Gangrene

        Will looked down the road, hoping and cursing under his breath. He was doing 40 past an elementary school but he hardly noticed. The call he got from Patty had shaken him from his stupor as he sat on his couch watching television. She sounded completely hysterical and he had to make her repeat everything she said at least 3 or 4 times. She was dying, she told him, she�d done it this time. He could already hear her beginning to fade away as the pills brought her down.
        Her house was only 15 minutes away but he pushed down harder still on the gas pedal. He hoped last time would be the last time. She had even promised him that it would be and he desperately believed her. Of course he should have known � she had given him the same speech for years. But this time Patty sounded worse than ever. It was usually just a breakdown or a bad day but this was real. Will swerved into another lane without using his blinker. On the phone Patty sounded as pitiful as Will felt. Somewhere in the back of his mind a voice questioned what he was doing as people and buildings blurred past him. He knew that neither he nor Patty were normal. She had been depressed for so long and so had he. Car horns sounded and faded as Will sped past angry drivers. A red light came out of nowhere and his car screeched to a halt and spit a cloud of burning rubber. He punched the goddamn steering wheel and shouted at the light. As soon as the light turned green he slammed hard on the gas and roared like hell down the street. He was getting anxious now. How long did Patty have? The paramedics were on their way but he knew he had to be there. Patty would want him to be there.
        Will saw another red light coming and he screamed inside his head
GODDAMN LIGHT!!! F**K THE LIGHT!!! F**K!!!
and hit the gas pedal so hard he heard it hit the floor.

        Will was with his friends at a party. He recognized the place. It was his friend Steve�s old apartment. This was his moving party. He looked around the room, past the table of drinks where a group of women were looking over at Will and the other men. Will saw Patty standing among them, but he didn�t know it was Patty, not then. She was beautiful in a tight gray dress with long boots that showed just the right amount of her thighs. He wanted to walk over and meet her, and he would, but first he turned to his friends and joked. Back then, he always joked�

        His body felt heavy when he woke up. He heard beeping and rushing foot traffic. He closed his eyes and opened them. The shadows were all different. It was now much later. A tanned doctor, who was probably an athlete, came into his room and asked him how he felt. Will just stared blankly. He asked for some water and then asked the doctor where he was. The doctor told him he was lucky to be alive. His car had slammed into a truck at the intersection. It had flipped through the air and landed across the street in the gutter. They had done everything to save him and luckily, he hadn�t suffered any major organ damage. Will immediately remembered Patty and asked the doctor how long he�d been in the hospital. 11 days, he said. The doctor continued talking, and said Unfortunately you didn�t let me finish � we managed to stitch you up but it seems your left arm has become infected. It�s very serious and it will require a lot of attention. Will kept thinking about Patty and how long he had left her alone. He tried to sit up but his muscles wouldn�t let him. He was doped on morphine and simply too tired to move. His mind was racing now but the doctor kept talking. The infection is far gone and antibiotics might work, but we may have to amputate. Suddenly Will realized what the doctor was saying and turned to face him. Antibiotics?, he asked. Yes, a few weeks of antibiotics might control the infection. Weeks? Patty couldn�t wait weeks without him. Cut it off. The doctor looked at Will and asked him if he didn�t need more time to think about it. I�m sure, cut it off. The doctor tried a few more times to get him to at least sleep on it, but Will was firm. The doctor left to go and get the legal forms that he would need. Will sat in his bed thinking and trying to ignore a small buzzing in his head. Whatever it was, kept nagging so much that he had to consciously tune it out. When it was gone he began to think about Patty. She needs to see me, he thought. She needs me.

Reviews

[GRIMM]

Great!!