Chapter 2 Blood At the Breakfast Table

"Hey, hey, Sara, stop pushing Mark," said Tom, trying to get a handle on Kyle and Nigel.

"He's always in the way," said Sara, going upstairs.

"I can't find Eggs," said Mark.

"I'm sure he's with Bacon," said Tom.

"He's not," said Mark.

"He's around here somewhere. Mike, I said time for bed," said Tom. Kate and Jake walked in at that moment.

"Hey, guys, my God, what happened?" asked Tom.
"He was in a fight," said Kate.

"It's only a fight if the other guy gets hurt too," said Jake.

"Go upstairs and wash up. That canal water is going to start smelling," said Kate. Jake went upstairs. Ignoring a question from Sara about the blood on his face, Jake went into the bathroom and shut the door. Tom questioned Kate downstairs in the kitchen

"What happened?" asked Tom.

"Jake says he was talking with a girl and this guy got jealous and beat him up and threw him in this nasty canal. They also broke his board," said Kate.

"Oh, poor Jake," said Tom. Charlie ran downstairs.

"Mom, you better go check on Jake. He's throwing up and crying in the bathroom," said Charlie. Kate ran upstairs. Jake was leaning over the toilet and crying. He would sometimes throw up nasty, black vomit. The water was getting to him. He finally stopped puking.

"I'm OK," said Jake.

"You sure?" asked Kate, leaning down and rubbing his back.

"Yeah," said Jake, wiping his tears.

"Take a shower and I'll give you something to help you feel better," said Kate. Jake nodded. Kate left him in peace.

"Mom, what's wrong with Jake?" asked Lorraine, who was standing in the hall with Charlie.

"He had a run in with some nasty boys. They broke his board and threw him in a canal filled with bad water," said Kate.

"Oh my God," said Lorraine.

"Maybe he should go to the hospital," said Charlie.

"If he isn't better by tomorrow, I'll take him to the hospital," said Kate.

Jake took a thirty-minute shower. He scrubbed until skin started to peel off. Feeling better, he changed into his PJs and got into bed. Kate came in with a glass of water and some pills.

"Take these," said Kate.

"What are they?" asked Jake, sitting up.

"Antacids. It will help dissolve the stuff in your stomach," said Kate. Jake put the pills in his mouth and swallowed them with the water. Jake laid back down. Kate put the glass of water next to Jake's bed and gave Jake a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Get some sleep. We'll see how you are in the morning," said Kate. Jake nodded. Kate turned off the light and left. She would have to wait until morning.

"Kids, breakfast!" Tom's voice boomed through the house. Jake opened his eyes. He felt a lot better. He yawned and then got out of bed. He made his way downstairs. Sara and Kim were already eating. Tom was busy making French Toast.

"Hey. Feeling better?" asked Tom.

"Yeah," said Jake.

"Hungry?" asked Tom. Jake nodded.

"Here. Big, plate of food," said Tom, handing Jake a plate with three big, pieces of French Toast and some eggs. Jake started eating right away. He was starving.

"Slow down, little brother. Don't choke," said Sara. Soon everyone was downstairs and eating. Kate checked on Jake real fast.

"You OK?" asked Kate.

"I'm fine," said Jake.

"Ok," said Kate. She sat back down. The meal continued normally for a few minutes. Jessica and Kim were arguing with Henry about proper grammar and Lorraine was yelling at Sara about some missing make-up. Then Jake coughed. No one really paid any attention to it. But Jake was staring at his plate. When he had coughed, a tiny drop of blood had come out of his mouth. Jake looked around the table. No one had noticed. Jake coughed again, this time into his hand. His palm was now covered in blood. Then he spit out blood onto his plate. There was so much of it that it splattered all over the table. There were screams. There were gasps. Jake collapsed to the ground, coughing up more blood. Kate went over to him and started to comfort him.

"Tom, get the car started. We need to take Jake to the hospital," said Kate.

Jake was moaning the whole ride to the hospital. He was also developing a fever so he was soaked in sweat. As soon as they got to the hospital, the Bakers rushed Jake inside. Immediately, Jake was taken to the emergency room. The Bakers were told to wait.

One hour passed before a doctor came out.

"Are you the Bakers?" asked the doctor.

"Yeah," said Kate.

"I'm Dr. Steven White. Let's sit down," said the doctor. Tom and Kate sat down.

"There is something very wrong with your son. His lungs are filled with some sort of gunk or mud. We had to stick a hose down his throat to suck it out. He's still having stuff taken out as we speak," said Steven. Kate started to cry. Tom put an arm around her.

"Your son is very sick. He's going to need major care. And I can't offer that," said Steven.

"What?" asked Tom.

"I'm going to have to call in some specialists," said Steven.

"Can we see him?" asked Kate.

"Yeah. You and your family can come on back," said Steven. The Bakers followed Steven to a window looking into the room where doctors were clearing out Jake's lungs. Jake looked so weak and helpless. The hose had been shoved down his throat and was sucking up what looked like black slime. The doctors finished while the Bakers stood there. Jake was taken to a room. He couldn't breathe on his own so doctors put a tube down his throat. They offered little hope. Jake's life was in the hands of the specialists.