PART TWO

November 23rd

The clock in my room read 2AM as I awoke in the night screaming in pain; drowning out the scratching noises that had been keeping me awake for the past couple weeks. I screamed for mom as she came rushing in and flicked on the light.

"Huh? What's wrong, honey?" she asked still half asleep and sat on my bed. "Is it your stomach again? Do you need me to rub it like last time?"

I shook my head and pointed down to my leg while still whimpering. She peeled back the blanket and gasped. She quickly sprung off the bed and grabbed the phone off my dresser, ignoring my many questions of "What?" and "Why does it hurt?"

I watched her pace back and forth as she muttered over and over at the phone to "Pick-up" She must have got her wish because she began talking in a bit of a panic to the person on the other end. I tried to listen but everything was going in and out. I picked up on a few words like "swollen" and "oozing" I didn't know what was wrong but I just wanted the pain to stop. My stomach felt horrible and I was unsure of which end it wanted to come out of. All I could do was quietly mutter her name. Mom seemed to take one look at my face and she knew since she rushed toward me with my bedroom trashcan just in the nick of time. Apparently the answer was both ends.

"Yeah, and you can add vomiting to the list of symptoms as well" she said to whoever was on the phone. She soon thanked whoever she was talking too and hung up. She came and sat on my bed with me and lightly rubbed my back as I continued to vomit and soil myself until there was nothing left in me. After a few minutes of nothing coming out mom replaced my bile filled trash can with a glass of water and a straw. I tried taking a few sips but it would almost immediately come back up.

"Don't worry, sweetie, the Drs. on his way." She said to reassure me as she held me after I had nearly collapsed into her from exhaustion.

I managed to weakly choke out an apology for everything thing that had happened, but she shushed me and petted my hair as I closed my eyes and rested my head on her chest sighing in contentment. She asked me if I wanted to be changed now but I shook my head; not wanting to break apart and loose this

feeling of warmth and security. She kissed the top of my head and wrapped both arms around me pulling me in closer. We broke apart when she heard a knock on the door and she gently laid me back down on the pillow.

"That's the Dr. I'm going to have him wait in the living room then I'll come change you before I let him in, ok?" I nodded in agreement; only vaguely aware of the mess I was sitting in that under any other circumstance would have me cringing in disgust.

After what felt like seconds she returned carrying the needed supplies. She very carefully peeled off my blanket and set it aside as she moved my good leg away to give her more room to work with. She was about to undo the tapes when she noticed the front of my diaper was still dry after eight hours and a vomiting spell.

"Emily." She called. "Emily, I need you to go pee. Can you do that for me?"

"I don't wanna make tea." I mumbled back completely unaware of my surrounding.

"No, I want you to pee. You haven't gone since yesterday evening."

She sighed after getting no response from me and showing no sign that I was doing as she asked. I was clearly too far gone. She un-taped the diaper and prayed I wouldn't pee on her mid-change. She quickly cleaned me up and changed me then carefully removed my bile stained shirt. She called the Dr. in while she covered me back up with a blanket but leaving my legs exposed.

I could faintly hear their conversation but couldn't make out the words. The pain in my leg was becoming unbearable. The pain that had once been in my lower calf had now spread throughout my entire right leg.

"Well I had originally thought she had had a seizure that night since she had wet in her sleep. When I came in her room yesterday morning I found her on the floor. Since I had to wash her sheets, I put her to bed in my room thinking she needed to sleep it off and that's when I noticed she was running a fever. She has some trouble with muscle control on the days she has seizures so I kept her in a Good-Night just in case. She woke up a few hours later needing a change and that's when she started complaining about her leg."

"What did you see?" The Dr. asked pushing up his glasses as he continued taking notes.

"She had about five or six discolored bite marks on the back of her leg. It wasn't swollen or anything just a bit irritated. She went back to sleep and I didn't really think anything of it. It wasn't until I came to check on her later that I noticed she was having some intestinal trouble in her sleep. I noticed her leg had become swollen but didn't make the connection.

I figured she had some kind of stomach bug. I went to the store and got her some regular diapers incase she continued messing in her sleep and ointment for her leg. When she woke up calling for help to get to the bathroom later that day, her leg had swelled considerably. I decided then she wouldn't be getting up anymore and told her to just use her diapers. That was around four yesterday afternoon. She slept quietly the rest of the day but was still having accidents in her sleep.

She woke up an hour ago screaming and when I took a look at her leg, it had swelled to three times its normal size and had oozing sores. That's around the time she started vomiting and has been unable to keep any water down."

The Dr. came over to me and began examining me starting with my temperature.

"102.3" he read off as he wrote it down in his chart. "Symptoms include: fever, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea." Then to my utter annoyance he shined his stupid flashlight in my eyes and brought me back to the world of the living which only made me realize just how miserable I was. Thanks a lot. Can't you see I just want to sleep? Like I could with my leg hurting anyway. I blink a few times and turn my head sideways and look over at my mom who smiles at me reassuringly. I try to swallow but notice my throat and mouth are completely dry so I tried to sit up very slowly and reach for the cup of water on my nightstand only to end up dropping it half-way towards my mouth.

"Motor skills seem a bit impaired as well" the Dr. said as he wrote it down in his notes. "Try a bottle or a sippy cup until she feels better."

What did he just say? I'm already in diapers and now you want me to drink from a bottle?! NO WAY! What are they going to do next? Give me a pacifier? Strap me in a high chair and feed me baby food? I'm sick; not a baby.

"Our neighbor has a young son, I'll see if she has anything I can borrow tomorrow." My mom said picking the now empty cup off the floor. She must have seen the look I gave her because she then added. "Don't worry, it's only until you get your strength back."

"Now let's take a look at that leg." The dr. said as he examined it. "Hmm, yes it's quite swollen. Now you said the bites were on the back of her leg?" He asked while he put on some rubber gloves that he pulled out from his bag. "Now I'll need to take a look, do you think you can roll over for me, Emily?"

I slowly pushed myself up using my hands and tried to roll over but stopped and shook my head. The pain in my leg was preventing me from moving. I suddenly felt someone lift me in the air and the next thing I knew I was on my stomach lying across mom's lap. Well this position brings back bad memories.

"Ooh wow, those look quite infected. Have you been out in the fields in the last few days along route 1, Emily?"

"No." I said.

"Are you sure? Try to remember?"

"No, I'm not allowed. Last time I went out there I got spanked. In this position too." I said noticing my arm had become extremely itchy as I began scratching it.

"It's alright, Emily, go ahead and tell the truth. I promise you won't get in trouble." My mom said to encourage me but I just shook my head no.

"When was the last time you were out that way?" The dr. asked.

"About a month ago, I was chasing a caterpie. I was trying to catch it and wandered off and got lost."

"Hmm, this doesn't add up." He said to himself.

"Do you know what it is?" my mom asked.

"I do, but, it doesn't really make sense. The bite marks are from Rattata; I recognize the teeth pattern. I've treated bites several times from those damn bug catching kids who can't learn to put on a pair of pants. I've never seen this kind of reaction before though. Normally it just stings and it'll be a bit itchy and irritated for a few days. These aren't normal bites though. You see how the discoloration seems to be spreading? An infection can cause a high fever and gastrointestinal problems but in order for it to get infected this severely it would take several days of improper care. Not to mention she would be miserable and scratching for several days leading up to this and you said it got this bad in the matter of a single afternoon."

Great, he doesn't know.

"Emily, I've noticed you've been scratching at your arm quite a bit. Would you mind if I took a look at it?" I stretch out my arm as he turns it around. "A normal Rattata bite and reaction would look exactly like this."

"That wasn't there this afternoon." My mom said looking at it. "And it looks nothing like the others did when I found them."

"I'd say it happened anywhere from 4-8 hours ago. Pretty recent and I'd say she looks in no shape to have been wandering around outside in the fields. Where was she?"

"In my bed." My mom replied glumly knowing what this meant.

"Then I'd say, you have a mouse in your house. I'm going to take a few pictures and a swab and consult with professor Oak in the morning. In the meantime, wrap her leg up in an ice pack to help with the swelling. Also try to cle- What is that noise?"

"It's been driving me crazy for the last month." I complained as the scratching sounds grew louder.

"Hmm, anyway try to keep it clean and maybe your mom can go on a mouse hunting expedition. I'll call you tomorrow if I found out anything."

My mom, mouse hunting… riiiiiight. One time a caterpie got in the house and I found her standing on the kitchen table screaming like someone shot her. This I have got to see I thought as I drifted back to sleep still hanging over my mom's lap.