TWENTY-THREE
Ellie awoke to the beeping of hospital machines for the second time in six months.
She coughed. Her throat felt like it was lined with soot.
Weakly, her eyes fluttered open.
A nurse looked over from the other side of a sunny room, painted yellow. ‘Oh, hello! You’re awake,’ she said, coming over to Ellie’s bed.
‘What happened?’ Ellie whispered. She tried to clear her throat, but it wouldn’t clear.
‘Careful. You need to keep the oxygen mask on for now.’ The nurse adjusted the straps holding the mask to Ellie’s face. ‘Do you remember? You were in a fire. You saved your friend who was there too.’ She indicated the bed next to Ellie, where Fee lay with her eyes closed and an oxygen mask on her face.
‘Oh, no. Fee!’ Ellie tried to get up, but fell back on her pillows. ‘Is she… will she be all right?’
‘You both inhaled smoke, but the fire brigade got to you pretty quickly. The other girl that was there with you, they said she tried to go back in for you, but she couldn’t stand the smoke. Fortunately for you, you’d dragged Fiona near to the open door so you had that air coming in. That’s probably what saved you.’ The nurse patted her hand. ‘They’re going to keep you in for a bit, monitor you. We have to keep an eye on your heart, and make sure you don’t get any infections. Especially you, as you’ve had surgery recently.’
‘I feel like death warmed up,’ Ellie whispered.
‘I know. Rest, fluids, and we’ll make sure you’re okay. If you give us the details of whoever did your mastectomy, we’ll get in touch with them as well.’
‘Okay.’ Ellie felt exhausted just from that brief interaction. She turned her head carefully to look at Fee in the next bed.
‘She hasn’t woken up yet?’ she whispered, hoarsely.
‘No. But I expect she will soon. I think she inhaled more smoke than you did, from what the other girl at the scene told the fire brigade.’ The nurse put her hand on Ellie’s forehead; it was a reassuring gesture. ‘Don’t worry. Try not to, anyway.’
Ellie closed her eyes. It was impossible not to worry. What if Fee didn’t recover? What if her efforts in pulling her best friend from a burning building were all for nothing? She felt useless, hopeless. Tears welled in her eyes.
‘Oh, darling. It’s going to be okay.’ The nurse handed Ellie a tissue. ‘You just woke up in hospital. You’re going to feel low and crappy right now. Okay? But in a few days you’ll feel a lot better, I promise. Try to rest. Here – drink some water.’ She handed Ellie a plastic beaker half full with water. ‘We’ve got you an IV for now, too. It’s all being taken care of.’
Ellie sipped the water; her mouth tasted like charcoal. She felt fatigue overcome her again, and her eyes began to close.
Behind her eyelids, the starry night sky of Magpie Cove beckoned her: slipping into a fractured dream, she found herself flying over the rooftops of the village again. But, this time, the beach house was burning, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
