Page 9 of Durango

I focus all my energy again.

“See! They moved again!” Willow says.

“This is a good sign,” the voice says. “Hopefully, he’ll open his eyes soon.”

I’m trying! Why can’t I take a deep breath? Slowly, I come to a little more. That’s when I feel something down my throat. It’s choking me. I try again to take a deep breath and can’t. My eyes finally pop open as I try to sit up and breathe deeply. But it doesn’t work.

“Help!” But that’s not what comes out. Only a moan escapes my lips.

“He’s awake!” Willow says.

“He’s panicking. Mr. Myers, you need to calm down. You have a vent in your lungs.”

My eyes meet his. A doctor.

“We are going to have it removed, but it will be a minute. Okay?”

I force myself to calm down and give a small nod. But that hurts. Why does everything hurt?

My eyes focus, and I take in my surroundings. Piper and CT are off to my left. Willow is on my right. The doctor is at the foot of the bed, looking at something.

“You called?” a woman in scrubs says as she enters the room.

“Yes, we need to take his vent out,” the doctor says. “Please, everyone, leave the room for this.”

I watch as Piper, CT, and Willow exit. The next few minutes are not pleasant, but once the vent is out, I try to take a deep breath and still can’t. It causes me to cough, but that hurts like hell, too. My throat is raw.

“Here’s some water. Please sip it slowly. The last thing you want is to throw up right now,” the nurse says, handing me a cup.

I do as she says and sip it slowly. “What happened?” I croak out.

The doctor steps up beside me. “You were in an accident. Do you remember?”

An accident? I shake my head.

“You got caught up in a river and went over a waterfall.”

Well, that explains why everything hurts.

“You’ve been sedated for a few days. You have a number of broken bones and injuries.”

I try to lift my arm to touch my head, but immediately, pain shoots up to my shoulder.

“Try not to move too much. You are still healing. Now that you’re awake, we will be taking you down for another MRI. You had a concussion when you arrived,” the doctor says. “I’m going to check on a few things.”

He shines a light in my eyes and asks me to follow it as he moves it. “Good. Now tell me, can you feel this?” He pokes my right hand.

“Yes.”

He pokes my left hand.

“Yes.”

I close my eyes, and the room is silent.

“Mr. Myers, do you feel anything now?”

“No.” I open my eyes. The doctor is poking my right foot. And I don’t feel a thing. I try to move my toes. Nothing. “I’m paralyzed?” No. That can’t be. If I can’t work with the guys, hell, I don’t have anything else I can do.

---