“How is he today, Doctor?” Mrs. Skeene asked quietly. She sat on a wooden cushioned chair next to the bed in the ICU of Baystate Medical… Two weeks ago she answered the one phone call that no parent wants to ever receive. Tierra was leaving the hospital to grab some fresh air, when she made the call. Luckily, if one can even say that, it wasn’t to inform his parents that he was deceased, as Tierra had initially thought. She informed them though that their son was in critical condition and they needed to try to make their way to the airport and get to the hospital as soon as possible.
Two weeks ago, Qu was leaving a late night session at ViFlaa Entertainment. His group Fire & Ice had just wrapped up their vocals on their debut album, “The MeltDown”. Everyone was excited and exhausted. The group offered Qu a ride home, but he told them he had already called for a taxi. When it arrived, Fire & Ice began to drive off as Qu walked across Main Street to his awaiting cab.
“Yo! STOP! THE CAR MAN…!” Justin, better known as Fire yelled.
“Why, come on man, I’m tired,” Ian replied, reluctantly slowing the car down.
“Look in your mirror,” Justin replied, not waiting for the car to come to a complete stop before he hopped out and ran back up the street.
“What the…” in the rear view mirror Ian could see Justin running back towards the taxi where they had just left Qu. The taxi driver was running down the street screaming and waving his hands wildly. Ian saw a car turn the corner, its tires screeching as it went. He made a U-Turn and pulled up behind the taxi. Nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to see, when he stepped out of his car.
“Ian… call Vito. Call him now!”
“Yo, what the fuck happened man?” Justin asked the taxi driver, when he came back.
“I couldn’t get a license number,” he began out of breath. “I only got the first two numbers.”
“What happened?”
“Call 911,” the taxi driver replied.
“I already did!” Justin informed him.
“Yo, man what happened?” Ian asked again, stepping up to the taxi driver.
“I don’t know. I pulled up. Your friend, he began to walk over to me. I saw the lights and before he had a chance to move… I jumped in my skin. I never heard someone get hit. The sound of the car when it… it was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen or heard in my life,” he said, his skin taking on a pale look.
“What… are you saying some asshole just ran down Qu and drove off?!”
“Yes, I didn’t hear his brakes. The driver just hit him and kept going like they didn’t know they hit anybody!”
Within five minutes an ambulance had arrived. Qu’s heart had stopped but they were able to revive him. Luckily they were only minutes away from Baystate Hospital and they sped away. One of the crew told Ian, it was serious and if he had family they should get them to the hospital right away. The police arrive in the midst of the ambulance drivers reviving Qu. They took the taxi drivers statement, and the two numbers he was able to remember off the license and description of the car. They also talked to Fire & Ice. Justin saw the car speed by them, which is why he looked in the rear view mirror. He saw the car slam into Qu’s body and keep going. So his description of the car was better than that of the taxi drivers.
The police wouldn’t allow Vito into the crime scene, which was pissing him off. He had arrived right after the police did, and there was already a mob forming so they tapped off the area. ViFlaa Entertainment was in the area of Main Street that was also the club district. So at this time of night there were a lot of people getting out of the various clubs in the area.
“Yo… I mean office can I go over there and talk to my man, before ya officers end up arresting him. He is best friends with Qu, the guy that was hit. He’s also the owner of the studio we all just came from,” Ian asked the officer that had taken their statements. He pointed over to where Vito was. Vito was yelling for the officers to let him go and trying to explain he knew the victim.
“Charlie,” the officer yelled, “Let that one in.”
“Thank you,” Ian said to the officer as he and Justin walked over towards Vito and explained to him what had happened.
Vito called Sean, who told Shireece, who went downstairs to tell Tierra. Once they all arrived at the hospital, Vito informed them that the doctor said it didn’t look good for him. He told them his heat had already given out once and he was no unconscious. After receiving conformation from the doctor as to Qu’s condition, Tierra immediately went and called Mr. and Mrs. Skeene. Vito purchased their airfare into Bradley International Airport and picked them up upon their arrival, the following afternoon. Mrs. Skeene and Tierra attentively sat by Qu’s side every day since.