The Space Within
Pain shot through him as he was struck along his left side. The driver had not seen him through the blinding snow. He had been thrown into the ditch from the impact. As blackness claimed him, his thoughts were of his lost child. It had been only a week since his death. It was fitting that his would come so soon, though he had not found what he sought. Perhaps in death, he would finally find the peace his soul craved, but death would not come so easily. Death was not ready for him.
***
The man drove along the highway looking for stranded vehicles, hoping to find someone alive. The storm had raged for hours and at least three deaths were known. As he continued to search, something caught his eye along the roadside. He quickly pulled his vehicle behind the form and discovered it was another body. Gathering his heavy coat around him, he left the comfort of his warm vehicle and headed out into the cold. He knelt down by the still form thinking the worst when suddenly the man's hand reached out and grabbed his own.
The man nearly panicked, as the hand that grabbed him should have been frozen stiff, but felt warm and had a grip of iron. The man shook off his sudden panic and remembered why he had come out to this deserted stretch of highway. He started to lift the nearly frozen stranger when he discovered the red-stained snow that lay underneath.
"Man you are one lucky son of a . . .," the man did not finish. "Let's get you into a nice warm car and I'll take a look at that wound. My name's McDonald, Jason McDonald. I don't know if you can hear me, but I think at this point you should know who it is that's rescuing you."
McDonald did his best to be as gentle as he could when the stranger groaned as he lifted him into his arms. Despite the man's injury, McDonald could not help but notice that the man seemed to also assist him in that effort. It took McDonald nearly five minutes of struggling to reach his vehicle and to try to prop the stranger against his car so he could open the driver side passenger door. This would allow him to rest the stranger on his right side so he could get a good look at the man's wound.
Thinking better of it, McDonald did his best to strap the man in with a seatbelt and decided that it would be best to simply get him to a warmer place so his wound could be examined more easily. He did not want to risk the stranger's life by removing any of his clothing, which at this point had acted as a bandage from being frozen to his skin. 'I'll be able to take a much closer look back at the clinic,' he thought. 'I wonder what he's doing out in the middle of a blizzard anyway?'
McDonald glanced back at the man through his rear view mirror. The man's eyes were closed and there his face was pinched, the only evidence that the man was in any pain, otherwise the stranger remained silent. Slowly the man's eyes opened and looked around. Confusion could be seen in his eyes and McDonald knew in an instant just what the stranger was thinking.
"Don't worry. You're safe. I think a car must have hit you. We're heading back to my clinic so I can take a look at that wound in your side."
The stranger started to get up when . . .
"I wouldn't move if I were you. You might start bleeding again. Don't worry, it's not far. Only about 5 miles from here."
McDonald watched as the stranger settled back down.
"Can you talk? What's your name?"
At first the stranger did not answer.
"Too personal, huh?" McDonald continued to talk to the stranger to keep him alert and to reassure him that he was in good hands.
"My name's Jason McDonald," the man repeated. "I'm a doctor or I was a few months ago. Found I liked working on animals better than people. But there are some who think I'm crazy for switching professions. You might be wondering why I'm out here and not at home in front of a warm fire. I'm crazy for doing it, but the highway patrol needed some extra help to spot motorists who might have been stranded by the storm. I've been up and down this highway six times. I found three dead before I found you. I'm surprised I didn't spot you earlier."
McDonald kept glancing at his rear view mirror to see if the man in the back was even listening to his one-sided conversation. "Looks like my work is done for now. I'll be heading back out as soon as I get you back to the clinic and take a look at that . . ."
"Caine,' the stranger said quietly.
"What did you say?"
"I am Caine."
For a moment, McDonald was stunned into silence. 'It couldn't be,' he thought. 'He's dead.'
End of part 1
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2000.
This story cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from
the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
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