GOODBYE IS NOT FOREVER
Possibly my shortest chapter yet, but it packs a punch. It looks like Melly's in a bad way. Don't worry, she's okay, or she will be…eventually.
This is similar to how it went with her brother Matthew when he busted his leg.
Characters (with exceptions) © Hasbro and Entertainment Rights
Story © unicorn-skydancer08
All rights reserved.
Chapter 12
"Miss Manchester?"
"Yes, Mr. Sumdac?"
"I would like a word with you, if you don't mind."
Melly wondered what she had done this time, or what incident had taken place this time. All the same, she was grateful for the brief respite from work. The girl was feeling more and more sluggish these days; almost everything she did was like trying to swim through mud. Sometimes she was so worn out that she could hardly eat. At home, all she wanted to do was drop where she was, and just stay there. She even managed to forget about being mad at Sari and the Autobots, and about missing her dad—though that ache never went away completely, of course.
Melly set aside what she was doing and turned to her boss, although she could barely focus. "What is it, sir?"
Mr. Sumdac could sense his young employee's fatigue. "Miss Manchester," he said gently, "I know that you have been working very hard these past few weeks."
"Well, I do my best, sir," Melly replied wearily.
"Perhaps…" Mr. Sumdac paused for a moment, before he finished. "Perhaps a little too hard, don't you think?"
"Oh, no, sir," she didn't hesitate to refute. "It's no trouble at all. I can handle it."
"But, Miss Manchester, you've done far much more, put in far much more time and effort at this company in these last four weeks alone than most of my staff has in the last four months. I never expected you to work so hard, especially for your age and status. I already told you that you were free to work at your own pace. Why do you feel so driven?"
"I don't know, sir…" Melly trailed off. Her tongue felt strangely thick in her mouth. Her eyeballs felt as if pricked by burning needles. Her head felt like it weighed two tons on her shoulders.
"Miss Manchester?" Mr. Sumdac knew right away that there was something wrong with her.
Melly said nothing. But every inch of her was heavy and aching. The world seemed to tilt before her eyes, and she swayed precariously on her feet.
"Miss Manchester? Are you all right?" To Melly's ears, her boss's voice sounded like it was coming from the far end of a tunnel. She said nothing, unable to speak. Pressure built up inside her chest until she could hardly breathe. She felt cold and nauseous. The world was spinning faster and faster, and without realizing it, the girl lost her balance altogether and keeled over. Something caught her, saving her from an unfriendly landing on the hard floor. Other voices aside from Mr. Sumdac's sounded above her, though Melly couldn't quite make sense of them.
She could barely distinguish a few short, urgent phrases, such as "get help" and "call an ambulance".
The hazy images continued to dim, the voices grew fainter, and finally everything went black as Melly sank into a sea of oblivion.