Chapter 7. Wow. A new Chapter. In other news, Hell was forced to purchase a consignment of heaters and parkas...


"Bonnie, I want you to sit and talk with Tara…won't that be nice, Tara?" Dr. Possible asked.

"Uh-huh!" Tara said from the bed where she'd been securely bundled in, and giggled. "Bonnie!" Tara's mother was actually trembling and Dr. Possible drew her outside to start talking to her.

Bonnie walked up and sat down in the seat next to Tara, feeling like there were cobras coiling around her.

How many? She wondered in sick horror. If Tara had been taking it, how many others?

"Hi Tara… wanna play a sing along game?" Bonnie said in a cheerful voice that sounded fake only in her own ears.


"Ms. King." Dr. Possible said, in a voice that projected calm, "I'm afraid that the CAT scan and other tests are showing a progressive degeneration in your daughters brain, especially the parts having to do with memory."

"But…but what will happen? You can do something, can't you?"

"I… I don't know. We are working on it, and I've sent out alerts to some of the best men and women in the field, but we're running out of time." She paused. "That's why I need to know if we should undertake heroic measures to save your daughters life."

"Of course-" Abruptly the woman's voice cut off. "What…"

"If she gets to a certain point, what we call an irreversible vegetative state may be the result—her involuntary reflexes may continue—breathing, elimination, that sort of thing, but all higher thought processes might be shut down. If that is the case, you and your husband when he arrives." She paused, "Will have to decide what measures we can take to maintain her life."

"Are you talking about-euth-"

"No." Andrea said, "That is not a procedure that is entertained in this hospital, nor will it ever be, if I have anything to say about it." She paused, "I'm talking about… how much should we intervene to prevent her death in the case of a vegetative state. For example, if her heart were to stop, we would have a choice whether or not to go to what we call "full code" to use the paddles, and everything else to restart it."

"I… That's going to happen, isn't it."

Andrea looked at her sympathetically. "I don't know—I'm telling you this because you need to know, and since she is a minor, and has no ability to make her own will known in this case, you and your husband will have to decide. We are doing our absolute best… but I won't mince words. The situation is very grim."


Bonnie sat, trying to not cry…or throw up. There was something obscene about the destruction of Tara's memories….no, the destruction of Tara. Tara's mom had been talking with Andrea for a while, but Tara seemed to get getting worse. She didn't remember anything beyond pre-K now.

Oh God, please do something. She's my best friend.

"So Tara…want to play a game?"

"Game?" Tara asked, her eyes bright…and suddenly vague.

"Game…like…like what we played at our birthday party." Bonnie said desperately.

"Ba…ba…ba…." Tara started singing the Maddog theme, but it was disjointed, tuneless, no words coming out. Bonnie tasted blood from where she'd bitten her lip.

"Tara… Tara…" She said desperately, looking at her, "Remember the game we were going to play?"

"Ga?" Tara asked, and now there was no sense of rhythm to the sounds she made. Her eyes followed Bonnie…but there was no sense in them. There was a sudden odor in the room as Tara's bladder and bowels released…like a new born. Bonnie tried to hold on to her hand, but Tara pulled it away, suddenly fascinated by putting her fingers in her mouth.

Bonnie didn't know how, but she had hit the floor and was sliding back, until the wall stopped her. Kim's mom opened the door and looked at her.

"Bonnie…what happened?"

"Ta-ta…" Bonnie couldn't complete the words, not because she didn't know what to say, but because she suddenly couldn't see through the flow of water and a tremendous hand seemed to have grabbed her by the throat.

"I-oh no." Andrea bent down and pulled Tara's hand's from her mouth, conjuring a loud, infantile wail. "Nurse…Nurse! I need her arms tied." Tara's mom was beside her.

"But…she did what when she was a little ba-"

"Baby's don't have real teeth and adult jaw muscles—we let her start chewing and she'll take her fingers off. Nurse! No, no sedatives, I told you we can't risk any changes to her- oh, the others have arrived? Start a work up on every one of the teens, have them fill out that questionnaire I put down and put them and the parents in room 3, I'll talk to them then- No, have the techs start running the Teens through the catscan and other tests, I'll talk to the parents separately." Over Tara's wailing, Andrea's voice continued, "And where is that line to the CDC?"

Bonnie was scrabbling her way to the door hating herself but she couldn't stay in the room one more second. She couldn't she couldn't do anything or help and Tara…

She managed to get up and head out the door, maintaining the presence of mind to avoid the nurses coming in she had to get out, she couldn't do anything, and she had to get out.

"Bonnie?" Dr. Possible called to her, but Bonnie sobbing, kept running.

Ron had evidently heard the sound, and he was in the corridor, but Bonnie just ran past him.

"Ron." Dr. Possible said, "I have everything I need from you—go be with Bonnie." Ron nodded, gulped, and spoke.

"OK… Is… Is Tara…"

"No. She's not dead. But things aren't going well. I know how much Tara means to Bonnie…so go be with her, Ron. I'm sorry…." Ron nodded and took off after Bonnie.

TBC.