Paige hurried down the dark alley, her coat collar pulled up against the chill of the night air.  A light rain began to fall and she quickened her pace.  She wished she'd squeezed into the cab like her friends had wanted her to, but the cab driver wouldn't allow her in.

"Can't luv" he'd said, "can't take more than 6 people, got me orders."  To be fair though, he'd looked round at the people in the cab, his eyes settling on the two men, hoping one would gallantly offer to get the next cab and let Paige take the seat.  Neither obliged, and the cab driver shrugged his shoulders at her.  Then he'd turned out the 'for hire' sign and took off.  "Thanks guys" she said under her breath.  Eventually giving up on the next cab showing up any time soon, she began to walk the half mile home.

She didn't see the lights of the car which came at her out of nowhere until it was upon her, she caught sight of the two young men inside it, both wearing horrified expressions.  The driver had obviously not been paying attention to the road in front of him or he would have seen Paige and taken the steps necessary to avoid her.  Now his anguished face loomed up at her as she saw him struggle with the steering wheel, doing his best to avoid hitting her, but it was too late.  There was a sickening thud as he ploughed into her.  The last thing she remembered as she slipped into the void of unconsciousness was the sound of brakes squealing on the wet road. 

In the ambulance, she came round briefly and the paramedic smiled down at her.  "That's a good sign" he said, making sure she remained stable enough to get to the hospital, "hang in there, you're doing fine." 

Paige managed a wan smile back at the young man, she was so tired now, all she wanted to do was sleep.  Fighting it, she asked: "How bad am I?"

"We think you've broken a rib or two and you've definitely got a concussion ... don't you worry, the doctors will sort you out."  He took her hand, the one without the drip attached, and squeezed it gently.  "Guess I'm going to be under construction for a while then." She laughed softly at her own joke and then let sleep claim her. 

Sorry for the rather long winded way of saying: 'Page Under Construction' but that's the truth.

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The passage above is copyright to the Author E.V. Rose © 2006 2007 2008.  No part of the publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the express prior written permission of the Author

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