Chapter 4
The sterile fluorescent lights of County General Hospital buzzed with an unremitting, institutional hum. Morning had broken outside, gray and drizzly, casting pale light across the linoleum floors of the third-floor waiting area. Liam sat in a vinyl chair, a paper cup of bitter coffee growing cold between his palms. He had stayed up most of the night, driven by a restless compulsion that he could neither fully explain nor ignore.
At 7:00 AM, the intensive care unit doors swung open, and a doctor in a rumpled white coat emerged, consulting a metal clipboard. Liam stood up immediately, stepping forward.
"Are you family for Mr. Pendelton?" the doctor asked, his eyes tired.
"Friend, sort of," Liam replied, adjusting his jacket. "I was on the bus last night when he collapsed. How is he?"
"He's awake, and his vital signs have stabilized, but he's exhausted," the doctor said, peering over his glasses. "He suffered a severe stress-induced cardiac event. His body simply gave out. We managed to regulate his rhythm, but he needs complete rest, and frankly, the psychological weight of his situation is impeding his physical recovery. He keeps asking about the bus, worried about liability, worried about losing his pension."
"Can I see him for just a minute?" Liam asked.
The doctor hesitated, then nodded. "Five minutes. No more. He needs absolute quiet."
Walking down the sterile corridor, Liam felt a familiar tightening in his chest. Pushing open the heavy door to Room 312, he found Arthur looking remarkably small against the crisp white hospital pillows. The robust, middle-aged driver who had steered thousands of people safely through the city streets now looked frail, his skin papery and gray, his blue uniform replaced by a standard-issue cotton gown.
Arthur turned his head slowly, recognizing Liam from the fleeting moments before the chaos. A look of profound embarrassment flickered across the older man's tired eyes.
"I'm sorry," Arthur whispered, his voice raspy and dry. "I endangered everyone. I should have pulled over. I just... I couldn't afford to miss the shift."
May you like
Liam walked to the bedside, pulling up a chair and sitting down with deliberate slowness. He placed the crumpled hospital envelope gently on the bedside table.
"You kept thirty people alive for twenty years, Arthur," Liam said, his tone gentle and steady. "Let us return the favor for one night."
