She coughed violently.
"Who did this to you?" He asked, reaching for a phone he realized he no longer had.
"Call an ambulance!"
Kirby rushed forward to see the reason for the emergency.
His gasp shut the wind up.
"Sarah?"
She wasn't wearing any coat, he noticed.
Kirby fumbled with his phone, dialling the emergency number quietly.
"My…" Her voice faded.
"Your what?" He stroked her hair. "C'mon, Sarah. Stay with me. Tell her something, Kirb. Make her laugh."
"I think that's a bad idea."
The metallic scent of blood filled the air, over shadowing the smell of everything else.
He peeled her hands away from the injury and wished he didn't.
Goosebumps rose all over the skin of her arms. Her chest heaved with shallows breaths. Her lips had lost its lush pink colour.
They were losing her, he realized with painful clarity.
Good time had passed yet no sirens blared in the distance.
"We've gotta take matters into our own hands, Kirb."
"But, we don't have a car."
"My dad has one. Help me lift her."
Kirby moved without hesitation, gripping her upper arms gently.
They carried her to the front of the house, pausing only to set her down on the porch. She winced when they dropped her.
"Stay with her, I'll go get my dad."
"Just get his keys. If not, we'd have to wait for him to dress up and… you know."
Ray dashed into the house and within seconds, he was out with the keys.
Sarah was loaded into the car and they set off.
Usually, he annoyed his driving instructor so badly that the man took a sabbatical, but tonight, his steering was firm. Almost even… perfect.
Kirby was beside him, navigating the way to the nearest hospital using Google maps.
Every once in a while, he'd glance back at her to see if she's still breathing.
The streetlights glared at him as he drove through the endless road. There was barely any sign of life, except at a few supermarkets and nightclubs.
The hospital loomed ahead, heralded by a large neon signboard.
They both heaved collective sighs of relief as they parked the car.
"Where's the emergency unit?" Ray asked, tossing off his seatbelt and heading out of the car.
He was sweating so bad. His hair clung to his forehead. Even the chill air did nothing to cool him down.
He and Kirby manouevred her out of the car and rushed her through the sensory doors.
A nurse in white uniform rushed forward to examine Sarah.
Under the fluorescent bulbs, her face was pale. Ashen. She looked sunken, her eyes blank.
At the woman's bark, a tourney was brought and she was wheeled away.
Another nurse brought a form for them to fill. Her lips were thick with excessive lipstick. Some of it was smeared on her cheek - she must have worn it in a hurry.
"What happened?" The woman asked.
Ray couldn't utter a word. Kirby spoke instead. He kept a lot out of the story he told her - they had found her injured at the back of Ray's house.
The flicker in her eyes told him that she wasn't convinced.
She slid a admission form across the table. Her newly done nails glinted under the lights.
"Are you related to her?"
They shook their heads.
"If it counts, Miss, we're her friends." Kirby volunteered.
Ray just stood there, staring at the form she had handed them. The pen rested on the sheet, untouched.
His hands shook so badly.
If this is Sarah, who was the other one who left with her mother?
Were the two Sarahs in their world? Did the other Sarah do this to her?
He stood stiff as a log as Kirby pulled him in for a hug. It was the third time in the same day he fought back tears.
The overdressed nurse picked up her telephone and dialled a number.
"Hello, yes yes. I have a report to make."
The woman nodded to whatever was being said at the other end of the line.
"Yes, two boys brought in a seriously injured girl… Yes, exactly."
Another pause.
"Thank you."
Her eyes met his as she set the telephone back on its receiver.
Kirby clearly wasn't paying attention to her phone call.
"Give me your phone." He pushed out of the embrace.
"Huh?"
Tears blurred in Kirb's eyes as he stared at him.
"I have to call my dad, or else we'll spend the night in a cell. No teddy or icecream there."
A shudder rippled through Kirby.
Ray took the phone and went far away from the hideous nurse.
At three rings, his dad didn't pick up.
Strange.
Darrick was a light sleeper. Even the snap of a twig would wake him.
His heart began beating a bit faster.
Fifth ring - still no answer.
His brows furrowed.
Then, he finally picked up.
"Hello Kirby. Why are you calling so late? Did something happen?"
Ray sucked in a breath. "It's not Kirby, dad. It's Ray. We're at the hospital.
A long pause.
"Hospital? What are you doing in the hospital?"
He could hear his father moving at the other end of the line. Then, a door creaked open. Probably his room.
"Sarah's hurt."
"Sarah? She just left for the airport with her mother hours ago."
He ran a hand through his hair.
"I'm confused as well. But, I don't think the Sarah that left with Mrs. Tolen was the real Sarah."
He could hear his father gasp.
"Hang in there, son. I'm on my way."
Kirby walked up to him.
"How did he react when you told him?"
Ray shrugged, absentminded. "I only told him she was hurt, nothing more."
Kirby pulled him to a seat.
"I've been trying to keep my cool here, but it's not working. How many Sarahs are there?"
Ray stared at the antiseptic-smelling floor.
"I was wondering the same thing."
"Who the heck left with her mother?"
He lifted his head, sparing the nurse a brief glance.
"I don't know. But I know she took the shard. I'm sure of it now."
Kirby rolled his eyes.
"You've started again with talk of your stupid mirror fragment."
"It might be stupid to you, but not to-"
Police sirens screamed outside the building.
His grip on the handle of the chair tightened.
The damn woman.
Sarah was the only one who knew what happened. What were they going to say?
"Let's just hope my dad gets here before things go south. Have you called your parents?"
Kirby shook his head. "My mom is hypertensive. The shock of your mom's death was too much for her, now this?"
"Won't it be much worse when she finds out on her own?"
Ray fell silent. A pair of officers, one tall, one short, walked in through the doors. They approached the nurse's desk and spoke with her at length.
From the jovial laughter, it was obvious that they new each other.
"Is that why she wears makeup during her night shift?" Kirby leaned in to whisper.
"Huh?"
"See the way she's flirting with the taller one. I bet she was just looking for a way to bag a couple of compliments."
He wanted to laugh, but couldn't. It was as if he had no right.
The image of himself he had seen in Benet's bathroom mirror flashed through his memory.
"The doctor, Ray. There he is." Kirby pointed at a darkhaired man in navy blues scrubs with a stethoscope hanging around his neck, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"Are you her family?"
They looked at each other.
"Yes. We're her brothers."
The man surveyed them with a knowing look. They looked nothing alike.
"Well… it isn't good news." He started.
Kirby drew closer to Ray.
"She's in a coma. She suffered a concussion, a severe abdominal wound and lost a lot of blood. And… there's no certainty she'll wake up."
What the hell.