Unleashed

Twenty-six

YOU NEED TO wake up, Rosie."

            I force my eyes to open at the sound of Jade's voice. She crouches over me, one hand on my shoulder. I look up, squinting against the light of a streetlight lamp. A car zooms by, inches from where we lay on the side of the road.

    "Where are we?" I croak, trying to push myself up but fail miserably. Jade helps me to sit up. I wince as my whole body clenches with pain. I look around. Tall trees surround the road that leads upward.

Jade sniffs, shifting the backpack on her shoulder. "Near the border of Canada. That's why you need to get up. I have a plan to get through." She says, glancing over her shoulder. I nod. I lean into her for support as we both stand to our feet.
 
                She lets me put an arm around her shoulders. We start to walk up the hill. Jade takes on most of my weight, grimacing as she almost trips. I groan as my right leg jostles against the ground. "Are you okay?" I ask her.

     She nods, pursing her lips together. "I'm fine. Just a little ankle pain." Jade says through her teeth. I chuckle, despite us both struggling. "What's so funny?" Jade snaps. I shake my head with a smile. "Nothing. It's just, here we are struggling when we don't even know if the Canadian border will accept us." I tell her.

We stagger up a small hill. A few cars drive by us, honking as they veer past. Jade harshly gestures them to move to the other lane. We keep walking until we reach the toll. Jade almost drops from exhaustion but I grip her arm, keeping her upright against me.

              The Canadian police stiffens inside the booth. He slowly comes out, ignoring the protest of a car lined up next to it. I can see in his eyes he's debating to pull his gun out. "Who are you?" He asks in a slight French accent.

    Jade stands again. "We were passengers from the train crash. The train crash miles from here. Perhaps you've heard of it?" She asks. Realization draws in the officer's eyes. "Oh yes. With all the helicopters, no?" He asks.

His eyes wander all over, to our tattered clothes to our wounds. The hardness leaves his eyes. He nods, taking a step back. "Follow me. I will call an ambulance to get you both to the nearest hospital at once. You both can wait in the booth." He says.

       I sigh in relief as we both limp forward. Thankfully, he doesn't ask any questions about exactly who were the people in the train. And how the helicopters crashed. But we stay quiet together. Leaning on each other for medical help to save us before anything else can happen.

THE STRONG STENCH of chlorine wafts in my nostrils. Memories of my first day at Davison's building resurface in my mind. I quickly push it away as I sit up. An IV bag with clear liquid is attached to my arm.

      The monitor beeps rhythmically, being the only noise I can hear, apart from the muffled voices and sounds from outside. Daylight filters through the pale colored room. I squint until my eyes adjust.

My whole body doesn't ache as much as before. I distinctly remember being transported from an ambulance from the booth at the Canadian border. But since then, they medics have put me in under drugs and things ever since have been fuzzy.

        I glance around the plain room. A small flower vase stands near my bed along with a clock. My eyes widen.

2:34pm it read.

     A soft snore snaps my attention to my right. I move my neck too fast, creating a small cramp. I moan quietly to myself in pain. "Ooo," I wince. Jade shifts from her chair next to me.