The Acadia Killer

Chapter 17

It was a gunshot. That was the ear piecing sound I'd heard in the distance as I laid in a muddy crevasse, nearly passed out and waiting on someone to bring a stretcher. The noise surrounding me was fading in and out, but my vision had turned to all black. I felt sick, like I was going to vomit any second, but the cold sweat rushing through my body was preventing me from moving if I had to. It was that horrible chill you get before fainting. Only I hadn't fainted. I was still barely coherent, at least enough to know that I'd heard a gunshot in the woods. It came from the same direction that Blake had headed in chasing the man in black, and my imagination began to run wild with what if scenarios.

"Mackenzie, can you hear me?" Ranger Carson's voice was intelligible, but it sounded like she was a football field away, speaking through a narrow tunnel.

She was shining a small flashlight in my eyes, checking my pupils for reaction as I lay in what could only be described as a trance, staring into the abyss. I could feel my body starting to shake with anxiety, but I couldn't control it. I couldn't even force myself to speak coherently. I knew I was mumbling something, but it wasn't verbiage anyone could make sense of.

Everything finally fell silent, and I completely faded out of consciousness just as the paramedics had arrived with the stretcher. I heard someone say something about helping me, but nothing after that.

When I awoke in a hospital room that evening, the incessant beeping of machines was enough to immediately bring on a headache. I blinked numerous times, trying desperately to focus, but it took at least a minute before the room came into clear view. I glanced around at everything in the room. There were two vacant guest chairs and a small table in the corner with nothing on it. No signs of anyone there to check on me.

On the wall directly in front of me was a large white board with the date, my doctor and nurse's names, and some abbreviated information about what medications I was on. It said the R.N.'s name was Shelley. I figured the best way to get some answers was to summon her. Fiddling around in the bedding, I located a remote and pressed the nurse call button. I heard a ding like a doorbell and a red light lit up. After a few minutes, I considered pressing the button again, but a knock at the door signaled someone's arrival.

A short brunette woman with a kind face and tired eyes entered the room. She looked like she could use a couple cups of coffee.

"I'm glad to see you're awake, Miss Vega," she smiled, retrieving my chart, and glancing over the paperwork. "My name is Shelley. I'm a registered nurse. How are you feeling?"

For the first time since passing out, I opened my mouth to speak, and I was surprised to discover how hoarse I sounded.

I shook my head, trying a couple times to clear my throat. "My head is pounding, but I think I'm okay otherwise. Can you tell me what happened? How long have I been here?"

Shelley pulled up a seat beside my bed and eyed the monitor that was displaying my vitals. "You were brought in by ambulance this afternoon. Do you remember anything?"

A gunshot. That's what I remembered. A horrible bang clattering through the forest. My blood running cold at the sound. I remembered someone trying to help me, but I couldn't remember who. Had I been shot?

I immediately started feeling around my body for a gunshot wound, but I felt no pain and didn't spot anything unusual.

"Miss Vega, are you alright? Do you need something?" the nurse asked with concern at my behavior.

"I'm sorry." I shook my head again. "I just... I don't remember anything. What happened? Why am I here?"

Shelley gave me a reassuring smile and placed a comforting hand over mine. "That's alright. You're here because you sustained a nasty concussion after a fall in the woods. The national park police called it in. Were you hiking and lost your footing? I know it can be real slick on some of those trails this time of year."