Chapter 5

Sarah sat in the back of a police car as an officer wrapped her in a blanket. Nothing was clear anymore. She felt as though she had lost all her senses. She was numb with shock and fear for Kelly. She managed to lift her head and slowly look around at the Street which was now a crime scene.

She saw two more police cars which to her were just blurs of blue and red light. The flashes lit up the rest of the road which was shining with the rain that had fallen earlier. If she had not been in the state she was in, she would have thought it beautiful. She turned her neck to see the Driver of the car being yanked out of the seat by two more officers and pressed against the roof of the car to be handcuffed. She then saw him being dragged across the road and shoved roughly in to the back of one of the other cars. She could not hear anything but could just about see the drivers' protests and weak struggling against the hold of the policeman. But it was useless for him. He was so drunk he needed the officers to hold him up and stop him from falling on his face. He was stained with blood and she could see small pieces of glass settled on his sweat soaked skin and his torn clothes. She glanced at the car and saw that there was nothing left of the windscreen. The bonnet had been crushed against the mailbox that had been flung a few more feet by the force of the car.

Sarah felt her head get heavy and quickly rested it in her hands. She wanted to remain this way forever but she wanted to see the rest of the accident. She slowly lifted her head up afraid it would give again but the first thing she saw this time was Kelly. She was being carefully manoeuvred on to a stretcher and picked up slowly. She was wheeled smoothly to the ambulance that arrived within seconds of the police cars and she was hoisted in to the back. The doors slammed shut and the bid neon van sped away. Sarah felt sick. She never saw Kelly move. She wasn't even sure if she could see her breathing.

"Was she dead?"

"Was she dying?"

"Is she in pain?"

These questions swam through her head and they made her brain hurt. Her head felt heavy so she rested it in her hands. This would also help her cradle her crying. She started to whimper as she slowly got her senses back but this was interrupted by a policeman tapping on the car window. Sarah jumped in shock but opened the door.

"Miss Sarah Williams?" he enquired.

Sarah still had not found her voice so all she could do was nod in his direction.

"We can see you are not ready to be questioned yet so I will drive you to the hospital to see your friend if you want"

Sarah opened her mouth and tested for sound but there was still nothing. So she nodded weakly again. The officer nodded back and shut the door. He got in and started the engine.

They arrived at the hospital in a matter of minutes but to Sarah, it felt like it took days. The officer stepped out of the car and opened Sarah's door for her to get out. He held out his hand and she took it. She was grateful for this as she was not sure if she could stand, let alone walk.

It seemed she was right. She managed to take a few steps before her ankle gave way and tripped. Luckily the officer grasped her waist and took most of her weight. This made it much easier for Sarah to walk up the steps into the hospital and into the lift. They reached the floor where Kelly was and they reached the ward to find a tall woman all in blue staring at Kelly's test results. Sarah knew this woman was a surgeon which led her instantly to the thought that this was fatal. Her stomach began to itch and in less than a second, she lunged for the small sink at the side of the bed and relieved herself of the meal she had had with Kelly only an hour earlier. This came as a small relieve to Sarah as the weight that had been sitting in her stomach was now gone. She grabbed a handful of tissues and ran the cold water over them. She wiped over her mouth until she was as respectful looking as she could manage. She braced herself on the sides of the sink and held her head over it just in case. But she felt she was safe after a few seconds. She turned round to see the surgeon and the officer staring with caution.

"Feeling better?" the surgeon said with a sense of calmness. She knew very well what brought on the sickness and was not worried about it.

Sarah let out a croaky "yes thank you" and stepped towards Kelly's bed. What she saw would scar her for life. The girl that she had known for years and that had always been the life and sole of the party was now lay quiet and still on a hospital bed. Her face was white but still stained with a little blood in her hair. She was connected to many different tunes in her mouth and arms. The room was silent apart from the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

The surgeon was the first to speak and broke the silence.

"There's been some internal bleeding, miss Williams. We will need to operate within the hour"

The sound of these words in Sarah's ears made her stomach lurch again but she resisted the urge to dart for the sink again.

"Will she be okay" Sarah asked with no emotion in her voice due to the fact that she was still in shock and she half expected the answer. The surgeon took in a deep breath and spoke again

"We will do everything we can" and with that answer, the surgeon scurried out of the door. The officer stayed with Sarah for about 10 minutes but this companionship was short lived as he was soon called back to the crime scene. He said to Sarah that she would not be alone for too long and that he would send another officer to keep an eye on her but Sarah wanted to be alone with Kelly. Sarah then spent the next 30 minutes wandering from the bedside to the sink to the window and back again. She could not keep still. Her head swam in the hazer that was beginning to cloud her vision again. She decided she had done enough wandering and found a chair from the corridor. She placed it next to the bed and sat down. She gently grasped Kellies hand in her own and stared at her. She listened for any sound around her but could only hear her own breathing and the sound of the heart monitor beeping at a pace that was much slower than a healthy heart. Her eyes filled with tears and her head grew heavy and fell on to the bed. She broke into tears and sobbed into the bed clothes until her head jerked up. Her eyes widened in shock as the lightening of the storm began to flash. Her mind cast back to 13 years ago and the realisation slapped her in the face.

"That doesn't mean I won't in the future"

"Something may happen one day"

"Something bad"