Bruice's Story

Story by SwiftWindSpirit on SoFurry

, , , , , , , ,

While on his way to a drag match race in Southern California, a wolf's life changes when something goes horribly wrong with his car putting him in a life or death battle. His only saviors are a bear trucker with strong religious feelings and a Doctor who has a strong message.


Listen up,

The following story was written by me and therefore all characters belong to me. It contains material which may not be for the faint of heart and just to make it clear.. Any religious views expressed in this story are not those of the author.

Thank You ...................................................................................................................................................................

Bruice's Story Part One

By,

SWSP

...............................................................................................................

"With traffic and weather every fifteen minutes, this is your local reporter Jamie Downwards saying be sure to check your oil every fifteen thousand miles because you never know when you may break down" The advertisement blared over the wolf's car radio. He switched it off after the advertisement was replaced by another.

It seemed that was the way radio operated these days and it annoyed the wolf he didn't have satellite radio equipped in his Chevelle but what he lacked in radio he got in horsepower as he throttled the car up to the highest RPM with his foot buried in the gas pedal hearing the engine scream as he shifted the stick through the gears.

Bruice had it all, a fast car with lots of horsepower and giddy up to go with it, a job which earned him his steel colored Chevelle and a nice place for him and it to call home.

He was a gearhead at trait but not much of a social type individual. He cared more about his Chevelle then he did most of the women in town who would oggle him for a ride in it he'd always refuse. Why he did it, he never really bothered to think about even though he had the looks and wore the right clothes to attract them.

Bruice was very attractive being well over six foot tall and built like a five star athlete. When he wore his leather jacket with leather pants and white t-shirt they always showed off his physique especially around his groin. He never wore underwear so the big bulge in the front of his leather pants showed itself off like a trophy for all to see.

However, the wolf didn't care at that very moment because he was on vacation heading to the west coast bound for a very special race he couldn't wait to be a part of.

What made this race special was it was a drag race where no experience was required to enter the event. All Bruice had to do was show up and place his race fee down at the gate. Once that was done he'd be provided with a crew and all the parts necessary to make his Chevelle race worthy.

He'd be competing alongside some of the best match racers in the country and in California. He was looking forward to showing all of them what his baby could do when he added some extra punch to it. His plan was to go there and win.

If he played his cards right he could be at the gate the evening before the race was to start. He had left his home in the Midwest early that morning and was just about to cross into Belen New Mexico which was nearly halfway between his home and the dragway.

He took a moment to look at his GPS he had pegged on the middle of the dashboard noticing he was making good time and would be in Pomona with plenty of time to spare if he pushed a little harder.

He buried his foot in the gas pedal hearing the big block engine roar under the hood as he kicked it up to over 100MPH sailing past any traffic like it was standing still.

The deafening sound of the engine drowned out the world and made Bruice's heart pound.. Nothing could stop him now.

Suddenly without warning Bruice heard something which made his heart stop and his stomach go up into his throat.. An axle break in the rear of his car.

Before he had a chance to react the car was already spinning out of control until it hit a rock on the side of the road sending it into a death roll. The force of the roll was so violent it ejected Bruice out of the window throwing him onto the ground with blunt force knocking him out instantly as his car continued to roll for several more feet before coming to rest on its lid.

Bruice lay there on his side motionless with blood pouring out his mouth and nose. His eyes remained open though probably not aware of what was going on around him.

A trucker who had witnessed the crash from the eastbound side of the highway pulled his rig over to go check to see if anybody had survived or was still moving.

He came upon Bruice and immediately called 911:

"911, what is your emergency?" the operator answered on the other end of the line.

"Hello, I'd like to report a serious roll over accident on 40 westbound before the Belen exit" the bear said to the operator.

"Is anybody hurt?" She asked.

"Yes, there is a man lying on his side on the ground with blood pouring out of his mouth and nose. He looks really bad and I don't know if he is alive. Please get an ambulance rolling immediately.. It doesn't look good" The bear said as calmly as he could to the operator.

"We'll get someone outhere as soon as we can. Just stay on the line with me until help gets there" the operator instructed the bear.

"Does he have a pulse?" the operator asked.

"Barely, I can't believe he does after the impact he took with the ground. I don't think he was wearing a seatbelt which probably was the best option given how bad the accident was" The bear said calmly even though inside he felt he might be the last person who saw the wolf alive.

"What's his breathing sounding like?" the operator asked.

"He's gurgling" the bear said bluntly.

"Oh dear, I will no doubt tell them to step it up" the operator said in a concerned tone.

"Thank you maim" the bear said almost choking in tears.

"What's your name? When the police get there they'll need a statement from you" the operator said to the bear.

"Jimmy" Jimmy said.

"I hear sirens so they are almost here" Jimmy said looking over the horizon seeing a flood of police cars and an ambulance screaming towards the scene.

"Ok, just let them take it from there and thank you for the call" the operator said.

"I hope he makes it" Jimmy said in a dark tone.

"I do too honey, I do too" the operator said as the line went dead.

Jimmy got out of the way once the paramedics and the police got to the scene.

Within minutes a life flight helicopter from Albuquerque Trauma Center landed in the middle of the road not far from where they were.

Jimmy knew they had to life flight the wolf out to a place which could treat his injuries better because they were serious enough to require it.

Jimmy knelt down in a prayer hoping the wolf would survive as they loaded him on a stretcher and wheeled him to the helicopter. Within seconds the flying ambulance was up in the air flying back to the Trauma Center in Albuquerque.

Jimmy gave his witness statement to the State Patrol before he made his way back to his truck. Once he got up in the cab and shut the door tears streaked out of his eyes. He couldn't hold his emotions back anymore.

Something in his heart told him he had to go to Albuquerque to check on the wolf once he dropped his load off in Texas. He felt like it was the right thing to do to go meet the wolf to tell him he was the one who saved his life by making the call to 911.

Before he pulled out onto the road he did one last silent prayer for the wolf hoping he would pull through everything until he could go see him.

He was going to need it. ......

Jimmy dropped his load off in Amarillo and was quickly back on the road by the next morning heading for Albuquerque to check on the wolf who had been in the serious rollover accident a couple of days before.

When he rolled into Albuquerque, Jimmy took a minute to stop at Hallmark Gold Crown store on the edge of town to pick up a get well soon card for the wolf and some sweet chocolate treats to go with it.

He just hoped the wolf had survived the last couple of days and was at least in some form of recovery. He feared the worst but expected the best.

Jimmy came out of the store with the gift bag containing the get well soon card and the box of chocolates. He got into his truck and made his way into town trying to locate where the hospital was. He pulled over to the side of the road entering the hospital name in his GPS which would lead him right to it.

He smiled realizing he was only a couple blocks away from the trauma center and figured it was best to park his truck in an area big enough to fit it and walk over to the hospital.

After some driving down the block the bear saw an abandoned parking lot near an abandoned apartment complex which was big enough to fit his truck. He pulled the massive eighteen wheeler into the parking lot setting his brakes making sure everything was locked up tight before he made his way down to the hospital.

When he reached the hospital he went inside making his way up to the front desk where an older female bobcat sat behind the counter.

"Can I help you sir?" the bobcat asked the bear.

"Yes, I'm looking for the wolf who was in the major rollover accident on 40 westbound that you brought here" Jimmy said to the bobcat.

"Are you family of his?" the bobcat asked with a questioning look on her face.

"No maim, I am the guy who called in the accident and wanted to see if he made it through everything" Jimmy explained. "I just want to go visit him and give him this get well soon card and a box of chocolates before I continue on my way" Jimmy said calmly pointing at the bag and taking out its contents to prove it was not an explosive device.

"Ok listen to me, I don't know what his condition is since I just came on duty but I could get you in touch with the main doctor who performed the surgery on him" the bobcat explained.

"All I need is your full name so I can relay it to Dr. Aspen who will come out and explain the situation to you" the bobcat said with her fingers touching the keyboard ready to type the information Jimmy was about to give her.

"Jimmy Laughlin" Jimmy said as he put the chocolates and the get well card back into the bag just as the bobcat finished typing his name out on the computer.

"Ok Jimmy just take a seat in the waiting area overthere and Dr. Aspen will be out shortly to speak with you" the bobcat instructed the bear pointing to a waiting area right down the hall from the front desk.

Before he made his way to the waiting area, a concerned look hit Jimmy's face when he thought about what the bobcat had said about him being informed of the situation. It raised a question deep from within him about the whereabouts of the wolf's family:

"Wait, you can't tell me none of his family or friends has been here to see if he is ok"

"Listen to me Jimmy, as far as I know from what the other nurses have told me, there hasn't been anyone who has come by to see him yet, we don't even know if he has any family or friends" the bobcat explained as calmly as she could.

Jimmy felt his heart start to beat fast in his chest as an angry feeling overtook him:

"That's horrible and not right" Jimmy said bluntly not realizing he had shouted attracting some stares from hospital staff walking by him.

"Look Jimmy, I'm just the messenger, I don't know why either and it bothers me too but please keep your voice down" the bobcat said in a calm tone raising her index finger to her lips.

Jimmy just walked briskly to the waiting room not bothering to give the bobcat anymore of his time.. He was mad.

He made his way into the waiting room which was fairly empty minus a couple of people with their kids playing in the children activities area near the back of it.

Jimmy took a seat in one of the chairs nearest to the door he thought Dr. Aspen was going to emerge from.

As he waited the bear bowed his head staring at the ground drowning out the noise the kids and their parents were making in the playing area behind him.

He couldn't believe nobody had come to at least see if the wolf was ok. How could somebody be so callous or for that matter careless? Nothing he had ever read in the bible or in his own holy beliefs had stated it was not wrong to not at least check on your kids if they were in a serious accident. It just didn't make any sense and it made his blood boil.

Soon the sound of the door coming open snapped Jimmy out of his thoughts:

A tall skinny reptilian probably a lizard dressed in doctor's wear with a heart beat listening device around his neck approached the bear. He walked with a slight limp and had dark circles under his eyes from being on the clock since the night before. He looked like he was on his last bit of energy as he came to a stop inches away from the bear.

"Hello there, you must be Jimmy Laughlin I presume" the lizard said extending a scaly hand.

"Yes, I am he" Jimmy said shaking the lizard's hand.

"I'm Dr. Blake Aspen, Bruice's primary doctor who oversaw everything. Shall we go into the medical meeting room area so I can fill you in on Bruice" Dr. Aspen said extending his hand pointing it in the direction of the door he came out of.

"Lead the way Dr. Aspen, I will follow you" Jimmy said getting up from the chair.

Dr. Aspen led Jimmy into the medical meeting area shutting the door behind them. It was not a very big place with only one big room and a door leading out to a back wing corridor of the hospital.

Jimmy and Dr. Aspen walked into the room taking seats across from each other at a big circular table with several rows of seats resembling a knight's round table.

Jimmy set his bag full of the boxed chocolates and get well soon card down by his feet before Dr. Aspen started talking.

"So my assumption is you are here about Bruice, am I correct?" Dr. Aspen said staring at Jimmy with his hands folded on the table.

"Yes, the reason I'm here is to see if Bruice survived the last couple of nights" Jimmy said looking at Dr. Aspen sternly resting his hands on the tops of his legs.

"Well what I'm about to tell you might leave you a little squeamish so you need to let me know if I should stop, ok?" Dr. Aspen said in a serious tone looking at Jimmy who took a hard swallow.

"I understand" Jimmy said in a nervous tone fearing the worst.

"Well when Bruice came into the trauma center he was not doing really good, in fact, before we even could get him into x-rays we had to open an airway so he could be evaluated without going into shock" Dr. Aspen explained.

"When we got him into the x-ray room and did some x-rays we discovered he had collapsed one of his lungs from hitting the ground and had severely damaged his spinal cord. It was broken in three places starting from center going down to almost the bottom" Dr. Aspen continued. "We also discovered he suffered two broken arms and a severely injured leg which we unfortunately had to amputate because the bones were so badly crushed there was no other alternative" Dr. Aspen said calmly.

Jimmy said nothing as he listened and tears welled up in his eyes.

"When we looked at his brain we saw he had suffered a concussion but luckily for him the swelling will go down in a few days if we keep draining it of the fluid gradually but there is a good chance he may have to get his brain operated on if we can't get the swelling down" Dr. Aspen explained calmly noting Jimmy's obvious sadness.

"Will he live" Jimmy said wiping tears away from his eye lids.

"That I don't know yet Jimmy because he hasn't even come out of the coma yet for us to see what else we have to do to give him a shot to live" Dr. Aspen said seriously.

"How about walking, will he ever do that again?" Jimmy said in an almost depressed tone.

"It's not looking too good Jimmy, if he even pulls through the next forty eight hours he's looking at life in a wheelchair if he can even remember what happened to him" Dr. Aspen said coldly making Jimmy's sadness turn into anger.

"Bullshit, I don't believe on God's will that's what he has planned for him" Jimmy growled pounding his fist on the table.

"Jimmy listen to me, I don't care what your religious beliefs are because I'm just telling you what his prognoses is" Dr. Aspen said staying calm and collective. "I don't know what holy power is going to do with him and I don't care. The only thing I can do is hope I can do the best I can to save him, the rest is up to him" Dr. Aspen explained bluntly.

Jimmy sunk down in his seat realizing Dr. Aspen was right.

"You can go see him but he has lots of tubes and various monitoring devices hooked up to him, he may not even be totally there" Dr. Aspen said looking into Jimmy's eyes boring a hole in them.

"I don't care, I just want to see him and at least tell him I'm there for him and to let him know he is a fighter and will get through this" Jimmy said strongly.

"You can visit him, but only for a few minutes because we have to keep him under observation in case he doesn't survive the night. The fact he's gotten this far is a miracle in itself" Dr. Aspen said getting up walking over to a phone mounted on the wall.

"Nurse, Bruice has a visitor here to see him. Could you please come down and escort the visitor up to his room" Dr. Aspen said over the phone.

Jimmy sat there with a dark numbing feeling hitting his whole body. He never expected this to be thrown in his lap. He didn't know whether he wanted to cry, be depressed, or just be angry that someone from the wolf's family didn't even bother to come see if he was ok.

Dr. Aspen hung up the phone making his way back to Jimmy who was slumped down staring at the ground depressed.

"A nurse will be by here in a few minutes to take you up to see Bruice" Dr. Aspen said calmly to Jimmy.

"Why didn't any of his family or friends bother to come and see him?" Bruice asked Dr. Aspen who sighed heavily.

"Jimmy, I talked with the police when they came over to tell me about the accident. I asked them if he had any friends or family and they told me no. I was and still am shocked at it and in my thirty plus years in the medical profession I wonder if I'm going to have to place him in a morgue for the unclaimed and then have to bury him myself to give him some dignity he obviously never got" Dr. Aspen said bluntly making a fist.

"God will punish those who let this happen" Jimmy said bluntly.

"God won't do shit Jimmy, do you know how many cases like Bruice I deal with on a daily basis? It almost is sad I have to be not only their parent but also their pastor. If you want to throw the God angle into this be my guest but in the end who is the true Lord Almighty" Dr. Aspen barked pointing at himself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you" Jimmy said bowing his head in shame.

"I'm just telling you that people like you need to stop thinking some holy intervention will save these people I deal with because in all honesty I'm the last hope they have and if they don't make it I have to do what is required by law and then hand them off to somebody who will at least give them peace" Dr. Aspen said sternly. "When you go look at Bruice you tell me if holy intervention will save him" Dr. Aspen hissed.

Jimmy had to do everything in his power not to get up and go throttle Dr. Aspen the punch he so deserved:

"Why do I have to rely on God when I'm looking at his executioner" Jimmy said bluntly as Dr. Aspen stormed out of the room slamming the door behind him so hard the walls in the room shook.

"God will cometh and make you pay" Jimmy said under his breath unclenching his fists saying a silent prayer to himself.

A few minutes later a kola nurse came into the room making her way over to where Jimmy sat.

"Are you ready to go see him Mr. Laughlin?" the kola asked.

"Yeah I guess so, should I bring this with me" Jimmy said holding up the Hallmark Gold Crown bag full of the boxed chocolates and get well soon card.

"You can, I'm just not sure when he'll be able to see it and view it" the kola said softly.

"It's ok, I will read it to him myself" Jimmy said bluntly still angry at what he had heard from Dr. Aspen.

'Is something wrong? You look really flustered" the kola asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Oh it's nothing, just am having a really bad day" Jimmy said masking the true reason behind his anger.

"That's understandable, I can only imagine what you are feeling right now, by the way my name is Nurse Gerry and I am Bruice's primary nurse.

"It's good to meet you Gerry" Jimmy said extending a hand out to her.

"Come on, if you can't bear to witness what you are about to see you need to let me know now so I can take this stuff up to his room" Gerry said in a serious tone.

"No, I want to see him, God says I have to" Jimmy said in a strong tone.

"Let's go then, you know the rules and once I leave you you cannot touch anything, are we clear?" Gerry instructed the bear.

"Yes, we are clear" Jimmy said scowling at the way he was being treated in all of this.

Nurse Gerry led Jimmy down a hallway to a set of elevators which led to the second floor where they kept most critical of the patients.

Jimmy took a deep breath as they entered the elevator. It took them up to the second level dinging when it came to a stop with its doors opening soon after.

Jimmy saw several doors, some open, some closed as they went in two solid rows across from each other to the end of the corridor. As they made their way to Bruice's room near the end of the corridor Jimmy looked in several of the open rooms cringing at what he saw in many of them.

Many of the patients in them were either in a coma or so badly hurt they were living off the artificial air they were breathing. Jimmy saw a young cub bear not even ten years old in one of the rooms hooked up to a monitor with a heart meter beeping and several tubes coming out of him.

Jimmy felt a sore lump bulging in his throat. He could feel each one of the people he saw in each one of the open rooms pain and it almost forced him to stop to regain his composure but he pressed on.

Then they came to Bruice's room near the end of the corridor. Jimmy could hear the heart monitor and the breathing equipment before he even entered the room.

He stopped dead in his tracks with tears rolling down his eyes at what he saw laying there before him:

On the bed lay Bruice with so many tubes and wires coming out of him it looked like he was a science experiment instead of a real wolf.

The leg which had been amputated was heavily bandaged with nothing more then a nub right at almost the pelvis. There was a monitor there on the bed checking to make sure blood was still flowing through the repaired area.

Both of Bruice's arms and his one good leg were heavily bruised with scars that had been stitched up and the fur shaven off.

His head looked more like a basketball with a wire inserted in it draining the fluid out of it every few minutes. His mouth was covered with a coma type device and one of the tips of his ears had been snipped off replaced with a number chip which tracked what patient number he was so they wouldn't get lost accidentally.

Jimmy took a minute to regain his composure, if he could even mange it. He had to be as strong as he could for Bruice.

"Leave us" Jimmy finally said to Gerry who walked outside closing the door.

"Hi Bruice, you may not be able to hear me but I'm Jimmy Laughlin, the guy who called in your accident" Jimmy said softly walking up to Bruice's side looking down at him with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I brought something for you, it's a get well soon card I will read to you" Jimmy said pulling the card out of the Hallmark Gold Crown bag.

Jimmy grabbed the unconscious Bruice's hand gently squeezing it as he read the card to him:

"Dear Bruice,

I know you may not know who I am or what I did but I just wanted to give this to you because I was so touched by you I had to do something to let you know I'm the reason you are alive today. Your spirit is what will get you through all of this no matter how long it takes. You have to be stronger then the pain I know you are going through. You are a fighter and you are an inspiration to me.

Get well soon Bruice

Sincerely your savior,

Jimmy Laughlin" Jimmy choked out as he said a prayer for the wolf weeping as he choked it out:

"Lord, please help this young man, give him the strength, give him the power, and give him the will he needs to get through this. It's not his time. Don't take this angel of your creation with you yet.. He can be an inspiration for us all and he can be a fighter. Please don't take him from this world, he doesn't deserve to leave it like this.. I pray this in your name, amen" Jimmy prayed as he gripped Bruice's hand with his tears bunched on it.

"I'm so sorry Bruice.. I'm so sorry you have to be put through this without a rock to lean on.. I won't let that happen even if I have to take care of you myself. I'm not letting these bastards turn you into a thrown out vegetable" Jimmy said softly choking on tears going down to his knees resting his head on top of Bruice's chest.

"Please, fight, fight for me and prove these assholes wrong" Jimmy pleaded crying into the wolf's chest.

Suddenly Jimmy felt something squeezing his hand. He looked down to see Bruice's hand wrapped around his in a tight squeeze.

Jimmy looked up to the heavens smiling with tears of happiness replacing the tears of sadness. God had answered his request:

Bruice was going to survive.

End of Part One