I woke up with an awful headache. I wanted to touch my forehead with my left hand, but something clanked on the rail and stopped my arm abruptly. I looked over to see what had stopped it, figuring I had my IV line hung up someplace. What I saw totally confused me.
I suddenly realized I wasn't in the same room I had been in. Brian wasn't next to me and the machines that were by my bed were no longer there. A lone IV pole was situated next to the bedside. There was someone that looked like a police officer dressed in a dark blue uniform sitting in the room next to an open door.
I looked for my call button and couldn't see one. I went to sit up and discovered that my right ankle was handcuffed to the bed.
"What the hell?" I mumbled out loud. "Hey! What the hell is going on?"
The policeman peered over the newspaper he was reading. "Settle down," he barked.
"Where's Brian?" I snapped as I was trying to figure a way to get free of the handcuffs.
"He's still in the ICU room you shared," the young police officer grunted.
I nodded, indicating I had heard, I then realized something was definately wrong.
"Where the hell am I then?" I demanded.
"You're in the hospital, in a secure wing, private room," he replied, not looking up from what he was reading.
"Then, what's up with this?" I asked as I pulled my left hand up and pointed at the handcuff with my right hand.
"Policy," was all he said to me.
"POLICY?!"
I was starting to get a little worried here. This guy was obviously not going to say a word to me about anything and now I was handcuffed like a criminal and he wasn't telling me what sick joke someone was playing on me.
"You owe me an explaination!"
The policeman lowered the newspaper and glared at me for a few moments, and I returned a glare that was equal to his. For some reason, he decided he was going to be a little more civil with me and he cleared his throat.
"It was a request by Ms. Miller's attorneys for her protection. They filed a motion to keep you restrained a the hospital until you could go to arrainment."
"Arraignment?! But I didn't do anything!"
As I panicked, I fought harder and harder with the restraints. The policeman started yelling at me and told me to settle down. Suddenly a team of nurses and orderlies and police officers filled the room. The orderlies took a hold of the arm and leg that wasn't chained to the bed and took leather restraints and wrapped them around my wrist and ankle and secured them to my bed rails.
"You have to calm down so you can get better and get discharged," a young nurse soothed.
"Dishcharged? Where the fuck to?"
"HEY! Don't talk to them that way," the police man reprimanded me.
I guess I was thrashing around too much in my attempts to be free because I suddenly felt a sting in my leg and dizzy. The next thing I knew was it went completely dark as sleep overtook me.
As I was waiting for my nurse, a new panic washed over me. It was becoming familiar now, but it still unnerved the crap out of me. It intensified for a few minutes until my stomach was clenched up so tight that it was almost unbearable. Then almost instantly it disappeard. That wasn’t very comforting either. Why the hell would it just go away unless he became unconscious. I hit the nurse call button again.
“Someone please.” I called out weakly.
“What’s wrong honey?” Sheila burst in, anxiously.
“What’s wrong with Nick?” My voice came out all beathy.
She knitted her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“Something’s wrong. He’s upset. And it just went away.” I tried to explin. I felt like a dumbass. She was going to think I was a total fruitcake.
“I’ll see if I can find out for you okay?” She smoothed out my blankets.
I nodded. Then I remembered the source of my previous concern. “Sheila, where’s Kyung? And my parents?” The pain medication was wearing off and I was starting to hurt again. I didn’t want to be knocked out until I got some answers, though. I grimaced against the pain and she saw it.
“Sweetie, you need some more...”
“No! I want to know what the hell is going on! And also, who were those men in my room and why were they talking about my involvement with Kurt’s death?” I demanded.
“I can answer that.”
I looked up and one of those men were back. He was with a security guard. My heart automatically started to beat faster and that showed on the heart monitor.
“I’m not sure if you remember, but I am David Whise and I am Ms. Miller’s attorney. Considering the serious charges against you, there will be a security guard positioned outside your door for my client’s protection.”
“Yeah, you better protect that little bitch from me.” I muttered without thinking.
“Lizz, shhhhh!!” Sheila admonished.
“Keith!” He nodded towards the guard.
The guard, Keith, walked over to me and pulled out a bunch of handcuffs. Upon seeing those, I began to panic. “No!! What are you doing?!” I tried to inch away from him in my bed, but that made me gasp out in pain.”
“Hey!” Sheila demanded. “Why is that necessary?”
“You heard her threaten my client. All precautions must be taken to protect my client.” David stated simply and coldly. "Carter is getting the same treatment. We weren't going to cuff her, but she threatened my client. It's her own fault.
Keith was putting the cuffs on my wrists and my panic increased. Immediately I was slammed with flashbacks of the cage that I had spent so long in. Being tied down like an animal with Marcus and Kurt taking every opportunity to use that metal pole. I never used to be claustrophobic, until this.
“But she can’t even get out of the bed. Look at her!” Sheila exclaimed. She turned her attention to me and I could barely hear her try to calm me down, to no avail.
“Please! No more! Don’t tie me up! Please not again! Please!!” I desperately cried, my pathetic voice turning into an even worse wheeze. I couldn’t catch my breath! “Oh god...”
Sheila cursed under her breath and hollered out the door for some help. Her patient was gasping for air and not getting it. She was twisting all around, trying to escape the hell she she was reliving in her mind.
The room filled with more medical personnel and they managed to sedate Lizz and regualte her breathing again. She would be sore as hell when she woke up, but that was going to be the least of her problems.
A few days had gone by since I was moved from Brian and my room. Everytime I asked a
question about his condition or Lizz's, I was basically denied information. It was as if I had
no rights. AJ had placed a call to my attorney and he met with me and told me that I was
being charged with bodily harm with intent to commit murder on Terri Miller.
My first question to him was who the hell is Terri Miller. My mind was
becoming like swiss cheese lately and I was having trouble remembering
things. The nurse reassured me that this was natural and would get better in
time.
I did finally remember Terri, but I couldn't recall the specific events about throwing a rock
at her and hitting her in the back. They told me that she was permanently paralyzed.
A fat policeman with a clipboard and a heavy set of keys approached my bed. Wordlessly,
he uncuffed my leg first and then my wrist. He tossed a piece of bright yellow clothing
onto onto the bed.
“Put this on,” he barked.
“Huh?”
“You’ve been discharged and you’re having your arraignment this afternoon,
we’re moving you to the county jail infirmary, your injuries aren’t life
threatening anymore. Now, start stripping Carter.”
Agnes met with the attorneys in Terri’s hospital room. She had just had her
back surgery that morning and was still under sedation.
“You remember us telling you that the FBI found Kurt Sloan’s body at the
scene two weeks ago, right?”
“Yes,” Agnes replied, not sure where this was heading.
“I doubt you’ll be surprised to hear that the autopsy results showed that
Mr. Sloan‘s death was from blunt force trauma, consistent with the plane
crash and not strangulation, which is what Terri kept saying that Lizz was
guilty of.”
Agnes stood up and fussed with her daughter’s blankets, trying to buy time
to come up with an answer.
“Well, um, I didn’t quite understand where she came up with that idea to
begin with, I think she was despondent over his death and wasn’t thinking
clearly. I’m sure she just hated Lizz because she was close to that Nick
fellow and she just wasn’t thinking right with the drugs she’s on and all,”
Agnes ran her words together, hoping the attorney was buying the story.
“Well, if what you’re saying is the truth---”
“Of course it’s the truth, I never lie,” Agnes smiled sweetly at the
attorney.
“Then I need to get the police removed from that girl’s room and fast
before she counter sues or something.”
With that said, the attorney left the room quickly and hurried down the hall
towards Lizz’s room.
Dale and Marcus pushed Kyung into the old, rusted out suburban. Her knees
were skinned and her pants torn. The hair she had once taken so much pride
in, hung in her face, matted and dirty.
br>
“Why do you keep running? They will find you,” Kyung spat angrily at her
captors.
“If they get that close, they’ll never get us alive, I can guarantee, Missy.”
As Dale spoke, he smoothed the hair away from Kyung’s dirt streaked face.
She tried to duck her head away from his hand, but he still managed
contact. The touch made her skin crawl.
“So where are we going now?” Kyung asked.
“None of your damn business, just shut your mouth,” Marcus hissed.
“Just a question, don’t get upset over it,” Kyung shot back. She knew that
she was playing with a loaded gun, but that was natural to her, when she was
clearly agitated by something, she kept picking away at it until she got the
answers she needed.
As Marcus raised his hand up, Kyung closed her eyes, waiting for the blow.
“Boy, put your hand down, it’s a waste of time, save it for Terri or your
mom,” Dale reprimanded.
Jason Whise let himself into Lizz’s room. He was a little nervous at how she was going to react when he told her that she had been falsely accused of murder. What if she did sue? Almost to his relief, she was asleep. At least he wasn’t going to have to deal with her just yet.
“What are you doing in here?”
Jason jumped at the angry voice. He turned around and immediately recognized the woman standing there as Lizz’s nurse, Sheila. She was glaring at him.
“Some of our information was misunderstood and the charges against your patient have been dropped. You can remove the restraints.” He informed her, his voice cold and hard.
“Oh that’s nice!” Sheila spat. “The damage has already been done! Do you realize the severity of the situation? I seriously doubt that you even have the slightest notion so let me clue you in. This poor girl, along with her friends, was kidnapped and terrorizied. Someone beat the hell out of her and shot her. I can’t even begin to understand what she went through. She can’t talk about it. Anytime someone tries to ask her about it, she starts shaking. Not only is her physical health in very serious condition, but her emotional health is extremely fragile. Tying her down caused her to have a panic attack and she had to be sedated. When she woke up, she panicked again and had to be sedated again. And now you are telling me that we can remove the restraints?! Well how nice of you!”
“Oh spare me the sob story. My client went through equally as tramatic experiences. She lost her boyfriend and will probably be paralyzed for the rest of her life.” Jason retorted.
“You came down here to tell me that I could remove the restraints right? Well you did, now get the hell out of my patient’s room.” Sheila narrowed her eyes into angry slits.
Jason smiled cockily at her and left the room. Sheila sighed heavily and went to remove the restraints from Lizz’s wrists and ankles. Being under sedation still, Lizz didn’t even stir. Sheila brushed a strand of hair of Lizz’s face and sighed again. Lizz was so alone. Her best friend was still missing and everyone’s families that were involved were not allowed near the hospital. If they did, Kyung died. Sheila knew at this time that there were only three people that Lizz would let near her without panicking. She didn’t know anything about Brian’s condition and the last she heard about Nick was that he had amnesia. That was what they had said when he was admitted. Sheila left Lizz’s room finally, trying to come up with something.
“Damnit, I could kill her for screwing us like this.” Dale muttered as they drove down the winding dirt road. They seemed to getting further and further out in the middle of nowhere. He was driving and Marcus sat shotgun. Kyung was tied down in the seat behind them. The suburban’s heater was broken so the three of them suffered in the cold temperature.
The longer this went on, the more Kyung worried that she wasn’t going to make it out of this alive. Macus was growing steadily more angry with her as every hour passed. It was only a matter of time before he let all his anger go on her. Kyung’s thoughts drifted to Lizz, Brian and Nick. She was so worried about them and not knowing what was going on was killing her.
Nurse Laura Shelton hung a new IV bag on her patient’s pole. He had been
slipping in and out of consciousness for the past few days, but he had finally
woke that morning. He was still very weak from surgery and the damage
from the fluid that had built around his heart and, by the looks of the
dampness of his hair, Laura suspected that he was running a temp.
“Nurse?” Brian called out weakly. His nurse obviously didn’t hear him so Brian
tried calling out for her again. “Nurse?”
“Hi, what can I get for you?” Laura asked cheerily.
Brian attempted to clear his throat, hoping that would make his voice sound
a little stronger.
“My friends?”
Laura nodded at Brian’s question. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t know too much
about them right now. Do you want me to check for you?”
Brian managed a slight nod.
“Okay, I’ll do that, but first I need to check to see if you’re spiking a temp,
your face looks pretty flushed,” the red haired nurse said as she placed a
thermometer into Brian’s ear. Instantly, the beeper went off on the small,
white device.
“Ah, just as I thought, 102.4,” Laura remarked as she looked at the reading
on the thermometer. “Okay, let me tell your doctor about the temp and then
I’ll check and see how your friends are, okay?”
As Brian watched his nurse leave the room, his thoughts went back to Nick
and Lizz. The last he remembered was hearing a gunshot and a man carrying
Nick’s body saying he accidentally shot him. Brian couldn’t remember
anything after that and wondered how long he had been out of it.
