Shifty Dingo. In a coma. In the hospital. Yes, this is one of the darker chapters of my fic. And if you thought Jeromy was evil enough already, he really kicks things up a notch at the end of this chapter.
Nutsy and Blinky casually walked in the waiting room of the hospital and looked over to the dingo family. Ma was sitting angrily with her arms folded, Daisy was weeping openly with tears running down her muzzle, Danny was quiet, collected and cool and Meatball was crying as he ate out of a carton of ice cream. Blinky casually sat next to Danny and fidgeted a bit, finally breaking the silence, "So um Danny, I bet you're upset about your brother, huh?" Blinky asked nervously.
Danny growled a bit, "Yes, you could say that."
Nutsy glared at Blinky, "Well I hope you're happy, Blinky. You got your wish. Now Shifty is dying in the hospital. You didn't even bother to say sorry to him after making him cry like that. This is going to haunt you for the rest of your life if he doesn't pull through."
Blinky felt a lump form in his throat and tears sting his eyes. He began to sob, "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry..."
"Don't apologize to me, apologize to Shifty." Nutsy said.
"What happened?" Daisy asked, wiping her tears away.
"Blinky yelled at Shifty and said really mean things to him. All Shifty did was offer him cookies to cheer him up." Nutsy explained.
"Ungrateful little brat." Danny growled.
"I can't believe you would do that, Blinky!" Splodge said.
"Yeah, what a jerk!" Flap chimed in.
Blinky just lowered his head and sniffled, wiping at his eyes, "I wish I could just turn back time and..."
"You can't, it's impossible. You think I can go back in time to stop my schemes? No, but I can always turn over a new leaf when I feel like it. It's called reality. Deal with it." Danny Dingo said coldly.
Blinky sighed. Danny was right, as much as he hated to admit it. Nurse Angelina walked into the waiting room, her muzzle was stained with tears and her eyes were bloodshot from crying, "You can all see Shifty now, he isn't concious and I'll warn you, it isn't pretty."
"I'll take my chances." Danny said casually. And with that, they all entered the room.
Nutsy collpsed to her knees when she saw Shifty laying on the hospital bed. He was attached to a bunch of IVs and a few blood bags. He was on a heart rate monitor and tubes were going down his throat to supply oxygen to him. Shifty looked incredibly pale and sickly. Nutsy let out a scream as hot tears spilled out of her eyes and fell onto the tile floor of the hospital.
Blinky, Flap, Splodge and Marcia all ran to Nutsy's aid, trying their best to soothe and comfort the devastated koala.
Danny blinked back salty tears at the sight of his dying, sickly little brother and fought back a lump in his throat, "This makes me sick." The black dingo shook his head with disgust.
Danny felt a single bitter tear run down his dark muzzle and he quickly wiped it away but it was too late, Daisy noticed the tear and put her arm around Danny, "Is there anything you can do to save him?" Daisy whimpered.
Nurse Angelina tried her best not to cry. Being a seasoned nurse, she had seen a lot of injuries but not once had she seen a dingo as young as Shifty covered head to toe in burns with his tail cut off. Just the thought of what poor Shifty went through broke her heart.
"Let's hope for the best, that's all I can say. The real bad news is that we're almost out of dingo plasma. Shifty will need blood transfusion or he may die." Angelina said.
Danny looked around him and he noticed everyone was crying. The cool, black-furred, scheming dingo was trying his best not to break down when suddenly he blurted out, "I'm going to give Shifty a blood transfusion!"
Silence fell across the room and Daisy Dingo felt her jaw drop, "YOU? Donate BLOOD?" she asked. Danny nodded. "But Danny, you hate needles!"
"I'm doing this for Shifty. I can't stand seeing him like this. I know I've treated him like garbage in the past but this is a life or death situation. I just can't sit back and watch him die." Danny said.
"Maybe you really are good, after all." Splodge said.
"Now don't you think for a second that I'm going soft." Danny warned, "This is just a one-time thing."
"If you want to give him a blood transfusion, I advise you don't smoke. I'll test your blood tomorrow to see if you're fit to give Shifty one." Nurse Angelina said.
And with that, the black-furred dingo walked up to Shifty and squeezed Shifty's paw with his own paw, "It's okay, little brother. I'm here for you." Danny whispered sadly, choking back a few tears, "I'll always be your big brother no matter what." Danny squeezed his eyes shut as a single tear slid down his cheek.
Nurse Angelina sighed, "Visiting time is over, it's time to go home."
Everyone except Nutsy got up and walked out of the room. "It's time to leave, Nutsy." Nurse Angelina repeated.
Nutsy looked up at the wallaby with pleading, tear-filled eyes, "Please, I just want 10 more minutes with Shifty. You have no idea how much he means to me. I...I love him with all my heart. If I were a dingo, I'd give every last drop of my blood if it meant saving his life."
Angelina sighed, "Okay. 10 more minutes."
Nurse Angelina left the room and Nutsy stood by Shifty's hospital bed. The koala ran her fingers against the dingo's blond cheekfur. It felt cold to the touch and Nutsy felt her heart break.
"I love you, Shifty. Words can't describe how much I love you. You're my guardian angel and if you never see me again, I'll always have a place for you deep in my heart." Nutsy squeezed Shifty's paw and tears began to slide down her cheeks. She caressed Shifty's cheek, "I miss your warmth but when I close my eyes, I can feel it. I remember the first day we met in Greenpatch. You were so excited to meet other kids your age that you tripped over your own tail. It was the most adorable thing I've ever seen." Nutsy choked back a sob and wiped her tears, "I love you so much. I love you more than life itself. So please don't die, promise me you won't ever leave my side. Promise me, Shifty." And with that, Nutsy planted a kiss on Shifty's cold cheek and walked out of the room, sobbing.
As Nutsy left the room, a single sparkling tear dripped from the corner of Shifty's eye and soaked into the sheets of his hospital bed. If the litte dingo could speak, he would say "I promise."
Danny sat outside the hospital. Seeing his little brother suffering that much sickened him to his core. There was no way he could return home now and face Ma Dingo. The normally cool black dingo was trembling as he took out a cigarette. Even though Nurse Angelina warned him not to smoke before the blood transfusion, he was far too stressed and lit it up anyway. Danny puffed the smoke out and tried to get the image of Shifty in the hospital bed out of his brain.
"The nurse told you not to smoke before the blood transfusion, Danny." Daisy's voice rang out as she sat next to the stressed black dingo.
"I know. I just feel so...upset about this, you know? Shifty's dying and now I feel rotten all of a sudden." Danny said.
"It's a little feeling called guilt, Danny. Are you really that alien to it?" Daisy said sarcastically.
Danny sighed, "I guess I've always been to hard on the little guy."
"Ya think!" Daisy said, "you practically use him like a slave."
Danny growled, "Well, so do you!"
And with that, Daisy slapped Danny in the face and walked off the hospital property and headed to home. Danny sighed and waited outside the hospital for the rest of the night. The black dingo fell asleep outside when suddenly, a red convertible pulled up and flashed it's headlights on Danny.
The next thing Danny knew, he was being pinned to the outside wall of the hospital.
"Wakey-wakey, sleepyhead." A sadistic voice rang. Danny opened his eyes to see a massive kangaroo wearing an earring and letterman jacket standing in front of him, grabbing him by his throat.
"Who...who are you?" Danny asked.
Jeromy just grinned, "Your brother screamed quite nicely when I cut his tail off. And his blood tasted absolutely delicious, I'd love to put it on some french fries."
"You're the bastard who hurt Shifty!" Danny shouted.
"Hurting him? I was just doing my job, exterminating pests. You dingoes are so pesky, you make the funniest sounds when you're terrified or injured. Shifty was a pretty fun toy to play with, it's a shame I broke him. Whoopsie!" Jerome laughed.
"You make me sick." Danny snarled.
"What are you gonna do about it, tough guy? You gonna kill me? Ooooh, I'm so scared!" Jeromy laughed sarcastically, "You're so pathetic. Giving a blood transfusion to your mangy little pet, are we?"
"For your information, he's my BROTHER. And also, how do you know about the blood transfusion?" Danny asked.
"I bugged the hospital before you even arrived. I heard every last word of your conversation." Jeromy chuckled as he pulled out a syringe, "And now your plan to save poor widdle Shifty is gonna go down the toilet!"
And with that, Jeromy jabbed the needle into Danny's arm and he grinned evilly, "Nothing quite like killing two birds with one stone! Good luck donating blood to Shifty now cause you've been infected, you mangy piece of garbage!"
And with that, Jeromy got into his red convertible and drove off into the night.
Danny's eyes widened with horror, "Did...did he just inject me with HIV?" The black dingo asked himself.
