face a table cart with syringes, clothes, tapes, and strings and such. He reached into the bottom to get what seemed to be rubbing alcohol. He also grabbed something else that honestly looked like a huge diaper.
He set the 'diaper' in my lap.
"Go ahead and hold your arm over this, it's to soak up the alcohol." He said, as I obliged. "This'll sting quite a bit but it's necessary." He added. I simply nodded. I've been through this a few times, I know what to expect.
He began lightly pouring the alcohol over my hand to reveal any possible glass still lodged in my skin. My cuts were quite deep, and holy hell did this hurt. I seethed in pain, managing it as best as I could.
"Sorry." the doctor said.
"No worries, it's a good pain." I commented briefly.
"Hah!" The doctor exclaimed, picking up my sarcasm. I looked over at the other doctor, noticing that he's been watching, seemingly taking notes. Young fella.
"This your apprentice?" I asked, indicating toward the note-taker. Dr. Williamson gave him a glance.
"So to speak." He started. "He's my assistant at the moment." He added, delicately wiping my wounds with a cloth doused with alcohol. It hurt, but not as badly as you'd think.
The rest of the visit was pretty painless and easy going. Dr. Williamson stitched up the cuts and used some kind of ointment to apply to them before he wrapped from my palm to my lower forearm.
He gave me extra wrap and ointment for my future use to replace what he put on himself.
With that, I filled out some paperwork before going back out to the waiting room, giving the papers to the young receptionist.
"Hey, would you happen to have any information on my friend that I brought in? Cameron Ashwood." I asked doubtful.
"One moment, sweetheart." She said, before clicking and typing at her computer for a moment.
She picked up her phone and dialed a few numbers before sitting there silently for a second.
"Hey this is Tina, I've got-" she started, placing the phone to her shoulder. "What's your name, sir?" She asked.
"Humphrey Westbrook." I said. She brought the phone back to her ear.
"Humphrey Westbrook here, he brought Cameron Ashwood in." She said before pausing for a moment. "Alright, thanks. Bye bye." She said putting the phone down. "Cameron's lost a lot of blood and will be admitted tonight. His flesh wounds will heal just fine, and he seemed to break a few ribs as well. Thankfully nothing was punctured, so he'll recover alright. Due to the loss of blood he's on a few drippers, and has slipped into a minor coma." She said.
I sighed heavily. Mostly from relief, but also from dismay. If he's in a coma, who knows how long he'll be out.
"Alright, thank you. I appreciate it." I said, placing my hand on the lip of the desk for a moment. Before I could walk away she continued.
"If you'd like to leave your phone number, we can call you when he's ready to accept visitation." She said.
"Oh, that'd be great." I said, patting my pockets for my phone before realizing I left it in the car.
She grabbed a pen and paper.
"Whenever you're ready." She said.
I gave her my phone number, as she took a moment to finish writing it down.
"Alright, like I said whenever he's clear for visitation you'll get a call." She said, flashing me a smile.
"Thanks, Tina." I said, returning the smile.
"You're welcome, Humphrey." She said, returning to typing on her keyboard. I walked out of the building to the car, which seemingly was moved, but maybe that's just my mind playing tricks on me. I took the keys out of my damp pocket and opened the driver side door.
I swiped away the remaining glass from the seat with my wrapped hand so I didn't cut myself, and got in.
I sat back into the seat, let out a heavy sigh as I looked at the time displayed on the dashboard.
'11:32am'
That meant that classes have started already. I have a few classes with Kate, I'm sure she's a little worried to not see either of us there. I closed my eyes, really beginning to feel the exhaustion. I gripped the steering wheel and began to drive away from the facility.