Muddy Waters by Eric Chance Stone

Author:Eric Chance Stone [Stone, Eric Chance]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-08-30T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Rick squinted at the dome light above his head. He was moving.

“Where am I?”

A man in a white jumpsuit looked down at Rick.

“He’s conscious. Hurry up,” said the man to someone else.

“Mr. Waters, I’m Bryan. I’m the EMT. You were in a crash. We are headed to Baptist Memorial Hospital. Are you in pain?”

“Where is Jules, my girlfriend?”

“The girl who was with you is in another ambulance ahead of us. We had to stabilize you before we could leave. We brought you back three times.”

Rick was confused and scared and only grasping some of what the EMT was saying.

“Where is Chief?”

“Who’s Chief? There were only two of you at the accident when we arrived. Was there another person?”

“No, Chief is my bird. My cockatoo. Is he okay?”

“We didn’t find any bird, sir.”

A gush of heat rushed into Rick’s face, and everything went black.

He awoke at the hospital. He was still in a daze and unclear about what had happened exactly. It all started to come back to him slowly. He reached for the call button. A nurse came in a few minutes later.

“Mr. Waters, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

“Where is Jules?”

“If you are referring to the woman who was with you in the accident, Miss Juliana Castro is in a room downstairs. You are in the ICU.”

“Is she okay?”

“She’ll be fine. She sustained a concussion and had a few small contusions. We kept her here for a few days. She is scheduled to be released today or tomorrow.”

“A few days? I’ve been here for a few days?”

“Mr. Waters, you are lucky to be alive. You took a massive blow from the explosion of your SUV. We thought we lost you a couple of times. We induced a coma until your brain swelling went down. It came down a lot last night, and we have just been waiting for you to be responsive. That’s a good sign. I’ve already called the doctor.”

“What about Chief?”

“Yes, Mr. Waters, Miss Castro was going on and on about Chief—a parrot, apparently?”

“Yes, he’s my cockatoo.”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to talk to Miss Castro about that. Do I have your permission to give her the code to call your room? She had no ID on her whatsoever.”

“Yes, please. I need to see her.”

Rick finally was conscious enough to feel pain, and the headache he had was worse than any hangover in history. Thirty minutes later, Rick’s phone rang. It was Jules. She was crying.

“Rick, Rick, I thought we lost you. I have to get out of here. I have to see you. They said they won’t let me see you until you are out of the ICU. Rick, they can’t find Chief. I’m sorry. Gary and Possum have been to the crash site three times calling for him. His backpack was busted open and a few feathers were strewn on the grass, but there is no sign of him. I’m so sorry.”

She started crying again, unable to keep it in.

“I’ve spoken to the police and told them everything I could remember,” she continued.

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