The New Doctor
The boy coughed, blood escaping through his lips. He shivered as the boat easily cut through the water, making its way towards the small island ahead.
"We'll be there soon," said a man behind him. The teen managed to catch a glimpse of their destination; a glimpse of his final resting place. And to be honest, this island did not satisfy him. Nope. Not in the very least. The place they were taking him was hell! He shook his head, continuing to hack and wheeze.
"No, please," he begged weakly, looking at the man behind him. "Don't bring me there!"
"Shut up!" he hissed, glaring at the teen. "You're infected! We cannot allow you to make others sick!"
The boy continued to plead to whoever was on the boat with him. He begged that they took him back, or even pushed him overboard so he could drown and die that way. But they ignored him. They continued to the island, and when they got there, the other two men who were on the boat lifted the teen up and carried him over to land. Once there, they laid his body down in the long grass, and looked down at him. Again, the teen pleaded they took him back and kill him elsewhere. He didn't want to be here and die from whatever would get to him. And once more, his pleads were ignored. They turned their noses up at the young boy, turned their heels, and walks back towards the small boat. He watched with tears filling his eyes.
"May God bless your soul, child!" He could hear one of them call out. He frowned, rolling onto his side and continued to cough up blood. He felt weak, like someone had taken most of the life out of him.
An eternity seemed to pass before the sound of someone walking through the grass caught the boy's attention. He forced himself to raise his head and look around, only to find no one.
"H-hello?" he called out, slowly trying to prop himself up on his elbow, only to fall back down. There was no response. Only the footsteps grew closer. "Is anyone here? Please, help me!"
He waited for a few moments, before a small figure emerged. He squinted his eyes, trying to see through the thick grass. The person who was walking towards him wasn't too tall. Maybe... five feet? They wore a black hoodie, black jeans, black boots, a burgundy bandana around their neck, and a white mask that resembled a bird's skull, the eye holes being covered with glass that was colored a dark blue. The person walked over, hovering over the teen.
"P-please, help me," he whimpered, looking up at the person.
"Welcome to the Island of Poveglia, friend," said the person, obviously a female. "I am the new doctor here. I'll help you."
"Thank you," He gave the doctor a weak smile. She only nodded.
"You're welcome. What's your name? I'm Jennifer, but a lot of people call me Seishin," She gently grabbed his shoulder, helping him up. He leaned against her small form, stumbling into the old and decaying building with her.
"My name's Alex," he replied, looking around. "Thank you so much. Are you sure you can help me?"
"Of course. I saw what to do from the old doctor! It'll be okay," she explained. He smiled. He finally found help! As they walked through the old hospital, it started to look... cleaner and more new. Like it hadn't been abandoned at all. And as they got to a room, Alex found himself staring at beautiful blue tiled room, a white bed in the middle. Jennifer led him over to the bed, helping him lay down.
"I'm going to go get some medicine," she told him, her voice soft and soothing as she gently ran her hand through his short and soft hair. "I'll be back soon. And when I do, you won't feel a thing after I'm done. You'll be cured."
"Thank you so much," He smiled as she nodded, turning her heels and walking out of the room. He allowed himself to be engulfed by the warm room that smelt of cherry blossoms and slight sulfur. His smile grew larger as the girl returned, a syringe in her hand.
"Sorry for the wait," she spoke, standing by his side.
"No, no!" he replied, looking at her. "It's okay! You were actually pretty fast."
He couldn't see it, but he knew she was smiling underneath that mask.
"Well, I'm going to have to inject you with the medicine," she started, showing him the object in her hand that was filled with a strange blue liquid. He nodded, the smile remaining on his face. Finally, he would be getting some help! She lifted her mask up and off, showing him her face. Pale skin that looked as though she didn't have any blood in her system, and shiny black hair that fell in front of her face. Her eyes, scary yet soft and innocent. The sclera was black, as her iris was white and lacking a pupil. She smiled when she noticed he wasn't screaming and trying to get away.
"Welcome to the family, Alex," she spoke, leaning forward and planting a soft kiss on his forehead, her freezing cold lips making him shiver with his fever. She gently pushed the syringe into his arm, making him wince slightly. He could feel the liquid enter his bloodstream and quickly course through his body. He smiled.
"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you," he kept repeating, looking at the girl beside him. She nodded, putting her mask back on. He continued to thank her, until he started to slip in and out of life. The pain ceased, and his coughing was no longer there. He was finally better. And as he took his final breath, he noticed Jennifer had vanished, along with the beautiful room. He was back in the old, decaying building. The bed he lied upon was dirty and stained with old blood. But, he didn't care. He was finally free.
.-'XXX'-.
Winter finally reached Poveglia, and another person had been dropped off on the island. This was a young girl, no older than twelve. She laid in the tall grass, curled into the fetal position and coughing like there was no tomorrow. She cried as her chest started to ache from constantly coughing. But suddenly, she heard footsteps.
"Hello?" she called out, looking up and around. She spotted a tall figure moving towards her. The being wore a black hoodie, black jeans, black boots, and a white mask that resembled a bird's skull, as the eye holes were covered with dark blue glass. He walked over, hovering over her.
"Hello," he spoke, looking her over. "Welcome to the Island of Poveglia. What's your name?"
"Annabel," she replied, smiling at him. He nodded, picking her up and bringing her into the old hospital. "Can you help me, mister? I'm really sick!"
"Of course, sweetheart. And my name is Alex. Please don't call me mister," he told her, entering a beautiful blue tiled room. He lied her down on the clean white bed, patting her head. "I learned from the previous doctor on what to do for people like you. I was sick, too! I took some medicine, and now I'm much better! We'll get you the same medicine. Now, stay here, Annabel. I'll be back soon!"
"Okay! Thank you!" She smiled as he walked out. She laid back, allowing herself to relax into the soft bed. Alex soon came back, holding a syringe in his hand. She frowned as she looked at it.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he spoke softly, gently petting her hair with his free hand. "But it has to be injected. Just don't look, okay?"
"Okay," She squeezed her eyes shut, gritting her teeth when the needle entered her arm. She felt the odd blue liquid enter her body and course through with ease. When it was done, she felt better. She smiled up at Alex, who had removed his mask. His skin she could see was once tan, but now was pale due to lack of blood, as his hair was short and kind of spiky, being black in color. His eyes were the weirdest though. The sclera was black, as the iris were white with no trace of a pupil. He just smiled as he noticed her eyes starting to droop shut, but she tried her hardest to keep them open.
"Welcome to the family, Annabel," he spoke softly. She nodded, a smile on her tired face.
"Thank you, Alex!" she squealed tiredly, reaching out to grab him. "Thank you!"
He smiled, allowing her to hug him as he nodded. And when her eyes finally shut and never reopened, he placed the mask over her face. He looked towards the door, seeing Jennifer walking in. She smiled up at him, placing a black hoodie, jeans, and small boots next to the bed. The two then walked out of the room, vanishing as the room behind them and returning to the old decay.