Tia visits Launa -- more of Launa's adventures (offshoot of WE Tuesday)

Launa heard a whooshing sound followed by a click. She heard it several more times before she realized it happened when she breathed. That's me breathing, she though. Then she heard someone crying and tried to move. Her body hurt-everywhere. A particularly bright spot of pain bloomed in her back. Where I was stabbed, she remembered. Tia. That's Tia crying. Launa forced her eyes open. At first she couldn't make sense of what she was seeing. A spot of light, plastic hoses, wires trailing off somewhere.

She turned her head just a little and saw Tia, her head buried in her arms on the side of the bed, sobbing. Launa felt sorry for her and wanted to comfort her. Is she alright? She must be or she wouldn't be here. Tim. Is Tim okay? Is that why she's crying? Launa tried to lift her hand and it was too heavy. She tried again, and managed to drop her hand onto Tia's.

Tia jerked her head up and looked at Launa, tears still running down her face. "Launa? You're awake?" Her eyes were wide with amazement. Then her face crumpled into sobbing, "I'm SO sorry. I'm so so sorry for what Tim did. I can't believe he did that. Please be okay. I feel like it's my fault. I shouldn't have left you alone ..." her voice trailed off and she dissolved into more crying.

Launa forced her fingers to pat Tia's hand, and then slipped off into unconsciousness.

* * *

Launa heard voices talking over her. She heard the whooshing and clicking again. She became aware of the tube in her mouth and groggily tried to move her head to get away from it.

"Launa? Launa, are you awake?"

She opened her eyes and saw a man's face hovering over her. She blinked at the light shining in her face. She tried to speak, but nothing came out. The machine complained with several high-pitched beeps. Launa tried to focus on the man's face.

"I'm going to turn off the machine that's been helping you breathe. You should be able to breathe on your own now." He spoke slowly and patiently. "If your breathing is okay, I can remove the tube." He patted her hand. "I know it's uncomfortable."

He reached off somewhere beyond Launa's vision and the room suddenly went silent. He watched her closely for a few moments, and seemed pleased at what he saw. He turned something on the tube and she felt a release of pressure deep in her throat.

He leaned into her field of vision again. "Now exhale as I remove the tube."

She felt momentarily like she was choking, but it was over quickly. "Thank you," she whispered. Then she slid back into the darkness.

* * *

Launa woke to the hospital sounds of hushed voices and people walking in the halls. She opened her eyes and took a slow, deep breath. Her back and chest hurt, but not nearly as bad as the last time she'd woken.

She tried to move her legs and found it quite painful. She must have made a noise, because Tia sat upright in her chair in the corner of the room.

"Launa you're awake! Are you okay?" Tia moved her chair closer to Launa's bed.

"Tia." Launa's voice was raspy. "How long has it been?" She swallowed, trying to clear her throat. "Can I have some water?" Her lips hurt. They were swollen and cracked from the beating. She tried to raise her left arm to touch where her face hurt and discovered her arm was in a cast. "Ow," she said and tried to grin. Ow. No smiling, she told herself.

Tia brought a Styrofoam cup of water to her. "Here, use this straw." Tia helped Launa take a sip of water. "It's only been a few days. They were surprised at how fast you heal." She cringed as she looked at Launa's badly swollen and bruised face. "At least on the inside," she said. "The outside still doesn't look so good."

"It's nice to have you here, but what about work?" Launa asked.

"I had to take some time off because of Tim, and I wanted to be here with you. Janice approved and hired a couple college kids." She lowered her eyes and a tear trickled down her face. "I don't really want to be at home, anyway. Tim is at the Juvenile Detention Center. I end up missing my mom and dad, and all I do is cry."

Launa covered Tia's hand with hers. "I'm glad you're here. I'm not much company, though."

"That's okay; I feel better sitting here with you. I know you can rest better with someone to watch over you. And I feel like I owe you one."

"Not your fault," Launa said before she drifted off to sleep again.

* * *

By the next morning, Launa felt much more alert. The nurse had propped up the head of her bed and Launa had been able to eat breakfast with her good arm. Just as she finished, a dark-haired man in a suit walked in.

"My name is Detective Benning. I have some photos for you to look at, if you feel up to it," he said. He opened a book of mug shots and handed it to her. "Does anyone look familiar?"

Launa flipped through pages. "Him ... him ... and this one was the leader." She looked up at the detective, "I don't see the other two guys, though."

The detective frowned. "Are you sure? You went through them awfully quickly."

"I'm sure." She started at the beginning again, and pointed out the same people. "Although, I have served this guy in the store. But he wasn't at the warehouse." Launa smiled a little, careful not to stretch her still-swollen lip and said, "He likes Tazo Tea, hot, with lemon." She flipped back a few pages and pointed out another man. "This one I saw while I was walking to work. Are you looking for all these people?"

"No, no," the detective said quickly. "These are people we have in the system who have ties to gangs, armed robbery or ... uh ... sexual assault." He looked uncomfortable.  "So, those three are the ones you saw at the warehouse?"

Launa nodded and closed the book.

"Okay, that's a start." He sat down in the chair. "We ran the DNA and found four different samples. I was wondering ...," he shifted in his seat and looked down at his hands. "You said there were five who assaulted you, but there were only 4 samples. Do you have any idea why?"

Launa said, "Well, I caught the one guy right in the crotch. I remember him trying to rape me, but I don't know if he was able to ... you know, finish." I do remember him beating the hell out of me, though." She reached across and touched her face, which was still badly bruised and swollen.

The detective winced in sympathy. "The kid said you almost managed to escape. He said you kicked three of them. He said one had a broken nose."

"Yes," Launa said, "I hit one in the nose, one in the crotch and I think I might have broken the other guy's wrist or arm." She sighed. "I almost made it, too." She looked at the detective thoughtfully. "You might check emergency rooms for men who were treated for a broken wrist or arm."

"So the kid didn't beat you? He wasn't involved in the rape?"

Launa shook her head. "No, he just brought me there. Tia is upset. She's been trying to raise him since their parents died," Launa said sadly. "I think he got in with the wrong people. I really don't think he knew how bad they were." She shrugged her good shoulder, "I don't think he believed what Tia said about the robbery. You know how kids are."

"Yeah," the detective replied, "I have one of my own. I know how hard it is." He took the book and stood up. "We'll keep a guard outside your door at all times. You'll be safe here. I'll let you know if we pick anyone up."

"Thanks," Launa said. "Before you go, would you hand me the bed control? It wandered over there where I can't reach it." She thanked him and sighed gratefully as the bed flattened.

As he left, he stopped and turned, "Oh, and the officer here knows my number if you remember anything that might be useful."

* * *

Later that day, Tia arrived in a rush as Launa was being served lunch. "I'm sorry I'm so late!" she said as she pulled up the chair. "I had to take care of some things."

"Don't apologize, Tia," Launa said. "I know you're busy and I appreciate whatever time you can spare. Please don't feel like you have to be here every second. I do sleep a lot." She shifted uncomfortably. "Sitting up still hurts." She grimaced a little. Then she gestured at her food tray. "Would you like to share my lovely lime gelatin? It's in a fun star shape today," Launa said with a smile.

Tia looked at the gelatin dubiously. "Are you sure that's edible? It doesn't even wiggle. Isn't it supposed to wiggle?"

Launa chuckled. "I think it would bounce, actually. Does that count?" She leaned back and pushed the tray away, giving up on the hospital food. "Oh, by the way, the detective said they picked up two of the gang members already. It's only been a few hours since I picked out their photos."

"Well," Tia said, "I think Tim ID'd them, too." She shifted nervously in her seat. "This whole thing is freaking me out. Yesterday when I came, I thought someone was following me, but it must have been my imagination. When I turned to look, the street was completely empty. I think I spooked myself." She grinned wryly and shrugged. "You know I'm just a little excitable."

"Yes, but that's why we love you," Launa joked. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to tell her body to stop complaining.

She was startled when someone ran into the room. As she opened her eyes, her heart felt like it swelled in her chest as she saw the gang member with the broken nose standing at the foot of the bed. "No!" she screamed as he pointed the gun at Tia and shot twice. "No! Tia!" she sobbed as Tia slumped to the floor. Tia hadn't even seen him.

He turned the gun to Launa and said, "Die, bitch," and pulled the trigger.

Launa felt the bullet slam into her chest, in slow motion. He shot over and over, and she could feel each bullet slam her into the bed and how her body bounced back a little each time. He shot her four times and the blackness washed over her.

Launa jerked painfully awake with a loud gasp. "Oh my God! Tia!!" Tears ran down her face, "Tia!"

"What? What? Launa, I'm right here, it's okay. You were sleeping." Tia tried to comfort Launa.

"No! We have to leave. We have to leave right now!" Launa threw the sheets down and tried to sit up. She gasped in pain and fell back.

Tia put her hands on Launa's shoulders, and tried to hold her down. "Launa! Honey! It was a dream. It's okay. I'm right here."

"You don't understand," Launa sobbed, "He's going to shoot you. He's going to come right into this hospital room and kill you, and then kill me." She tried to sit up again. "Please help me, Tia. We have to get out of here. We have to leave now."

Tia had started crying, too. "Launa, you're scaring me. It was a dream!"

"No, Tia. I do not dream! It was a vision and it will happen. I just don't know how long we have." Launa stopped struggling for a moment and looked Tia in the eye. "Tia, if you don't help me leave, I will call the police in here and have you escorted out of the hospital. I will not be the cause of your death. I will not." She managed to sit up on the side of the bed. "I need another gown. We have to slip out without anyone seeing. I don't know if the police are in on it or not. In the vision, no police came in after he started shooting. They might be in on it."

"Launa, you can't leave! You're still too injured," Tia protested, trying to get Launa to lie down. "You're going to rip something open. It was just a dream. Should I call the doctor?"

Launa grabbed Tia's shirt and tried to shake her, but was not very successful with only one hand and as weak as she was. She pulled Tia to her and said, "Tia, I will crawl if I have to, just to get you the hell out of here. Please believe me, please." Launa was sobbing and wincing each time she took a breath. "Please, Tia. I beg you, please." Launa tried to get down from the hospital bed, and sunk to her knees on the floor with a gasp of pain. Tia had slowed the fall, but Launa knew she was not getting up again without help. "Please find a wheelchair and another gown," Launa said weakly.

* * *

Tia looked at Launa on the floor in horror, and then started searching the room. She pulled out an extra gown and tossed it to Launa. Behind a screen, she found a folded wheelchair and struggled to open it. By the time she'd figured it out, Launa had managed to get the gown on - one from front to back, the other from back to front. Tia had seen many patients wearing gowns like that sitting in wheelchairs in front of the hospital smoking. At the time she'd thought it was very odd that the hospital let them do that, but now she realized they would blend right in.

With some struggling, and a lot of wincing on Launa's part, they managed to get her into the wheelchair. "Are you okay, Launa?" Tia asked in concern. Launa was obviously in a lot of pain, and her breathing was more like gasping.

"I'll be fine if we can get out of her," she said through clenched teeth. "We can't let the guard or the nurses see us. I'm not sure how we're going to do this." Launa tilted her head back a little and Tia saw the tears making new tracks down her face. Her heart was breaking for what Launa was going through, and she was frightened that Launa was hurting herself for no reason. Then Launa sat up and said, "Put the pillows under the sheet so it looks like I'm still there. That will give us a few extra moments."

Tia did as instructed. "Let me peek outside," Tia said. She felt the blood drain from her face as she realized the police officer was not sitting outside the door. Tia tried to remember what he'd looked like. I know he was there when I came in, she thought. Feeling faint, she stepped back into the room and said in a small voice, "Launa, no one is out there."

"Oh my god, Tia, get out of here! Just leave! Leave me. I'll just slow you down." Launa was trying to push the wheelchair with her one good arm. "I'll be okay, you go."

"Oh my god, Launa, I will not leave you!" Tia said firmly. She ran behind Launa and grabbed the wheelchair. She peeked around the corner and saw no one. Not even a nurse at the station. "What is going on?" said whispered. "Where is everyone?"

"There is only one reason why they'd all be gone," Launa said. "We need to leave. Right now. Please, Tia!" she begged.

Tia pushed the wheelchair out into the hall and started toward the elevator. "What if someone sees us?" she asked.

"We're just going outside to smoke," Launa said. "Walk fast but don't run. Look like you're in a hurry to get outside. Try not to look panicked." Launa wiped her face with the sleeve of her gown. "Damn. I don't have slippers on. Never mind, don't stop," she added. "Just keep moving." She tried to pull the gown down to cover her bare feet but gasped in pain at the movement.

Tia's heart was pounding so hard she could hardly breathe. She kept expecting someone to yell at them any moment. She expected the guard to show up and ask her what the hell she was doing.

They got around the corner without anyone noticing them. Tia breathed just a little easier as she pushed the elevator button for the lobby. "Okay, Launa, I think we're okay," Tia said. "No one saw us." Tia bit her lip nervously. "What are we going to do once we get downstairs?"

"Just get me into your car and drive. We'll figure that out later," Launa said.

The elevator dinged and Tia pushed Launa in. Just as she hit the button for the lobby, she heard gunshots. She screamed and found she'd thrown herself into the side of the elevator. "Oh my god, Launa! What was that?" she panted in fear.

"That was exactly what you think it was," Launa said softly. "We barely got out. We have to get out of the hospital before they lock it down."

The doors opened and Tia pushed Launa toward the doors. Her hands were shaking so badly she could barely hold onto the wheelchair handles.

Launa said, "Just going out for a smoke, Tia. No big deal. Be calm."

Tia took a shaky breath and said, "Yeah, right, no big deal." She wasn't sure she'd even make it to the car without fainting.

They got out of the hospital without incident. No one had even looked twice at them. Amazing, Tia thought. She just kept walking down the sidewalk toward her car. She relaxed just a bit, having put a little distance between her and the hospital.

Suddenly, Tia could hear sirens in the distance. Uh-oh, we'd better get moving. Tia picked up the pace a little and got to her car. She unlocked the door and opened the back door. She stopped dead when she saw Launa. She'd apparently passed out. Shit, Tia thought. This is going to be hard. But at least she won't feel it.

Tia managed to shove Launa into the back seat. She was sprawled across the seat and her legs were on the floor, but she was in. Thank god, Tia thought in relief. She jumped into the driver's seat and pulled away, grateful she'd chosen to park at a meter along the street rather than in the hospital parking lot.

She glanced in the mirror and saw the parking lot filling with red flashing lights. Then she spotted the wheelchair sitting on the sidewalk where she'd left it. Damn it! That might lead someone to us! She hit the brake hard, mentally apologizing as she heard Launa hit the floor. Ouch. Sorry, Launa. She backed up the mercifully empty street, opened the trunk and stuffed the wheelchair in. That might come in handy, anyway, she thought. She was very glad it had been a folding chair. She had no idea what she would have done if it hadn't been the kind that fit into the trunk.

She forced herself to drive at a normal speed. It felt like she was crawling along, but the speedometer kept her legal and hopefully looking normal. She had no idea where she was going, but she knew she wanted as much distance as she could get between her and this city. I've lived here my whole life and have never even read about anything this scary. I don't know if I'm ever going to feel safe again. She turned onto the highway and headed out of town.

* * *

After she'd driven about 15 minutes, Tia pulled off at a rest stop. Thank god it's the middle of the day and no one is around. She managed to get Launa back up onto the seat and covered her with the blanket they used as a seat cover. I wish I had a pillow for her. That looks uncomfortable.

She locked up the car and prayed no one would pull in next to her. She had to get a map, go to the ladies' room and get something to drink. Her mouth was dry and tasted like ashes. Her hands had finally stopped shaking but her heart was still pounding. I may have to take up smoking after this. I'm not sure my nerves can take much more. What the hell am I going to do?

Tia rushed out of the ladies' room and grabbed a map as she passed the rack. She stopped to get a couple drinks from the machine, and as she left the building, was relieved to see that no one had pulled in while she was inside. I hope Launa is okay, she thought. I hope falling off the seat didn't injure her even worse.

Tia was relieved to see that Launa was breathing okay. I have no idea what to do with her! I don't want to wake her up, but I don't know what to do now. She sat down in the driver's seat and opened the map.
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Next part in story: Tia and Launa take a drive