"I listened to the words he'd say
But in his voice I heard decay...
...The sweetest price he'll have to pay
The day the whole world went away."
-Nine Inch nails, "The Day the World Went Away".
"Is she okay?"
"I don't know, we won't know 'till the doctor arrives."
"Where is an ambulance when you need one?"
"Where they always are."
"Yeah, not here."
Kyleen's eyes fluttered open at the sounds of the voices.
People were there, they were there and they could help.
"Hey, hey! Charles! She's waking up!"
"Wait...don't move her!"
She rolled her head a little, her body soon following until she was lying on her back.
"Ack..." She muttered. Her neck was stiff, and her ribs felt so tight around her lungs. It still hurt so much to breathe.
"I told you not to move her, David!" Rapid footsteps followed that statement, and Kyleen turned her head in the direction they were coming from.
"I didn't move her," Came the nearest voice. It was slightly rough and with a nasal tone. "She's rolling around on her own."
"G...Geoff..." She whispered while her eyes tried to focus on whomever was next to her.
A round face with a round nose came into view. Dark blue eyes with a look of concern were blinking rather rapidly as if unaware. Red-gold hair stood in front of those eyes in a straight fashion and freckles outlined his face and cheeks rather handsomely.
"What?" He said, reaching a hand down and placing it on her shoulder. "Who?"
"Geoff..." She mumbled again, still trying to inhale fully. "Where is he?"
That was when Charles came into view.
This fellow had sharp features and was very thin. He too had blue eyes, but with dark blonde hair, and his nose pointed slightly upward. He had no freckles, but did have a small resemblance to David.
"Hey, kid," Charles said. "Don't move, we're waiting for the doctor, he'll take care of you."
"I don't care about me," She said harshly, trying to sit up despite Charles' warning. "I want to know if Geoff is okay."
"She must mean...at the side of the road..." David began, his voice sounding deep in thought.
"Shut up!" Charles gave a very hard smack upside David's head.
"What...?" Kyleen asked, a look of bewilderment on her face. "Side of the road?"
"Nothin', kid," Charles said calmly. "He meant nothing."
"Don't you give me that," Kyleen's voice was dark and very livid at this point. "Where is my brother? Who are you talking about?"
"Ah, so he's your brother," David had a smile across his face as if he had figured out the world's hardest quiz. "Was wondering how the stiff knew ya."
Charles at this point almost viciously attacked David, raising both arms and rapidly bringing them down.
Kyleen's world was now dropped out of view, the floor beneath her was gone and she was falling fast. Her heart was not able to catch up to the sensation of vertigo, and she passed out again, hitting the floor harshly.
David and Charles both panicked, but luckily the sirens arrived, and the ambulance pulled over.
Three men hurriedly jumped out of the vehicle, landing on the pavement near Geoff. One of them attended to the body, as the other two ran toward Kyleen.
The fatter one of the two knelt down and reached for Kyleen's arm.
"Um," David said, still in a slight flinch from the previous episode. "She is alive."
"He knows that," Charles said. "He just wants to make sure her heart is beating alright."
"It's faint," Said the paramedic. "But she'll be alright."
The thinner one nodded his head and sighed, lifting a watch out of his front pocket.
"I wish I could say the same about the young man," He turned his head around to the shortest member of the team who accompanied Geoff. "T.O.D.?"
"That's for the Coroner to decide, Bob," He replied, standing up and taking off his gloves. "We have to attend to the living while we can, and let them handle the corpse."
David and Charles watched as the short member made his way to Kyleen.
David leaned to the side and whispered. "Do you think we should tell Jonah? I mean...this is deep."
"I think we should," Charles nodded. "I know that Geoff would want her to be in good hands, and Jonah is the best person I can think of."
"I knew that he had a sister, but I didn't think she was like that," David muttered. "She's stubborn."
"Well, now we know where she got it from," They both chuckled dryly.
Charles then walked to the shorter of the three.
"Is it okay if we take her after she gets better? We know her brother..."
He pointed to Geoff's body.
"...and we know where she can stay. You see, Geoff was her only refuge, and she won't have anywhere else to go."
"Does she have any next of kin?" The paramedic asked.
"If you mean by blood, no," Charles raised an eyebrow, really hoping that was the right answer.
"Well, I don't mean by blood exactly. But she is an adult, and she can go where she wants. Wait till she wakes up and we'll see what her requests are."
Charles and David nodded solemnly and turned around to make their way to their modes of transportation.
"I'll get Jonah and meet you at the Hospital," David said, opening the door to his black truck. "Keep her company for us will ya?"
"Of course," Charles said, hopping onto his Harley. "I'll see you there."
They parted their ways just as the giant S.U.V.'s began arriving, bringing along within them the very teams that would determine what exactly had happened to Geoff.
The ambulance left as well while Charles followed on his bike.
David made the fifteen minute trip to Jonah's Duplex, during which he took out his small metallic blue cell phone. First he sent a rather long text message explaining what he had found, but within ten minutes of the trip he had not gotten a reply. So he proceeded to call Jonah's cell.
There was no answer.
But right when he pulled into the dirt driveway of the complex, a tall figure quickly opened the duplex door and made it's way to the truck.
The truck door opened violently and in came Jonah, scrambling into the seat.
"What happened?" Jonah asked frantically, his black eyes open wide and unblinking. "David, what happened?"
"I don't know everything yet, man," David said, revving up the engine and speeding off. "All I know is that Geoff's sister is going to the hospital, and the Coroner dudes are handling his body."
Jonah placed a hand on his forehead and ran it back through his cheekbone length, purple and blue-streaked hair. His copper skin was soaked with cold sweat, and it started to absorb into his black tee-shirt.
"So he really is dead," He huffed, blinking for the first time since he got into the truck.
"Well, yeah Jonah," David give a very rhetorical look as he sped to the hospital. "I didn't spend five minutes pounding on a little phone to tell you that he was dead for my health."
Jonah's head turned slowly to David, his brows furrowing into a slight scowl.
David didn't even have to look at him to realize that he said yet another stupid thing.
"Sorry, man," He said hurriedly, turning a corner and stopping harshly in a parking spot near the rear of the lot. "I really am sorry. I'm wired up just like you."
"Let's just go," Jonah said, opening the door and hopping out.
The inner corridors of the hospital were unusually quiet for this time of the morning. It was 6:30am, and normally the halls would be buzzing with doctors, an occasional gurney or two, nurses and quite possibly police. The only thing they did see was a receptionist desk, and a woman behind the counter eating a bowl of cheerios.
"Excuse me," Jonah inquired, placing his arms on the counter.
The woman quickly straightened up and put her bowl to the side.
"Sorry about that," She said in a southern drawl. "What can I help you with?"
"I'd like to know the room number of Kyleen Freenome," He raised his hand and once again ran his fingers through his multicolored hair. "I'm a very close friend of her brothers."
"Oh," She tilted her head a little. "Yes she came in about a half hour ago. Let me find her number."
David stood a few feet from the counter itself and placed his hands in the pockets of his jersey pants.
Jonah on the other hand was continuously running his hand through his hair as the receptionist fiddled with the computer and a piece of paper.
"Ah okay, here she is," She placed her finger on the screen. "Room 54-A, Bed 1. They are allowing visitors, and she is awake. So, if you wish to see her just go on up to the fifth floor."
That is exactly where they headed, both of them dashed to the nearest elevator and ascended to the fifth floor.
"Fifty four...fifty four..." Jonah muttered as he eyed all the doors through the long corridor.
"Over here!" David called, pointing to 54-A. "She's in here!"
"Hey!" Charles called from within. "Yeah, she's awake."
Jonah came in first, and he almost felt sick to his stomach.
Kyleen's face was gaunt, so blank and void. Her eyes were halfway closed and her hands were placed at her sides. She was sitting up, but she didn't look as if she could do much else.
She did turn her head though, and the corners of her lips couldn't decide if they wanted to turn upward, or dive downward.
"J..Jonah..." She whimpered as a tear slid down her face. "Jonah...J-Jonah..."
Jonah pulled up a chair and sat down, immediately leaning forward to wrap his long arms around Kyleen.
They both cried into each other's shoulder, they both clung to each other for dear life and with each breath came out little bits and pieces of relief that they were able to see each other.
"I'm so glad you're alive, Kyle," Jonah said, pulling back to get a look at her. "Gods."
"Oh yeah?" Kyleen raised a brow. "Well personally, I'm not. I shouldn't be here."
"Don't say that," Jonah placed a hand on the side of her face.
"I'm so sick, Jonah," The sobbing started to get uncontrollable as her heart continued to make its way up her throat, preventing her from speaking in a straight tone. Her voice progressively getting louder and louder with each statement. "Jonah, I don't feel well...Jonah get me out of here...let me rest...don't leave me...I want to lay down...I don't feel good at all Jonah...Jonah?"
Jonah reached forward and held her once again, her head resting on his chest and one of her hands gripping onto his shirt.
She cried into the fabric, secretly hoping that it would absorb not only her tears, but her actual hurt as well.
Perhaps if she had looked up from the darkness, this would all have been a dream...and Geoff wouldn't be dead, and she'd be home in his apartment.
"It's okay, Kyle," Jonah ran his fingers through her hair this time, being so careful not to clench her too tightly to himself. She needed all the room in the world to breathe. "It's okay...it'll all be alright. Just...just keep crying."
David and Charles both took this as a cue to leave, and they did. Walking out the double doors and into the dim sunshine to head home.
Clouds started to form up above.
Very good chance of rain.