ONE DEPRESSING NIGHT TO REMEMBER!

Lucy had raced to the phone. She immediately called 911. "Come on... Pick up, pick up, pick up," she says while the phone was ringing. Finally, the operator on the other side of the line answered. "911, what's your emergency?"

Lucy continues, "Yes, my friend, she's not waking up. I don't know what's wrong with her. Please help. Now!" "Calm down, what's your address?" "Dammit! Angel, what address is this!?" She screams. He responds, "I don't know. Let me check outside real quick." He runs and looks everywhere.

There were a few numbers on the house. The numbers were: 6,5,1,18 Decode(a) St. (Dee-code-uh). Angel runs back to the house and tells Lucy, "It's 65118 Decode(a) St." Lucy repeats what Angel said on the phone.

The operator on the other side of the line was on the computer. The operator looked to see where the address is and eventually finds it. The operator says to Lucy, "We're on our way. Please be calm, it might take a while." Lucy hangs up the phone.

Angel and Lucy were waiting for the ambulance to arrive. "You think Joyce is going to be okay Angel?" "I don't know. Let's just hope for the best."

"What if she doesn't make it?" Lucy asks.

"We'll prepare her funeral," Angel says. "How are you not sad!?"

"What makes you think I'm not?"

"Well, you're not crying anymore, and it doesn't seem like you even care."

"I do care Lucy. A lot! Do you think it'll be easy to live without Joyce? Of course, it won't! She's special, but sometimes things just don't go the way you want it to. I care too much for you both. It hurts! But I will do anything for both of you. That's a promise I will never break, so if the ambulance doesn't come, we will take her there. We will figure out a way. Remember this: No matter what circumstance or hard situation you find yourself in and you think you're going to be stuck in that situation, you won't! Because there's always a way out, always. Don't forget it!"

Angel picks Joyce up and laid her on the couch. He then walks back to the floor where Joyce had fallen. He examines the area and thinks to himself, "She couldn't have just fallen. Something happened." Lucy asks him, "Angel, what do you think happened?"

He looks at the TV. "Well, we laid her on the couch and the TV is on. My guess is she was watching a show or something." He turns around to look at the broken glass.

"There's broken glass and the floor is wet, so that was a glass cup of water. I believe she got up to grab a glass of water. "Wait!" "What? What is it?" Lucy asks.

Angel responds, "This window here is open. I never remembered opening a window, and there's a little blood on the bottom of it. My guess is that Joyce must've seen something that scared her. This would lead her to drop the glass cup, causing the water to spill. She must've slipped on it! Leading her to fall, hmm... Unconscious. Since her head was bloody and from where I can see she's still breathing. That's a good sign. But, what scared her? Is the question."

"So, what now Angel?" "How long has it been since you called the ambulance?" "I think forty minutes."

"We'll wait 20 more minutes. In the meantime, clean the blood off her head, please. If they don't hurry, we'll get her to the hospital ASAP!" Angel and Lucy were waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

Meanwhile... Sheriff Sherrie was signing out from being a sheriff. she walks out of the office door. Unexpectedly, she runs into one of her officers in duty. Officer Simmons asks Sherrie, "Why were you in in the office? I've never seen you go there unless... they called on you."

The only response Sherrie gave was, "Goodbye Officer Simmons." She walks out the door and into her own car. She proceeds to drive far away from the area. she eventually makes it to a glass building and proceeds to walk towards it.

"Okay, so your name is Sherrie Dylan. You have worked as a sheriff for 8 years. You're 28 of age. You've never had a criminal record. No family?" "Yes, one daughter. Well, had one daughter." "I'm sorry to hear that sheriff and why would you want to become an FBI agent?"

"I want to investigate criminals that need to be thrown in prison. There are a lot of psychotic people out there and what I know as of now is that there has been a lot of kidnapping around the area I live in. Something's up! I can feel it!" "Okay, well you seem to be really focused, but we need you to focus on other things as well. We give you orders, you follow them. No exceptions!"

"Understood! But I want to be included as a CSI member as well!" "CSI? Why?" "Let's just say not only have kids been kidnapped, but there have been murderous killings around the street! And let me tell you, you've never seen anything like it! So yes, CSI!" "Okay then Sherrie, you need three years of training before you can proceed. Let's get started!"

Angel and Lucy have been waiting, when finally the ambulance arrived. They grabbed Joyce. Angel was looking at them putting her on the so-called stretcher. He gets in with Lucy in the back of the ambulance vehicle.

One out of the two paramedics asked, "How long has she been out?" "It's been an hour since you've arrived and when we came back she was already out. My estimation leads me to believe just a little more than that," Angel said. "And where were you two?"

"We were out working to make her feel better. She was worried about... something... and so we didn't want her to feel depressed. We had to make some money, so she could have fun in this carnival that comes once a year," Lucy said.

The paramedic asks, "And where are your parents?" Angel ignores what she said and cuts her off by saying "Hey, can you check the bottom of her foot, close to her ankle please." "Yeah sure."

Angel and Lucy look at each other with a relieved facial expression that they did not have to give that kind of information.

They finally make it to the hospital. The nurses rushed Joyce into a room. Angel and Lucy were running towards her. One of the nurses says, "I'm sorry, but you can't get in here." "Why not!? She's our friend!" Lucy shouts at the nurse. She wants to get in by force.

Angel wraps his hands around Lucy and says, "Stop! Or we won't be able to stay here! So, calm down! Now!" Lucy finally gave in after a few minutes. They wait for two hours.

Finally, the nurse comes out and says, "Come in." Angel and Lucy walk into the room. The nurse proceeds, "I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself. My name is Susanna. What are your names?"

"Mine is Lucy." "And my name is Angel." "It's a pleasure to meet you two. But the reason I told you both to come in was that I wanted to show you something. Look, according to this cardiograph, her heart is still beating. She's in a... I wouldn't say stable condition, but she's alive. The bad news is that she's still in an unconscious state. You see, when someone is unconscious for too long, there are two problems to this. One problem is that when she wakes up, she might not remember who you two are. The second problem is that she might never wake up." "We'll hope for the best," Angel said.

Afterward, the nurse left the little room. Angel asks, "Hey Lucy, what time is it?" She looks at the clock in the back of her. "It's 11:20 P.M. Why?" "So, it has been two hours and twenty minutes since we've been here. Also, it's Just that I'm hoping Joyce wakes up soon."

Lucy continues, "This is all my fault. I'm sorry Angel." "It's not your F-" "Yes it is! Don't tell me it's not! If you never would've come to find me her leg would still be all right! How can you be so damn STUPID!!! If I never would've left her by herself, she wouldn't be here! So yes, it is too my fault. You IDIOT! My dad was right. All I am is a bitch. I never do anything right. I'm sorry Angel, but I need to leave."

She's about to walk out the door, when Angel suddenly says, "Wait!" "What!?" Lucy said grinding her teeth. Angel proceeds, "Why do you blame yourself for everything? And I don't believe you're a... what you just called yourself. You're more than that. Joyce needs you. She said she missed you and now that you came back she's been happier than ever. We need you, Lucy. You don't think I want to blame myself for things too? It hurts a lot! If we lose Joyce, we're both going to lose it. So what's the point of arguing, of fighting with each other? Blaming ourselves for something we did not do. How will that help anything!? Huh!? I love her Lucy! A lot! She's the sweetest and joyful person I've ever met. She's... she's... special. Very special to me! And if we lose her... then... then... I don't know what I'd do without her. She's the most understanding girl. The only girl I will ever have this much love for! So again, what's the point of fighting!?"

Angel was crying. Lucy sits down next to Angel, "I'm... I'm sorry Angel. I'm... very sorry." "It's okay Lucy, and remember, don't blame yourself for everything. It's not your fault. It never was. Let's just be glad that Joyce is okay." "You're right Angel. You're right." "It's barely 11:40," Lucy says. "Yeah, let's wait for Joyce."

Angel looks up and sees the lights of the hospital. It turned off and on, very slowly. "That's odd," he whispers to himself. He looks back to Lucy. She was already asleep. He looks to the hallway and sees that there is one light at the end of it. "Should I walk over there? I can't, I need to watch Joyce!" He hears someone groaning. "Is someone over there in pain?"

Angel gets up off his chair and proceeds to walk towards the hallway. Lucy finally wakes up and sees Angel go through the hallway. "Angel, what are you doing?" She asks calmly. "Going to see who's over there. Can't you hear someone groaning?"

Lucy looks closely. There was no light and she could not hear anyone groaning. "Crap!" She gets up and grabs Angel's arm. "Stop! What the hell are you doing? There's nothing there!" Angel kept on walking.

"I'm sorry Angel but I have no choice!" She says and slaps him in the face. "Ow!" Angel expresses pain while soothing his cheek. He looks again. "You're right! There's nothing there. But... But how?" "I don't know. Are you all right?" Lucy asks. "I'm fine now. Thank you." "No problem."

As they go back to sit down, they notice that the cardiograph gave high waves. It beeped faster and faster. Joyce's body had no control. It looked like someone was shocking her with a Taser. As if she was having a seizure. "Damn! Lucy, I'll be back!"

Angel ran outside calling for a nurse to help. He finds nurse Susanna. He gets her attention by saying, "Susanna! Susanna! Joyce is out of control! Come check. Now!" Susanna proceeds to run to Joyce. Angel saw her running with other nurses and doctors. They make it to Joyce's little room.

"Step outside Angel. Now! I'm sorry." Lucy was taken out of the room as well. "What's her heart pulse?" Susanna asks. The doctor on the left side of Joyce's cot says to her, "Her heart rate is going to 128, 140, 160, 200... Damn! It's already on 204 BPM!" "Wait, wait! It's dropping drastically," Susanna says.

"Her heart rate is now going below. No! If she makes it to zero, she's not gonna make it!" The doctor on the right side of the cot says, "No! She will. There are two kids out there waiting for her. They have a lot of hope, and if she dies, they'll drop down in tears. Damn! She's on 4 BPM. Pass me the defibrillator.

"Wait!" The doctor on the right said. She proceeds, "Won't that kill her?" "We don't have a choice!" Says Susanna. Susanna gets the defibrillator and shocks Joyce once. No bodily reaction from Joyce. Susanna shocked her again, still nothing. One last shock, nothing at all. Susanna notices that there were no more waves of Joyce's heart rate. It was on Zero BPM. "Damn! No! No! No! NO!!! Come on!!! Wake up! Wake up!!!

Well, I guess we tried our best. I'm... I'll go talk to the kids," Susanna says while giving a facial expression that demonstrated she failed to save someone's life. "Hey, kids." "What's wrong?" Angel asks. She says, "I'm sorry, but Joyce did not make it. Her heart rate went all the way down."

Lucy's heart sank. "She's... she's... dead!?" "I'm afraid so. I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do anymore. We have to take her out of the hospital now," Susanna says. "Come on Lucy. Let's get out of here," Angel said. "Wait! What about Joyce?" Lucy asks.

"What about Joyce? What about Joyce!? She's dead! There's nothing we can do!" Angel stated. "But... But Angel?" "LET'S GO!!!" Angel says. Tears were running down his face.

He walks to the main entrance of the hospital. The doors were locked. "The hell?" He heard someone whisper, "You can live without her. I know you were planning to murder her. That's all you can think of, but I know you're not innocent. Kill everyone in this hospital right now. It'll feel good, really good Angel. Do it, or do you want to save whoever is in that hallway over there? Which one do you choose Angel?"

Angel is thinking about both options. "I choose the first!" He says while smiling maliciously. (His eyes are red). He's getting closer to Lucy. He's now two feet in front of her. He's staring at her eyes. Now he reached for his blade and started laughing and laughing over and over again psychotically.

"Angel! Angel! What's wrong with you?" Lucy asks. "What...What do you mean?" (His eyes still red). "It looks like you're not concentrated right now. Wait! Your eyes!" "What about them?" "They're red" "Red? Oh, I'm probably just sleepy," Angel lies and kept looking at her as he moves his head left to right and right to left.

"Angel, I'm scared," Lucy says. (Angel's eyes were now clearing). He focused on Lucy and asked, "Scared of what?" "Scared to be here. Joyce is gone, Angel. I'm scared that I too will die one day," she says while putting her face close to angels chest and holds his right hand.

"No Lucy, you will not die. As long as we stick together you will not. I promise." Nurse Susanna tells the kids, "You have to leave already. We don't want your parents to worry, now do we?" They proceed to walk towards the entrance. All of a sudden they heard a rhythmic beat. It would beat two times every couple of seconds.

Angel and Lucy run back to Joyce's room. She was breathing normally. "Nurse, let us stay just a little more. Please?" Angel pleads until Susanna gave in. "Okay, just a little more. I'll be back. I have to check everything to see if she'll be in a stable condition."

The nurse comes back out of the room after fifteen minutes. Now she talks to the kids, "Okay! So, she's doing all right. She just has a fever right now, but she's awake. Would you two like to come in?"

They both nod 'yes' and so they proceed to walk into the room. Once inside, Lucy sits next to her and says, "Hey Joyce, you feeling better?" Joyce looks at Lucy with confusion. Lucy proceeds, "Is everything okay?" "Yeah," Joyce said. Before Joyce said another word, nurse Susanna interrupted and said, "Angel, Lucy, there's something you should know."

"What is it, nurse?" Angel asks. "Hey," Joyce says to Lucy. "Yes, Joyce?" "How do you know my name?" "What do you mean? I'm your friend." "I don't know who you are." Lucy couldn't believe it. She says, "Do you know who he is?" while pointing directly at Angel.

Joyce looks at him for a while. "No, I don't know who he is either. Hey, where am I?" "You're in the hospital," Angel says. "Why am I in the hospital?" "We don't exactly know Joyce, but we will figure it out soon," Angel said. "Don't you remember anything?" Asks Lucy. "Well, I do remember falling down."

"Do you remember why you fell down?" Asks Angel with a serious facial expression. "No, I can't think right now... Ow, my head hurts," Joyce complains. "Lucy, stay here with her. I need to rest for tomorrow. I'm going back to school. Joyce and I had to turn in a project, but now it's just me. See you tomorrow."

"Oh okay. Bye, take care." "You too Lucy." Angel proceeds to walk outside. As he’s walking he thinks to himself, "There's something strange about all of this and I intend to find out!"

Word count 2,944