A/N Hey guys, I'm glad so many of you liked the first chapter! Thank you for all of the encouragement and advice! I will do my best to make this story as well and unique as it can be! Also, Chapter 1 has been completely rewritten to fix the many errors that people mentioned. (The chapter was originally written in first person, and before I posted it, I swapped it to third, leading to 90% of the problems).
And yes, I am aware that the basic premise is being used by an extremely popular story; the author of that one even encouraged me! And for that I am glad. Surprisingly enough though, his story didn't inspire me to write this story, it did however inspire me to change the prompt, and I thank him for that! I will do my best to do this premise justice!
So, I hope you guys enjoy, R&R!
Chapter 2: Keeping Things Calm
The waning moon glows brightly over the town, bathing it in its soft, milky rays. Of course, these are not enough to illuminate the night completely, that is where the majestic stars come in, augmenting the moon's light with their own shine. The nearby ocean reflects their rays, giving a beautiful glow to the clear, blue sea.
The silky smooth beaches are no longer crowded with tourists, though there are still some who choose to spend the night; maybe to save a decent chair spot, to party, or to find something hidden in the deep abyss of the twilight.
Yet, no matter what the reason, on a night such as this, all people have a reason to be where they are.
About one hundred feet away from the beach and accompanying boardwalk lies the sunset expressway, a small concrete highway designed so tourists would be able to move passed the more 'questionable' parts of town on their way to the resorts. For a moment, all seems calm in this small resort town. That is, until a siren passes by, shattering the night's grace with a warning call.
"Lincoln…" The young Lynn Loud whispers, her soft voice completely drowned out by the blaring speaker above them. "Come on… don't play with us. This is serious." Her quiet voice trails off weakly. She carefully takes her unconscious brother's hand in her own and continues, "Please be ok Lincoln, please…"
Her elder sister, Lori, places her warm hand upon Lynn's tense shoulders. Yet, the younger sister doesn't break her sight, instead choosing to stare at their brother, hoping for some sign that he is fine.
"Don't worry Lynn." Lori speaks with a soft, almost motherly tone, "He's our brother. He's had to deal with way worse after all." Her uncertain gaze falls upon the young boy, his body covered by an assortment of random cords and cables. "At least, I hope so."
For a moment, it seems as if Lynn is put at ease by the assertion. That is, of course, before she just holds onto his hand tighter. Salty tears begin to slow down her stainless cheeks as she whispers, "It's my fault… I must've done something to him that caused this…"
"Lynn, no." Lori places her arm around her sister, "This isn't your fault, don't think that it is."
The younger girl thinks for a moment, but does not answer. Instead, she chooses to stare into her brother's pained expression, hoping for a silent response.
"Everything is going to be all right…" Lori whispers into her sister's ear, before leaning away and sighing, as if unsure of the veracity of her own words.
The elder girl's thoughts seem to become a soupy mess in the pot that is her mind. Mere moments earlier, her parents had left her behind to watch her siblings. They had a calm vacation for the first time in ages. Lincoln seemed to be fine, albeit more exhausted than usual. The sisters had been well behaved to boot!
Yet, no matter how much she tries to recall the past few days, all of her thoughts bring her back to the same obvious questions, "Why now? Why did Lincoln have to get knocked out right after our parents left? Right after I was put in charge? Why did this happen while we were on vacation? Why…"
Though, even she knows that only a being from another world could even have a chance of answering those questions.
So instead of trying to give reason to acts without reason, she turns and peers out of the ambulance windows, though she does find it rather difficult, most of the port is obstructed by the medical star and the emblem on top- a white, wing staff with two snakes tied around it.
Lori takes a moment to focus, but she eventually she manages to get a small glimpse of the town passing them by.
The oversized street lamps illuminate the long, concrete strip the metal beast speeds down. To the ambulance's right, Lori can see the white sand beach that gave Aloha Beach its fame; the many soft lights giving it a life of its own.
To the ambulance's left are many of the non-beach attractions. The cheery and bright rides and games are almost enough to drown out the siren, ordering other drivers to get out of the way.
Directly behind the ambulance, are some slightly annoyed drivers, even one throwing a middle finger up.
If the sisters did not have more important matters to attend to, they would most likely turn the machine carrying their unconscious brother around, and assault them.
The young woman's gaze moves to the old man tending to her brother. His slightly brown hair breathes of an unquenchable energy, while its slight grey on the sides gives him air of experience. From what Lori can see, his skin is slightly tanned, no doubt the result of spending one too many hours out in the Aloha Beach sun.
His expression is filled with determination; the only reason he is not sweating is because of the overly cold air that fills the ambulance cabin. His uniform is almost as wrinkled as his face, as if he had worn it for multiple days and had grabbed it in the rush of the morning. Though, despite its mess, his uniform still seems to contain everything one would need to pass as an Emergency Medical Technician.
Yet, his precise movements and calm, though covertly serious, demeanor give him the air of an eerie tranquility. It is almost as if he would rather not be there, yet had gone along out of a strong sense of duty.
He moves carefully, examining the young boy's body with a care only a father would choose to give.
No matter what his reason for coming to work this day, it did not matter. What does, however, is that his soft, caring gaze is able to keep the panicked emotions of the two young women across from him at bay.
Lori's gaze moves towards the medical cabinets, filled to capacity with a random assortment of supplies. No doubt, this ambulance is designed to be a mini hospital. Though, such things would be more than enough to give her younger siblings nightmares if she were not careful. That is probably the reason why she had only allowed Lynn to come along; that, and that the ambulance is relatively small.
She spends the next few moments scanning the rest of the vehicle, from its cheap, red upholstery seats to the harsh light the emanates from the fluorescent lights, to even the vents, blowing cold air into the cabin.
Finally, her gaze falls upon the young boy and the doctor tending to his needs.
The middle-aged man gives a soft sigh as he attaches the final wire to the young boy's hand, before turning on another machine.
"Well girls, your brother is stable. I have a feeling he's going to be just fine." His voice is filled with a fatherly heat, almost as if he is trying to calm the young girls down. "Would you mind telling me what happened?"
Lynn remains silent, choosing instead to lean closer to her brother, while Lori pulls Lynn closer, as if trying to calm her down with sisterly heat.
The man sighs, "Heh, I'm not surprised." He whispers, before speaking louder, "Ya know, I've been an EMT for close to ten years now."
A soft, accepting air begins to fill the moving ambulance.
"I've seen many things." He continues in a more nonchalant voice, "Many people end up here. Now, of course, there are those weekdays where I don't get a call ordering me to come pick someone up, but most of time it's a full day's work."
The man leans back, against the cabin walls, before crossing his legs and continuing, "I've seen many things, many things… But ya know, if I could change anything, it would be spending more time with my family. Heh, I would-"
"Yo Arnold! Would you kindly stop trying to make small talk with patient families and actually do what you're supposed to? Ya know, like get their information!" The EMT's younger co-worker angrily shouts. The young man has brown hair with lighter skin than his partner. His uniform seems to have been freshly pressed, though it does not have nearly the same amount of equipment as Arnold's.
Arnold chuckles for a moment, before regaining his professional composure, "Ok youngster, I'll do my job." Then, he goes into one of the undercarriage bins and pulls out a small computer with a rubber casing. The old man takes more than a few moments to get the old thing set up, though he does eventually manage.
And with a professional tone he asks, "Would you two mind telling me what your brother's full, legal name is?"
The young sisters remain silent, their mind and gazes stuck to their brother.
With a sigh, Arnold leans over and gives Lori a soft shake, "I know you and your sister are really worried about your brother, but if you want us to help him, you're going to need to answer some questions."
Immediately, Lori flinches back to reality, "Huh, what?"
"I need you to focus." Arnold responds, "The only way we'll be able to help your brother is if you focus on what needs to be done." Then, he stares Lori directly in her eyes, "I need you to answer a few questions, please." The man's eyes gain a pleading feel to them, almost like a father asking for answers.
Lori then sighs, and with the demeanor of a reluctant leader she answers, "Ok, I'll answer everything that needs to be answered."
"Oh… ok then."
"I'm going to ask you a series of questions, many may be personal, and some may involve the patient. I want you to answer to the best of your ability, can you do that for me?"
Lori nods, "I will try…"
The man gives a soft, almost nostalgic smile before asking, "Ok, what is his full, legal name?"
The young woman hesitates, almost as if she had not spoken his name in ages, "Lincoln, his name is Lincoln L. Loud."
"Heh, added alliterative appeal much?" He jokingly whispers, before asking, "Ok, home address of current custodial parents or guardians? Also, names of your custodial parents or guardians."
Lori nervously answers, "Our parents are named Rita and Lynn Loud and we live at Twelve Sixteen Franklin Avenue, Royal Woods, Michigan."
"Upstate huh?" He nonchalantly quips, "It's been a bit since someone from up there ended up in my ambulance."
"Arnold! Don't say that! They're just flippin' kids!" The driver angrily shouts, but Arnold just continues on as if he hadn't said anything.
"Patient age?"
"He's eleven years old."
"Biological sex?"
Lori looks at him as if he had just asked the dumbest question ever posed, before she answers, "He was born a boy."
Then, Arnold hits the enter key on his computer, moving it to the next page, "Ok, with those formalities done, it's time for the more personal questions. Are you ok with sharing this personal information?"
For a second, Lori questions whether or not to speak, yet Arnold notices and says, "I know you're worried and feel a bit overwhelmed, but I need you to answer. If you don't feel comfortable answering, you can stop at any time. But just know that, the more we know the easier it'll be to find out what is going on with your brother."
Lori sighs and nods, "Ok, go on."
"First, does he have any allergies? Can he not take certain medications or eat certain things?"
The young woman shakes her head, while turning to her younger sister, "The only one with known allergies is Lisa, our second youngest sister.
"Ok, noted." Then continues in a more professional and commanding tone, "Does he take any medications? Either regularly or before he ended up unconscious?"
"Regular medication, no… I'm not sure about if he took anything before he passed out though… Maybe he got something from our parents…"
Arnold types "Unknown" into that box, before continuing, "Past illnesses, has this happened before?"
Lori shakes her head, and the man continues, "How about surgeries, or major hospital visits?"
"I'm not sure…" She thinks for a moment, "I think he had to get his appendix removed or something like that."
"Oh, so he had appendicitis?"
"No." Lori answers, before looking upon Lynn, who had not even noticed the conversation; "He got hit in the stomach by a ball in just the right place and ended up in the hospital."
"How about your siblings, have they ended up in the hospital for a disease or injury of some kind? Things like that can run in the family." Arnold quickly explains, as he types away.
The young woman's nervous expression gives way to a nostalgic smile for a short moment, "Yeah… with ten girls a lot can happen."
"Ten girls?! What is he like the only boy or something?!" Arnold shouts in surprise.
Lori nods, "Yeah…"
"Have your parents ever heard of condoms?" Arnold jokingly asks, as if attempting to lighten the mood, but to no avail. None of the Louds are amused.
"Ok then…" Arnold quickly continues, "When was the last time he ate? Maybe he passed out because he was hungry."
"That can't be it, we all ate Burpin' Burger before headed off to the hotel. That was like, three hours ago, and he ate the most out of all of us!"
An interested expression forms on Arnold's face, "How odd… ok, I'll move on. The last question I have for you is, what happened before he ended up knocked out?"
"Well…" Her voice gains more uncertainty, as if she herself could not believe what happened. "We were all gathered in his hotel room for a family meeting, and when he tried to stand up, he became really tense… almost like he had zoned out for a moment. And then he fell back and hit his head against the nightstand."
"I've heard ways for people to end up unconscious… but that's the first time that's happened to someone I've had to transport."
Lori and Lynn just look away in disappointment.
A few moments of silence pass while Arnold finishes typing in the information.
"Don't worry your little heads girls, everything is going to be just fine." The man then takes the computer and closes it, before placing it at his side. "After all, things could always be worse. Just imagine if-"
"Shut it Arnold!"
"Since when did you become my wife?" He immediately responds.
"Since you started talking and trying to lighten the mood! Seriously, you always do that and it never helps!"
Arnold just huffs in response.
"Besides, we're here, it's time to move the kid inside." The ambulance drives onto the lot in front of the old emergency room.
"Ok then, let's go." He declares, before turning to the two girls, "Ok, we're going to move your brother now, I need you to step off the ambulance ok?"
The two girls silently nod, before Lynn lets go of Lincoln's hand. Arnold disconnects the multiple wires that he had attached, and sets Lincoln up for movement.
And with that, the other EMT opens the back door and takes hold of the outer end of the gurney, Arnold responds by grabbing the inner end and saying, "Ok, on three. One, two, three!" And together, they move the unconscious boy out of the ambulance, lift up the stretcher, and place it on the lot.
Lori and Lynn look up at the hospital, its off-orange brick breathing of an age while the old windows speak of a modern touch. There's no hospital name plastered on the side however, giving the place a more mysterious vibe.
Wordlessly, the two EMT's wheel Lincoln inside, passed the check-in counter and into a room filled with random beds, filled with ghostly patients, its few beds are propped up against the stained walls, no doubt the workers have had little time to actually work on cleaning the place up.
The perks of a busy hospital are that the workers may know what they're doing, but maintenance tends to fall short.
"Ok Roger, I got his shoulders, you got his legs?" The old man asks, and his younger partner nods, "Ok move!"
And with one movement, they move the young boy onto the hospital bed.
With that done, Arnold turns to Lori once more, "Ok Ms. Loud, we're going to have to conduct some tests in order to find out what's going on with your brother. Since you are not currently his legal guardian, I will need you to get your parents on the line."
"Ok." Lori nods, while Lynn steps over and grabs onto Lincoln's hand once more, almost as if blaming herself for his current condition.
Then, she dials her parents' numbers… only to receive the answering machine both times.
"They're not answering…" She meekly declares. Arnold thinks for a moment, "Well then, until they answer, you're his medical proxy."
"What does that mean?"
"It means you're going to be making his medical decisions for now, do you at least have your insurance-"
*Groan* "Ugh, what happened?" Lincoln asks as he sits up in the hospital bed, "Where am I? And why does my head hurt?"
A shocked air fills the room around the EMT's and sisters, before Lynn shouts, "Lincoln! You're ok!" and with that, she jumps up and grabs her brother, "Don't worry me like that!"
Lori smiles and joins in the hug.
"Huh, well that's convenient." Arnold quips, before walking away and motioning for Lori to follow.
He leads her over to the nearby nursing station and starts, "Ok, seeing as he's conscious, we're going to run some tests, and hopefully everything will go smoothly. If everything's fine, he should be done by dawn."
Lori nods and gives a sigh of relief, "So you need our insurance correct?"
He nods.
"Ok, our-" Lori starts, only for Lynn to shout, "Lincoln?! Lincoln!"
The young woman rushes out of the small compartment and shouts, "Someone help! Something's wrong!"
Immediately, Arnold and Lori rush in and find Lincoln shaking wildly in his bed, his eyes were rolled back, and he wasn't responding.
"I need some sedatives over here!" Arnold commands, before ordering, "Roger, get those girls away!" The younger EMT, though shocked, responds by grabbing the girls and pushing them away, while other nurses run inside the curtain.
The sisters can only hope that their other siblings are doing better.
Meanwhile…
"Guys!" Luna Loud angrily shouts, "I need you all to be quiet!"
A nervous air flows through Luan and Luna's hotel room, the small space now crammed with eight sisters.
"What's going on?!" Lola shouts.
"I don't know sis." Lana responds, while Luan continues, "Well, I guess we'll have to take a pun to find out!"
Leni sits on the floor and crosses her legs, "Like, what's happening Luna?"
Luna growls in anger, "Guys! Shut up!"
Yet, her siblings continue to ramble on in confusion, much to Luna's dismay.
Finally, with her frustration building, Luna grabs her acoustic guitar and hits it against the hotel wall. Good thing Luna had reinforced the neck, or else it may have broken in half.
Immediately, her seven siblings quiet down, leaving an air of uncertainty in their wake.
The young woman pants for a moment, "Ok, before we go on, we'll need a headcount."
"Luan!" Luna calls out, and the comedian responds, "Hiya!"
"Lola and Lana?"
The twins simultaneously respond, "We're here."
"Leni and Lily?"
"Like, I'm here." The older sister responds, while the baby shouts, "Poo poo!"
"Lisa?"
The young scientist raises her pencil, before continuing to write in her small notebook, "I'm here."
With that, Luna breathes a sigh of relief, "Ok good, we're all here."
"You forgot me!" Lucy declares as she appears at her rock star sister's side."
Luna flinches away in surprise, "Oh right sis, sorry." Then, she recomposes herself and takes a deep breath, "Ok guys, as you all know, Lincoln had to be taken to the hospital, and because it's late and we all couldn't cram ourselves into the ambulance, we Lori and Lynn went, while leaving me in charge." Her voice is filled with the tone of an unsure leader.
"Now, I'll take any questions you may have."
For a few minutes, an eerie silence overtakes the crowded room, with none of the siblings willing to start.
Yet, eventually, Lola raises her hand, nervously of course. "Will Lincoln be ok Luna?"
"Of course that's the first thing she asks." Luna mentally slaps herself before sighing and answering in the most serious tone she can muster, "Of course Lola, he's going to be fine. He probably just passed out from exhaustion or something." Luna puts on a reassuring smile, "Don't worry guys."
Lisa then finishes writing in her notebook and closes it with a hard slam, "Do not worry siblings, modern science has progressed to the point where, if there is something wrong with our brother, we will probably know by tomorrow."
"But what if there is something wrong Lisa?" Lana speaks up, and Leni responds, "Like, what if it's something crazy too?!"
"Poo poo…" Lily goes sadly, tears starting to fill her young eyes.
"Guys! Calm down!" Luna shouts.
*Knock* *Knock*
Luan immediately jumps up and declares, "I'll get it!" before walking over to the door and opening it, revealing a small maid, still in her work uniform.
The old woman takes a quick glance in side the room and responds, "Please keep it down, other guests are trying to sleep."
"No problem." Luan cheerfully responds, before promptly slamming the door in the maid's face.
A few moments of awkward silence pass, before Lisa stands up and declares, "I believe it would be in all of our best interest to inform our parents of this development. Do you agree Luna?"
A surprised beat passes.
"Wait… no one told mom and dad about Lincoln?!" Luna shouts in surprise. "Lisa, take Lucy and make sure they know!" She through her arms up in frustration, "Lincoln got taken away and no one bothered to tell mom and dad?!"
Almost immediately, the crowd returns to their random chatter, their nonsensical blabber filling the room with more confusion. "Guys! Be quiet! This is important!"
Yet, her panicked siblings simply ignore her commands and continue talking. Luna's face goes red, before she snaps, drops her British accent and shouts, "Would you guys just shut up! Lincoln's in the hospital right now and Lori's not around to take charge! Now shut the heck up! I need to keep things together until I can get Lori, mom or dad to take over!"
Immediately the siblings quiet down, as if stunned by Luna's seldom used natural voice. Luna then points at Lucy and Lisa, "I need you two to go get mom and dad. It's important that they know where Lincoln, Lori and Lynn are. Hopefully, they can help us out here."
The two children nod as she continues, "And be careful, I don't need anyone else going to the ER tonight." And with that, the duo stands up and walk out of the now tense hotel room.
Then, Luna turns to her remaining siblings with, "The rest of you are going to wait in silence, until they come back. Is that clear?" The remaining six siblings nod in agreement.
With her sisters pacified for the time being, Luna utters a defeated sigh, and plops down on her bed. A few moments of tense silence overtake the young Louds. To think that just a few short hours ago they were having the time of their life on summer vacation… and now, they're brother had been taken away in an ambulance, and they were left with little in the way of guidance.
It seems as if uncertainty is the only thing holding these family members together. That of course isn't true, they have other things the bind them. The family connections that hold them together even in the most tense of circumstances; in other words, their Sibling's Bonds.
After a few moments, Luna takes a deep breath. Her anxiety begins to come down upon her like a tidal wave. She takes a deep breath, her feelings of defeat emanate from her vacation-weary body, "Twenty minutes in charge and I've already had to go full queen of no just to keep everything from falling apart."
She lets her body go limp as she stares at the ceiling, "No wonder Lori has to be a dictator to keep us in line! But why did Lori decide to put me in charge? I'm the middle child of the top five! If anyone should be in charge, it's Leni!"
Leni gets out of the nearby chair and steps over to Luna. "You ok Luna? You seem really tense." Her voice is filled with a motherly energy, almost as if she knows why Lori had left Luna in charge.
"Yeah!" Luan goes, as she grabs her dummy, "It's not like you!"
Luna chuckles, "Don't worry, it's just my anxiety going off, after all this is the first time I've been put in charge of anything!" she begins to curl up in a fetal position, "I don't know if I can handle it."
"Don't worry Luna! You'll be fine!" Lola declares, albeit with an uncertain tone.
"After all, you know how much of a handful we are!" Lana continues
"Hey guys…" Lucy suddenly appears in the room again, "Our parents are missing!"
"What?!" The six sisters shout in surprise. Lisa walks in after her, "it is true, it seems that our parents have left the premises and are currently away."
"What are we going to do?!" Leni nervously asks, " Without them around, we can't do anything!" And with that, the Louds begin to live up to their name, as they fill the hotel room with random, panicked chatter.
"Guys! Quiet!" Luna commands, but to no avail once more. Out of frustration, she grabs her damaged guitar and hits it against the wall once more, a poor kitten meows in response.
"Ok guys, there isn't much we can do right now but wait, ok?" Luna desperately declares, "So as the person in charge for the night, I order you all to go to bed.
With a few nervous and annoyed grumbles, the sisters comply and leave the hotel room, leaving Luna and Luan behind.
Luna sighs once more, before turning and stepping out onto the nearby hotel balcony. She hesitates for a moment, before leaning against the bar and gazing out into the night sky, "I hope you're ok Lincoln."
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A/N I hope you guys enjoyed! I thank LovecraftFan and Exotos135 for looking over this! Also, since I really want to make this story the best I can make it, and because I have more than a few reasons to wait to post the next chapter, I'm planning on placing this story on hiatus for the next 5 months while I write the rest of it out… Though I may post sooner if I get enough requests to do so.
Also, I really would like to hear what you guys think. Do you think there was too much description? Too little? What do you guys think is wrong with Lincoln? Was this chapter worth the wait?