A/N: To avoid further confusion as notified to me by a review, I will hereby clarify that this story is a horror AU, set in a hospital. The characters featured are all Homestuck kids. My style of writing will involve only revealing the true identities of the characters in later chapters, so please bear with that.
A room. Cold tiled walls, windows closed, curtains only open in good weather. A door to the back, leading out into a corridor that was confusing by virtue of the fact that it kept echoing the sounds of footsteps back at him. Four beds, evenly spaced, three taken, one empty, with partitions in between that essentially separated it into four different wards. However, he was most familiar with the part of the room that was his - the other occupants weren't exactly too open to his form of perception.
He discarded the image as easily as he did with his dreams - from what the others said, someone new was coming in today. Careful not to dislocate the IV line in his hand, he pushed himself upright. Warmth on his arm told him that the curtains were open - a particularly sunny day - and that the nurse had already visited. Probably replaced the drip - yeah, definitely, the IV pole felt different.
Dressing was difficult with only one hand, but he was used to it - the fact that someone had conveniently left his clothes at the foot of the bed definitely helped immensely. Oh yes, and the stick - he really didn't want to resort to that, but given the higher risk of tripping over something, it was a must.
He lightly brushed his fingers across the bedside table, building up a mental image of what was there; the pills that he was supposed to take today, a bottle of water (thank god it was sealed), a pen, plus a book that he'd never bothered to read -
- ah, his watch.
A Braille watch was rare, but not unheard of, and his own had been with him for quite long. Eight, from the way the hands were oriented - not bad, though he had slept through his scheduled drip change.
Though, something was different. Despite the sunlight, it was colder. The cold was a different feeling, though - it originated from within him, like some sort of parasite that smothered his insides in an icy vicegrip. It was a strangely curious sensation - he made a mental note to tell the nurse later. Probably still some sort of morning cramp - after all, this visit was only to treat a respiratory infection.
Footsteps from beyond the door. Definitely not the nurse - no sound of a trolley - quite light, almost elegant. A knock. A pause.
"Come in." He drew the covers around him in an attempt to ward out the cold.
The door creaked, and there was a click as it was shut behind his visitor. The footsteps stopped.
"You do seem to be only half-dressed." The voice was tinged with amusement, though more hollow than usual. "Shall I wait outside until you finish?"
"'m fine." He mumbled. "Just kinda cold." A pause. "You sound strange."
"Thank you for the observation, Captain Obvious." She deftly sidestepped the comment.
A silence stretched between them, a silence that neither wanted to break. The room itself seemed to have a dampening, depressive effect - from what the others said, the room was perceived as white, washed white, bone white, stark white, lifeless white - words that evidently meant a lot to them. But it was meaningless to him. What was blue? What was red? All the colours were meaningless - terms that he could not comprehend, things that could not see.
"D'ya know who's coming in?" No sounds of commotion, no whirring of machines, nothing out of the ordinary that he could tell. Despite what he wanted to feel, he was curious.
"Oh, not yet - " The sentence was interrupted by a coughing fit, but it abated as soon as it started. "She's coming in later - and either way, the doctors are kind of busy now. We have a second vacant bed, so there is in fact not one but two people who are to join us soon."
He gazed in the general direction of her voice." Tell me 'bout it."
A chuckle. "Oh, curious today, are you not? You should be thankful that I had the foresight to be more aware today." A strange sound that could be vaguely interpreted as a sip of water. "John was moved to the emergency ward today. He is no longer here."
What was he to feel? Surprise? Anxiety? Worry? Concern? In his frequent stays, his fellow wardmates came and went. Some recovered. Others did not. But then again, this time, it was someone close to his age. Just a few months younger, if he'd recalled correctly. And they did have interesting conversations.
He tilted his head, indicating his wish to hear further details.
"Severe allergic reaction triggering another asthma attack, according to what the doctors described to me. Though the situation presents itself as curious, if not slightly... morbid." She sighed. "John is allergic to peanuts. The only thing known to trigger such a severe respiratory response is powdered peanut."
A cold chill settled over him, and the parasite tightened its grip as he fully comprehended what she was implying.
"But who - who would want that?"
"I don't know."