I.V.

             "Hey, want to grab somthin' to eat at the next stop? 'Cause I can't wait all the way to Houston," Mark said as he drove my black 2006 Mustang G.T. on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.
"Sure, babe. I just want to make sure we get home by tonight."
             We drove about thirty miles before we came across a tiny diner called Marla's Table. The only thing I could stomach was the apple pie, but Mark stuffed his face with a giant cheeseburger. I knew that it was horribly unhealthy when I saw the grease dripping of it onto his plate as he lifted it to his mouth.
             "Eww. How can you eat that?" I asked in pure disgust. He ignored me and kept eating. We didn't speak until he peeled out of the parking lot onto the deserted road.
            "Mark, slow down! You're close to 90. This car is my baby. Take care of her, 'kay?"
"Chill. We've been the only people on the road all day."
            The sky was sliding from burgundy into black as we were singing along to "Mute" by Drowning Pool. I was nodding my head to the beat when I glanced up into the nothingness in front of us. In a matter of seconds a large black and white cow stepped into the small oval of light from our head lights.
             I screamed "MARK, WATCH OUT!," But it was too late. We were going too fast and the cow was too close. On impact, I lurched forward and my head slammed into the dashboard. The shards of glass on my lap seemed to become tiny pieces of red hard candy, as blood trickled onto them. I tried to turn my head to look at Mark, but I couldn't move. He's probably hurt. I need to get to him to save him. I managed to get out a garbled whisper, "Mark, are you okay?" Then everything went black.
            A yellowish light glares in my face as my vision becomes clearer. A fat woman with a white nurse hat perched on frizzy pumpkin colored hair and black old fashioned cat-eye glasses is leaning over me. She smiles and I can see her yellowish grey teeth as she says in a southern drawl, "Darlin', I'm gunna get the doctor."
I prop myself up so that I can see her as she waddles out the door. I look around the dingy hospital room trying to figure out what is going on. Suddenly I realize that Mark isn't in the room with me. Where is he? "Oh, shit! Mark!"
           An old tall white man shuffles into the room. He rubs his hand on his head brushing around the few wisps of hair that he has left. He puts his clipboard on the side table and smiles an almost toothless smile. He coughs blood into a handkerchief and says, "Nurse, insert her I.V. as I test her responsiveness."
           He shines a bright light in my eyes as I ask, "Where's Mark?"
           "I'm sorry, but there was no one with you." He coughs again, and missing his handkerchief, splatters blood all over my chest.
           I feel a sharp stab in my arm, so I scream and jerk it toward me. Searing pain ignites in my arm as I hunch over it to shield it with my body. A warm liquid begins to soak my stomach and lap, so I open my arms to look down. Blood is spurting out of a rubbery blue tube that is protruding out of my arm. Is that the I.V? But the Nurse is still holding the I.V. Bewildered, I look down again. The tube coming out of my arm is my vein, which has been ripped out. Blood is gushing from a large winding gash that reaches from my wrist to the crook of my elbow. My skin has rippled away from the gaping wound. I spring up in complete shock, and as the nurse tries to come near me, I freak out. I jump out of the bed and head toward the door, but I slip on my own blood and hit my head on the hard white tiled floor.
           I lie on the floor in a daze watching a crimson sea of blood seep around me. I gasp the words "help me" over and over again. The nurse and the doctor have abandoned me. All my hope is being drained along with my blood and warmth.
          As I grew cold, the sound of sirens, splintering glass, and the screech of the crushed car door being opened flooded my senses. I could hear Mark saying, "Babe, I'll get you out of here." I struggled to lift my head, but all my strength was drained. He sat me up so that he could unlatch my seat belt. He was covered in dried blood and he was crying. I tried to hold on while he tried to get me out of the car, but I couldn't. As I looked into his eyes, I closed mine for the last time.