11: Hospital Nightmare

Sera is in a waiting room of a hospital. She looks around. There are other kids, younger and older than her in the room. They're sitting on couches and chairs, waiting.

On the wall there is a large white board. Dry erase markers scribbled names, numbers and notes on it.

Her name is some were in the middle of the list. To the right of her name is a series of seven numbers. Some have one digit, some have two: 9, 28, 7, 52, 8, 14, 95... The note, "Blood work," follows them. What would they do to her?

There were other kids' names above and below hers. At the top she read: Daniel, Gail, Rose...then her name.

A chubby brunette girl who looked about ten years old stares at her. "What are you here for?" she asks. "I'm here for two things." The girl's light blue sweater and turquoise skirt looked wrinkled.

Sera looked at the board. There's a girl's name written below her own name that had only two numbers next to it. Sera assumed the numbers were different things that the doctors would have to fix. The girl's name would be Sierra, in that case. The numbers were: 10, 12.

"I don't know what I'm here for," Sera admits. All she knew was that she was here for more reasons than anybody else. Seven...maybe eight things... What was blood work supposed to mean?

Sera has a pit feeling in her stomach as a red headed kid about the same age as the Sierra girl, sits to her left. Sierra in quiet, on her right about two seats over. The only thing keeping the red head boy's distance from her was a small table piled with three magazines.

The boy looked like he was carrying a red inhaler. Asthma? But it didn't look the same shiny way most inhalers looked. It was waxier, and the mouth piece was too big. Like it could cover your nose too. Maybe it was a newer kind.

"Hi," he says. Sera looks away. She glances across the room at a silent, dark haired boy about her own age. Fang? No, he looked too boney. Another boy the same age had like this mushroom-cut blond hair. He was wearing sunglasses. Iggy?

The kid next to her pokes her. She turns back to him, her face plated with irritation. The boy smiles.

Sera hears footsteps coming closer into the room. Foot step of an adult. Fear washes over her as the doctor enters the room.

The doctor's foreboding grin makes Sera's muscles tense. The boy smiles at the doctor, and then looks back at Sera.

Before she could say anything the boy smacks the inhaler to her mouth. Sera knows she shouldn't breathe in. Her eyes are wide with fear. The doctor watches, grinning. He's expecting her to fall unconscious.

Sera struggles to push the thing away with her tong and lips. But the boy just pushes it at her, harder. At the same time, she is holding her breath. Sera lifts her hand to knock it away. The boy slaps her hand and pushes it down.

Sera gives him a small kick to the side of his hip. He grids his teeth, biting his lip. His grip loosens just enough for Sera to escape. The inhaler is knocked to the floor. Sera smiles, as she picks it up in a split second. Anger clouds her mind.

She puts it to his mouth. Holding it as hard as she can. She holds the back of his head. He struggles and tries to say "No," in a high pitched way. Sera's foot holds his body down in the chair. Hands keeping the inhaler in place. Suffocating him.

Then his body quits. It's relaxed, calm. His eyes close, and he's unconscious. Not dead, she realizes. He's been drugged with a chemical inhaler only temporary.

Sera is happy. Too happy to see what even else is going on in the room around her. Too proud to see what is coming.

She looks at the doctor. He is not happy. He takes a needle, containing a clear liquid and Sera feels a stinging sensation. Everything goes black.