Page 23 of Left Behind

“Who are you visiting, and name please?” he said.

Taken aback, one man started to argue, when Wiley held up his hand.

“I know this is new, but there’s a reason for it. It has nothing to do with your loved ones, but it involves the safety of someone else.”

After that, they gave up their names, and who they were visiting, without meeting his gaze. And when every patient had been marked off, Wiley went inside and straight to Carey’s bed.

She didn’t know him, but he felt bad thinking of her lying in here so hurt and so alone. He put a hand on her arm and then spoke softly near her ear.

“Miss Eggers, I’m a police officer. My name is Wiley Pope. You’re in the hospital and you’re safe. Now fight your way back, like you fought to stay alive.”

He patted her arm, then stayed at her bedside until every visitor was gone before he left the unit. As soon as he exited, he resumed his seat at the door and pulled out his phone to check for messages. There was one from the chief with two photos. One of Carey Eggers’s fiancé, and one of the cops who was accompanying him. He already knew their names. Now he knew what they looked like.

The routine of hourly visitors came and went two more times with Wiley giving the same speech to different people, but as the third hour approached, he saw two men entering the waiting area. One was pushing the other in a wheelchair, and he recognized their faces.

Eggers’s fiancé and the cop had arrived, and Wiley knew within moments that John Knight was in misery. Pain was etched on his face, and yet he sat motionless, stoic in his suffering. Tom Wheaton went for water, handed a pill and the drink to his friend, and then gave his shoulder a squeeze before sitting down beside him. At that point, Wiley looked away. Carey Eggers was a train wreck, and he was already empathizing with Knight for their first viewing.

When the clock finally moved to the hour, the visitors stood and began filing into the outer area of the ICU. Knight and Wheaton were at the end of the line, but heard Wiley’s declaration as he checked people off. When they reached where he was standing, John Knight looked up.

“You’re guarding my girl.”

Wiley nodded. “Yes. I told her you were coming. I thought it might help.”

John grabbed the arms of his wheelchair as if he wanted to get up and run. “She’s awake?”

“No. But I told her anyway. From what we know, she fought really hard to stay alive. I just wanted to encourage her to keep fighting. Nobody is to approach her bed but you two and the nurses. She’s the one at the far end of the room. You both have ten minutes. Make them count.”

Then he followed them inside the unit, but stayed up by the nurses’ desk with his focus on Carey and her visitors.

***

Just being in a hospital again was a cold reminder of his situation, but when Johnny saw the bed at the far end of the room, and all of the machines surrounding her, and how tiny and alone Carey looked beneath the sheets, he nearly lost it. By the time Tom rolled him up to her bedside, Johnny was blind with tears.

Carey was so battered he barely recognized the woman he loved, and so still. She was never still. He touched her hand, expecting her fingers to curl around his, but they were limp.

“Carey. It’s me, Johnny. I’m here, baby. I’m here. We found you. I know you’ve been hurt, but you’re safe in a hospital now. I love you. So much. Tom’s here. He brought me to you.”

Tom leaned over the bed. “Hey, pretty girl. It’s me, Tom. We’re here and we’re not leaving you. We know what happened. I’ve got Johnny’s back, and he’s got yours.”

They paused, staring at her face, hoping for a miracle, that she’d just open her eyes and talk. But their only answers were machines beeping back to let them know she was still alive. When the ten minutes were up, all of the visitors filed out. Johnny and Tom were the last ones to leave, and Wiley followed them back to the waiting room.

“Do you have a place to stay yet?” he asked.

“No, I was thinking we’d just bed down here and—”

Wiley shook his head. “According to my information, she’s not going to wake up anytime soon. They put her in a drug-induced coma to lessen the stress from all her injuries. I can’t tell you what to do, but it’s obvious you’re in bad shape, and you won’t do her any good if you mess yourself up. Get a room. Get some food and rest, and come back whenever you want, but you need some place to shower and sleep, too.”

“I don’t want to leave her,” Johnny said.

Wiley understood, but he wanted to reassure them. “Just so you know, I was visiting her every hour on the hour until you two arrived, and either me or whoever replaces me in the morning will continue to do that because we’re under orders to guard her. So, when visitors are in the ICU unit, even when you’re not there, one of us is by her bed. Understand?”

Johnny sighed. “Yes, understood and appreciated.”

Tom eyed the tall dark-haired cop and read him as sincere. “That’s good to know. By the way, could you recommend a place to stay?”

“Sure thing,” Wiley said. “There are two large hotels in town that cater to tourists, and Reagan Bullard’s Campgrounds two miles east, outside of town. Those are little cabins, but out there you’d have to fend for yourself when it comes to food. The hotels have cafés and restaurants in them, and they’re closer. There’s Hotel Devon and the Serenity Inn.”

“Thanks,” Tom said.

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