-Hospital

Ricky and David had gotten us placed in the car as dad re-emerged from the darkness.  Somehow they packed all of us, including Chris, into the back seat, leaving room for dad up front.  Dad took one last look at the plane, feeling a tinge of gratitude for it.  It had saved them, in its death.  It was a strange thing to feel for an inanimate object, but still he did. 

David slid in next to dad and Ricky put the car in drive, slowly guiding it bumpily away from the plane and out of the field.  Dad glanced once more in the direction of mom, and slumped back in the seat, closing his swollen eyes.  He was exhausted and suddenly in intense pain but grateful the ordeal was almost finally over.  Ricky pulled the car onto the dirt road and sped down it, trying to avoid the jolts of the potholes the best that he could. 

Eventually he reached the highway intersection, gave a quick glance in either direction and screeched onto it, heading south back toward Hebron.  He punched the accelerator to rush us to the Hebron Hospital, which was the nearest one for many miles.  A few minutes streaking down the highway and the turn off to it approached.  Ricky screeched the tires as he thundered around the corner.

From the opposite direction, the lights of a small helicopter appeared over the horizon, bearing down on the beacon that silently pulsed from the shell of our airplane, the only sign of life left there.

Blanche was startled by the screeching of the tires coming roaring off of the street and into the emergency drive, and turned her head to face it.  The car whipped around through the driveway, its lights flashing briefly into the room through the glass, and ground to an abrupt halt just outside the locked doors.  The passenger door of the car burst open, and a figure leapt out.  It came rushing to the door and pulled on it. 

When the person found it was locked they began to hit the glass repeatedly with an open hand, slapping loudly and rattling the whole thing in it’s frame.  From a voice muffled beyond the glass she could hear the cries of the man to let him in.  She could see his eyes widen when he saw her and Evelyn inside, a desperate look in them.  He looked dirty and she could make out his long hair.

            Both she and Evelyn stood and faced the door, trying to make sense out of the commotion.  This smelled like trouble

            "That’s Ricky Arnold," Evelyn said, suddenly recognizing the young man from town.  "What in God’s name is he doing?" 

Behind him, a car door slammed and another figure approached the glass.  David appeared beside Ricky and also banged his hand on the glass and waved them to come over to the door.  Blanch approached carefully, trying to make out their muffled and excited speech.  She wasn't sure what to make of this.  She thought about the Davis boys just a few months ago who did this same exact thing, getting them to rush to the door before they ran off in a prank!  That had scared Blanch half out of her skin, and neither of them were about to fall for those shenanigans again.

            "Ricky, David, what's going on?"  She asked from a few feet away, trying to sound stern.  "What do you boys want?"

            Both of them began chattering so loud she could hardly hear either of them.  But she distinctly heard the words 'plane crash.'

            "Plane crash??!" Blanched asked bewildered.  She turned around to look at Evelyn standing by the desk.  They both glanced at the scanner which still sat surrounded by eerie quiet.  Evelyn shrugged befuddled.  Blanche looked back at Ricky and David angrily.

            "I don't know what this is about, but we didn't hear about no plane crash, or any other kind of crash," she insisted.  "Is this some sort of joke?" 

She was truly annoyed by now and a little frightened.

            "Please, let us in!!"  David pleaded.  "There's a whole family here, and they need help!  Lady, please!!"

            Blanched stared a cool glare at him.  "Well I am going to call the Sheriff!  We'll just see about this!"  She tuned and hurriedly walked toward the phone, but was stopped in her tracks by Evelyn’s startled cry.

            "Blanch! My god!"  Evelyn gasped. 

A sudden enraged smash against the glass of the door prompted Blanche to wheel around.  She gasped and grabbed her chest in shocked horror.  The hand that had pounded the door slowly slid down, leaving a streak of blurred crimson where the fingers touched the glass.  Beyond the blur, she could make out the shambling figure beyond.  She suddenly was too frightened to move.  Evelyn was motionless.  Then he spoke to her in a loud and angry croaking voice.

            "Listen to me! I have crashed an airplane and my family is in this car and needs emergency care!"  He barked.  "Open this door, please!"

            Blanch slowly approached the door again.  His face was covered in glistening blood.  He had a ragged cut across his forehead.  His clothes were tattered and covered in mud and blood.  His one eye that she could see, obscured through swollen lids, was dark red and crazy looking.

            "I…I…" she tried to say, but he slammed his hand into the door again, spattering more blood across the glass, making her leap.  Her heart began to pound in her throat.

            "OPEN THE GOD DAMN DOOR!"  He shrieked.

            "Call Dr. Bunting!!" she turned and screamed at Evelyn, snapping her from her trance, and causing her to scramble at the telephone receiver.  Blanche turned back to the man.  She was now very scared. 

"You have to wait for the doctor to come for us to admit you!"  She said, hoping he got there quickly.  The man pressed his face up to the glass glaring at her.

            "A doctor is here!"  He glowered.  "NOW YOU OPEN THIS GOD DAMN DOOR RIGHT NOW!!!"

He emphasized each of the last several words with a further pound on the glass by his bloody hand, causing her to gasp again.  Suddenly the reality of the moment collided with her, and she realized what it really was that she was looking at.  This was no joke!  Something horrible had happened, and they hadn't heard!

            "Oh my god! I'm sorry!" she hollered pleadingly, and turned to run to the desk and grab the keys to the door.  She could see Evelyn was shaken to tears as she dialed Dr. Bunting’s number with fingers trembling so bad she could hardly get them to work at all.

            Blanche raced back to the door and quickly unlocked it.  It flew open, nearly knocking her over as the man burst through.  He had pulled a bloody little girl from the car.  He was wild and agitated.  He looked around the emergency room with a quick glance, then turned to glare at her.  She stood immobile, and this seemed to enrage him further.

            "Gurney!?" he barked.  She jumped startled and immediately pointed to the hallway beyond the door where the ER gurneys were.  He rushed in that direction.  She went out the doors to the car, and was again horrified.  Three more young children, all boys, remained in the car.  She reached in and slowly lifted the one closest to her.  David and Ricky hurried to the other side and began to extract the others.  Carefully she entered the emergency room and made her way to another gurney near the door.  The man had begun rummaging through the drawers of the ER, pulling out bandages and other items. 

She slowly lowered the boy down on a nearby table, but his head was slick with blood and slipped from her grasp.  It lolled backwards before thumping onto the smooth stainless surface.  She was shocked by the man’s enraged bellow, and shrank in terror as he steamed into her.

            "What are you doing!!?" he screamed.  "Be careful!!!" 

He roughly shoved her backwards from the gurney.  She could feel the tense strength that pulsed through him as she staggered back.  Instinctually, she stepped toward the boy again, but he snapped at her.  Even in his broken state, he exhibited enormous strength, which did not seem tempered by his rage.  She was truly frightened of him.

            "Ger away from us!" he screamed at her, bloody spittle splattering her face and shirt.  

She burst into tears and ran toward the reception area where Evelyn had gotten Dr. Bunting on the phone.  Meanwhile dad had found a pen light in one of the drawers and was pointing it into the Rick’s eyes for a few moments.  Then he tenderly stroked his head before going to the other children one by one, laying in gurneys now strewn about the hallway. 

He ignored Blanch completely after that.  Ricky and David stood in the waiting room and watched the scene unfolding in tired disbelief, having no idea what they were suppose to do.  This was not what they had expected.  For the moment, they just stood in silence, the blood of my family stained on their clothes.