| CLAIMED part two by Saimone *two weeks ago* "....lo?" a not quite awake Darren Hayes murmured into his cell phone. "Rise and shine, Daz!" Darren glared at the phone sleepily. "Who are you and what have you done with Daniel?" he demanded. "Funny, Darren. C'mon, mate, we've got a busy day ahead...Up and at it!" "Daniel, it's 8 AM on a Saturday. Why am I awake?" "Because we've got a show tonight, or had you forgotten... We need to get some things squared away and work in a practice session." "Sounds like a good idea--do it without me!" "I don't think so. Get your lazy arse outta that bed!" "Grrrrr. Fine--what say you to a compromise? You guys go ahead and get down to the soncert hall and I'll meet you there in about an hour, just in time for the first soundcheck." "Well, that's a better deal than I thought I'd get out of you. Normally, it takes at least two hours to wake you up." "Does not!" "Right Dazza. Okay, I guess the rest of the group and I are leaving now, but I'd better see you in an hour!" "That you will, mate. You can bank on it..." "And I'm holding you to that. Bye Daz." "Later, Dan." They hung up. Darren flopped back onto the bed, flinging the covers over his face to block out the sunlight. "I don't wanna wake up!" * * * * * Half an hour later, Darren was out of bed and rushing to get ready. He halfhazzardly threw on his clothing while searching for his cell phone. Hurredly, he called a cab and finished the rest of his morning preparations. "Damn me and my love of sleep!" he muttered. "Gonna be late, Dan's gonna rub it in...Never gonna let me hear the end of it. Damndamndamndamn..." Grabbing his jacket and his wallet Darren rushed out the of his hotelroom door to meet the waiting taxi. Once safely inside the cab, Darren was able to breathe a sigh of relief--there was still time, he might not have to show up late if traffic wasn't too heavy and nothing unexpected hindered them. But, of course, the later you are, the later life seems to want to make you. Traffic was slow, pedestrians were abundant, and traffic lights were on the blink. Typical... Finally, when Darren was about to scream and pull his hair in frustration, the road seemed to clear and the cab was able to speed up. Seeing Darren's aparent hurry, the taxi driver suggested a short cut to save time, which sounded good to Darren. Anything to not be late! Darren decided to stop worrying at this point and relaxed himself to take in his surroundings. He saw that the cab was approaching a two-lane bridge, which overlooked a wide river. The water was beautiful; a deep blue-green that sparkled in the as the sun glinted off of the rippling surface. Though pretty, Darren was sure that the water was freezing--the deep blue just looked cold. Darren glanced at his watch. It was 8:53; he had seven minutes. Settling back, he shighed and looked back out at the river. He let his eyes drift closed... He was suddenly jerked out of his musings by a loud exclamation from the driver. Darren looked out beyond the windshield and saw, to his horror, a car in the other lane speeding straight for them, driving down the center of the road! Without even a second to think about what he was doing, the cab driver yanked the wheel hard to the right in an attempt to get the cab out of the path of the oncomming car. In an instant, there was the noise of squealing tires, followed by a bone-jarring crash. The sound of glass breaking and metal twisting and grating together drowned out Darren's terrified screams. The car spun wildly, careening towards the edge of the bridge. Darren gasped in shock and horror, then closed his eyes as the cab broke through the guardrail. Darren's eyes snapped open again as his entire body was jolted upon the car's impact with the water. The collision caused him to strike his head savagely against the seat, blurring his vision for a moment. Fearfully and panicked, he glanced around and saw that the taxi was beginning to fill with water. "Gotta get outta here..." Darren began to frantically scramble out of his seatbelt. Once free, he rushed forward to check on the driver. The cabbie was slumped, bleeding, over the steering wheel. With shaking hands, Darren reached for the driver's neck to feel for a pulse. Nothing. He grabbed for the man's wrist to try again. Nothing still. The man was dead. And I will be, too, if I don't do something... He noticed that the car was filling faster; the backseat was starting to sink. He looked to the window on his side of the car--it had been cracked during the crash. Leaning back, he swung his Doc Martened feet towards the glass. Once. Twice. The glass shattered. With his jacket, he knocked the remaining glass from the window. The water in the taxi was up to his chest now. He'd been right--it was freezing. As quickly as he could, Darren slipped out of the taxi window and into the realative freedom of the icy river. Gasping from the intense cold, Darren began to strike numbly at the water in an attempt to get away from the nearly submerged cab. Dimly, he heard the shrill sound of sirens over the sounds of his harsh, gasping breathing. Hee looked up at the bridge to see the arrival of several emergency vehicles. Then he focused back down on himself. Blood was trickling down Darren's forehead and into his eyes. He wiped it away with a shivering hand. The water was quickly robbing him of all energy and he stopped swimming and merely tried to stay afloat. Darren shivered violently as he looked back at the taxi. The car had finally given itself over to the water; the top of the car could barely be seen. The poor driver... Darren mused. Then he thought, I'd better try to swim again, or I'll drown... His legs felt leaden and he could barely feel the rest of his body through the numbness. His teeth were chattering and his soaked hair clung limply to his face. He was becoming tired, but he knew that he had to stay awake. He knew help would arrive soon--he just had to hold on. "So tired...so cold..." As his swimming slowed and his eyes began to close on their own accord, Darren heard the sound of his salvation. He forced his eyes open and looked up to see an emergency helicopter hovering overhead. A guy in a wetsuit, carrying a floatation device, dove feet-frist out of the helicopter. When he surfaced, he swam to Darren and made him take the life bouy. Darren clutched at it gratefully, still struggling to stay awake. A safetly line, with a looped end, was being lowered from the chopper. Darrens eyes slipped closed again. Then he felt the medic's arms wrap around his shoulders, shaking him. "Sir? Come on sir, you have to stay awake. You have to stay with me. Stay with me... Hang in there. C'mon open your eyes..." the medic was chanting these things like a mantra. Darren tried to do as he asked. The medic saw this. "Good...good, just keep your eyes open. We'll have you up in a minute. Until then...talk to me... Can you tell me your name, sir?" Darren opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out--he was shivering too hard. He tried again. "Darren," he managed to whisper through chattering teeth. "Darren Hayes..." "Okay, Darren, they've lowered the line. I'm going to secure it around you , but you have got to stay awake and grab on. I'll be holding you, so you won't fall. Understand?" Darren just nodded, too tired to talk anymore. The end of the line hit the water with a small splash. The medic took the looped end of the line and fastened it around Darren, securely under his arms. Darren held onto the rope weakly. The medic then grabbed ahold of the line himself and gave the people in the helicopter the signal to raise it up. They did. By this time, Darren couldn't feel the rest of his body. He couldn't feel the tremors that wracked his frame or the chattering of his own teeth. His eyes had long slipped closed again and opening them seemed to be beyond his power. The safety line stopped with a small jerk and Darren could feel himself being pulled be several pairs of hands. Then everything went black... |