Refined By His Fire

  Chapter Six

  On the morning of the semifinal, Ryan struggles to wake Adrian up.

  It has been a fantastic tour for the team, and in particular for Adrian, who became the darling of the crowds and it would be interesting to see how he was going to react to his new fame when they arrive back in South Africa. As it is, the media did not leave him alone for one single second. Adrian’s photo’s were everywhere in the newspapers and foreign and South African cricket magazines and sport magazines also wrote article on article about him. In some other general interest magazines, photo’s that were taken of him made every woman hot blooded. Adrian was even offered a modeling contract, but he laughed about it and declined, stating that he was an ordinary policeman who happens to play a bit of cricket every now and then. Journalists at home and abroad dubbed Adrian as “The small wonder”, but his feet remained flat and firmly on the ground.

  The problem was that Adrian did not bat an eyelid the previous night, assuming like the rest of the team. It was a huge achievement to reach the semifinal.

  A knock sounds at the door.

  “Room service.”

  Ryan smiles. He has ordered a pot of very strong coffee with some rusks before they needed to assemble for team breakfast and that should do the trick.

  Ryan lets the waiter inside who places the tray on the table.

  “Hold on, mate. What’s the envelope for?”

  “Apparently, it is for Mr. Parker. I guess it might be some more fan mail. He is extremely popular.”

  “Thanks for the trouble.”

  “Pleasure, sir. Good luck with the match today.”

  Ryan nods, smiles and closes the door. He pours Adrian a mug of coffee and places it on the bedside table next to Adrian. It does not take a minute before Adrian stirs.

  Ryan smiles. The smell of coffee always roused Adrian.

  Adrian opens his eyes, tiresomely yawns.

  “Hi, buddy. What a mission to wake you up this morning.”

  “I couldn’t sleep last night. The thought of it being such an important match literally haunted my dreams last night.”

  “This came for you with the coffee. Apparently some more fan mail.”

  “Not that I’m complaining, but I can’t wait to get into my police uniform and get back to the normal life.”

  Adrian opens the envelope and freezes at the note in his hands. A single piece of paper with letters cut from a magazine, reads:

  “The moment I have waited for many years. It’s pay back time.”

  Ryan notices Adrian has turned very pale.

  “What is it, buddy?”

  “I . . . I um—”

  Adrian closes his eyes, clears his throat.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m a nervous wreck for today and some person tries to spoil my day.”

  “Here, let me see.”

  Ryan stares at the anonymous letter.

  “You don’t think it can be—”

  Their eyes lock. Adrian knows exactly what Ryan meant.

  “No. He is in jail. It can’t be.”

  “I’m going to give this to the police before we leave for the stadium. Maybe they can trace something on the handwriting.”

  “Ryan, it’s okay. I think I’m over reacting. Someone is trying to wreck my nerves before the match. It’s most probably a practical joke.”

  But deep down inside, the policeman in him knew, something terrible was going to happen . . .

  It feels like deja vu while he sits on the bench in the dressing room of the SCG. It has been a very tough match against England. Though rain interrupted, they posed a decent score for the Proteas to chase, and so far, it was going smooth in the run chase. The weather was also holding up very well. It was just very different tonight. Like weeks before, Adrian wasn’t keen in going out to bat, but tonight was different. He was scared to death. He felt very vulnerable without his uniform, his bulletproof and firearm. He knows he might be over reacting, thinking that Roy may be in the crowds, but he also knew that many prisoners get presidential pardon in SA. What drove Adrian crazy was the thought that his team may be in danger and that it was his duty to protect them, but that was difficult to do, because his private Smith & Wesson .38 Special was safely locked in the safe in the hotel room. Judged to the noise of the crowds he could hear that another wicket has fallen.

  Adrian closes his eyes and breathes deeply. He knows it was his turn to go in next and like usual, he silently makes his way down the stairs toward the crease.

  Ryan walks closer.

  “Are you okay, buddy? You look terribly nervous.”

  Adrian smiles bravely.

  “Caught up in the moment, I guess. We do need only 70 runs to win this thing and it seems so easy to do and yet, if we get overwhelmed in this moment, we might blow it.”

  “Well, let’s get this behind us before it rains again. Enjoy, buddy.”

  There is only one way to overcome this stress and fear he felt, Adrian decides, and that is to take his frustration out on the ball. So he does, and he tears the bowling attack of England apart with a total disregard. This brought the crowd and the Proteas dressing room up on their feet. It would be brilliant if South Africa could actually pull this off . . .

  Facing yet another delivery with his score on 34, Adrian becomes aware of the rain drops falling on his body. The bowler stops in his run up and the England team confers with the umpires about the weather conditions.

  The umpires turn to Adrian and Ryan.

  “Do you want to continue?”

  “Of course, yes. Please. The rain is not that heavy and we are only 27 runs short.” Adrian replies.

  “We can finish this in no time.”

  “Mr. umpire, please, we really need to go off. These playing circumstances are not suitable for my team.” the England captain interrupts.

  In a split second, the umpires decide to leave the field after removing the bails. Ryan looks at Adrian. Adrian is furious, but wisely decides not to say anything that may lead to a disadvantage to his team. Only in the dressing room does he display his fury.

  “Bloody unsportive bastards!”

  Adrian throws his gloves in the corner.

  “They know they are having their asses kicked! We had to play in exactly the same circumstances this afternoon!”

  Christo steps closer.

  “Easy, mate.”

  “No, Christo! No! Ryan and I are getting it done! We are only 27 runs away!”

  “Come on, mate. Relax. Take a drink of the soda to calm down.”

  Adrian accepts the can reluctantly and takes a drink. He notices the umpires making their way down to the pitch again and takes up his gloves before disappearing to the pitch with Ryan.

  Adrian takes guard, but his eye catches the scoreboard and he stares in disbelief.

  It reads 27 runs requested of 13 balls.

  Great. If that’s the way they want to play it, he will give it his everything to score these runs. It wasn’t that unachievable.

  But a split second later the scoreboard reads again 27 runs of seven balls.

  What the hell . . . what was this?!

  The crowds groan as one in disbelief and shock because the next moment the scoreboard reads 27 runs required of one ball.

  This is the cruellest nightmare! Someone needed to wake him up!

  Inside, Ryan was fuming, but he forces himself to stay calm.

  “Sir, what is the score about?”

  “Two overs were deducted due to the rain. It is that simple.”

  “But, the rain didn’t last that long!”

  “Sorry, that is the final run rate.”

  Ryan signals Adrian to face the last ball and Adrian very dejectedly clips the ball for a single. He removes his helmet and gloves and walks up to the dressing room without thanking anyone for the match like it was his usual custom. Though Adrian was a solid Christian with steadfast beliefs, he feels furious and not in the mood to chit chat to the umpires or the Englan
d players. The game was robbed from the Proteas in the cruellest, most unforgiving manner and he feel he needed to be left alone and get over it on his own.

  After a very dramatic night, the team management handled the press conference. Adrian only came to rest at one ‘o clock the next morning. The result was that everyone in the team decided to sleep late the following day and to take it easy. The tour was over anyway and they were to stay until the final was played before going home.

  Ryan looks at the sleeping Adrian. Most of the team was in tears the previous night and did not manage to hide their disappointment. Adrian on the other hand, did hide his emotions from his team mates and from the press. He thought Ryan was already sleeping when he went to bed very early that next morning, but Ryan was painfully aware of Adrian crying himself to sleep. What should have been a dream tour, an impossible dream coming true, became a very cruel nightmare.

  Ryan puts a note on Adrian’s bedside table and leaves the hotel room. That was at eleven ‘o clock in the morning.

  When Adrian woke up, he discovered Ryan’s note and then he went out by himself, discovering other tourist attractions. Adrian and Ryan were inseparable on the tour, but today, most of the players decided to venture alone and try to make sense of what has happened. Adrian returns back to the hotel at five ‘o clock that afternoon and he flicks on the TV, trying to watch movies. He missed his parents and Barry terribly and comforted himself that he will reunite with them in three days’ time. He felt like ordering some dinner, but Adrian didn’t want to do so before Ryan came back. At nine ‘o clock he falls asleep on the couch in front of the TV, Ryan still not back yet.

  Adrian opens his eyes, becomes aware of the daylight in the hotel room. He stretches, rubs his neck. Ouch. That hurts. Didn’t take up a healthy, comfortable sleeping position on the couch the previous night. Adrian looks on his watch. It reads 07:00. He gets up, inspects the room. He feels the anxiety growing inside him. Everything was exactly the way it was when Ryan left the previous day and there was no indication that Ryan had slept in his own bed last night.

  Adrian leaves his hotel room, locks the door and walks to Christo’s room. He knocks, but no response.

  “Christo! Christo, open up, mate! Christo!”

  Christo opens the door, appearing somewhat groggy.

  “Morning, mate. You really don’t have to break down my door.”

  “Christo, we have a problem. Ryan’s missing.”

  “Slow down, mate. What’s going on?”

  “He left me this note yesterday morning. He never came back last night.”

  “He didn’t mention that he needs to do something, mate?”

  “Why would he sleep elsewhere, Christo? He is married and that is not how Ryan is. He won’t just disappear without letting anyone know where he is.”

  “Adrian, we have to wait 48 hours anyway before we can report Ryan missing.”

  “That’s nonsense! It’s only in the movies.”

  “But, what are you going to do about this, mate? We can only call the Police.”

  Adrian laughs cynically.

  “I am the police, Christo. And I will do anything for any one of my team members. I need to find Ryan.”

  “But just how are you going to do that? You won’t even know where to start. You can’t do this on your own. It’s too dangerous.”

  “I’m going. End of story. Call for back-up if you want to. I’ll keep in touch.”

  Christo leaves his room and accompanies Adrian to his room.

  “Just how do you think you are going to do this, mate?”

  Adrian removes his firearm from the safe, loads it and takes more rounds in a special magazine holder.

  “I’ll keep you posted.”

  Adrian hands his hotel room key to Christo.

  “Please let me know if Ryan comes back, okay?”

  “Adrian, please be careful.”

  Adrian nods and disappears to the lift, going down to the reception to go out of the hotel. The receptionist stops him.

  “Sir, this came for you.”

  Adrian takes the envelope, smiles briefly and opens it. Inside is a single sheet of paper with letters cut from a magazine. It simply reads: “Perth Avenue, nearest corner Wellington Road”.

  In his mind, he knew this was a trap, but he needed to take the risk. Ryan’s life might depend on it.

  The cab stops relatively close to the address and Adrian pays the bill.

  “Are you sure this is the address, mate?” the cabbie asks curiously.

  “It is an extremely deserted area. Not much going on here.”

  “Yes, it’s perfect. Thanks, mate.”

  Adrian gets out and watches the cab disappear before he advances to Perth Avenue. Very cautiously, he approaches the old building. The building is in a very bad condition, windows are broken and some roof tiles are amiss. Adrian steps closer, goes inside. All his senses are on super alert, but he can’t see anything out of the unusual. Then, it happens out of nowhere without any sound, any warning. A bullet explodes into Adrian’s abdomen and he bravely tries to keep hold of his own firearm. Never has he experienced so much pain in his life before. A painful blow on his head follows and he falls down. Just before his world becomes black, Adrian looks up, into the evil eyes of Roy McBride.

  Being blindfolded and tied up, Ryan feels helpless when he hears the familiar footsteps of the man that kidnaped him the day before. Roy lays Adrian down on the ground and also handcuffs him to the handcuffs attached to the chains in the wall.

  “I brought you a little something.” Roy announces.

  “I hope you enjoy your surprise.” he removes Ryan’s blindfolds.

  “I don’t know how long he will live. I shot him at relatively close range. But believe me, this is not going to spoil my fun. I’m going to torture him in front of you and give him a slow, painful death. Then, you’re next.”

  Roy leaves the room and Ryan moves closer to Adrian, gathering him up in his arms so he can try to stop the bleeding. The bullet fortunately didn’t hit Adrian in the stomach or liver, but it might still be problematic and sure as hell very painful.

  Adrian slowly opens his eyes.

  “Ryan?”

  “Hey, buddy.”

  “Ryan, I’m so sorry I didn’t find you sooner!”

  “It’s okay, buddy. Don’t worry. I’m okay.”

  The pain overwhelms Adrian and he gasps for air.

  “Hush, buddy. You’ll be okay. Just take it easy.”

  “It hurts! Ryan, we need to get out of here.”

  Adrian frantically pulls at the handcuffs.

  “Adrian, listen to me. You need to stay calm, okay? It’s very important.”

  “I am so scared . . .”

  “It’s okay, buddy. I’m here. It’s okay.”

  “Ryan, I feel so tired . . . Damn, it hurts! Please, please help me . . .”

  Ryan gently, but firmly presses down on the gunshot wound and tries to comfort Adrian when Adrian groans in pain.

  “No . . . no . . . take away your hand. It hurts too much!”

  “Adrian, buddy, I need to try to stop the bleeding somehow. Just stay calm and stay awake. Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep. Please.”

  But Ryan feels helpless as Adrian eventually slips into unconsciousness. He knew it might turn out to be fatal, but at least, Adrian is unaware of the pain, for now.

  At last, a very scary three hours later, Adrian moves in Ryan’s arms, groans and opens his eyes.

  “Hey, buddy.”

  But the pain grows intense and coupled with the fact that Adrian is losing blood and becomes dehydrated, confusion takes over.

  “Barry . . .”

  “No, buddy. It’s me, Ryan. It’s okay. I’m here.”

  “Barry . . .”

  Adrian starts crying.

  “Hush, buddy. Everything’s okay.”

  “No . . . no . . . just leave me alone . . .”

  Ryan holds
Adrian close, rocking him gently in an effort to calm him down. They needed help very urgently. They needed to get out of here.

  The door opens and Roy enters the room. He shakes his head.

  “I can’t believe it.” he says.

  “Don’t get me wrong. I am all too happy that he hasn’t died yet. I still need to have my fun with him.”

  “Over my dead body you will touch him again!”

  “Oh, don’t worry. That can be arranged and it will happen. But only much later.”

  “I need water.”

  Roy laughs sarcastically.

  “You are not in the position to make any demands!”

  “Listen to me and listen to me good. I am very thirsty, seen that I have been here for more than 24 hours now without anything to eat or drink. So please, that’s all I ask.”

  “Why don’t you drink of your friend’s blood? Very nourishing.”

  “I said water, pal!”

  “Okay.”

  Roy disappears but comes back with a bottle of sealed water.

  “How do I know it’s not poisoned?”

  “Hey! You asked for it! It’s a sealed bottle!”

  Ryan takes the water from Roy.

  “I’ll see you later. And if I were you, I would leave this world before that because believe me, your days in Plumstead will look like a picnic.”

  Roy turns around and disappears again.

  Ryan opens the bottle and uses as little water as he can to rinse Adrian’s gunshot wound. He tears of a piece of his own T-shirt and presses down on the wound. Ryan tries again to make Adrian as comfortable as he could and attempts to give Adrian some water. Adrian takes a few sips, but refuses to take some more.

  “Come on, buddy. You have to drink much more than this. It’s imperative.”

  “No . . . no . . . leave me alone . . . Barry . . . where’s Barry . . .”

  “It’s okay, buddy. Hush. Take it easy. I’m here.”

  Ryan puts the water aside and gathers Adrian up in his arms again who slipped out of consciousness again. The tears sting his eyes and he hates admitting it, but the fear inside him becomes overwhelming. Ryan knew he was a very strong, fit young man, but he also knows that he was restricted and would not be able to defend himself or Adrian.

  Ryan feels something hard and foreign in Adrian’s pocket and he takes it out, the joyous realization sinking in when he stares at Adrian’s cell phone in his hand.

  Ryan flips the cell phone open. The battery is halfway full and the phone was switched to silent. Ryan notices that there are missed calls and messages on the phone, but he realizes that he can’t listen to the messages or make any calls. He needed to save the battery for long as he could and he couldn’t risk Roy hearing any conversations. Ryan browses the phone book on the phone and sends a short distress SMS to Christo.

  “Call 911. Perth Avenue. Adrian shot. Ryan.”

  Ryan sighs with relief when the delivery report reads message sent successfully. The only thing that needed to happen now is that help must arrive before anything else happens.

  “Christo, I don’t know about you, but something is terribly wrong.” Arthur says. The team management has called an emergency meeting trying to make sense of what is happening and figuring out the way forward.

  “Ryan has been gone for more than a day and a half now and Adrian is not back yet. I really think we must call the cops.”

  “I couldn’t agree more, but the problem is, where are they going to start to search for them? Chances are they might not even be in Australia any more.”

  The message alert comes through and Christo reads the message. He turns pale.

  “We have a lot of things to do.” he says.

  “Arthur, call the cops. I’ve received an SMS from Ryan on Adrian’s cell phone. He says Perth Avenue. Ask the Police if they can’t trace the location from where the SMS came from. I will have to notify Adrian and Ryan’s families. That won’t be an easy task.”

  “Christo, please tell them to book the first available flight at our expense.” Anthony Edwards, the chairman of CSA says.

  Henry’s ringing cell phone rouses him from a very deep sleep and he groggily opens his eyes. He just fell asleep after a very long day. The time on the bedside clock reads 23:00. It was probably another trio crime again in his precinct . . .

  “Henry Parker.” he yawns.

  “Henry, it’s Christo Vosloo. I’m sorry in waking you this time of night, but I don’t have good news and I need to tell you before the media gets hold of it.”

  Henry sits upright in the bed and this rouses Chrissie who switches on the bedside lamp.

  “Christo, what’s going on?”

  “Roy McBride, the guy that kidnaped Adrian as a kid, escaped from jail. He took both Adrian and Ryan and Adrian is shot. We are not certain about Adrian’s condition. Get the first available flight to Sydney. It’s at our expense.”

  “I’ll keep in touch, Christo. I assume this number that came through is yours?”

  “Yes, affirmative.”

  “Did you call the Police there?”

  “Yes. They are on their way to the scene as we speak.”

  The sound of the door opening awakens both Adrian and Ryan and Roy enters the room.

  “Play time.”

  Ryan tries to prevent Roy from getting to Adrian, but Roy immobilizes him with a shock machine and shortens the chains right up against the wall, totally disabling Ryan to move and so help Adrian.

  Roy sits down next to Adrian and flicks open a razor sharp knife.

  “You were really stupid when you ran away and when you set the cops on me.”

  He presses the knife against Adrian’s skin.

  “And you were even more stupid to become a cop yourself. I just wonder if your training still sticks to your mind and if you are a brave policeman. I’m very curious to see how brave you have became over the years.”

  A thin red line appears as the knife breaks Adrian’s skin. Adrian flinches, but he refuses to make a sound.

  “Did you miss me?”

  Adrian looks at Roy. An intense hate reflects in his eyes. Adrian spits Roy in the face.

  “Go away . . . leave me alone . . .”

  Roy hits Adrian with the fist in the face and Adrian looks him bravely in the eyes again.

  “You can’t kill me . . .”

  “Don’t dare me!”

  “I’ll be going Home . . .”

  “Not just yet. In a while.”

  The knife sinks into Adrian’s shoulder and a scream of agony tears through the room.

  “Oh, not so brave after all, are we?”

  Adrian closes his eyes. He gathers all his very last and little strength he had. He knows that if he didn’t do something now, he will not survive, neither will Ryan. With his chains loose enough, Adrian tries desperately to get hold of the firearm and a struggle ensues. Two of the bullets tear into Adrian’s abdomen and with his last strength, Adrian manages to regain control of the firearm and he empties the remaining four bullets into Roy’s chest.

  For the last time with his dying breath, Roy takes up the knife to try to stab Adrian again, but the knife falls out of his hand and Roy collapses and dies.

  Critically injured and very weak, Adrian lies there, not able to move. He didn’t make a sound.

  Ryan frantically pulls at the handcuffs in the wall. He feels so helpless and it enraged him.

  The SWAT team of the Police arrives with a huge noise accompanied by the paramedics, very close on their heels. The Police frees Adrian from the handcuffs and the paramedics start immediately with emergency treatment. The SWAT team then frees Ryan too, who immediately goes to Adrian’s side.

  Ryan takes up Adrian’s hand and strokes his hair.

  “Adrian? Adrian, listen to me, okay? It’s me, Ryan. Hold on! Just hang in there for a little while longer. You have so many people that love you. If anything . . . If anything, just hang on for Barry’s sake,
okay?”

  Adrian very wearily opens his eyes.

  “Ryan . . .”

  “It’s okay. I’m here. Everything is okay now. You’re safe.”

  “Ryan . . .”

  “Hush, buddy, don’t talk.”

  “Ryan . . . thanks . . . for everything . . .”

  A tear slips over Ryan’s cheek.

  “Please . . . please tell Barry . . . and my folks . . . I love them . . . and the team . . .”

  “No, buddy! Please! Please hold on! We need you so much! You are going to tell this yourself to everyone!”

  “Sir, I’m really sorry, but we need to take him now.”

  “Where are you going to take him?”

  “No, sir, you need to come for treatment too. Please, lay down.”

  Ryan obliges. He closes his eyes, the tears streaming down his face of shock, fear and worry. He is only vaguely aware of the paramedic connecting him up to an IV. The sounds of the monitor assessing Adrian’s critical condition the only thing that he is aware of.

  A day later and very tired because of jet lag and emotional stress, Henry, Chrissie and Barry arrive at the Park Hyatt hotel where the cricket team was staying. Christo meets them in the foyer.

  “Hello, Christo.”

  “Hello, Henry.”

  “I don’t know if you remember Adrian’s friend, Barry. And this is Adrian’s mother, Chrissie.”

  They meet only briefly.

  “We can organize that the staff takes the baggage to your room. I don’t know if you want to rest for a while or go to the hospital immediately. I was on my way there anyway to pick up Ryan.”

  “Did the doctor say anything to you?” Henry asks carefully.

  “Yes, he did. I was there briefly this morning. Adrian is in the ICU. I . . . I don’t know how to say this, but . . .” Christo sighs.

  “They are waiting for the family. They need your permission to switch off the life support.”

  “That will not happen.” Chrissie says firmly.

  “Chrissie, the doctors have no hope for Adrian. He has lost a tremendous amount of blood and sustained serious internal injuries.”

  “I don’t understand this.” she says angrily.

  “Adrian was supposed to be safe with you!”

  “Slow down, my angel.”

  But the tears stream down Chrissie’s face.

  “Don’t you dare to tell me to slow down, Henry! I’m going to the hotel room to make sure that our baggage arrived safely and then I’m going to the hospital, with or without you. Which hospital is it, Christo?”

  “Sydney County. Go to your room quickly. I’ll wait for you. You can come with me because I need to fetch Ryan anyway.”

  Barry waits patiently for Henry and Chrissie to spend time with Adrian in his private room in the ICU. He desperately wants to go in there, but it was imperative for Adrian’s parents to spend time with him and get over the initial shock.

  They emerge from the room, both of their eyes are red of the tears they cried.

  Chrissie touches Barry’s arm.

  “Barry . . . I really know how much you want to see Adrian. I’m just so concerned, scared that . . . what you are going to see, you will not be able to handle.”

  Barry shoots her a double take.

  “Is . . . is that bad, then?”

  Chrissie just manages to nod and clouds up again.

  “The doctor wants to talk to Henry and me. I will come and tell you what he has said.”

  Barry looks through the window and steps closer, opening the door and closing it behind him. His emotions overwhelm him when the reality sinks in. Adrian looked fragile, broken and helpless. There are pipes, tubes and wires everywhere connected to him to monitor his breathing and vitals and to ensure his life support.

  Barry takes a seat beside Adrian, takes Adrian’s left hand in his and weeps.

  Henry and Chrissie patiently wait for the doctor in the waiting room of the ICU. Not after a very long while, the figure of the doctor appears.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Parker, I assume?” he asks hesitantly.

  “That’s right, yes.”

  “I am Dr. Carter. I was the surgeon who treated your son on arrival and who operated on him with the other specialists. I really appreciate you coming here.”

  “Doctor, forgive me. But, please. Let’s skip the chit chat. I’m a professional nurse at home. Please, please tell me what’s happened and what we can expect, because I understand you want to switch off the life support.”

  They take a seat.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Parker, your son has been brought here with severe abdominal injuries. He was severely dehydrated and lost a lot of blood. We had to resuscitate him twice. Due to his gunshot wounds I had to remove a small part of his intestines and liver. If he survives, it will not make much impact on his lifestyle and he will be able to lead a normal life as usual. My problem is this: like I mentioned, he had lost a great amount of blood and the loss was and is at a critical level. The blood loss lead to shock and he is not coping very well at the moment. Your son is very young and fit, I’ll give him that, but he is also very slender built. The only thing I can do now is to make him as comfortable as possible and to prevent infection. That is why I’m suggesting that, if you see your way through it, that we switch off the life support. I don’t think his heart will be able to handle another arrest because the fact of the matter is that he is very weak.”

  Chrissie bravely dries her tears.

  “Switching off the life support is no option, Doctor. I’m going to ask you this. Please, please put him in an induced coma and make him as comfortable as you can. I know he can pull through. My child is a fighter and I refuse to give up any hope.”

  For two weeks, Henry, Chrissie and Barry made turns to watch over Adrian. They were advised to go home at night, but none of them would hear anything of it.

  It is three ‘o clock in the morning and Barry fell asleep with his head resting on his arms on the bed. The pitch of the beeps in the monitor changes and it startles Barry.

  Barry wakes up and witnesses Adrian slowly opening his eyes. Adrian wearily turns his head and tries to speak to Barry, but the tube in his throat prevents him from doing so.

  “Hey, old man. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

  Barry strokes with his hand over Adrian’s hair.

  “Can ye hear me?”

  Adrian weakly squeezes Barry’s hand and the tears of relief and emotion run over Barry’s cheeks. Barry presses the call button and within seconds, the nurse is by their side.

  “He just woke up, just now.” Barry says excitedly.

  “Sir, I think he still might be in his coma. Lots of patients open their eyes while they are still in a coma. It’s normal.”

  The nurse checks Adrian’s vitals and shines with a small torch in his eyes.

  “I’m going to call the doctor. Thanks for calling me. He is awake. Please, try to keep him calm.”

  “It’s okay, old man. I’m here. Everything is all right now. You’re safe.”

  Within a few minutes, Dr. Carter emerges into the room and examines Adrian.

  “I’m going to take him off the life support, but you must ensure that he gets 70% oxygen and come and check him every five.”

  The nurse nods.

  “Is he going to be okay, Doc?”

  “I don’t know, Barry. He still has a very long way to go. Adrian? Can you hear me? I’m going to remove the pipe out of your throat. Just take a deep breath in and out.”

  When Adrian exhales, Dr. Carter pulls out the tube and connects Adrian to oxygen via oxygen tubes in his nostrils.

  “Barry . . .”

  “It’s okay. I’m here. It’s okay now.”

  Adrian’s grip on Barry’s hand becomes tighter.

  “Are ye hurting?”

  “It hurts so much . . . please . . . you must make it go away . . .”

  The nurse reappears and puts
up an extra IV on the existing line.

  “The meds might make him sleepy. It’s very strong pain medication. He’ll be okay now. If the pain doesn’t go away, just buzz me again, but I will come back and check on him every five, okay?”

  “Thanks, miss.”

  Barry turns back to Adrian.

  “Is it getting better now?”

  But the question is very useless as Adrian becomes calmer and drowsy.

  “Barry, please stay . . .”

  “I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here.”

  “I’m so scared . . .”

  “No, you don’t have to be.”

  Barry wipes the tears of Adrian’s cheek and softly kisses him on the forehead, not caring how it may look.

  “I’m here now and nothing, no one, will get to ye again. You are safe. I’m here.”

  “Don’t go . . .”

  “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”