Author Note: I do not own the rights to these characters; the rights, forever and always, belong to S. E. Hinton.
The Domino Effect
Chapter 1
Worst Case Scenario
Darkness engulfed him. And he couldn't even see the faces that stared into him. Each body was like a giant shadow. But each shadow was unidentifiable. He could hear the faint sound of the heart monitor beeping to the beat of his heart. Whenever he breathed in, it hurt his stomach.
Each visitor hand was wrung twenty times from the nerves. Beads of sweat fell from each forehead. After harassing the doctor about an hour ago, the boys were let in to see him. But it didn't even matter, he was asleep. And who knew how long they'd have to wait for him to wake up.
"This is crazy. How long are we gonna wait here?" The Drunk was becoming restless. He was constantly changing positions.
"Forever if we have to; he can't just wake up and not find anyone here. We're his friends and we have to be here for him." The Happy-Go-Lucky boy shot back.
"He's right. We can't just leave him here alone. He might try to escape before the doctors can help him." Muscles defended. They sat quietly again.
"He's gonna be ticked when he finds out what happened to him. His rep's in serious jeopardy." The Mechanic mentioned. He was right, though; an incident like this would seriously injure his infamous reputation. But there was nothing left that they could do. He'd have to get tough again on his own time.
"Ain't that the truth," The Drunk agreed, fidgeting in his seat again.
"Why don't you go downstairs and get something to eat?" Muscles suggested after seeing his friend sit uncomfortably for a while now.
"Alright," The Drunk got up and walked out.
"I'm coming with you." The Mechanic followed him out. And then there were four. Muscles looked at his watch.
"You know, I gotta get to work." Muscles picked up his jacket and left the room. Three left.
Hours passed and it had gotten late. The Mechanic and Drunk had never returned from their snack break and Muscles was still working.
"I better get home." The Loner said for the first time all night.
"See you later," Happy-Go-Lucky and the quiet Dark Puppy said. Two remained. And the two that remained were not leaving the bed side of their injured friend. These two were just more compassionate than the other boys. They were so compassionate that they spent the night in the rickety chairs the hospital provided for visitors.
All the boys returned in the morning to check to progress of their injured friend. He seemed the same, though; unchanged, unaffected.
"Well, I see you boys never left," The doctor said as he came into the room. He hated when kids like these insist on staying around the clock in the hospital to stay with whomever. "Can I talk to you?" The doctor pointed to Muscles, assuming he was the oldest, and directed him outside the room. "Your friend…"
Author Note: So, I wasn't feeling Unforgivable anymore. Sorry if I disappointed anyone. But I thought this would be better. What do you think? And sorry for the shortness, the other chapters will be longer though. I would love to hear your thoughts. Please review!