Winter's Apex: Ch 4 - A Moment of Silence
Ch4: A Moment of Silence
Gasps and shouts for help from the crowd echoed in the otherwise silent air. As Apex laid motionless in the snow, his friends pushed through the crowd and into the pipe alongside a male snow leopard EMT from the sidelines. As they reached their unconscious friend, a wave of panic gripped them as they saw a small pool of blood forming around Apex's head. Palmer and Dante kneeled down in the snow next to Apex to aid the EMT in anyway they could as the rest of his friends stood back, stunned. Autumn's paws covered her muzzle and she looked on, eyes wide, as the EMT swiftly broke out medical supplies checked Apex's vitals.
As the EMT examined Apex, he began to stir. Eyes fluttering open, Apex lifted his muzzle from the snow and rolled onto his side, revealing the source of blood to be his nose. A sigh of relief was let out by friends and crowd alike. With a painful palpitation of Apex's sanguine nose and muzzle, the EMT declared it unbroken. The leopard pressed cloth to Apex's nose and told him to hold it there until the bleeding subsided, and then slowly helped Apex to his feet as the crowd cheered for him.
"What happened?" uttered Apex, quite groggy.
"You just took a hard spill up there," returned the petite but muscular snow leopard. "Nothing's broken, not even your nose there despite how it must feel. You're a bit banged up, but you should be fine. Just head over and see the lodge's nurse, get some ice on those bruises and take it easy for awhile."
As Apex listened, he peered through hazy eyes to see his friends and surroundings, and his memory finally returned. He lowered his head and shook it slowly in disappointment.
"We...we should go back to the lodge," sputtered Palmer, noticeably distraught. "The nurse there will have some ice and pain killers. I'll help you back there."
"We'll all go with you," added the fretful voice of Autumn.
"No!" exclaimed Apex in a shaky tone. "I want you to stay and watch the competition. Relic still has to go, and I won't have everyone leaving him here alone just for me." Staggering, Apex balanced himself with Dante's and Palmer's assistance. "Palmer can get me back there, I'll be fine. Just come meet me back in the room when it's over alright?"
Though a bit stunned by his reaction, they understood and nodded silently.
"Alright," piped up Dante. "Well meet you back at the room as soon as we're done here."
After acknowledging Apex's request, Dante placed a paw on Palmer's shoulder. "Take good care of him. Make sure he gets everything he needs."
"I will," replied Palmer, staring back blankly.
Palmer put an arm around Apex to steady him, and Apex wrapped his arm around Palmer's neck. They exited the pipe, a little unsteady at first, and headed slowly toward the lodge. Dante and the rest retook their positions along the pipe, trying to shake their somber air for Relic sake as the competition got back under way.
Before Apex and Palmer managed to get very far, they were waylaid by Evan and his camera crew. Apex, clearly not in the mood for such attention, eyed them with distain. Evan paid Apex's uncooperative attitude no heed and dove right into the interview.
"That was a hell of a painful looking fall out there, and it looked like you had competition all wrapped up. What happened?"
Apex winced as he shifted the cloth against his nose and spoke. "Just couldn't pull it off. Just didn't get enough spin."
"That's a rough break for anyone. Any predictions as who will win now that you're out?"
"I don't know, Diana maybe? She looked pretty good. Hey, I'm pretty out of it right now, so I'm going to leave now."
"We'll all be hoping for your fast recovery and look forward to seeing you in future competitions." Evan turned back to the camera, rambling off some nondescript spiel as Palmer and Apex, dour from the experience, continued on their way.
As they neared the lodge, out of earshot from anyone at the competition, Palmer began stammering out apologies, seeming to be barely able to hold himself together.
"I'm so sorry. I should never have pressured you like that. I don't know what I was thinking. I was so scared when you were lying in the snow that you were hurt bad."
"What?" questioned Apex, confused by the gushing. "No, no. It wasn't you. I just couldn't quite pull it off.
"Even so I feel responsible. Just with that stuff I told you earlier, I did want you to win but I never meant for you to..."
"Hey, hey" Apex interrupted him, placing his free paw on Palmer's chest. "It's not your fault, I just messed up out there, it happens. Besides, I'm sure I'll be fine. I'm just a bit banged up; I'll be okay with a little rest, okay?"
"Okay." Palmer seemed to take comfort in Apex reassurances, but his countenance still held traces of guilt. Apex's paw remained on Palmer's chest, and he seemed more at ease as they pressed through the lodges lower doors.
Despite their combined encumbrance, they quickly made it to the lodge's infirmary and were greeted by the concerned, grey, rabbit nurse dressed in all white.
"What have you brought me this time Palmer, he looks pretty banged up."
"It's my friend Apex, Cassie. He was in the competition and crashed one of the jumps. He hit the snow pretty hard."
"I can see that." The rather attractive and busty nurse cocked her head to one side, surveying Apex's injuries. Apex greeted her with a wave and a weak smile. "Well, help him up onto the table and we'll get him all patched up."
Palmer assisted Apex up onto the examination table as the nurse retrieved various medical supplies from the shelves and cabinets around the room. She returned to Apex, medical effects in paw, and instructed him to remove his coat and shirt. Now shirtless, Apex's usually firm, muscular build appeared deflated by his hunched position. Nicks and cuts ran along his shoulder and back, with random bruising frequent above his solar plexus. Palmer sat in reflective silence as the nurse began her examination.
"Well this doesn't look so bad. Sure, you look like you got caught in a rock tumbler, but nothing too serious." She smiled warmly as she felt around his back and sides, dabbing at his wounds with alcohol swabs and hydrogen peroxide. Apex cringed and tried not to bite his lip as brief flashes of pain washed over his back. She slowly worked her paw along his muzzle and skull, even her soft touch eliciting the occasional whimper from Apex. After a few more quick brushes over his fur, she told him he was free to put his shirt back on.
"Have you felt dizzy or confused?" inquired the nurse.
"Yeah, especially right after I woke up," replied Apex.
"You were knocked unconscious?"
"I think so. I hit the ground head first and was out."
"So you remember what happened before you landed?"
"Yeah, I just didn't make the landing."
"Did you vomit afterward?"
"No, just a bloody nose and a bit unsteady is all."
"Do you have a headache?"
"Yeah, it really hurts."
"Alright, it doesn't look like you have a concussion, and you haven't broken any bones either. Pretty lucky I would say from the looks of it," she added with a grin. She pulled down a bottle, a small tube, and some square packages from one of the shelves. Pulling open a standing freezer, she retrieved an ice pack and returned to the examination table.
"Here you go," she said, handing the assortment of items to Apex. "The pills are acetaminophen and an anti-inflammatory and they'll ease the pain and help to bring down the swelling. The packets are disinfectant wipes and the tube is Neosporin. Use them to keep your cuts as clean as possible so they'll heal without scaring. Make sure to keep ice on your nose when you can, come back if you start feeling worse, and for God's sake be more careful next time."
"Thanks, I will," replied Apex, holding the ice pack to his nose as he read the instructions on the bottle.
"Alright then, get out. You weren't the first one in here today and I doubt you'll be the last." She made exuberant sweeping gestures towards the door. "Oh, and I expect to see that ice pack back here before you leave the lodge too."
"Don't worry," Palmer rested his paw on Apex's back. "I'll make sure to get it back to you."
Apex looked back as they walked out the door of the infirmary, raised a paw in thanks, and then proceeded back along the hallway with Palmer.
Once back in his room, Apex lowered himself onto the bed and laid back into the comforter, both sighing and wincing as he did so. Despite the bed's softness, it was quite firm, allowing Apex to feel each of his newly formed bruises. Palmer took a seat on the bed next Apex, facing away with his footpaws hanging over the side of the bed and his tail still. As Apex rested with an arm over his eyes, Palmer sat hunched over and brooding with a sickened expression on his face.
"Really, I'm sorry about pressuring you to push yourself out there." quivered Palmer in a shaky voice.
"What," came the bewildered response from Apex.
"If I hadn't said what I did, you wouldn't have hurt yourself and you probably would have won. It's all my fault."
Apex leaned up, wincing with action, and placed his paw on Palmer's shoulder and giving him a little shake. "Seriously, it wasn't your fault, and it wasn't your comment. I just tried to go the extra step and couldn't pull it off. You're really a great guy so don't do this to yourself?
"Really?" Palmer turned around to face the convalescent fox, placing a paw on his thigh as he does so. They remain so situated until Apex gave a sigh, assured Palmer again, and laid back down. Palmer let his paw run down Apex's leg and rub against his large, fluffy tail before returning it to his lap.
For awhile, the only sound to be heard was the steady inhaling and exhaling of Apex's breath. Palmer sat in silence, lost in thought, but clearly more at ease. He jumped with a start at the sound of Apex's voice when it came, piercing the silence.
"Hey, would you mind grabbing me some water so I can take these pills?"
"Oh,uh, sure. I'll be back in a sec."
Palmer glanced about then picked up one of the two glasses resting upside down on the bedside table and headed into the bathroom. Once he had the glass filled, he reclaiming his position on the bed and handed over the water. Apex sat up to receive the glass, then held it in-between his legs as he popped open the bottle and shook out two elongated pills into his paw. Pills swallowed, he placed the glass on the bedside table and returned to his convalescence.
Palmer's voice caused Apex's ears to perk, swiveling toward the source. "I've actually had to bring quite a lot of people to Cassie while I've worked here."
"Who's Cassie?" asked Apex, lying motionless.
"She's the nurse, remember?"
"Oh yeah, right."
"The funniest part, though, is that the majority of the injured people I've had to bring in weren't hurt out on the slopes, but in the hotel. There was this one time though that sticks out because it seems to make me laugh every time I tell it. Apparently, one of the guys staying here a year ago had been drinking with some of his friends and they got the idea that trying to slide down the stairs on one of the restaurant serving trays would be fun. The guy starts down, and being drunk, immediately looses his balance, falls off the tray, and crashes down the stairs. At the time, I was right down the hall, so I rushed over to help him. I always seem to be around when accidents happen. He ended up a lot more hurt than you, even had a broken wrist. I got him over to the infirmary and Sandy patched him up as best she could. Later, he went over to the hospital to get a cast. What gets me is that with an entire mountain at his disposal, he managed to hurt himself on a staircase."
Palmer chuckled a bit as he finished, with Apex chiming in too.
"Now I don't feel half as stupid for falling out there. At least down the road it'll be a good story to tell. Thanks."
Palmer turned to see Apex sitting up on his elbows, smiling back.
"No problem" said Palmer, replacing his paw on Apex thigh. Once again they found themselves staring at each other in silence. As Palmer's paw rested on Apex's thigh, Apex raised a single eyebrow and Palmer calmly and carefully leaned in.
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Second to last chapter so hang on to your... well, somethings. ;P Next chapter: Out, and About