Witte Wieven

Part 3 🌫

I woke with a jolt, a touch on my shoulder rousing me.

"Hey, it's okay."

My eyes needed a moment to adjust. A policeman was crouching in front of me, with a flashlight pointing away.

He looked over his shoulder and yelled, "Vic! Vic, get over here."

I blinked a few times, not sure what was going on. Why was I on the ground?

"What's your name?" the man asked, his voice kind with a hint of concern.

I watched as a paramedic appeared out of the fog.

My name... My head swam, unable to fully grasp what had all happened, where I was now, let alone what I was to answer to this cop.

Probably thinking my silence meant I was hurt, he instead asked, "Are you able to speak?"

"You found the cyclist?" The paramedic crouched down beside us.

I looked up at him, memories slowly flooding back. As the blood drained from my face, I managed to nod. I tried to get up, but the paramedic stopped me.

"Careful now. You were hit—"

I cut him off by shaking my head. "N-no. I..." I swallowed, my throat dry. "Not hit. I... Just my bike."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded again and this time he let me rise and sit. "I... I'm okay."

"Alright, let's get you to the ambulance so I can have a good look at you." He helped me up. Still dazed and unsteady, he allowed me to lean on him as we walked away from the lake and several metres back to the road.

"What happened?" he asked.

The cop followed next to us, silently assessing the situation.

"I was walking... with my bike... They only hit my bike... I jumped away."

The two men exchanged glances.

"Come." The paramedic led me to the road. The fog was still present, with various lights illuminating it. An ambulance emerged, the back doors open. He made me sit down on the edge. "I'll get you a blanket," he said and went inside.

The cop bent down and looked at me. "You sure you didn't get hurt?"

I shook my head. "I..." But I didn't know what to say. I was warned? I had help? I got dragged down to the lake by three white women in the fog?

At least I was now pretty certain they had helped me—I was still alive. They hadn't drowned me.

The paramedic returned with a foil blanket and draped it around me. It was only then that I noticed how much I was shivering. I pulled it tight, grateful. My light jacket had been fine for cycling through a chill autumn night, but lying on the frigid ground? Yeah, no.

The paramedic crouched in front of me. "I need to see your hands, please."

I obliged, holding the blanket with one hand whilst giving him the other.

He examined it. "Can you feel your fingers? All of them?"

I wiggled them and nodded.

"What about your toes?"

Those did feel a little numb...

"I'm going to take off your boots, okay? I'm going to check your feet."

I just nodded and watched as the man checked both my feet before putting my socks and boots back on. I was glad no water had gotten in them.

With a smile, he said, "No frostbite. Do you know how long you were on the ground for?"