Chapter Text
Bluey awoke in a frigid hospital room. She thought she must’ve fallen asleep at the end of the bed, rubbing her eyes and taking in the space before her. In a cold room, white tiles occupy the floor with pale cream walls, and a wide-open window lets sunlight enter the room. Plants filled the room, with about one in each corner. On the windowsill, bouquets sit atop, with many cards reading: “Get Well Soon!” or “Wishing You Well!” you get the gist. Bluey’s still blurry eyes linger around the room for a while before they fall onto the blurry figure of a black dog; bit by bit, Bluey started recognising the figure on the bed; the black dog looked to be somewhere around 18 years old, a border collie… Wait. The blur in Bluey’s eyes suddenly shifted back to the crystal-clear vision they usually had. It wasn’t a dream; it happened. Bluey jumped back into the wall behind her in fear; her heart began to beat quickly, going faster and faster as the memory of last night shot through her brain.
Last Night——————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Blaring lights came from Bluey’s house, and cheers and partying could be heard around the close neighbourhood. Bluey was holding a party to celebrate the end of high school and must have invited around 30 people as her house was packed to the brim of people; maybe it was more around 50.
The recent years haven’t given everyone in Bluey’s group(including herself) a fair chance. The only one who has had it hard had been Mackenzie, the usually playful, childish but brave, intelligent, funny and friendly border collie who had become a small, depressed, slow, tired and frustrated person. His Dad had left after a divorce when Mackenzie was 10. The reason was unknown, but Mackenzie still had his theories. His Mum had become addicted to drugs, primarily Xanax and Valium, but she had also begun smoking and sleeping around. Mackenzie had to be exposed to all that at such a young age; he never even stood a chance at a normal childhood from that moment. Mackenzie had been advised not to go that party, not for any medical reasons, but people generally thought he’d ruin everything for everyone who just wanted to have a good time. He was mainly avoided, and not only at the party, just in general; at school, outside, no matter where he was, people always seemed to move slightly further away when walking past him. The border collie has been trying to make music for the past two years; if people didn’t know him because of his problems, it was probably because they had heard his songs before, mediocre and low budget as they were.
Bluey was the opposite; she was widely known as an intelligent, cute, playful dog. She was also incredibly popular at school; everyone knew her, and every boy wanted to be with her, but she had a history of rejecting every boy who asked her out. Bluey had practically stayed friends with everyone; she had lost Snickers and Honey, but those were both the kids moving away, not that they stopped being friends. She was and still is one of the only people who still talks with Mackenzie. Rusty, Lucky and Jack were the only other dogs who would speak to him. Rusty, Lucky and Jack were his best friends and hated seeing Mackenzie sad; they felt powerless to help him but never stopped trying. It was tough for the blue heeler to see someone she always saw as her best friend and, at times, even more, be so miserable and angry all the time. It pained her, but she’d never give up on him; she knew he needed help, and she’d do anything to do precisely that.
Back to the party, the leading party group was on the upstairs patio while small groups of friends hung out around the house’s rooms. Mackenzie sat on the stairs outside in Bluey’s backyard, repeatedly listening to his new stuff, trying to find things wrong with it. He held a beer in his paw, or at least what used to be beer, but it might as well be vodka hidden in a beer bottle. He saw people walk in and out of the house, laughing, partying and everything else you’d expect to see at a party, and of course, he was being avoided, just like always.
People were scared of Mackenzie, for the most part, for his looks, scruffy fur, and generally unattractive, stubborn and disrespectful demeanour. It didn’t help him when people finally tried talking to the enclosed collie, and he would push them away, usually followed by insults and general disgust. Suddenly, however, a blue heeler sat down next to him.
- “Hey, Kenzie! Glad you could make it; I haven’t seen you since November.”
- “Oh right, that… I dropped out.”
- “Oh… why, though? You had the grades, didn’t you?”
- “Yeah, but I wasn’t interested in University, so I didn’t even finish the year.”
- “Kenzie…” She said she was disappointed that Mackenzie would give up early.
- “What! Are you here to patronise me?!”
- “Not at all, Mackenzie, I was just-“ Mackenzie cut her off.
- “It’s just nothing, Bluey. Be disappointed all you want! I can’t even care any less right now what you think.”
- “I was just trying to help… Wait, are you drunk?!”
- “Of course I am. Everyone here is!”
- “Mackenzie… this is a non-alcoholic party. You can’t be drunk here.”
- “So you’re asking me to leave then.”
- “Of course not, Kenzie… I don’t want you to leave.”
- “Well, I’m fucking leavin’ all this sober shit’s pissing me off.”
- “Mackenzie, you can’t possibly go home! You’re drunk and drove here; you can’t drive home drunk!”
- “Watch me! It’s easy!” He said as he headed through the house and out the front door to get to his car.
Bluey begged the collie to compromise; she’d drive him home, and Jack, Rusty, and even Lucky would. Anyone besides him in front of the wheel would be the best thing to do. Mackenzie got into his car and prepared to drive off before the body of a heeler would stand in front of the vehicle.
- “You can’t do this, Mackenzie! Let me drive you home, please!”
- “You?! You want to drive ME home! Oh well, that’s just so fucking rich! The person who said they wanted nothing to do with me wants to drive me home!”
- “Mackenzie, that was years ago! Please don’t go like this; you’ll get hurt if you drive in your condition!” Bluey held the hood of the car for dear life.
- “Bluey, I fucking love you, but you need to let me fucking leave!”
- “You… lo- Wait, you love me?” Bluey backed up after Mackenzie’s words.
Mackenzie took the opportunity to drive off drunkenly as his car swerved from right to left sporadically. Bluey immediately went back inside and fetched her phone to hopefully get the cops on the phone before Mackenzie hurt himself or others. Bluey eventually got to a policewoman who answered the phone.
- “This is Brisbane police. What’s your emergency?!”
- “Hello! My name is Bluey Heeler. My friend is driving home drunk, and I need someone to intercept him before he gets in an accident!”
- “Okay. We need a departure and arrival address to determine his route.”
- “Okay, uhm… he left Jamestown Street and is going to… Devon Road… I think.”
- “Devon Road? Perfect, I’ll send three cars. Hopefully, we get to him. I’ll call back with any information.” The phone then immediately hung up. Bluey didn’t get to say thank you but knew Mackenzie would be in good paws.
The party had ended only ten minutes post-incident, and Bluey’s house was clearing up; only Bluey’s close friends were still there. Bluey was nervously sitting on the couch, hoping to get a call from the officers; if she hadn’t been called yet, it must mean Mackenzie was still okay. Her friends quickly joined her on the sofa after cleaning the central mess up.
- “Ah… What a success.” Chloe said, lying down on the couch, exhausted.
- “This was so much fun; we should do this more!” Indy added, still hyper.
- “Success?! One of our friends possibly getting hurt is a success?!” Bluey growled at her friend’s comments.
- “You mean your friend Bluey, your criminal crush, I should say,” Indy said, laughing.
- “He said he loved me before he drove off…” Bluey said, ignoring Indy’s comment.
- “No way! That’s great! That’s what you’ve been waiting for.” Jack said excitedly
- “No way! What a stupid suggestion, Jack. Good job! She can’t go out with that sleazy ass hole.”
- “Yeah, Indy’s right. That’s a stupid idea, Jack. You’re encouraging Bluey to go out with a dirty, depressed, abusive, aggressive, drug and alcohol-abusing mess!” Chloe added to Indy’s statement.
- “Hey! He’s not anything like that! He’s just going through a hard time, like we all have at some point, and he needs us to help him; we’re his friends.” Jack said, indirectly protecting Mackenzie from this useless hate.
- “Yeah, I’ve seen him while he makes his music. He acts like the little kid we all loved, and that some of us still do.” Rusty added.
- “Oh, don’t get me started on his music, Rusty… It’s shit! It’s alternative rock and psych, shit, it’s bad, and it perfectly represents the type of trash he is.”
- “ARE YOU FUCKING DONE!” Bluey’s yell traversed the house in one piercing wave, shocking every person around her.
- “ALL YOU’VE DONE FOR THE PAST 5 MINUTES IS INSULT MACKENZIE FOR NO FUCKING REASON!” Bluey’s eyes were angry as she stared intensely at the Hound and Dalmatian slagging off Mackenzie.
- “Whoa, Bluey, chill down, we’ll stop, okay… You didn’t have to yell.”
- “Sorry, but this is entirely uncalled for, and- “ She was cut off by her phone.
Bluey read her phone screen. It was a number she had never seen before. It turned out to be the policewoman, but she thought she must have saved Bluey’s number or something on her phone. Bluey quickly asked if Mackenzie was okay, and silence. The woman requested Bluey to sit down, which made her angry and caused her to scream, “Tell me what happened to him!” The woman sighed as she said, “Your friend drove off a major road and crashed his car.” Bluey lost feeling in her legs at that moment, falling over and dropping her phone on speaker mode on the floor. The policewoman continued, “He’s been taken to the North West Private Hospital. If you want to see him, that’s where you should go.” Bluey said a quick thank you before hanging up unexpectedly on the woman.
Bluey couldn’t believe it; Mackenzie almost died, still might die, is already dead; she doesn’t know. She could only hope he was going to be okay. Her shock was immeasurable as her friends looked at her, fearing how she might react. They knew how she felt about Mackenzie; from primary school to now, she’d loved him silently, too scared to say anything. Bluey feared that if Mackenzie passed away, the words she always meant to tell him would be for not. She could have been able to say something all that time, but she never said anything. Rusty could be seen crying in his arms. Rusty was Mackenzie’s best friend, so it made sense for the red kelpie to show these emotions. However, no one had seen Rusty cry in the past five years, so seeing the manly kelpie crying his eyes out was a shock. At that moment, even the ones insulting Mackenzie, making fun of him, and harassing him sometimes at school also felt the moment as tears and fear filled the room.
Bluey’s parents returned home a few hours later, and the group pleaded to be driven to the hospital as quickly as Bluey’s parents could. They were all still 17 and could not go there by themselves. Chilli hastily accepted the kids’ request and took the car keys from Bandit, still left confused in the group’s hurry. Chilli has no clue why they want to go to the hospital, but it has to be for something important if all seven of Bluey’s friends want to go together.
- “I can’t take you all. Someone needs to volunteer to stay here or wait for their parent to pick them up; I’m sorry.”
- “It’s okay… I’ll stay here,” Indy said hesitantly.
- “Me too…” Coco added.
- “Great, I can fit the rest in the car. Let’s go.” Bluey was impressed with her Mum’s hurry in an unknown situation.
Chilli rushed Bluey and her friends to the hospital. She didn’t even question Bluey in the car; she trusted she had an excellent reason to go to the hospital this late. The car arrives at the hospital, and the group jumps out of it the second it stops and runs inside, hitting the secretary’s desk first, then after finding out where their friend is, going to his room next. They arrive at a clear white door at the end of the hallway. The name “Mackenzie Jack Border-Collie” is printed on the sheet hung on the door. The group takes a couple of deep breaths; they’re about to walk in on what could be a horrid sight. The secretary said they were allowed to enter already, so possible surgery must have been done, right? As Bluey entered the room, followed by her friends, they saw an impossible sight. Mackenzie was… alive but… wasn’t there simultaneously. Bluey laid her eyes on the broken collie. The black and white dog had turned black and red, his white fur tainted by the accident. An oxygen mask was attached to his muzzle to keep him breathing while he recuperated, and tubes went everywhere into his body. Both Rusty and Lucky vomited at the sight; they were able to get it in the bin.
Bluey spent thirty minutes talking to an unconscious Mackenzie about how sorry she was for letting him leave; no matter how drunk he was, she still felt at fault. Rusty also got his talking time, apologising for always being there when he needed him and saying how he’ll never give him up again. Finally, a doctor walked in and addressed them.
- “Oh, I didn’t expect it to be a party in here as well.”
- “We’re sorry, sir, we’ll leave…” Bluey sadly said, wiping a tear away as it fell out of her eye.
- “No, no, it’s fine. I was joking. Anyways, I’m Mackenzie’s doctor, Dr Spaniel.”
- “I’m sorry, doctor, but could we know what’s going on with Mackenzie… please.”
- “Sure, I’ll give you the minor details; as not being family members, you know you’re not entitled to a full description, am I correct?”
- “Yes…”
- “So Mackenzie has suffered what I’d call a fatal car crash, but he has somehow survived the ordeal, but I fear to tell you it’s not without significant injuries. He’s been knocked into a coma. This type of coma could last anywhere from two to four weeks and takes considerable recovery time afterwards. He has broken a total of four ribs, one of which had punctured his lung, but we were able to get it fixed in surgery. He also had some small organ displacement set during the surgery. However, we couldn’t save him entirely, [the doctor gently pulls Mackenzie’s sheet off of him] as he has lost his left leg and right arm to one hundred per cent.”
Bluey’s look of horror only intensified after seeing Mackenzie… without an arm or leg. The others wouldn’t react better as crying became the group’s norm. The doctor quickly specified the possibility of future-looking prosthetics but doubted anyone could pay the increasing price for them. The doctor concluded his visit with advice: “Don’t let Mackenzie near any substances. He’ll have to go through some during rehab, but please, don’t let him take any. I know it’s selfish for me to ask you to care for him, but he’ll need loyal friends like you.”
The doctor left the room, leaving the increasingly confused, angered and sad dogs alone in front of their friend.
Bluey would be the first to speak after a while of silence had filled the room.
- “Fuck me… Fuck me. Fuck me! FUCK ME! SHIT! [Bluey punched the wall as hard as she could in frustration] This is all my fault! If only I had stopped him and tried harder if I weren’t so stupid!”
- “Bluey, this isn’t your fault.” Jack said.
- “How could you possibly say that?! I could have done so much more, but now I’m here… standing in front of the half-corpse of the person I love!”
- “Bluey! It was an accident! You had nothing to do with the outcome of this!” Rusty protested.
- “No, that’s just not true! If I hadn’t approached him and made him feel bad for dropping out and…[she looked intently at Mackenzie] Hey… could I have some time alone with him…please.”
- “Sure, Bluey, let’s go, guys,” Rusty said ruefully.
- “By the way, you can ask my mum to take you to your homes. I’m staying here tonight.”
- “Oh, okay, Bluey, see you another time.”
The dogs hugged Bluey and wished her good luck on their way out. The heeler was left alone with Mackenzie in the hospital room, which somehow made the pressure felt by Bluey a thousand times worse. She couldn’t even think of the pain Mackenzie must be feeling now. How will he react after realising he’s lost his arm and leg? How will he respond in general to the whole situation? Bluey walked over to Mackenzie’s bed and went to hold his paw, his only one, against her with her two paws. She prayed for Mackenzie to wake up, even though she knew it would be impossible for a long time. What could be going on in his head? Was he dreaming, or was it all just…black? The tired dog slowly started to feel tired. It’s been such a long and stressful day the heeler couldn’t stay awake for much longer. She moved a chair to the bedside and held Mackenzie’s paw until she eventually fell asleep beside the border collie.
Present Time————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Bluey awoke in a frigid hospital room. The whole space around her felt familiar but strange at the same time. She was focusing on Mackenzie after the reality hit, and it was almost impossible. She had to close her eyes and pretend nothing happened, as guilt still occupied the Heeler’s conscience. Bluey opened her phone to missed calls from her friends and messages from her Mum and Dad asking her when she’d be home. She also looked at the time: 9:27. She had fallen asleep for ten hours next to Mackenzie, and still, nothing. It’s as if she expected him to “wake up” the next day like the problem would be solved overnight. Bluey checked if he was still missing his arm and leg, and to no surprise, except for Bluey, they were still missing. Again, she had expected it either to be a horrible nightmare or just for her problem to be fixed and less painful.
Suddenly, a tall male blue Heeler enters the hospital room.
“It’s a shame we must meet like this for the first time, Mackenzie. But at least I know you’re alive.”