CHAPTER 17 – THE HOSPITAL
"So this is it," I said after my arms have completely rested. "There really is no more turning back now."
"Let's do this," Howard replied.
We slipped under the door, and as quietly as we could, we snuck through the halls, trying to eavesdrop on the doctors and nurses to get hints on where Mr. Krabs's room is.
"Mr. Krabs… is he going to get any better soon?" an intern on break asked the resident worriedly.
"I'm not so sure about that, but everyone has their time," the resident replied. 'Whatever happens, we should just accept it and move on, no matter how tragic it is."
We continued to walk around, slipping ourselves under every door of every hospital room. We saw residents on 24-hour-shifts resting inside the suites provided for them after an intense day's worth of work, doctors analyzing blood samples, the emergency rooms where there were several injured young fish that must have driven their boats recklessly, bereaved families losing their loved ones, and mother fish giving birth. It is in this place where birth and death meet in the circle of life. And now we are going to an old friend who is about to draw the last arc of this circle.
"Excuse me, but where is Mr. Krabs's room?" a random fish asked an intern in a pink scrub suit. "I forgot the room number."
"Oh, it's in the fifth floor, room number ten," the intern wearing the pink scrub suit replied. "However, the two security guys guarding the door might not let you in. They have stun guns. Also, he just underwent another surgery, and he needs a lot of rest."
"Okay then, thanks anyway," the fish said.
"But how will we get in the room, then?" Howard whispered to me.
"Aren't you forgetting that we can slip under doors?" I replied.
"Oh, yeah."
We went to the hallway where the room was supposed to be. The hardwood door was guarded by two muscular fish that looked like regulars of The Salty Spitoon. One of them had along scar on top of his left eye and another had an x-shaped scar on his bare chest.
"Uh, are you sure about this?" Howard asked as he cowered in fear. "Those folks look really alert, and they will be able to see two specks of dust like us moving across a clean, marble floor."
"I'm used to being trampled on, and I'm ready to be trampled on again. At least Neptune knows I tried," I replied.
"Okay, let's run for it!" Howard said.
"Are you sure?" I asked. "I thought you have joint pain."
"Doesn't matter."
"On the count of three," I said. "One… two… three!"
We ran straight through a seemingly endless white, marble plane. The two bouncers were still by the door, standing in attention, with their hands on their backs.
"Hey man, what's that?" one of them pointed to the ground. They must have noticed us.
"I don't know, man, maybe those are just undersea ants," the other bouncer replied.
"Okay man, let's just keep watch," the first bouncer said.
"No man, those aren't ants!" the second bouncer shouted upon closer observation of us, breaking the near-silence of the hospital halls. "Those are plankton, man! Spongebob specifically told us to watch out for those!"
"Quick, stun guns!" the first bouncer said.
"Run!" I shouted to Howard, who stopped as soon as his arthritis crippled him again.
"I can't," Howard replied. "Just go on ahead without me…"
"No," I said. "I will not leave you."
I ran back to him and carried him. I dodged the feet of the bouncers who started running around chasing me. Other fish started to surround us, and I also had to avoid their feet. I also dashed forward to avoid the stun guns. It wasn't easy, though, because I'm carrying someone. Suddenly, my arms numbed, and I dropped Howard. I soon fell to the ground with a stinging feeling enveloping my little body. The stun gun must have hit me.
No matter how hard I tried to stand up, I couldn't move a muscle. I was as stiff as a corpse, but I knew I was still alive. Howard was there right beside me as he tried to reach for my stubby hand.
"Howard, I'm sorry," I said as tears started to form on my eye. "It looks like we failed."
"But Neptune knows that we tried, right?" Howard replied grasping my hand more tightly.
"It looks like this is the end," I said as I felt my breath slowly escape me. "Here we go…"
I felt the sharp sting of the cold marble floor on my back. I could move again, but I felt weaker.
"Step on those pests!" one of the nurses shouted.
The shadows of the shoes of the fish quickly filled my vision. I knew that our lives were in danger. As quickly as I could, I stood up and pulled Howard up by his arm. I carried him again, although it's harder now after getting hit by the stun gun. I mustered up what little is left of my strength. Again, I tried to outrun the bouncers and looked straight towards the hardwood door. It was still a long way in Plankton measurements and I had so many feet to avoid, but I did my best to keep running no matter how much my entire body ached. After my left foot got trampled on, I hopped on my right foot, still moving towards my goal. I knew that it would be almost impossible for me to get to the door and slip under it, but I also knew that it's only almost impossible. For as long as there was still a shred of possibility left for me to be able to get through that Neptune-damned door, I would carry on.
With all these thoughts filling up my mind, I didn't focus on surviving, but I focused on my goal. As soon as I knew that I was already very close to the door, I ran for it, not minding the intense pain that still filled my left foot, and even the rest of my feeble, worn-out body.
Soon enough, Howard and I were able to slip under the door. We quickly slipped under the nearby drawers in order to hide from the bouncers and nurses that inevitably entered the suite in pursuit of us.
"Whew…" I said in relief as I rested myself on the dark, cobweb-filled corner. "At least we made it inside the room."
Howard was peeking through the opening under the drawers.
"Hey man, where did those two go?" the bouncer with a scar on top of his left eye asked.
"I have no idea, man," the other bouncer replied.
"Oh, well, we have to all get out of this room now," one of the nurses said. "Those are just two old protozoans anyway. It's not that they can do anything wrong, right?"
"Spongebob told us specifically to watch out for those," the bouncer with an x-shaped scar explained. "One of them is still out there to pursue the Krabby Patty formula, which leads me to wondering: Why was it even placed conveniently on top of the bedside table where it is easily seen?"
"You must have forgotten that Mr. Krabs specifically asked for the bottle with the formula to be left on the table for Spongebob to get today. For some reason, he 'said' that he felt that he was not going to make it to the next night anymore," the bouncer with a scar on top of his left eye explained as they all left the room. "Despite the fact that Mr. Krabs stayed unconscious for a long time, Sandy's invention that won in last year's Science Fair, the Unconscious Speaker, enabled him to voice out what he wants done with his possessions after he crosses the other side despite not being able to move his mouth or be conscious in the first place. That's exactly why we're guarding the room. Spongebob is supposed to go here later when his shift is over."
"The coast is clear," Howard said as he looked at the room again from the space under the drawers.
"Now, for the moment of truth…" I said as I took a deep breath and emerged from the darkness of the space below the drawers, mustering up every last bit of courage I have. "This is really it. We've made it."