Thanks for all your reviews! By the way I haven't got a clue how long this fanfic is going to last. I've got an idea in my head of what's going to happen, but the truth of how many chapters it will take up remains unknown...
"What time is it?" asked Amber for the fourth time in the last half an hour, pacing the floor of Alex's room impatiently. They had retreated here to get some privacy and be able to talk openly without worrying about who would here. Alex was lounging on the bed and Hex was sitting curled up in the armchair by the wardrobe. Hex sighed and looked at his watch.
"Nine o'clock. Just like when you asked ten minutes ago it was ten to nine." Amber ignored the comment.
"Shouldn't Paulo and Li be back by now? Can I call them?"
"Do you think we should?" Alex wondered, leaning forwards on his elbows, "They left about two hours ago." Amber nodded and dialled Paulo's number. It rang for a minute but no one answered. She sighed loudly and tried again, to the same effect. "Try Li's number." Alex suggested.
"Nope. She's not answering either. Should we go look for them if they're not back by half nine? Something must have happened in two hours. They can't still be on the chase now, can they?"
"OK, leave it half an hour, but keep calling them." Alex replied, and shut his eyes tight, resting his head in his arms. Hopefully Li and Paulo were all right - otherwise it would be down to just the three of them to rescue four. He couldn't think why Li or Paulo weren't answering. If they didn't want any calls, they would have switched their phones off. And even if Paulo was driving, surely Li could answer? He just hoped that half an hour wouldn't make any difference.
Li could hear something. It was an irritating sound that only seemed to be making her headache worse. What was it? Why was it there? And why did she have a headache anyway? She swatted her arm above her head, wondering if it was just a fly. The noise continued for a few more seconds, then stopped. She opened her eyes to make sure it was gone, but it was dark. Too dark. Where was she? It felt like she was on a tilt. Feeling around, she could make out the interior features of some sort of car. Then she saw the windscreen. It was smashed. She turned her head to the left and saw a dark landscape outside the window, then looked to the right and saw -
"Paulo?" She asked. It took a couple tries to get her voice to work. Paulo was slumped against the steering wheel, blood seeping down the back of his neck and a large purple bruise emerging on his cheekbone. "Paulo, are you OK?" Li's voice was high with panic. She tried to lift her right arm to feel his pulse, but cried out as a sharp pain stabbed in her shoulder. She was working on autopilot, not really knowing what she was doing or why.
Turning awkwardly, she raised her left arm instead, but was interrupted by a scream coming from outside. She turned quickly and saw a woman rushing towards the car, frantically talking to someone on the phone. She didn't understand what was happening. The woman swung Li's door wide open and stared at Li in shock.
"Oh my gosh, are you OK? Hold on, I'm calling an ambulance. Are you hurt?" Li hardly took in anything of what the woman said, but it didn't matter because she didn't wait for an answer. She started talking on the phone again, and a young man approached the car.
"Can you get out?" He said, offering Li his hand. Li didn't know - she just wanted to know if Paulo was OK.
"Paulo - " she whispered, but the man cut her off.
"We'll see to your friend later. You - "
"But - "
"No buts. We've got to make sure you're safe as well." While the man began helping Li out of the car, he continued talking. "You guys were really lucky you know. Those hedges at the top broke your fall, and you hit a tree halfway down the slope so you only fell about ten metres. That's why you're on a tilt."
"Mm." murmurmed Li, staring at the people stood in anxious huddles around the car. Faces of sympathy and pity. Why were they pitying her? Was she really - or was it Paulo? Was Paulo dead?"
"Paulo!" she suddenly cried out.
"He's OK, he's alive," someone called out from the Land Rover. Without Li realising, the man had gone back to the car and checked on Paulo. Thank God, she thought. She didn't even know what happened. All she could remember was two backlights suddenly appearing out of nowhere, and she'd been terrified. After that, her memory was blank. She turned to the woman who had called an ambulance.
"What happened?" she said, trying to stay calm. The woman smiled and laid an arm on Li's injured arm. Li cried out and the woman retreated hastily, apologising.
"I'm sorry. Is it OK? I'm not totally sure. You just veered off the motorway and down the bank. You were very lucky, really..." The woman just repeated what the man had already told her. Li's autopilot took over again, and she started checking herself over for injuries. Just an injured arm - possibly broken - an immense headache and a few cuts and bruises. She couldn't believe she was alive. It was like she was dreaming and any moment she'd wake up in the after life.
At least she was OK - but she wasn't so sure about Paulo.
"It's half nine." Hex muttered to Alex half an hour later. Amber had gone back to her own room for a bit, leaving the other two to ponder on their own for a while. Alex stretched and stood up.
"Amber might have got through. I'll go see." A couple minutes later Alex returned, looking grim. Amber was behind him, and they entered and shut the door. Hex didn't need them to tell him; he could guess by the looks on their faces.
"So what do you suggest we do?" He asked.
"How about we hire a car and track them?" suggested Amber, helplessly, shrugging her shoulders.
"Track them with what? A metal detector?" Hex grimaced sarcastically. Amber sat down and stared at her hands. Her nails were chipped and short; she'd been biting them a ot recently.
"I don't know. I really don't. I could keep calling them, but I don't think any of them will be answering soon/
"We could check into a few local hospitals, but that would be a bit time consuming." Amber suggested, but Hex shook his head.
"I could do that from here," Hex tapped his palmtop, "in a few minutes." While Hex got to work, Alex turned to Amber.
"Call them again. Either one." Amber nodded silently and dialled Paulo's number. It rang for a few seconds again, and Amber shook her head sadly. Then suddenly the ringing stopped, and a shrill voice was suddenly talking through the earpiece, so high with panic but flooded with relief. Amber grinned.
"It's Li," she said.
Li heard the ringing just as she was about to climb into the ambulance. She recognised it as the same annoying sound which had woken her up to start with - of course it was Paulo's cell phone!
"Wait!" she cried, and pulled herself out of the nurse's grip. Ignoring the pain in her arm, she ran down the slope back to the other ambulance and jumped in, where Paulo was being lifted onto the bed. She grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and saw it was Amber calling. Excited, she pressed 'answer' and began talking immediately.
"Amber, thank God! I'm OK, and Paulo should be - we were so lucky! There was this tree - "
"Li - Li, stop, calm down. Where are you?" Amber's voice cut through, clear and calm.
"I don't know. We're just getting in the ambulance - "
"Which hospital is it?"
"I don't know. Paulo should be OK, they said, but he's in a worse state than me. They said - " Suddenly the nurse appeared again, and began guiding Li back towards the ambulance.
"Hey, Amber, can you meet us at the hospital? I've got to go." Amber was about to protest when Li hung up. Thankfully, Li stepped inside the ambulance, grateful that she was going somewhere safe. She still wasn't completely in her right mind, but that was OK. She'd be fine soon enough.
"She hung up."
"What? Why?" Alex frowned. Amber related the conversation to the two boys. When she'd finished, Hex said:
"I know which hospital they're at. And I know where it is." He looked up and grinned at the other two. "Shall we grab a cab?"
"Great! How did you find out?"
"Got onto this website that said - anyway, let's go."
The three of them called a taxi and waited outside for it to turn up. Amber didn't want to think about what had happened to Li and Paulo - they didn't even know if they were OK! Obviously something had happened - Li sounded very vague and unsure of herself, as if she was in shock from something. And as for Paulo, Amber didn't want to think about the worst. But Li had said he'd be OK... but in what way? What had happened in the first place?
The taxi came about ten minutes later. It was beginning ro rain slightly - typical Spring rain, thought Hex - and puddles from previous rainy days were forming on the road and pavement. As it came by, the taxi ran through a puddle, splashing Amber more than Hex allowed himself. Hex allowed himself a small inwards grin as Amber tutted stared at the taxi in disgust.
"Sorry I couldn't get a private jet," said Hex as Amber climbed into the backseat, "but they were all hired out. And a bit pricey, too." Amber scowled and stared out the window. Alex caught Hex's eye and they both surpressed the laugh at their lips.
Li sat down gratefully to wait for Paulo or the others to turn up. She'd been checked over and treated for a badly bruised shoulder, minor head injuries and a few cuts and bruises, but nothing more. Now the shock from the accident was beginning to wear off, the memory was beginning to come back to her and she could see how lucky they were.
How lucky she was, she corrected herself. She was pretty certain Paulo would be OK, but the nurses hadn't said anything to her since he went in for surgery over two hours ago. But that was a good sign, she told herself, because if it was serious then she would have been told immediately. Wouldn't she?
A door swung open and a nurse came striding towards her. Oh, gosh, thought Li, this is it. Something's happened - something serious. Until she saw the three familiar faces behind her, and she felt a wide grin spreading unintentionally across her face.
"I think these guys wanted to see you," said the nurse in a curt voice, and moved on through the next doors. Li smiled, relieved, at the other three.
"Thank God you're here," she said, "I'm sorry I didn't give you any details. I was kind of in shock." Alex sat down next to Li and Amber found another seat behind Alex.
"That's OK. Are you OK? Where's Paulo?" she asked, looking Li directly in the eye.
"I'm fine. I've already been treated. I'm not so sure about Paulo. They said he'd be OK though. Probably. He's in surgery right now."
"What happened?" Li related the story in her own words, glad to be able to share it with someone else. She was exhausted, and at that moment all she wanted to do was sleep, but she knew she had to let the others know. When she'd finished, they sat in grim silence for a while.
"Er... I'll go get a drink or something." Hex muttered, and wandered off in search of a vending machine.
"So, whoever it was, is obviously serious about this." Amber sighed, "I hope Jack's OK."
"And Ben," Alex reminded her. Amber nodded.
"And Paulo." Li sniffed. Amber smiled comfortingly and put an arm round her shoulder.
"He'll be OK. Are you going to stay here overnight? We can take you home if you like, can't we, Alex?"
"No, no. I'll stay. Paulo might get out and wonder where we all are. Or where he is, even." Li sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve, just as Hex came back with a bottle of coke. He passed it to Li and leaned against the wall.
"So what's happening?" He inquired, looking at Alex. Amber was too busy helping Li.
"We'll go back - you, me and Amber. Li's gonna stay overnight until Paulo wakes up. Then we'll probably get them as soon as Paulo's well enough, or Li." Hex nodded.
"I guess we'll be off then, so we can all get some rest. Are you gonna be allright, Li?" Amber stood up and stretched. Li smiled and nodded. After saying goodbye, she headed off to find a doctor or a nurse, while Alex, Amber and Hex went back to call another taxi home.
Amber hummed softly to herself as she made her way down the corridor to Hex's room. It was just gone midnight, and they'd returned back to the hotel fifteen minutes earlier. Alex was having a shower, and she made up her mind to go and talk to Hex. She opened the door cautiously and smiled at Hex when he looked up from his palmtop.
"You OK?" she said, sitting down next to the wardrobe.
"Fine, thanks. You?" Amber studied Hex's face. He was obviously avoiding eye contact.
"I meant, OK with everything that's been going on recently. You've been kinda quiet." Hex gave her a funny look. "Well, quieter than usual." she added. Hex shrugged.
"I'm fine. Really."
"Really?"
"Yup."
"You're mom was a bit stressed. I mean, she looked all flustered and everything when we went to see her. Is she usually like that?"
"No, but that's understandable, isn't it?"
Amber got up and wandered around the room. Hex wasn't in the mood for talking, that much was obvious. Not that he ever was, usually, as he liked to keep himself to himself. But she was worried, all the same. People should talk; that was her theory. She sat down by Hex's pillow and looked out the window.
"Look, Hex, don't get me wrong. I know what it's like to lose a family member. And I know how you feel right now. But it helps so much if you talk."
"What if I don't want to talk about it? Amber, people have different ways of sorting out their own problems. I prefer not to talk about them - is that such a big deal?" Amber bit her lip.
"I just wanted to let you know that if you ever wanted to talk, then I'm here, OK? I know what you're going throught." She said it all in one breath, then waited anxiously for Hex's response. He appeared to be thinking for a moment, but then he looked up and smiled.
"Thanks. Sorry. I just - "
"Nah, it's OK. Understandable. Goodnight." Amber said, relieved. The corner of her mouth twitched. On her way out, she bent down and kissed Hex on the forehead, like she had done when he'd been forced to swim back through the underground tunnels alone all those months ago.
"Night." Hex replied as she shut the door.
The minutes passed by slowly and Li was struggling to sleep. She lay on her side in the hospital bed and watched the second hand as it went round on its endless journey... 1:32, 1:33... she'd been lying awake for over an hour now. There still wasn't any word about Paulo. She sighed and looked around her ward. She was with about seven other people with minor injuries, like broken bones. They were all fast asleep, except for one girl across the ward who kept shouting out. Eventually a nurse had come in and moved her. Now there was silence, and Li didn't like it. It only added to the darkness, and silence in hospitals never meant anything good.
At around 2:00 she finally heard more footsteps. Cautiously they approached her bed, and stopped by the pillow. Li turned her head to see who it was.
"Li? Are you awake?" Said a friendly voice. Li mumbled in reply, but was excited about hearing a nurse's voice. She got out of bed and followed the nurse into the corridor. It was the nice one who'd bandaged Li's arm. She couldn't have been any more than five years older than Li herself.
"Your friend - Paulo - he's absolutely fine. Doctors were worried he'd suffered brain damage, but he was incredibly lucky. He'll be waking up in a few minutes - you can go see him if you like." Her heart pounding, Li made her way to Paulo's room where the light was switched off and she could make out the dark bulk of his bed by the window. Fortunately it was a dimmer switch so she could turn the light on gradually without it hurting her eyes too much.
"Paulo?" She whispered. At first she heard nothing from Paulo's still form. There was a tube attached to his arm and a bandage around his head, but apart from that he looked OK He just looked like he was sleeping. Li smiled and sat down on a chair next to Paulo's head, when she heard Paulo mutter something in reply.
"Li?" He said. Li nearly laughed out loud. She was so relieved that he was OK. She'd been expecting the worst, and she wasn't totally prepared to believe the nurse before she saw Paulo herself.
"Thank God you're OK," she whispered, and squeezed his hand. Paulo squeezed hers back.
"Hex? Are you awake?" Alex whispered from outisde Hex's door. He hadn't been able to sleep since they'd got back, and he thought that if he couldn't sleep then he might as well be doing something else/
"No," Hex called from inside, and Alex came in. Hex was sitting up on his bed, tapping away on his palmtop, "I can't sleep."
"Well, Li just called. Paulo's fine." Alex watched as Hex's shoulders sagged and a look of relief came across his face. He smiled.
Hex wanted to be fully relieved, but it was hard when he still didn't know where Ben was. "Do you think it had anything to do with Jack or Ben?" He said, looking at Alex intently. Alex shrugged.
"I think it probably did. I saw a red hatchback like that one when we were back in Boston. And the backlight was dimmed."
Hex sighed. He didn't want to blame Paulo or anyone for anything - it wasn't Paulo's fault they'd crashed. But if they'd managed to follow the car back to its base, then they would know for sure where one - or maybe both - of them were.
"Well, at least it's a start." Alex said encouragingly. Hex appreciated it.
Has anyone noticed how my chapters get longer and longer by a few words each time? The first one had about 1500 words and now I'm at 3000. Impressive! It's also nearly as long as Elledreamer's fanfic, which in my opinion is quite an achievement for 9 chapters! Please review :D