ONE NIGHT....16

Pain gripped his body but he could not move. It felt like he had hot flames burning his arm and chest.  He turned his head, the movement alone almost made his breathing stop.  That’s when he saw Donna.  She was lying on her back. She looked as if she was gasping for air. Jason mustered all the strength he had; he gritted his teeth through the pain.  He crawled over to where she was lying.

“Donna, baby hold on.  I’m going to call the police.” 

With his good hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell.  It took everything he had to push the buttons.

“911 emergency.”

“Hello, yes my wife she has been shot, there is blood every where.”

“Sir Can I get your location.”

“I’m at the River Oaks Apartments on Whitaker Ave Downtown.  Please send somebody down here as fast as possible.”

“Sir, an ambulance is on the way, and should be there in a couple of minutes we have a unit in the area.”

“Can I get your name sir?”

“Jason, and my wife her name is Donna.”

“Okay Jason are you hurt?”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t matter right now, please send someone for my wife.

“Can you tell me what happened, Jason? 

“My wife and I were standing here talking, and then I don’t know what happened.  Please hurry.

“Can you see where your wife has been shot Jason?”

“No there’s is blood everywhere.”

“Is she breathing?”

“Yes, but barely.”

“Listen to me Jason, I need you to find the wound, and apply pressure..”

“I cant I was shot in the upper arm, I would have to put the phone down, and…wait I here the ambulance coming.”

Jason dropped the phone, and looked down at Donna, and she was looking at him with her tears streaming down her face.  She was trying to say something to him, but no words were coming out, just blood.

“Baby please, donna hang on for just a little longer.”

He felt as is someone was ripping him apart, the pain was so deep.  But he could not show her his agony; he needed to be strong for her.  His head was getting lightheaded and his vision blurry.  He could hear the sirens, and knew that the ambulance was near.

“They’re almost here baby, you hear me, they’re almost here.

Jason heard the ambulance pull up; he looked up and saw a police car as well.  The EMT’s rushed over to him, turning him over and checking him out.  He heard another ambulance pull up and they immediately got out to work on Donna.  Jason was screaming at them to save her.  He was screaming despite the pain ripping through his body.  He can see them put oxygen over her face, and they were doing compressions.  He heard one guy say she had a weak pulse and she needed to get to the hospital ASAP.  Hearing that, and thinking she would be ok, he allowed the darkness to envelop him.

Meanwhile….

Anthony arrived at the airport, and heads for the parking garage. He parks in long term parking.  While sitting in the car he accesses his accounts and wires all his money to another account.  The money will bounce around until he stops it.  He gets out of the car, and reaches for his carry on.  He had discarded his gun earlier so there will be no traces of it to be found.  He locked the keys in the car and shut the door.  Since he was always careful there were no prints or hairs to be found; at least not any that can be linked to him.  By the time they found the car he would be long gone. He headed towards the terminal.  He did not have a clue where he was going, but he knew he had to get out of dodge.  He walked up to the departure monitors, and tried to figure out where he was going.  The next flight out was going to Alaska.  That was an automatic no

, it was way too cold in Alaska this time of year.  New York was next, and that was also a no.  Too many bad memories in NY.  There was a flight out to Houston in 2 hours, just enough time to buy his ticket and make the flight.  He had heard Houston was a nice city, and the least hit by the recession, so it was a good a place as any to start over.  Once he got on that plane, he would leave his past behind him.

Across town….

What the hell was taking Jason so long with her stuff, Vanessa thought?  It had been over two hours since he left to get her some clothes.  This is ridiculous.  She is going to try his cell again...  she reaches over for the phone next to her bed and dials Jason’s number.  One the 6^th ring it is picked up.

“Hello”

“Hello, who is this?”

“This is Nurse Fisher; I am a nurse here at River Oaks Memorial.  Do you know the person who owns this phone?”

“Yes I am, did he leave his phone at the nurse’s station or something, and I have been trying to call him for hours.  I am here at River Oaks on the 3^rd floor waiting for him he went home to get me some clothes.”

“No ma’am, the person on whom this phone was found, was bought in ten minutes ago with gunshot wounds.

“What did you say, oh my god.”

“Ma’am if possible can you come down to emergency, and identify the victim. He was brought in without any identification.”

“Yes definitely, I am on my way.”

Vanessa immediately hung the phone up and got off the bed, put on her slippers and headed for the door.  The whole time her heart is pounding in her chest.  Maybe Jason lost his phone and someone found in and they got shot.  She tried thinking about different scenarios, but deep in the pit of her stomach.  She was stopped by a nurse who told her she should not be walking around.  After informing the nurse of the situation, she quickly got a wheelchair and offered to take her down to the ER.  The ride down two floors in the elevator took what seemed like forever, but must have been a couple of minutes.  Once down stairs she was told that there where two gunshot victims brought in together.  That’s when she thought it couldn’t have been Jason; he went to her apartment to get her a change of clothes.  He had to have lost his phone.  The nurse took her down a hallway, and she came to a glass window.  She could not see who was lying on the bed but she could hear the doctors, and the nurses.

“Ok we got the bullet out; let’s try and stop this bleeding.”

“We are going to have to do an arterial stick.”

“BP is dropping doctor.”

“Come on, people we are going to loose this one.  Get me the paddles, charge to 200.”

“Charging.”

“Clear.”

“Get me 2 cc’s of EPI.”

“Ok charge to 300.”

“Charging.”

“Clear.”

“400.”

“Charging.”

“Clear.”

“Doctor there is no pulse, and it’s been 10 minutes.

Looking over at the screen, and the solid flat lines, the doctor pulled off his gloves, and mask.

“Time of death, 4:17 am.