Chapter 19
John stripped off his shirt and , snaking his fingers under her neck, put it beneath her head before taking the towel the EMT was holding out and pressing it to the gash now barely visible in her hair. Paramedics had finally given up on trying to get him out of the way and had put him to work instead. As soon as Callie felt hands on her, she mustered the last of her strength in what seemed like resistance of the salvation being offered; weakly pushing hands away, head trying to move from beneath her brother's firm grip.
"Dammit," said one medic, looking to the others with him. "If she won't stop she'll make herself worse. She needs to be still. We got sedatives?"
His partner, a heftier man with no hair, spoke up. "No chance. She was obviously under this ring since before the show started. He had to have drugged her to make sure she didn't get out. We might overdose her on top of everything else."
Punk, who'd been only a couple of feet away, understood before everyone else did. "But that means..." he trailed off, not wanting to say it out loud but the medic did it for him.
"That's right. No pain meds either. Not until she gets a tox screen at the hospital. There's no telling what he's pumped into her system."
The thought of the amount of pain Callie must be in churned his stomach and Punk turned to where he'd last seen Wade. Apparently Dave had done quite a number on him because he was still on the ground surrounded by medics of his own.
John leaned down, getting as close to Cal's head as possible without getting in the way, and began talking to her; reassuring her she was no longer in Wade's grasp. Big brother was here for her now and he would ensure Barrett would never lay hands on her again. He wasn't sure if she actually understood any of what he was saying or if she simply recognized the low vibration of his voice. Whichever it was, she settled her rejection of the medics' hands and used the last of her energy to slowly turn her head towards the sound before slipping back into oblivion.
A cheer from the crowd reminded the desperate souls in the cell that this was not a private moment. There were thousands of people around them, each one forever a part of this very personal scene. Looking around, Punk felt a sudden hatred for these fans. However unwittingly, they were encroaching on what he thought of as extremely private territory. Though the feeling was unfounded he couldn't stop himself from wnting to throw a curtain around the entire situation to shield them from unwanted eyes. As he continued his scan of his surroundings he saw why the fans had resumed their cheering. Khali and Show had each taken a side of the hole in the cell wall and widened it enough to allow the stretcher to be passed into the ring. It was a step in the right direction but he dreaded the thought of them taking her away from them all again. What if she didn't make it that far? This could easily be the last time he saw her alive and he couldn't even get close to her. He looked down at her again to see the medics had been busy whilst his attention was elsewhere. Callie donned an oxygen mask connected to a small, portable tank along with several temporary bandages and they were gathering their supplies. Their first objective was to get her out of the ring and away from the cameras. They would do what they had to to try and keep her alive backstage until more ambulances arrived. Both of the ones usually on standby had already been sent off with participants from previous matches. For the first time in his life, the WWE's resident atheist prayed.
...
Time moved in phases for Dave. Later, when he would look back on this incident, it would seem to him as a montage of events with numerous blank spots in between. The very second he registered that an entrance had been made, he'd charged through behind John. Seeing that her brother had her covered, Dave bypassed Callie altogether and lunged directly towards Barrett, oblivious of all else going on around him. He took no notice of his bad shoulder hitting the ground after they cleared the ropes or Wade's attempts at retaliation. The only thing he felt was the sudden release of every emotion that had been surging through him since Callie's disappearance. Finally, he unleashed all of the anger, the violence that had taken control of his senses. Once his hands were on Wade, Dave was like a pitbull tearing into a weaker animal; eyes wild with fire and teeth bared. Every fist hit it's target, inflicting upon the prone man the very same pain he'd caused Callie. When hands began grabbing at him, pulling him away from his victim, Dave wasn't even able to connect names with faces; distinguish friend from foe. He did know that they were keeping him from settling a score with Barrett and he began to fight them too, swinging wildly at anything near him, determined that nothing would stop him from avenging Callie.
But it was Dave's own body that would betray him. Faces blurred together while sounds and voices echoed from far away. Before Dave knew what was happening, everything around him was spinning out of control and he collapsed mere feet from where Wade lay covered in blood.
...
Flashing lights. In the beginning it was all Callie saw. She'd been in the dark for so long that the light was harsh and blinding. It caused her head to pound even harder while colors swirled behind her eyelids. The screaming coming from all around only served to heighten her inner panic. There was searing pain and a crushing weight on top of her. Then came the hands, grabbing at her, moving her. She'd tried her best to push them away but they persisted. All Callie wanted was to be left alone to drown in the pain but a voice came out of the darkness, pulling her back to the surface. A voice that promised safety and warmth. It was deep and melodic, quieting her pitiful objections to the physical contact she now feared. Following the words of comfort as a child does a lullaby, Callie allowed herself to slip into unconsciousness, certain that the soothing voice would lead her away from Wade and to whatever salvation fate had chosen.
...
Every year fans from around the globe flocked to Wrestlemania expecting one of the most memorable events of their lives. None was as memorable as this. Every person in the stands was on their feet but they were no longer cheering or booing their favorite superstars. Now, they stood in quiet reverence of the scene before them. Both Callie and Dave had been loaded onto stretchers and EMTs were working them through the opening in the cell, now widened enough to accommodate them. Blood was still seeping from beneath the bandage on Callie's head, leaving droplets along her path out of the structure. More confusion had erupted at Dave's unexplained collapse and suddenly they had been calling for even more medical help, all while the world looked on. Viewers from around the globe and in person watched in near silence as superstars shed disbelieving tears, as friends were reunited and wrenched apart again...and as the entire WWE roster very publicly showed that John's little sister would forever be a part of their family.
As the medics wheeled her stretcher towards the ramp, the sea of wrestlers that had come to help earlier parted to make way. It was almost a salute to not only Callie but all of those involved in the drama within the cell; the way they protectively lined up along either side of the ramp, heads lowered respectfully. There they waited as, first, Callie was taken past them with John still clinging to her side while Punk followed. Next came Dave flanked my EMTs of his own with Jeff and Randy bringing up the rear. What happened next didn't escape the grasp of even the most simple-minded viewer. In what was not only a show of support for their friends but more a public exile of the one that had betrayed them all, the lines of superstars closed in behind them, joined by both crew and personnel. The mass of bodies kept a distance between Callie and Wade. It was almost an unspoken plan, the way they all moved at once. They weren't for a moment actually trying to keep Wade from getting to the hospital. Death from his injuries would be too easy on him. But he was a traitor and they took care of their own first.
After the last superstar was out of sight and Wade was finally getting his turn through the curtain, the cell began to rise.