Prejudice. Xeno. Animosity. Pain.
Part 5 – Los Grande Finale.
By Aly the WheelerChick
Disclaimer(s): Lyrics belong to Matchbox Twenty. Magnet, Holes, and other related characters and items are Louis Sachar's and other people that are not myself.
A/n: I'm sad to have to finish it (!) but this fic can't go on forever. All things eventually gotta come to an end sometime. So I hope you guys like the finale…it's kinda long….that's what took me forever to finally get it posted. But it's here and I won't waste your time with useless notes. I appreciate all your reviews, but I have longer thanks at the bottom. Rock on, guys. OH! And I gotsa Spanish "Dictionary" below.
"CNO ME LASTIME" – "Don't hurt me!"
"Qué sobre esta cosa" – "what is this?" ('Qué' is 'what')
"Si" – "yes"
"Silencio" – "silence"
"Primero me dieron la materia para hacerme sueño y" – "First they gave me medicine to make me sleep and…" ….and the rest of the stuff is obvious or there is no good translation.
On with the ficcage.
I know, but I still
Believe in ignorance as my best defense
So go on, wreck me
Funny how I carry on, and not be taken over
Will not roll over on anyone,
Cause anyone would stand up on my side
Magnet couldn't move any part of his arm. Not his elbow, wrist, or even his fingers. Terrified, his mind began to race.
Looking around him, he didn't know the surroundings. He was in a blue room on a blue cot. There was a table to his left, and a refrigerator on the opposite side of the room. The unfamiliarity of the place made him panic even more.
He inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself down. Slowly, he began to recognize the place. This is the room they brought Barfbag to when he was bitten by a rattlesnake, he thought. He remembered it was in a room in the Warden's Cabin, and they kept antivenin and other medical stuff in the refrigerator. He began to relax some more. Hey, it's air-conditioned in here!
He noticed his arm was all bandaged up in gauze and ACE bandages. It was also strapped against his body in a padded blue sling. That was why he couldn't move it.
He yawned, feeling extremely groggy and not being able to remember much of what happened earlier. About two hours after the other guys left to get breakfast, three men showed up. He remembered one was a 'Medical Specialist;. The other told him he was an 'AG', but he didn't know what that was. The third man was a policeman that said nothing.
He remembered they gave him a drink and then they were going to inject him with a sedative. And that was all the remembered. He tried to guess at how long he'd been out of it.
Outside the small room, he could hear people talking. He didn't recognize a few of the male voices. He did know Mr. Sir's and Pendanski's. And of course the Warden. His grogginess made it difficult to understand what they were saying, and the fact that they were in another room helped none in the least. Yet, he strained to hear what they said anyway.
"What kind of facility is this?" one man was saying, "You have no proper medical care! José was close to-"
"Yeah yeah yeah," the Warden's voice responded, "If we could get more money from the state-"
"Don't get feisty"
"You can get charged a felony for child abuse, Ms. Walker."
Magnet blinked. He never considered it child abuse. Well, okay, maybe a little. X-Ray called it forced or slave labor. He strained again to hear Pendanski yell something, and then he heard another man's voice that he didn't recognize say, "He has bruised ribs, a fractured shoulder, stitches, and an IV in his wrist!"
A what?
Magnet glanced to his left and saw what looked like an iron hat tree, with a clear plastic bag hanging from it. The bag contained a clear liquid in it, with a tube attached at the bottom of it. His eyes traced the tube down.
He nearly fainted at the sight of his left wrist. There was a large needle injected on the underside, and it was taped there. He didn't feel it before, but focusing all his attention on it now, he could feel an unpleasant tingling sensation. He slightly tugged on the tube connected to the needle that the medication flowed through. He desperately wanted the needle out of his wrist.
The people in the other room were yelling now, and Magnet didn't have to strain to hear them.
"I'M GOING IN THAT ROOM TO SPEAK WITH HIM!" a man shouted.
"HE'S SLEEPING!" responded the Warden.
"It's my job, ma'am," the man said.
"BUT-"
Too late. In the right-hand corner of the room was a door. Magnet heard the handle click, and then saw it turn. A man in a white jacket – presumably the doctor, (or the 'Medical Specialist' as he called himself) and another man in a greyish suit barged through the door.
"¡CNO ME LASTIME!" screamed Magnet like a reflex. The Warden stumbled in the door after them.
"I'm calling in an investigation of this camp," said the man in the suit. The doctor nodded.
"José?" the doctor was speaking to him now.
"Qué?"
"You have a right to know what we did after you were put under a sedative, it's my job to tell you. Sooo-" the doctor went on. Magnet nodded. The man in the suit took the Warden into the corner and was talking to her in low tones. He shifted his attention back to the doctor.
"First thing we did was stitch up a nasty gash in your forehead."
Magnet slowly raised his hand to his forehead and lightly patted the area with his fingertips. He could feel the thread of the stitches embedded in his flesh. He didn't know what to think.
"Those will dissolve in time," the doctor continued. "We definitely knew there were complications with your shoulder. With an examination, we concurred that you had a hairline fracture, so we gave you some novocaine and wrapped that up-"
Magnet raised his eyebrow, not having half a clue of what most of that meant. Yet he listened on anyway.
"Then we did your ribs. They were extremely bruised, so we wrapped those up. I don't think you broke any of those, but just to be sure, we are going to be taking you to the hospital in an ambulance in about an hour or so. Your Warden didn't seem to be too thrilled, but-"
Taking me in an ambulance?
That meant…that meant he was going away from camp! He suddenly felt 180% better and had half a mind to jump up and shriek "ARRRIIIBA!" like his Great Aunt used to do at family reunions down in Santo Domingo.
The sick feeling came back soon enough though. He realized he wouldn't be able to take any of the other guys with him. He glanced down at the needle in his wrist.
"Qué sobre esta cosa?" he murmured looking back up at the doctor, and then staring back down at the needle and the IV.
"The IV?" the doctor asked.
"Si," Magnet said and shook his head.
"Just some vitamins and other nutrients to keep you from getting sick, and having any side effects. And so your body has better strength to repair itself. Those boys really did a number on you, kiddo."
Magnet shrugged, "Si, Señor." The doctor smiled.
Suddenly the door burst open again, and Armpit and X-Ray marched in, followed by Squid, Zigzag, Stanley, and Zero. Mr. Sir and Pendanski came in after them.
"MAGNET!" – "YOU'RE ALIVE!" – "WE THOUGHT-" – "X-RAY SAID-" – "SURGERY?!" - "YOU'RE LEAVING?!" each of them, even Zero, was asking a million questions at once.
His head spun. "SILENCIO!" he yelled at last. It worked. Silence fell upon everyone.
"Primero me dieron la materia para hacerme sueño y –"
They all rolled their eyes. "There he goes with the Spanish again," said Zigzag. Squid nodded. "Yo, ENGLISH, man!"
"Sorry," Magnet mumbled, half-blushing. "I-"
Yet, he was interrupted again by the man in the suit, "Doc, Ms. Walker, Sir, Pendanski, whaddya say we step into the other room for now and leave these boys to themselves? José's had a long day."
The doctor smiled, and Mr. Sir and Pendanski glared. The Warden just stood there gaping. Then slowly they escorted themselves out. When the door clicked, and the authorities were all in the other room, the ruckus started up again.
"HEY! HEY, YO, GUYS!" Magnet tried to call for their attention once again but it wasn't seeming to work. He rolled his eyes.
"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIBA!" he hooted in a high pitched ton, and trilling his r's. And again it got silent for the moment.
"Whoa, do that again!" said Squid in awe. Magnet smiled, "My whole family jumps around doing that on Independence Day. And my Great Aunt does it at family reunions."
"Alright, alright, chill out guys," said X-Ray.
"Wait a sec," Magnet raised his eyebrow, "How'd you gets get in here anyway?"
Armpit shrugged. "X convinced Mom. I dunno how he did it!"
:Yeah, it's not a big deal," X-Ray smiled, "Anyway, Mags, they said you were put to sleep or sommin, yo, what the hell happened?"
"They gave me medicine called a sedative that makes you fall asleep. No surgery. Just an –"
"HOLY SHIT!" screeched Zigzag suddenly, "THERE'S A BIG NEEDLE IN YOUR ARM! MAN THEY'RE TRYING TO SUCK OUT HIS BRAIN THROUGH HIS VEINS, I KNOW IT!"
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Shut up Zigzag."
"Magnet shook his head back and forth, mumbling, "Why do I even bother? It's just vitamins and nutrients and stuff, man."
"Oh." Zigzag agreed, but he still stared, wide-eyed, unconvinced.
"Anyway," said Stanley, "Why else? You should see your face. Bot your eyes are black."
Magnet let out a sign, "Stitches in my head, you see?" he pointed to them with his left hand, "Broken shoulder. Well – actually they said it was something else like fricature or something."
"Fracture?" suggested Stanley.
"Yeah, whatever. So they have like me whole right side bandaged to the point where I can't even move!" he said, whining a little. "And did I mention I have to go to the bathroom?"
Instantly in unison, everyone groaned. "LEARN TO CONTROL YOUR BLADDER, MAGNET!" Squid shouted.
Magnet grinned. "I'll hold it."
"Good," said X-Ray. There was a pause and then Armpit said, "So should we tell them how we kicked those other guys' asses to Kentucky?"
"You did what?"
"Yeah!" added Zigzag, "It was awesome! See, they was badmouthin you again, and Armpit got mad. And then they made fun of X-Ray - and you know no one messes with X-Ray."
Magnet nodded. That much was true.
"And so anyway," Zigzag continued, "Armpit and X had the one kid. Squid had another, and I had the last one. And we was just beatin em and all! And then Caveman and Zero started this all-out food fight, and man, it was awesome! All for you, Magnet."
Magnet sat there shocked with his mouth hanging open. "No freakin way. You guys got total revenge? Just for me? No freakin way!"
"Mr. Sir did go off on us. And we're gonna be 'severely punished.' But it was worth it," Admitted X-Ray.
"But you spit on that one kid!" said Squid.
Magnet blinked. "What?"
"Yeah, X-Ray spit on the blonde kid. It was nasty but awesome all at the same time." Laughed Squid. He high-fived Armpit.
X-Ray shook his head. "Because nobody messed with D-tent, fool. Now." He paused and waited for everyone to pay attention to him. "What's this about Mom says you leavin?"
It got really quiet.
"Uh…" Magnet stuttered, "It goes like this, see. The doctor said I bruised my ribs, and they got em all wrapped up and stuff – so like, they're gonna take me to the hospital though to make sure I didn't break any of em."
Armpit's jaw dropped open. "What?!" "No way," said Zigzag. "Lucky bastard," mumbled Squid. X-Ray and Stanley just nodded.
"When they taking you?" asked Stanley.
"They said in an hour. I don't remember when that was though," Magnet responded, sullenly. "But I don't think I'll be at the hospital very long!"
They all shrugged and stared at each other, trying to think of something to say.
"Well," said Squid at last, "have fun eating hospital food." Magnet smiled and mumbled, "Thanks. Wish you guys could come."
Suddenly, the door burst open again, and the doctor and the suit-man stepped in. The Warden and Pendanski were behind them. The Warden was talking under her breath.
"José!" the doctor said, "Mr. Pendanski packed all your belongings…we'll be leaving shortly."
"WHAT?!" Magnet shouted, "Mi amigos! I don't wanna go yet! I barely got to talk to them!"
"José, we need to be out of here by seven before the x-ray techs leave."
Magnet looked back to his friends. "I really really wish I could take you guys with me," he muttered. "I need help getting up."
The doctor said something to the suit-man, and he turned around, and pulled a folded wheelchair out from behind where the Warden and Pendanski were standing. They wheeled it to Magnet's bedside.
"Help me," Magnet mumbled to D-tent. X-Ray and Stanley covered his right side. Armpit and Squid handled his other. The doctor took down his IV and hooked it onto the back of the wheelchair.
Finally, he was set.
To temporarily leave Camp Green Lake.
They all chatted a bit more, as they took turns pushing Magnet out of the room, and onto the porch of the Warden's cabin.
"Rex, Alan," Pendanski said, once they were all out on he dirt. An ambulance was a few feet over in the distance. "Ricky, Stanley, Theodore, Zero. Dinner is ready. Say goodbye to José and come with me."
Magnet smiled, yet felt horrible. This was going to be more emotional than he thought. And I'm only leaving temporarily! He imagined what it would be like when he had to leave permanently. The thought was almost overbearing.
"LOOK!" Armpit shouted suddenly, and pointed towards the ambulance. A police car was pulled up beside it. A cop had three boys handcuffed and leaning over the trunk. He was talking to them in a low voice.
"I guess they're chargin them guys for a hate crime and shippin em out," X-Ray said in awe. "To prison?" asked Zigzag. "Yeah." Squid mumbled "damn" as Pendanski called them again. "Boys, if I have to call you one more time…"
"ALRIGHT MOM!" X-Ray boomed, "WE'RE JUST SAYING GOODBYE TO MAGNET!"
"HURRY UP!"
"OKAY!" X-Ray rolled his eyes and said, "We're gonna be lonely in D-tent while you're gone, man." He shook Magnet's hand and patted his good shoulder. They all did.
"Bye Magnet!" "Get better!" "Be good now, ya hear?"
Magnet nodded, telling them all goodbye and waving at them. As they ran off the pain slowly began to return to his body, making him feel achy and shitty again. And suddenly sleeping didn't seem like such a bad option.
The doctor told them a few things as they pushed him to the ambulance. He just nodded and mumbled "Si". As they pushed him along though, the images of the boys that abused him so much earlier became larger and clearer.
And as he was pushed right up next to them, so close that he seemed he was on top of them, the blonde boy sneered. The cop that was speaking to them and giving orders put his hand on the blonde's back and told him to settle down. The boy said nothing.
But Magnet was unfazed or intimidated, even though he was still the weaker force. He just looked at the boy calmly with sharp, piercing eyes, and spoke in a low, smooth voice,
"How do you like me now?"
((Los Finale….The End!))
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And here comes the emotional part. The thanks. Grabs your tissues, lol XD I feel like one of them celebrities at the Grammy's. "I'd like to thank my mom, and my dad, and my first grade teacher!" lol, no, j/k.
-Heather, my main chica! For as long as I've been writing, you've been reading, even when no one else has. That's amazing….and one hell of a lot of reading, lol. Now lookit this!!! I feel like a rockstar! LIKE HICK MAN ROB! You're my best friend and the coolest #1 Fan in town. I lurve you – thank you!
For the Hoels Posse, you know who you are. And you're in my profile in case you forgot. You guys, especially Man and B, have encouraged me to keep writing. Thank you EVERYONE for your awesome, AWESOME reviews. I say this because I don't excel at much, but one of the few things I've gotten good at is writing. I've never been the best at anything, and every time I come close, someone beats me to the punch. I know I'm not even the best a writing, but I've come a long way. And your reviews make me feel like I can still be the best one day. Thank you.
~Aly
