Prelude to 'Sam I Am'

Two years before…

2:00am Saturday

Samantha decided to call it a night. Her girlfriends had thrown her a surprise birthday party. It had been a wonderful night with lots of drinking, dancing and flirting. Sam waved farewell to her companions and made her way to the taxi rank. Seeing the long queue ahead of her, she decided to walk. Not a big drinker, she was a little tipsy and decided the fresh air would help clear her head. Six months ago she been promoted and had received a generous bonus. That and her savings had been enough to purchase a small apartment above a bookstore, only twenty minutes away. It was a clear night and the full moon gave off plenty of light to negotiate the streets. She smiled and a sense of contentment and joy filled her. She could not remember the last time she had been this happy.

6:35am Saturday

The ambulance reversed into the Emergency entrance. The driver jumped out and helped his partner to manoeuvre their charge through the doors and into the hospital. A Police officer entered hard on their heels. He stood aside, as staff rushed to attend the small, blood soaked figure lying still on the stretcher.

“What have we got?” the Doctor shot out.

“Knife wounds to face and chest and extensive loss of blood.  Skull cracked, with intracranial bleeding. Broken nose and orbital ridge; cracked ribs, broken arm and assorted fingers, severe bruising to most of her body.”

The clipped rapid-fire pronouncement of the para medic halted. He shook his head; his professional demeanour cracking.

“Someone sure did a number on this girl. Her attacker kicked her over and over again, after she went down.”

The young police officer taking notes moved to a vacant chair and sat. He had witnessed many scenes of violence on the streets, but never this brutal. Whatever animal did this wanted the girl dead, but amazingly she still lived.
The doctors and nurses moved protectively as one. Gently, but with speed, they drew their patient deeper into the bowels of the Emergency Room.

10:00pm Saturday.

The exhausted doctor leaned against the wall, talking in a low voice. The Police Officer recorded the details in his notebook.

“We’ve managed to stabilize her condition. Her external injuries we’ve managed to stitch and set, though she will need extensive cosmetic surgery at a later date.  Our main concern is the trauma to her brain. We won’t know how severe it is until she wakes. Her body has put itself into a coma. It’s the best thing for her now. It needs time to heal; if it can. Whoever attacked her did not want her waking up.”

The officer cleared his throat and looked away. Taking a deep breath, he checked his notes once more, before looking up at the doctor.

“We found her bag at the scene. Everything was intact. Phone, purse and house keys were all there. It wasn’t just a robbery gone wrong. She was targeted. He managed to get her minutes from being safe in her home. Her driver’s license lists her name as Samantha. Samantha Spade.”