The Edge

thought. Yes, I could make it to the hospital. It wasn't more than six minutes away, maybe seven minutes. I managed to keep the car reasonably in my own lane. Only about half a dozen oncoming drivers honked at me. Finally, disbelieving that I'd really made it, I pulled into the Emergency Room parking area, clipping a bush on the way in. I watched my fingers try to turn the key off and fail. I felt like I was folding in on myself, that whatever strength I'd had until this minute was gone. I just let go because I didn't really have any other choice.

    Odd, but I heard a horn blasting in my eardrums. It was the last thing I remembered.

Chapter Twelve

    Mac. It's time for you to wake up. Come on now, you can do it."

    I didn't want to move. I didn't want to open my eyes. The voice came again, low and insistent. I recognized that twangy voice vaguely, and I hated it. It made my head ache. Finally, I managed to get words out of my mouth. I said, "Go away."

    Twangy Voice said, "No can do, Mac. Open your eyes. Let me see that you're alive."

    "Of course I'm alive," I said, pissed now, wishing I could lift my arm and punch the voice out. "Just leave me the hell alone."

    I heard the man speaking to someone else. "Slap his cheeks," a woman said. It was Mrs. Himmel.

    Smack the man-that was a woman for you. "No," I said. "Don't hit me."

    "He's coming around," Twangy Voice said, and I swear I could feel his breath on my skin. Skin? What did that mean? I felt something cold touch my bare chest. I didn't have my shirt on. How did that happen?

    "Vitals are stable," another man said. I didn't recognize his voice at all. "Yeah, he's coming back now."

    It pissed me off even more that this damned stranger would stick his oar in.

    "Mind your own business," I said. "Nobody asked you."

    Twangy Voice chuckled. "It will take him awhile to get back to normal. Just give him a few more minutes. He's coming out of it just fine."

    "Yes," I said. "Go away." Then I opened my eyes and stared up at Dr. Sam Coates, Jilly's doctor, Mr. Twangy Voice.

    "Ah." he said, smiling down at me. "You're back. Can you understand me, Mac?"

    "Yes, I can understand you. What's going on? What are you doing here? Where's my shirt?"

    "It seems you managed to drive nearly into the Emergency Room itself before you collapsed. You smashed down the horn with your forehead. There were a dozen nurses, orderlies, security, patients, and doctors with you within two seconds."

    I remembered the loud noise. The horn blasting in my ear. "I've been pushing too hard, haven't I? My body's angry at me and finally just shut down?"

    "Paul told us you'd been in a terrorist attack out of the country, and in the hospital until very recently. But no, this had nothing to do with any relapse. Actually, you had a high level of phenobarbital in your system. You've been out of it for about three hours now. Once we guessed the problem, we began treating you, but this kind of thing takes time. You're going to feel groggy for a while."

    I thought about the likely treatment and nearly turned green. "Tell me you didn't pump my stomach. I saw that done once and nearly puked."

    "Sorry, Mac, we had to. We didn't have a choice. But hey, you were unconscious. We also put some activated charcoal in your stomach. There's still some flecks of black above your mouth and a bit dried on your chest. Pretty gross, but it soaks up all the poison. Don't worry about the IV and the oxygen. That's just in case something goes wrong. We'll keep them in for a while longer. Does your throat hurt?"

    It did hurt. I nodded. My brain was finally kicking in again. "I was drugged, you said? With phenobarbital?"

    "Yes. No one's suggested yet that you were trying to kill yourself. Who gave you the drug, Mac?"

    I looked up at Dr. Coates, then over at Mrs. Himmel, whose face was shocked and still, and at a man I didn't know. "Well, damn," I said.

    A few seconds later, Dr. Coates knew I was very much awake because I had his wrist in a vise as I said, "This is important. The cops need to get to Laura Scott's house in Salem. That's where I was this morning. She may have tried to kill me."

    Dr. Coates wasn't a young man, but he could move fast. He was out of the room in a flash. Mrs. Himmel patted my hand. "You'll be all right now, Mac. Oh, this is Dr. Greenfield, he's the one you told not to butt in."

    I looked at a skinny older guy who wore a thick black beard and sported a green and white dotted bow tie. "I'm