Why isn’t he saying anything?
Olivia started to shake him hard, his body growing oddly limp in her hands and his head rolling back.
Oh my god, he’s unconscious.
‘HELP!’ she screamed, the wind snatching the words from her lips and carrying them off in its grasp. Olivia reached her hands forward and on to the handlebars; she could just about get her fingertips to touch it. How the hell was she supposed to steer this thing from back here? Adrenaline surged through her as her grip tightened on the bars.
‘JACOB,’ she tried one last time, attempting to use her body to shake him awake, whilst simultaneously steadying the bike.
His head lolled forward and then, as though someone had flicked on a switch, he came back to life.
‘Holy shit.’ He slammed hard on the brakes, twisting the bike away from the tree they were veering directly towards. They hit the trunk sideways on with a sickening crash.
Olivia screamed, half falling, half jumping off the bike.
‘Oh my god.’ Jacob took off his helmet and looked around,eyes wide and face full of terror. ‘Are you all right? What the hell happened?’
‘You tell me!’ she roared, fear and anger searing through her. ‘You were the one driving the bloody thing.’
‘I … I don’t understand.’ He climbed off the bike and ran his hands through his damp curls. ‘One minute you were talking to me and the next we were heading straight for the tree.’ He staggered back.
‘Woah, hold on.’ Olivia ran to his side and took the weight of his body on to hers. ‘Sit down for a second, will you, I think you lost consciousness.’
Jacob lowered himself to the ground and rested his head in his hands.
‘I don’t know,’ he murmured over and over, ‘I just don’t know what happened.’
‘You must have had some warning sign! You didn’t feel faint or anything?’ She tried to place a hand on his forehead, but Jacob shook her off. ‘How do you feel now?’
‘I’m fine. I felt fine, and I feel fine now.’ He lifted his head up suddenly. ‘Are you hurt?’
Olivia checked herself over; there were no cuts or bruises, only a deep sense of anxiety brewing in the pit of her stomach. ‘I’m OK, but we need to find a way to get you home and to a doctor.’
‘I’ll drive us, I just need a minute.’
‘No, you won’t.’
‘I’mfine,’ he growled. ‘It’s probably dehydration; too much sun and not enough water.’
She couldn’t help but remember the same reason he’d attributed to her little incident in the market back in Delhi.
‘I’m sorry, but you are not driving us back.’ She passed him her bottle of water. ‘Not in this state.’
‘Well, what do you suggest?’
She looked around for a moment, as if the answer would spontaneously erupt from the dusty ground and the mounds of frazzled vegetation. ‘We’ll call a taxi.’
‘With what? I don’t have a phone and you left yours at home.’
Dread seeped through her skin.
‘Argh!’ She kicked the floor hard. ‘This is ridiculous. We can’t sit here all night. You need to go and see a doctor.’
‘No.’ Jacob’s voice was cutting. ‘I’m not seeing a doctor. I told you, I’mfine.’
‘Oh yes!’ Olivia threw her hands up in the air. ‘Because every fit and healthy person simply loses consciousness whilst riding a motorbike, don’t they?’
‘It’s a moped.’
