Free The Dark Messenger by Milo Spires Page A

he
knew the situation was too serious for it. He then said, ‘Next you
will be saying you think she’s been bitten by a vampire.’
     
    As he said this, he suddenly had to swerve to
avoid hitting something and the ambulance rocked violently.
     
    ‘Sorry!’ he shouted back at his passengers.
Jenny wondered if that ‘sorry’ was meant for them, or maybe for
some innocent cyclist or something that he’d just nearly run over
on the street.
     
    Jenny returned to staring at Becky¸ who still
hadn’t moved.
     
    ‘What's wrong with her? Do you think she is
getting better now?’ Jenny asked.
     
    Paul replied, ‘I don't actually know what’s
wrong with her…sorry. But she seems okay at the moment, I think.’
He looked up at Jenny and smiled sympathetically. ‘I know she’s
your mate and that, but…Well we will just have to wait until we get
to the hospital. They’ll be able to tell much better when we get
there. Well I hope they do, anyway.’
     
    Jenny stared at him, quite
shocked at hearing what he had just said. His words were not at all
what she would have expected from an emergency worker. What’s with this ‘I think’ stuff? Surely he
should know everything--he’s a bloody ambulance
man , she told herself.
     
    A couple of minutes later they finally
arrived at the hospital. The journey had seemed like it was going
to last forever, but then to Jenny’s relief the back doors of the
vehicle were suddenly flung open and there were four nurses
reaching in, eagerly trying to take over. The first two quickly
unlatched the stretcher and lowered its legs down to the ground.
Then, together with the ambulance men, they slid the stretcher out
of the ambulance just enough so that the other two nurses could
then lower the other legs. The paramedics gave the nurses an
assessment of the situation as they quickly rushed Becky
inside.
     
    Jenny hurried out of the ambulance and
followed through the set of double doors that her friend had just
been taken through. Inside the doorway, a tall thin man wearing a
white coat was standing right in her path, holding a clipboard full
of papers.
     
    ‘Sorry, madam, but can I ask where you are
going?’ he asked, smiling down at her with very shiny white
teeth.
     
    ‘Yes, my friend and I came here together in
an ambulance just now. The nurses took her this way. Becky Barker
is her name.’
     
    ‘Is that your friend over there?’ he asked,
pointing across to Becky, who was now wide awake and chatting with
the nurses.
     
    Jenny’s jaw dropped. She was so amazed to see
that her mate was awake that she could barely stutter out,‘Y-yes!’
She looked back at the tall man, her eyes glistening. ‘Can I go and
see her please?’
     
    ‘Sorry, but you will have to wait,’ he said.
Jenny’s heart immediately sank.
     
    ‘That area your friend is in has recently
been restricted to hospital staff only. If you go through those
double doors to your right over there, you will find a waiting room
for friends and relatives,’ he said pointing to her right. He
smiled sympathetically. ‘Don’t worry, I will let the nurses know
that you are there.’

    ‘Thank you,’ Jenny replied.
     
    As she started away, the man called after
her, ‘Miss I nearly forgot. I will also need your name for our
records.’
     
    ‘Barker. My name is Jenny Barker,’ she
replied, and then turned to walk through into the waiting area.
     
    She knew that the fact that she and Becky had
the same surname would probably confuse him. He would think that
they weren’t friends as she had just told him, but sisters instead.
Many times in the past, they had introduced themselves to people
using their full names and often the reactions had been the
obvious: ‘Oh, you are sisters.’.
     
    Maybe it was their joke on society. The two
girls had known each other from birth and had been best mates all
their lives. Sometimes they felt like they were sisters though
because they seemed to always be together. Maybe they