SEWER TROLLS AND PSYCHO PENGUINS (part 2)
"Poor Kurt," Kitty said. "I really, like, hated to do that to him."
"He's really in rough shape," Scott said. "He'll probably need at least a week in the Medical Ward. We need to start him on some kind of medication."
Kitty held Kurt's head as the others lifted him onto a stretcher and carried him to the medical unit. Jean in turn held Kitty and comforted her while Kurt was lifted onto a bed and strapped down.
"Do they have to do that?" the younger girl asked.
Jean nodded. "To keep him from hurting himself any more. Don't worry, as soon as he's better we'll take them off."
"Muzzer . . . please don't," Kurt pleaded, clawing at the air.
"Awwwk!" A penguin threw a water balloon at him. "Awk awk awwwwwkkkk!"
Behind them stood Mystique, waving a bucket full of
something green and slimy. "No! Don't!" Kurt screamed in panic, thrashing
about. "Stop! Please!"
The bucket was upended over his head. He felt thick, gooey slime running down
his face while the penguins kept squawking and throwing things at him.
"Now what do we do?" Kitty asked. She was sponging him down with cool water, to try and break the fever.
"I don't know. The sedative doesn't seem to be working. If he doesn't start to cool down soon, we might have to take him to the hospital." Jean told her.
Kitty gulped and looked terrified at that prospect. "How could this happen? He was fine yesterday. Now all of a sudden, he's practically at death's door! How did that happen?"
"That's what I'd like to know." Jean wasn't any happier with the situation. "As far as we can tell, it's just a random bug. You know how they get around school."
"So why isn't anyone else sick?"
"I don't know, but I don't want to even think about that!"
Kurt seemed to be settling down, but who knew what was going on in his head?
The sewer trolls were pounding on him worse than ever. And behind them, his mother stood, watching, like a stone statue. There was no hint of emotion on her face.
The penguins were pelting either Kurt or the sewer trolls with water balloons; it was hard to tell who their target was, since everyone was all tangled up together.
Then everything changed again.
Shadowy forms surrounded him. They looked big. Very big. Gigantic, really. But not familiar in the slightest. They seemed to be from another planet, they were so bizarre-looking. "Help!"
"There's no help for you," someone said. "Soon you will be beheaded and your body ground up to feed the sewer trolls—"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Kurt sat up suddenly, screaming at the top of his lungs. His eyes were open, but he didn't seem to be seeing anything. Anything but his nightmares, that is.
He was straining against the straps that held him down. If they broke . . .
Kitty had an idea. She began to sing to him in a soft, soothing voice. She sang about how much she cared about him, and how she hoped he felt the same way. All the time she stroked the soft fur on his face. After a few minutes he stopped struggling, and soon he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.
Kitty was pleased that he was okay, but she didn't want to leave just yet. So she kept on singing for a while, until finally Kurt felt better and relaxed completely.
Kitty hadn't known anyone was behind her until she turned and saw Jean there. "Oh! Uh, he seems to be okay now. I was . . . just . . . well . . . sort of singing to him . . ."
"I heard," Jean said. "You have a really nice voice. Ever thought about joining the chorus?"
"No." As if she didn't have enough after-school stuff to deal with already.
"You might want to think about it," Jean told her. "You could be the star of the school show."
"You really think so?" Kitty looked back at Kurt, who was still sleeping, and decided he'd be okay if she left the room. I wonder what he's dreaming now? She thought to herself, as she followed Jean.
Meanwhile, Kurt, for the first time in days, was enjoying a restful sleep.
But it wasn't to last long. Soon he slipped into darkness again, thrashing about as if something were chasing him . . .