Part 13
Marcus stared at the TV screen, his heart in his throat and his blood turned to ice. He couldn’t hear what the local reporter was saying because of Brian, Nick, Howie, AJ, and Kevin but he could see that it was a report about a wreck and it looked nasty. He was praying silently that it wasn’t Chelsea but he had this sinking feeling in his gut that told him it was.
The commotion on the bus was brought to a temporary halt as a cell phone ran. Laughter quickly erupted as they all recognized the song.
“When did you put THAT on there?” asked Nick.
“Chelsea did it when she put her number on it. It was her favorite song when she saw us in Germany,” he answered as he pushed the button to take the call. Putting the phone to his ear, he said, “Hey beautiful! Are you on your way back?”
“Alex,” came the weak voice on the other end.
AJ could barely hear for all the background noise, sirens, Annie calling for her mom, and all the noise on the bus. Holding his hand up to silence his friends, he raised his voice, “Chelsea! Where are you? What’s wrong?”
Realizing something was seriously wrong, everyone got quiet.
“Alex…I…hurt…help me,” was all she said.
In the background, he could still hear the sirens and Annie but now he could hear voices and what sounded like a chainsaw. “CHELSEA! Come on, baby! Answer me,” pleaded AJ as his eyes found Marcus who looked like he’d seen a ghost and then the TV.
Seeing AJ pale, the others followed his line of vision to see the news and they moved quickly to the front to hear what was being said while AJ continued to hold the phone to his ear.
“Again, there has been a two-vehicle collision on I-264 just outside of the Virginia Beach city limits. State troopers tell us a car traveling east bound was struck head on by a pick up truck. Officers say the truck was involved in a high-speed chase when the driver lost control and careened across the medium into east bound traffic. At this time, we are told that there is one fatality. More news as we receive it.”
“CHELSEA!! CHELSEA! Please answer me,” pleaded AJ, his eyes moist with tears.
The others looked and listened helplessly as the bus came to a stop.
“She’s not answering,” said AJ looking at Kevin for him to fix this.
“Is the line still open?” asked Kevin.
“Yeah, I can hear people talking and Annie calling for Chelsea.”
Kevin took the phone. “Chelsea.”
He too could hear the voices and crying but then a voice said, “Hello.”
“Who is this?”
“Darius Moore, Virginia Beach EMS.”
“What’s going on? The ladies and the little girl, are they okay?”
“Are you a relative?”
“The little girl is my daughter. Her name is Annie and her mother is driving…I think.”
“The little girl appears to be okay but we are having difficulty getting to the ladies in the front seat.”
“Are they okay?”
There was a pause on the other end before the EMS said, “I’m sorry to tell you, but one of the ladies didn’t make it and the other is unconscious. We will be air lifting the survivors to Norfolk General as soon as we can extricate them.”
“Thank you.”
“The little girl is hysterical. Do you think you could calm her down by talking to her?”
“I’ll try.”
Kevin waited and then, “Hello,” came the choked sob.
“Annie, are you hurt?”
“No sir, but Mama won’t answer me. Daddy, I’m scared!”
“I know you are, baby, but be tough for your mom. Listen to me, Annie. I’m coming to the hospital, okay. I’ll meet you there. Just hang tough and let the men there take care of you, okay?”
“Yes sir.”
“I love you, baby,” said Kevin as the phone went dead. Handing the phone back to AJ, Kevin said, “Annie said she’s not hurt but the EMS guy said one of the people in the front is dead and the other is unconscious. They’re air lifting them to Norfolk General as soon as they get them out of the car.”
Marcus spoke up, “I’ll get a car for you. I’m assuming you are all going?”
“Yeah, we are,” answered Brian seeing that AJ and Kevin were both going to need support.
“Let’s get everyone inside first and then we’ll get things straight to go to the hospital,” said Marcus.
Somberly, the five men gathered their things and began to head into the hotel. They did their best to look cheerful for the fans who were gathered at the entrance but Annie and Chelsea were heavy on their minds. Only a few autographs were signed before they disappeared into the hotel.
