Life Goes On, Or Does It? pt4-A Fateful Decision
Midget: Sorry it took so long for me to get this one out. Before I begin, I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed my story and gave me some suggestions. It means a lot to me. I'd especially like to thank Genevieve for her suggestions. Yes, I did use them and I wrote this part in Ken's POV just for you. Well, I hope you all enjoy this part. Please continue to review.
Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, I know. I don't own digimon, somebody else does. I just borrowed some of the characters.
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Yes! Now, if I can just...
"Hey, Ken," a hopeful voice calls. "Are you in there?"
What fool dares interrupt me at a time like this! Doesn't that idiot know I'm busy in here?
A knock rattles the door. "Ken, there's someone here to talk to you," my secretary says cheerfully. Her voice sounds like nails scratching against a chalkboard.
Wincing, I look back at my computer. NOOOO!!! All my work, ruined!
"Ken," her voice is slightly hesitant now. Another knock shakes the door. "Hello, is anyone there?"
Just wait until I get my hands on you... "Yeah, I'm here," I growl menacingly. "Who is it and what do they want?"
The door slid open to reveal my partner, Izzy, who wore an amused expression. "Did I interrupt something," he asks curiously.
"As a matter of fact, you did," I grumble, frowning. "I was about to beat Final Fantasy VIII when you broke my concentration."
"Haven't you done that a dozen times already," Izzy inquires mildly.
"Yes, but this time I'd gone through it without saving even once," I inform him irately. I can almost feel steam billowing from my ears.
Izzy kept a straight face for a minute. Then the secretary peeked in, took one look at my face, then gave an eep and hurried off. Apparently that was too much for Izzy, who burst into laughter at the sight. A reluctant grin came across my face.
"Still scaring your secretaries, eh," Izzy asks me, chuckling. "Does this mean you've completed that new program?"
"Yolei told me I'd better or she'd do it for me," I tell him ruefully. "She thinks they'll try to take me away from her. And yeah, I completed the program. It's down in the testing department right now."
He just shakes his head and we exchange an understanding look. She hadn't changed much over the years, but that is fine with me.
"So, what did you want," I inquire curiously, turning the playstation off.
"I wanted to see if you would like to come over to the house for lunch," he answers in a brightly cheerful tone.
Suspicious, I glance up from placing the game in its case. Taking a closer look, I can see worry and strain in his eyes. The dark rings under his eyes silently proclaimed that he had not been sleeping well recently. His skin was somewhat paler than it had been just yesterday. Now that I think about it, though, I remember that he wasn't looking like himself yesterday either. Or the day before.
"What's wrong," I ask quietly.
"I'll tell you on the way to my house," he says softly.
Nodding, I gesture for him to lead the way. I wonder what could be bothering him so much. Maybe it has something to do with Matt. But surely he would have told me right away if Matt was sick or hurt. So what could it be?
I kept my questions to myself as we walked through the busy lobby. The annoying ring of the telephones combined with the buzz of conversation to fill the small room with sound. We definitely need to get a bigger office.
"Why don't we walk since it's only three blocks away," Izzy suggests calmly.
"Sure," I reply absently, not really thinking about it. I wonder if I should ask again.
"I asked you over for lunch today because I wanted to talk to you about Matt," Izzy tells me suddenly.
I glance at him, startled by the tightness in his voice. "What's wrong," I ask, concerned.
"I'm not really sure," he replies slowly, confusion in his tone.
My eyebrows shoot to my hairline. This doesn't sound very good. "I thought he was doing better," I say carefully.
"He was," Izzy answers absently. "I mean, he is. Or he's stayed at the level he was, anyways. Matt's been eating at least two meals a day, even if they are still only half the size of a regular meal. He remembers to take a shower and change his clothes each day. He even cooked a meal the other day."
"It sounds like he has improved, so what's got you so stressed," I inquire confusedly. "I thought that you wanted him to get better."
"I do," he replies, suddenly stopping to face me. His expression is frank and earnest. "I want Matt to start living again so very much. I really want the old Matt back. But there's a problem. Matt doesn't seem to want to live, for some reason. The other night we were reminiscing about things that have happened over the years. We were laughing together about something when all of sudden he stopped laughing. Matt hurried back to his room with a mumbled goodnight. Before he left I saw a strange expression on his face. After that night he distanced himself from me. Ken, I think he felt guilty for laughing. I'm worried that he might be feeling guilty for living."
Blinking, I consider the idea. In the time that I had known him, Matt had shown himself to be a true friend and a great older brother. He was willing to do whatever needed to be done to help his friends, no matter what. If one of his friends went through some trial, then he would be right there with whoever it was if he could be. This had been especially true when it came to T.K.
"Maybe," I reply thoughtfully. Glancing around, I give him a rueful smile. "Why don't we continue walking, Izzy?"
He nods, falling silent. I take the opportunity to ponder Izzy's hypothesis. Based on past experience it seems plausible... Thinking about it now, I can remember certain details of my last visit that had seemed a bit off. Every now and then I'd catch Matt smiling slightly, but then he'd suddenly wipe it off his face. Then he'd look around, as if he expected someone to be watching. At the time I thought he was just trying to hide it from us, but now it seems like he was hiding it from someone else. It was almost like he thought he would be punished for it.
"Here we are," Izzy says with forced cheerfulness. He opens the door and calls, "Matt, I'm home. I brought Ken with me. He's having lunch with us."
The stillness sends a shiver down my spine. My stomach knots as dread seeps through me. Izzy's anxious eyes meet mine. He's feeling the same thing I am. We both know that something is very wrong here.
"Matt, where are you," I ask, walking toward the first door I see.
Behind me, Izzy shuts the door and heads down the hall. I open the door to find an empty living room. Shutting the door, I head to the one opposite of the hallway.
"Matt," I call as I push the door out of my way.
The kitchen is empty. I turn to go, but something catches my eye. Walking over to the counter, I peer at the bottles sitting there. Aspirin, cold pills, and other assorted over the counter medicines sat there. Reaching out, I try lifting the aspirin by its top. The lid pulled away from the bottle itself. Peering inside, my blood ran cold as I found nothing there. I check the cold pills, but there isn't anything there, either.
"KEN, COME HERE. I NEED YOUR HELP," Izzy shouts frantically. "HURRY!!"
I raced down the hall and into the open room. My heart stops for a moment when I see Izzy trying checking Matt's seemingly lifeless body for a pulse.
Izzy looks at me with fear in his eyes. "It's so weak that I can barely feel it," he whispers softly. "What can be wrong."
"I found a bottle of aspirin and a bottle of cold pills that were completely empty," I tell him quietly, walking over. I'm a little worried. I once read somewhere that if a person swallows poisonous materials they have a better chance of surviving if they stay awake. Matt was already unconscious, though.
His face pales even more. "We've got to call an ambulance," he says as calmly as he can. "But first, we need to wake him up. Or he might never wake up again."
"How are we going to do that," I ask, looking around. Then I spot the open door to the bathroom. "What if we stuck him in the shower and turned on the cold water?"
"Yeah, good idea," Izzy replies, grabbing one of Matt's arms.
I take the other. Together we manage to get him over to the bath. Izzy turns on the cold water and we splash it over him.
"Matt, wake up," Izzy says, his voice slightly desperate. "Come on, buddy. Wake up."
"Come on Matt, you can do it," I add urgently. "Wake up!"
After a few minutes we are about to give up. I check his pulse. "It's still weak, but at least it's there," I announce with relief.
"Uhhh," Matt groans.
Izzy hits him lightly on the cheeks. "Matt, wake up," he says sternly.
"L-l-leave m-me 'l-lone," Matt replies through chattering teeth.
"You dry him off and I'll call a doctor," I tell Izzy, heading for the door. "I'll have them get ready for his arrival."
"Okay," Izzy says calmly.
In the kitchen I look for the personal phone book, but I couldn't find it. So I grab the phone book and look up the closest hospital. MERCY HOSPITAL. The same place T.K. went to that last night... Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I reach for the phone.
"Hello, Mercy Hospital here," a sweet voice answers my call.
"Yes, I have a friend who just swallowed too much medication," I tell her swiftly. "He is semi-conscious, but his pulse is weak."
"How much medication did he swallow," she asked seriously.
"I don't know," I reply sheepishly.
"It's all right. What kind of medicine was it?"
"Aspirin and cold pills," I answer readily.
"Is that all?"
"I hope so," I reply fervently.
"Do you know the patient's doctor?"
"No."
"Okay, hold on a second."
The sound of typing echoed down the line. I look down the hallway, feeling anxious.
"Ken, did you get a hold of the doctor," Izzy asks hopefully.
"I called Mercy hospital," I answer sheepishly. "I couldn't find the personal phone book."
"That's strange...oh, never mind," Izzy says sadly. "I see it over in the corner. He even thought about that."
"Why won't you leave me alone," Matt demanded hoarsely as Izzy hauled him out of the room. His body hung limply and his skin had a greenish tinge to it. "Just let me die in peace."
"No!!!" Izzy and I chorus together.
"How far away are you?"
I blink, trying to calculate the distance in my head. "Five blocks, I think."
"I need your address so that I can send an ambulance."
"Ken, I'm taking Matt to the car," Izzy tells me on his way out.
"We'll be driving over," I inform the operator quickly. "Can you just have the doctor meet us at the emergency entrance."
"Yes, I will."
"Thanks, bye." Hanging up, I rush out the door. Then I go back and close the door.
Izzy honks the horn and I turn to run over. Climbing into the driver's seat, I take the keys he hands me.
Those five blocks flew by as I took them faster than I can remember ever driving before. I was spurred on by the sound of Izzy's desperate voice and Matt's fading replies. Fervently hoping we weren't too late and praying that nothing got in my way, I step on the gas.
A little more than a minute later I bring the car to a screeching halt in front of the emergency doors. Slamming the car into park, I rush around to help Izzy get Matt out of the car. The sliding doors opened to reveal a doctor and two nurses who rushed out with a gurney. They loaded Matt onto the gurney and wheeled him inside. Izzy followed closely, answering the doctor's questions.
Left behind, I climb back into the car. It takes me five minutes to park. Muttering curses under my breath, I take the first opening. Then I hurry inside.
I find Izzy pacing worriedly in a waiting room. When I enter he looks up and shakes his head. There's no news yet.
"I'm going to call Yolei and let her know what happened," I say heavily.
""I'll call Kari," Izzy replies absently. "Then I'll try to get a hold of some of the others. That will keep me busy for a little while."
"After I talk to Yolei I'll call the office," I inform him, heading for the line of pay phones.
"Okay."
I look around as I wait for my wife to pick up. Izzy is standing at the farthest phone, which is three away from mine. His attempt at letting me have my privacy is appreciated, although with all the people walking by it's pretty hard to have a truly private conversation.
"Hello, Ichijouji residence," Yolei chirps brightly.
"Hello, Yolei," I answer quietly.
"Ken," she asks in surprise. "What's wrong?"
"I went over to Izzy's house for lunch," I tell her softly, trying not to let anyone overhear.
"And?"
"We found Matt half dead," I reply shakily. The events of the day are beginning to catch up to me.
"Oh, no! What happened?"
"He overdosed on aspirin and cold pills," I say in a gravelly voice. I rest one arm against the wall and place my forehead against it.
"Was it on purpose," she asks quietly.
At first I nod. Then I remember that she can't see it. "From what he said, yes. I have to admit this has shaken me a bit," I confess in a whisper.
"How is he now," she asks anxiously.
"He's in the emergency room at Mercy Hospital," I answer. "Honey, would you please get down here?"
"I'm on my way."
"Please hurry," I whisper, letting my emotions travel down the line. "I need you here with me."
"I'll be there as soon as I can," she promises gently. Then she hangs up.
For a minute I just stand there, listening to the dial tone. The buzz seems to perfectly match the buzz of thoughts and emotions inside of me.
Suddenly the emergency doors open and a group of ambulance workers rush in. A young man who looks to be only about twenty-two is rolled in on a gurney. There is an oxygen mask over his face and three IV's in his arms. His thinness reminds me of Matt. The doctor who meets them checks for a pulse, then shakes his head. They remove the mask and the IVs. Then one of them pulls the blanket over the young man's head.
Feeling sick, I turn to look at Izzy who has his back to the scene. Pushing the sight out of my thoughts, I turn my attention back to the phone I still held. I hung up, then took it off the stand and dialed work.
As I wait for my secretary to pick up, I glance over to see Izzy shaking slightly. A look down at my hand tells me that I am also trembling. I think I'll tell our employees to continue work without us for the next few days. We both need a chance to recover from this before we have to deal with the stress of work.
"Excuse me, are you two the ones who brought the poison victim in," a professional voice asks.
I automatically glance at Izzy. Our eyes meet, communicating the same amount of dread. Turning, I nod.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news for you," the older man says gravely.
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How about that for a cliff hanger? Is Matt still alive? Will he go to join his father and brother? What will happen next and who will tell the story? I take suggestions so let me know what you think will happen.
Midget: Sorry it took so long for me to get this one out. Before I begin, I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed my story and gave me some suggestions. It means a lot to me. I'd especially like to thank Genevieve for her suggestions. Yes, I did use them and I wrote this part in Ken's POV just for you. Well, I hope you all enjoy this part. Please continue to review.
Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, I know. I don't own digimon, somebody else does. I just borrowed some of the characters.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes! Now, if I can just...
"Hey, Ken," a hopeful voice calls. "Are you in there?"
What fool dares interrupt me at a time like this! Doesn't that idiot know I'm busy in here?
A knock rattles the door. "Ken, there's someone here to talk to you," my secretary says cheerfully. Her voice sounds like nails scratching against a chalkboard.
Wincing, I look back at my computer. NOOOO!!! All my work, ruined!
"Ken," her voice is slightly hesitant now. Another knock shakes the door. "Hello, is anyone there?"
Just wait until I get my hands on you... "Yeah, I'm here," I growl menacingly. "Who is it and what do they want?"
The door slid open to reveal my partner, Izzy, who wore an amused expression. "Did I interrupt something," he asks curiously.
"As a matter of fact, you did," I grumble, frowning. "I was about to beat Final Fantasy VIII when you broke my concentration."
"Haven't you done that a dozen times already," Izzy inquires mildly.
"Yes, but this time I'd gone through it without saving even once," I inform him irately. I can almost feel steam billowing from my ears.
Izzy kept a straight face for a minute. Then the secretary peeked in, took one look at my face, then gave an eep and hurried off. Apparently that was too much for Izzy, who burst into laughter at the sight. A reluctant grin came across my face.
"Still scaring your secretaries, eh," Izzy asks me, chuckling. "Does this mean you've completed that new program?"
"Yolei told me I'd better or she'd do it for me," I tell him ruefully. "She thinks they'll try to take me away from her. And yeah, I completed the program. It's down in the testing department right now."
He just shakes his head and we exchange an understanding look. She hadn't changed much over the years, but that is fine with me.
"So, what did you want," I inquire curiously, turning the playstation off.
"I wanted to see if you would like to come over to the house for lunch," he answers in a brightly cheerful tone.
Suspicious, I glance up from placing the game in its case. Taking a closer look, I can see worry and strain in his eyes. The dark rings under his eyes silently proclaimed that he had not been sleeping well recently. His skin was somewhat paler than it had been just yesterday. Now that I think about it, though, I remember that he wasn't looking like himself yesterday either. Or the day before.
"What's wrong," I ask quietly.
"I'll tell you on the way to my house," he says softly.
Nodding, I gesture for him to lead the way. I wonder what could be bothering him so much. Maybe it has something to do with Matt. But surely he would have told me right away if Matt was sick or hurt. So what could it be?
I kept my questions to myself as we walked through the busy lobby. The annoying ring of the telephones combined with the buzz of conversation to fill the small room with sound. We definitely need to get a bigger office.
"Why don't we walk since it's only three blocks away," Izzy suggests calmly.
"Sure," I reply absently, not really thinking about it. I wonder if I should ask again.
"I asked you over for lunch today because I wanted to talk to you about Matt," Izzy tells me suddenly.
I glance at him, startled by the tightness in his voice. "What's wrong," I ask, concerned.
"I'm not really sure," he replies slowly, confusion in his tone.
My eyebrows shoot to my hairline. This doesn't sound very good. "I thought he was doing better," I say carefully.
"He was," Izzy answers absently. "I mean, he is. Or he's stayed at the level he was, anyways. Matt's been eating at least two meals a day, even if they are still only half the size of a regular meal. He remembers to take a shower and change his clothes each day. He even cooked a meal the other day."
"It sounds like he has improved, so what's got you so stressed," I inquire confusedly. "I thought that you wanted him to get better."
"I do," he replies, suddenly stopping to face me. His expression is frank and earnest. "I want Matt to start living again so very much. I really want the old Matt back. But there's a problem. Matt doesn't seem to want to live, for some reason. The other night we were reminiscing about things that have happened over the years. We were laughing together about something when all of sudden he stopped laughing. Matt hurried back to his room with a mumbled goodnight. Before he left I saw a strange expression on his face. After that night he distanced himself from me. Ken, I think he felt guilty for laughing. I'm worried that he might be feeling guilty for living."
Blinking, I consider the idea. In the time that I had known him, Matt had shown himself to be a true friend and a great older brother. He was willing to do whatever needed to be done to help his friends, no matter what. If one of his friends went through some trial, then he would be right there with whoever it was if he could be. This had been especially true when it came to T.K.
"Maybe," I reply thoughtfully. Glancing around, I give him a rueful smile. "Why don't we continue walking, Izzy?"
He nods, falling silent. I take the opportunity to ponder Izzy's hypothesis. Based on past experience it seems plausible... Thinking about it now, I can remember certain details of my last visit that had seemed a bit off. Every now and then I'd catch Matt smiling slightly, but then he'd suddenly wipe it off his face. Then he'd look around, as if he expected someone to be watching. At the time I thought he was just trying to hide it from us, but now it seems like he was hiding it from someone else. It was almost like he thought he would be punished for it.
"Here we are," Izzy says with forced cheerfulness. He opens the door and calls, "Matt, I'm home. I brought Ken with me. He's having lunch with us."
The stillness sends a shiver down my spine. My stomach knots as dread seeps through me. Izzy's anxious eyes meet mine. He's feeling the same thing I am. We both know that something is very wrong here.
"Matt, where are you," I ask, walking toward the first door I see.
Behind me, Izzy shuts the door and heads down the hall. I open the door to find an empty living room. Shutting the door, I head to the one opposite of the hallway.
"Matt," I call as I push the door out of my way.
The kitchen is empty. I turn to go, but something catches my eye. Walking over to the counter, I peer at the bottles sitting there. Aspirin, cold pills, and other assorted over the counter medicines sat there. Reaching out, I try lifting the aspirin by its top. The lid pulled away from the bottle itself. Peering inside, my blood ran cold as I found nothing there. I check the cold pills, but there isn't anything there, either.
"KEN, COME HERE. I NEED YOUR HELP," Izzy shouts frantically. "HURRY!!"
I raced down the hall and into the open room. My heart stops for a moment when I see Izzy trying checking Matt's seemingly lifeless body for a pulse.
Izzy looks at me with fear in his eyes. "It's so weak that I can barely feel it," he whispers softly. "What can be wrong."
"I found a bottle of aspirin and a bottle of cold pills that were completely empty," I tell him quietly, walking over. I'm a little worried. I once read somewhere that if a person swallows poisonous materials they have a better chance of surviving if they stay awake. Matt was already unconscious, though.
His face pales even more. "We've got to call an ambulance," he says as calmly as he can. "But first, we need to wake him up. Or he might never wake up again."
"How are we going to do that," I ask, looking around. Then I spot the open door to the bathroom. "What if we stuck him in the shower and turned on the cold water?"
"Yeah, good idea," Izzy replies, grabbing one of Matt's arms.
I take the other. Together we manage to get him over to the bath. Izzy turns on the cold water and we splash it over him.
"Matt, wake up," Izzy says, his voice slightly desperate. "Come on, buddy. Wake up."
"Come on Matt, you can do it," I add urgently. "Wake up!"
After a few minutes we are about to give up. I check his pulse. "It's still weak, but at least it's there," I announce with relief.
"Uhhh," Matt groans.
Izzy hits him lightly on the cheeks. "Matt, wake up," he says sternly.
"L-l-leave m-me 'l-lone," Matt replies through chattering teeth.
"You dry him off and I'll call a doctor," I tell Izzy, heading for the door. "I'll have them get ready for his arrival."
"Okay," Izzy says calmly.
In the kitchen I look for the personal phone book, but I couldn't find it. So I grab the phone book and look up the closest hospital. MERCY HOSPITAL. The same place T.K. went to that last night... Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I reach for the phone.
"Hello, Mercy Hospital here," a sweet voice answers my call.
"Yes, I have a friend who just swallowed too much medication," I tell her swiftly. "He is semi-conscious, but his pulse is weak."
"How much medication did he swallow," she asked seriously.
"I don't know," I reply sheepishly.
"It's all right. What kind of medicine was it?"
"Aspirin and cold pills," I answer readily.
"Is that all?"
"I hope so," I reply fervently.
"Do you know the patient's doctor?"
"No."
"Okay, hold on a second."
The sound of typing echoed down the line. I look down the hallway, feeling anxious.
"Ken, did you get a hold of the doctor," Izzy asks hopefully.
"I called Mercy hospital," I answer sheepishly. "I couldn't find the personal phone book."
"That's strange...oh, never mind," Izzy says sadly. "I see it over in the corner. He even thought about that."
"Why won't you leave me alone," Matt demanded hoarsely as Izzy hauled him out of the room. His body hung limply and his skin had a greenish tinge to it. "Just let me die in peace."
"No!!!" Izzy and I chorus together.
"How far away are you?"
I blink, trying to calculate the distance in my head. "Five blocks, I think."
"I need your address so that I can send an ambulance."
"Ken, I'm taking Matt to the car," Izzy tells me on his way out.
"We'll be driving over," I inform the operator quickly. "Can you just have the doctor meet us at the emergency entrance."
"Yes, I will."
"Thanks, bye." Hanging up, I rush out the door. Then I go back and close the door.
Izzy honks the horn and I turn to run over. Climbing into the driver's seat, I take the keys he hands me.
Those five blocks flew by as I took them faster than I can remember ever driving before. I was spurred on by the sound of Izzy's desperate voice and Matt's fading replies. Fervently hoping we weren't too late and praying that nothing got in my way, I step on the gas.
A little more than a minute later I bring the car to a screeching halt in front of the emergency doors. Slamming the car into park, I rush around to help Izzy get Matt out of the car. The sliding doors opened to reveal a doctor and two nurses who rushed out with a gurney. They loaded Matt onto the gurney and wheeled him inside. Izzy followed closely, answering the doctor's questions.
Left behind, I climb back into the car. It takes me five minutes to park. Muttering curses under my breath, I take the first opening. Then I hurry inside.
I find Izzy pacing worriedly in a waiting room. When I enter he looks up and shakes his head. There's no news yet.
"I'm going to call Yolei and let her know what happened," I say heavily.
""I'll call Kari," Izzy replies absently. "Then I'll try to get a hold of some of the others. That will keep me busy for a little while."
"After I talk to Yolei I'll call the office," I inform him, heading for the line of pay phones.
"Okay."
I look around as I wait for my wife to pick up. Izzy is standing at the farthest phone, which is three away from mine. His attempt at letting me have my privacy is appreciated, although with all the people walking by it's pretty hard to have a truly private conversation.
"Hello, Ichijouji residence," Yolei chirps brightly.
"Hello, Yolei," I answer quietly.
"Ken," she asks in surprise. "What's wrong?"
"I went over to Izzy's house for lunch," I tell her softly, trying not to let anyone overhear.
"And?"
"We found Matt half dead," I reply shakily. The events of the day are beginning to catch up to me.
"Oh, no! What happened?"
"He overdosed on aspirin and cold pills," I say in a gravelly voice. I rest one arm against the wall and place my forehead against it.
"Was it on purpose," she asks quietly.
At first I nod. Then I remember that she can't see it. "From what he said, yes. I have to admit this has shaken me a bit," I confess in a whisper.
"How is he now," she asks anxiously.
"He's in the emergency room at Mercy Hospital," I answer. "Honey, would you please get down here?"
"I'm on my way."
"Please hurry," I whisper, letting my emotions travel down the line. "I need you here with me."
"I'll be there as soon as I can," she promises gently. Then she hangs up.
For a minute I just stand there, listening to the dial tone. The buzz seems to perfectly match the buzz of thoughts and emotions inside of me.
Suddenly the emergency doors open and a group of ambulance workers rush in. A young man who looks to be only about twenty-two is rolled in on a gurney. There is an oxygen mask over his face and three IV's in his arms. His thinness reminds me of Matt. The doctor who meets them checks for a pulse, then shakes his head. They remove the mask and the IVs. Then one of them pulls the blanket over the young man's head.
Feeling sick, I turn to look at Izzy who has his back to the scene. Pushing the sight out of my thoughts, I turn my attention back to the phone I still held. I hung up, then took it off the stand and dialed work.
As I wait for my secretary to pick up, I glance over to see Izzy shaking slightly. A look down at my hand tells me that I am also trembling. I think I'll tell our employees to continue work without us for the next few days. We both need a chance to recover from this before we have to deal with the stress of work.
"Excuse me, are you two the ones who brought the poison victim in," a professional voice asks.
I automatically glance at Izzy. Our eyes meet, communicating the same amount of dread. Turning, I nod.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news for you," the older man says gravely.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How about that for a cliff hanger? Is Matt still alive? Will he go to join his father and brother? What will happen next and who will tell the story? I take suggestions so let me know what you think will happen.