Chapter 15 #2
Grumpy woke briefly in the ambulance, which the paramedic said was a good thing. They didn’t ask her relationship to Grumpy or Maddie, though one referred to Maddie as her daughter. Kelly didn’t correct them, not wanting to be denied access to Maddie at the hospital.
Kelly was instructed to sit up front with the driver. She didn’t like it, but she understood they needed space to work. Over the blare of the sirens, the driver filled in Kelly on what he knew about the tornado.
“There was barely any warning, eight minutes or so. Conditions can change that fast around here, but even so this took everyone by surprise. It was an EF3. The location station clocked its top wind speed at a hundred and fifty-two miles per hour. I heard that its width was a half mile, too, though I’m not sure if that’s accurate.
Cleared a ten mile path before it started to turn.
They do that, you know. Just turn on a dime for no apparent reason.
You’re already our third run. This one’s going to be a messy one, I can tell you. ”
He didn’t have to tell her—she’d lived it. But Kelly kept her mouth shut, enjoying the feel of the heater. The driver wouldn’t let her blast it as she’d wanted, something about blood flow and shock. Even so, it felt amazing once she got past the pins and needles stage.
The rest of the ride to the hospital was Kelly explaining over a radio to a doctor the extent of Grumpy’s injuries before he’d used his body as a physical shield to block a tornado.
She’d been so distracted by his current injuries that she’d failed to mention the ones from the explosion until prompted by one of the paramedics in the back.
They wanted to save time by alerting the trauma team prior to their arrival.
Unfortunately, the doctor she spoke with had no news about Maddie.
The hospital was chaos. Nurses and doctors running everywhere, blood streaked across one wall, and people crying at every turn.
Grumpy was rushed away from Kelly before she got the chance to say goodbye to him or remind him how much she loved him.
She heard them talking about significant blood loss, infection risk, and surgical debridement as they carried him away from her.
Kelly wanted to collapse to her knees. Her head started to swim.
The paramedic driver guided her over to an empty bed against the wall.
Kelly had never seen a hospital with beds lining the walls before, but she’d also never been in a tornado either.
A tag was hung around her head with black, red, yellow, and green tags at the bottom.
It listed her name, where she’d been discovered, and her known injuries.
A stern looking doctor barely five feet tall with eagle eyes came over to assess her shortly after.
“Mild hypothermia,” the doctor told the nurse who accompanied her.
“She needs out of these wet clothes. Let’s get her on the schedule for x-ray, too.
I want a better look at that left shoulder.
Get a resident over here to take care of her hand lacerations.
She’ll need a tetanus shot. All in all,” she said to Kelly, speaking to her for the first time. “You’re very lucky.”
Then she moved on to the next patient, a different nurse now accompanying her.
“Sorry about that,” the nurse said, approaching Kelly’s cot.
“That’s Dr. Hardwick. We think she got that name after she became a doctor.
I’m Gen with a G.” In comparison to the doctor, Gen was heavyset and around five-ten.
Kelly wondered if she was part Native American, given her tanned skin and black hair, but still had the mental fortitude not to ask that question out loud.
“Let’s get you out of these wet clothes.
Leave your tag on the bed there so they know it’s claimed.
We’re going to head into the bathroom since there’s no privacy out here. ”
“How do I get word about my family?” Kelly asked as her feet slid to the floor. Her legs barely held her upright, but thankfully Gen came over and took most of her weight.
“Let’s worry about you first,” Gen told her kindly. They made their way slowly to the women’s room down the hall. Others ran past them, sometimes pushing a stretcher or a wheelchair. Kelly had no idea how Tessa did this on a regular basis. “Then I’ll get their names from you and get you an update.”
They were just about to reach the bathroom door when a ringing came from Gen’s phone on her scrubs pocket.
Gen frowned, looking down. “I’m sorry. I must have forgotten to put that on silent.”
They continued forward into the bathroom. Two other ladies were already inside, one washing blood off her hands and arms. Neither of them looked like hospital staff.
“Normally we would just cut these off you,” Gen explained to Kelly. “But since we can’t do that in the hallway, you’ve got the option of me helping you change or me cutting them off.”
Kelly didn’t really care either way. She just wanted to get information on Grumpy and Maddie, and to find Jackson.
Gen’s phone rang again. “Damn it,” she muttered. “I’m so sorry. Let me turn it off.” She pulled it out to toggle into silent mode. “Odd. It is on silent.”
“Um, excuse me?” Kelly and Gen turned at the young voice. They were standing outside the handicap stall. The other woman, the one not scrubbing blood off her, looked up from her phone. “Is one of you Kelly?”
Kelly’s eyebrows rose in shock. How could she possibly have known that? “Yeah, that’s me.” Her voice sounded so dry, like Grumpy’s did after he’d been talking for a while.
“Um, someone just promised to transfer eighteen hundred dollars into my account if I give you my phone. Is this real?”
“What?” Kelly stood up off Gen’s support to approach the other woman. Her head spun, but she powered through. On the woman’s screen a new text message appeared.
Unknown: It’s Ghost. Answer the phone, sweetheart.
The relief that flowed through her in that moment was indescribable. Holy crap. The club knew where she was. Which meant they knew what had happened.
“It’s real,” Kelly assured the woman, already reaching for the phone. She picked up on the first ring. “Ghost?”
“Finally! Tell that nurse she just missed out on eighteen hundred dollars by not answering her fucking phone. Are you okay?”
Tears streamed down her cheeks and Kelly started to sag. “Grumpy’s hurt. They took him back for surgery. I don’t know about Maddie. It’s such a madhouse here. And Jackson…” her voice cracked.
“Kelly. Take a breath for me. We’re on our way. You take care of you, and we’ll be there in a few hours.”
Kelly nodded, stupidly forgetting that he couldn’t see her.
“I just need to know he’s okay, and no one will tell me anything and I’m soaked and cold and my shoulder wasn’t bothering me until that mean looking doctor said something about it and now it’s killing me.
And Jackson! Ghost, I lost Jackson. I don’t know where he is or if he’s okay.
He was with us and then he wasn’t and I don’t even know his last name!
He saved us and I don’t even know his last name! ”
“Sweetheart, breathe. You’re in shock. Hand the phone over to the nurse.”
Kelly obeyed, her hand feeling like it was someone else’s.
Gen looked taken aback, but she answered the phone.
“Hello?” She listened for a second. “Sir, this is highly irregular—” Her jaw snapped shut, likely at something Ghost had said.
“Yes, yes, I understand. I’ll let the doctor know.
I just—” She got cut off again. “I truly don’t know, and finding out will take me away from my patient.
Let me get her situated before she gets worse, and as soon as I have information, I will let her know.
” She passed the phone back to Kelly. “I don’t even know why I am entertaining this. ”
Kelly took the phone and sniffled. “Yes, this is Kelly.”
“I know who you are, sweetheart. We’ll be there soon.”
“Okay,” she muttered.
“Hold onto that phone. I just paid good money for it. Keys is working on getting it changed over to all your information. It’ll look like yours soon enough.”
“Okay,” she said again.
“You did good, sweetheart. Get some rest.” He hung up the phone after that.
Kelly handed the phone back to Gen. “Can you hold onto that for me? I don’t want to risk dropping it.”
Gen pocketed the phone. “You’re, like, really important, aren’t you? Or someone important to someone really powerful?”
Kelly, though, shook her head. “I’m just a waitress.”
As they locked themselves in the large stall, Kelly heard, “Holy crap! It’s real. The money is in my account.”
* * *
Every new face that was brought into the hospital, Kelly checked, but so far, no Jackson. After getting changed and under the blankets, Gen got her hooked up to an IV. She basically dragged a resident over by his tie to take care of Kelly’s cuts. Thankfully none needed stitches.
She rested for a bit, jumping awake each time she heard a new patient being brought in. She had no idea how Keys did it, but the borrowed phone got changed over to become identical to her own. Pictures, texts, and all.
She couldn’t resist trying to dial Jackson’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. She wasn’t all that surprised.
As patients without critical injuries were assessed and released, the hallways started to clear.
Kelly was still waiting on her turn at the x-ray machine.
She did not even want to think about how much this was going to cost. Did her insurance even work out of state?
It was something she’d never had to wonder before.
Maybe a tornado was proof that it was safer just staying home in Mount Grove.
The ol’ ladies messaged her continuously. Kelly eventually had to ask them to stop and she would let them know any updates as they happened.
Waiting was both agonizingly slow and somehow speedy. Time apparently still hadn’t righted itself in her reality. But finally, a doctor approached her.