IV
Six's Perspective.
Voices and blurs of light encapsulated my senses with haste. I felt weightless. I felt.. untouchable. The absence of a physical world around me felt strange. Quickly, the prior event came to mind as my curiosity prodded my consciousness with questions.
I didn't feel pain. I didn't feel.. anything at all. Not even the flesh of my fingertips, or the thump of my heartbeat as it sang. I couldn't blink; I couldn't avert my gaze, if that were such a thing. There was no direction; no dedicated area of focus. Is this what it's like to be dead? Perhaps so.
I floated upon the fabric of my reality for what seemed like hours without care. No parched throat to relieve, no thermostat to adjust because I was cold, no food to ingest because I was hungry. I just.. didn't exist.
I was free to imagine; or 'think' as the mind would call it. My thoughts invented images of my past. Things were so much clearer here in this.. dreamscape.
My thoughts explored deep into my memories like never before. I imagined my mother. I imagined her face; all with intricate detail. I felt emotion, though with no physical embodiment to express it. It made me feel trapped- in a way.
I pictured her driving me to school, I imagined her tucking me into bed some nights, I imagined all the things she did for me. I traced along those memories to see all of the details I missed, like my father watching in anger as my mother read me a poem before bed.
All while my thoughts rummaged through my memories, I began to faintly hear the echo of a consistent 'beep...beep...beep'. The longer I waited, the louder the echo became. The time between the sounds melted together; combining into a long whine, piercing all other thought.
I began to feel things, like my blood rushing through my arteries and veins. I felt the rush of blood every time my heart pumped the thick liquid. My perception of reality became gradually darker, clouded with nothingness.
I started to feel the pins and needles in my arms and legs, although I don't remember what from. Over time, the beeping decreased in intensity by quite a lot. There didn't seem to be much else going on, not that I think I'd be able to perceive it anyway.
Things were becoming quite cold. Not cold enough to make you shiver, though it was close.
Humphrey's Perspective.
As I drove away from the facility, I grabbed my phone from the center console and unlocked it. I figured I'd let a few people know what happened. Kate, for example.
"Hey, just wanted to let you know that Six and I were involved in an incident. He and I were out on a forest run, when a bear decided to drop in on the fun. Six is still at the hospital being treated for his injuries. Will keep you posted." Is what I wrote. I sent that individually to Kate, Kate's dad, my dad, and my sister. Six.. hasn't ever mentioned any other relative family to me, so I couldn't send it to really anyone else.
I placed my phone back in the console, letting out a labored breath, gripping the steering wheel as I came to a stop at a traffic light.
"Fuck." I whispered to myself. I took a moment of silence, before resting my head against my hand, propped up on the window. Well.. where the window should be. The light turned green, and I accelerated through the intersection. I plan to get to Six's house to gather some clothes for him before going to mine.
Soon, I parked in the driveway and entered the house rather quickly. I removed my moist shoes and socks before climbing the stairs to his room. I gathered a few articles of clothing for him, stealing a pair of socks and shoes since mine were wet. I also gathered him another pair of shoes and put all of these into a gym bag next to his door.
I walked back out to the car to go to my house. When I got in, I saw my phone screen lit up. I reached over and picked it up, noticing a few text messages. One from Kate, one from her dad, and one from my dad.
Kate's read: "Oh my god, are you guys okay?"
Winston's read: "How bad, and what hospital? How are you holding up"
My dad's read: "Are you okay? How's he doing"
I smiled, thankful they care.
I responded to each of them accordingly before continuing with my intended action; driving to my house. It was now around one o' clock, but I feel like I've already gone through the day.
I threw the bag with Six's clothes in the back seat and began driving to my house. The drive was honestly really short, considering that I don't live far. When I closed the front door behind me, I heard a voice.
"Humphrey?" I heard a man say.
I turned the corner to the kitchen to see the origin of sound.
"Oh hey, dad." I said; my curiosity satisfied. I guess I should have known it was his voice.. I mean, I live with him.
"How you feelin'?" He asked, fixing his tie.
"Oh just great." I said, looking at my mummy-wrapped hand and wrist. He seemed to notice my sarcasm. His expression turned slightly awry.
"How's Six?" He asked. My dad knew that I could handle a little cut here and there, but Six suffered far worse than I did in this circumstance.
"I haven't seen him since I dropped him off." I said, opening the fridge to collect a Garorade. I took a swig before continuing. "I've got some clothes for him in the car, and I came by to get some for myself." I finished, looking down at my bloody shirt and dirty shoes.
"So how did that happen?" My dad asked, gesturing toward my wrapped hand.
"Six was unconscious and left the keys in the car. I wasn't necessarily in the mood to risk wasting time by attempting to crack his entry code, so I punched through the window." I said, reenacting the action.
"Ouch." He said grimacing. "Car windows aren't exactly fragile." He added.
"Yeah." I scoffed. "Tell that to me two hours ago." I said.
My dad resumed doing whatever it was he was doing at the counter.
"Well, I'm gonna go shower real quick, freshen up a bit. Blood isn't exactly my color." I joked, walking away. He simply sighed; without another word.
I climbed the stairs swiftly, entering my room. I collected a few articles of clothing to wear after I shower. I left my room, walking down the hall past my sister's vacant room. She clearly was at school.
I entered the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I placed my clean clothes on the counter next to the sink, turning on the shower. I began removing my dirty clothes, I caught myself in the mirror for a moment, noticing the slight bruising over my shoulders. Strangely, they didn't hurt.
Without wasting any more time, I hopped into the shower, immediately shivering at the feeling. It wasn't cold, but shocking nonetheless. I wasted no time in cleaning my body, and rinsing my hair, being mindful of my wrapped hand. I didn't take long, quickly drying off and putting on my clean clothes.
I placed my dirty clothes in my 'dirty clothes' bin in my room, before returning downstairs. I grabbed my Garorade bottle before going out to the car. I started it up and picked up my phone from the console seeing a text from Kate.
"I'm going to be there at the hospital with my dad later today to see how he's doing, will you be there?" It read.
"Yeah, in fact I'm on my way back there now." I responded. It's nice that she's thinking of him.
I reversed the car out of the driveway, speeding away toward my house. I finally took notice of the glass rubble everywhere in the front seat, I'll have to be sure to clean that and fix the window soon. The drive was quiet, considering I was the only one in the car; but also because there weren't a whole lot of other drivers around, oddly.
I parked his car in the driveway, switching to my car since without the driver window, theft was probable if I drove his to the hospital.
I parked in the 'VISITOR' parking lot, making sure to park close to the building. There weren't a lot of people here anyway. I grabbed the gym bag with Six's clothes and walked toward reception once I entered the building, noticing a different lady sitting there. I know the other woman said I'll get a text when he's ready, but I might as well try.
"Hi there." I greeted, smiling.
She smiled broadly, giving me her attention.
"Good afternoon, sir, is there anything I can assist you with?" She said almost robotically- like she's said that a million times.
"I was wondering if Cameron Ashwood was ready for visitation?" I asked hesitantly, expecting a no.
"Let me check real quick." She said, clicking at her computer a few times. "Yes, he's ready now. If that's what you're here for, I'll need an ID from you." She said. I had an unsure expression, since I never got a text from the hospital.
"Oh, great uhh- here." I said, patting my pockets, finding my wallet. I pulled out my driver's license and handed it to her. She took a few glances at it, seemingly inputting information into the computer.
"Perfect." She said, handing me my license. "He's on the third floor, room 3-0-1." She said with a smile.
"Thank you, ma'am." I replied, walking toward the elevators.
I pressed the 'up' button, immediately faced with an open elevator.
I rode the lift all the way to the third floor, seeing the signs on the wall. Conveniently, his room was no more than fifteen feet from the elevator. I saw "ASHWOOD" on a placard next to the door.
I gulped, opening the door to reveal him. When I saw him I was honestly really relieved to see that he didn't look half as bad as I thought he would.
I closed the door behind me, placing the gym bag at the foot of the bed, sitting in the closest chair to him.
"Hey, buddy." I said aloud. His chest was wrapped thinly, he was connected to a monitor that held a steady beep, and was connected to two IV's, presumably due to the loss of blood. He was unconscious; coma, like the receptionist from earlier said.
I rested my hand on the top of his head, looking around the room. I suddenly had a heart-wrenching thought. There was nobody. Nobody but me. Six didn't have much family, in fact the only time he's ever mentioned family was when he talked about his mom. It hurt to think about it, but I was the only one he really ever talked to. But here I am, sitting here by his side.
"You're gonna be alright, Six. You're the toughest cat in school, and it took a whole bear to take you out." I joked, though without response; obviously.
I studied his face as he laid there. He seemed to have the color back in his cheeks, and his eyes didn't seem so strained. He could finally rest.
I stayed there with him for the next few hours before I heard the doorknob turn. My attention went from my phone to the door, to see Kate and Winston walk in. They saw me, then they saw Six.. and their expressions reflected.
"Hey, Humphrey." Kate said, approaching me. I stood up and gave her a hug, smiling at her when we parted. Winston offered a handshake, which I gladly accepted.
"How's the hand?" He asked, gesturing to my other, while Kate went on the other side of the bed.
"It's alright, just a few scratches, really." I said, waving it around for a second. He gave me a 'really' look.
"If it were just a few scratches, they wouldn't have wrapped it like that. But I get what you're saying." He said.
I looked down for a moment, without anything else to say. I directed my attention over to Kate, who seemed distraught from Six's condition. She slowly sat down in the seat next to the bed.
Kate scanned over his face with sympathy.
"How?" She asked quietly.
I didn't respond immediately, since I remember telling her how it had happened.. Perhaps she meant something else. I walked to the end of the bed, lightly gripping the plastic frame.
"How?" I repeated, with more of a questioning tone.
Kate looked over at me with glazed eyes.
"How does something like this happen to him? I mean.." She paused, returning her gaze to his face. "He doesn't deserve this." She added, placing her hand on his.
I studied her words, interpreting her emotions. There wasn't much to say in response. Winston joined Kate on the left side of the bed, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"He'll be alright, Kate. You know he will.. he always ends up okay." He said, though it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.
After some time later, Kate and Winston left the hospital. They obviously couldn't stay all day, as much as Kate wanted to, to be here for Six.
About an hour after Kate and Winston left, my dad texted me.
"Hey, I'm gonna be there in a few minutes you want anything to eat?"
"No thank you, I'm really not hungry atm" I responded, before locking my phone and putting it back on the seat next to me. I returned leaning forward, holding my head in my hands. My chest felt labored, it made breathing difficult; not that I did anything about it.
The nurse has come in from time to time, checking up on Six, making small talk with me, offering to bring in some water. As much as I appreciated it, I refused.
The hours seemed to be melting together, lasting forever yet rushing by like mere minutes. Soon after the last nurse checkup, my dad quietly entered the room. Dimly lit lights illuminated him softly.
"Hey, how are you holding up?" He asked quietly, closing the door behind him.
"I'm tired." I said quietly. "This guy however, might have more to say." I added, gesturing to Six.
"Yeah.." My dad said reluctantly, slowly sitting next to me. "The doctors say much about his condition?" He asked.
I slightly shrugged to myself. "Only what you already know, they haven't added nurse said his vitals are steady, which may lead to early recovery."
My dad seemed to think to himself for a brief moment. He suddenly reached into the bag he brought with him, tossing a wrapped sandwich into my lap.
"I know you said you weren't hungry, but I also know that you haven't eaten anything." He said.
I let a small smirk appear across my face, thanking him before beginning to eat it.
The next half an hour was filled with small conversation between my dad and I. The beeping of the monitor became mute, and the nurse only came back in one additional time before visitation hours were over.
The door carefully opened, revealing a doctor with a file in her grasp.
"Good evening, gentlemen. You guys alright?" She asked. Her voice seemed genuine. It was pretty obvious that she's said that a few thousand times, but the way she did made it seem like the first.
"Yeah, we're good. I assume you're here to throw us out, huh?" I replied half jokingly.
A 'really?' look came across her gaze.
"Well maybe not literally, but yes- unfortunately visitation is over. Visitation hours are from eight to eight every day, so you may return anytime within those hours." The nurse said.
As my dad and I stood up, I took out my phone to see that it was actually 8:20. I put my phone away and walked back to Six, resting my hand on his chest.
"Hang in there, soldier." I quietly murmured, before retreating out into the hall, walking with dad to the elevators.
Our company was silent, not that there was much to be said.
The hospital was pretty barren, with scattered nurses and quiet tv's playing random disney movies. There were two ladies sitting at a desk behind a counter who waved at us as we left, before returning to whatever kept them occupied.
Walking into the dark, hot outside air gave an eerie feeling, paired with the electrical buzzing of the illuminated signs above. My dad and I both walked to our vehicles, without a word; almost as if we were strangers. It wasn't uncommon behavior between my dad and I, but the circumstance gave reason in this instance.
I started up Six's car, watching my dad drive out of the parking lot. I kind of just.. Sat there, staring blankly as a deep frustration built inside me.
I threw my phone into the center console with excessive force, feeling an anger.
"God, damn it!" I exclaimed, leaving my raised fists in the air, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath.
Suddenly my muffled phone began to ring. For a moment, I left it there; ignoring the tone as I composed myself.
Eventually, I opened the console and reached for it, pulling it out and seeing that it was Kate that was calling me.
I answered.
"...Hey." I delayed.
"Hey Humphrey" She said. Her voice seemed distraught.
"What's up?" I replied dreadily.
"Well.. I just wanted to call you, I suppose. You're not busy are you?" She asked.
"No, I just left the hospital. Sitting in the parking lot for a minute." I said, resting my head on my propped hand. "You doing okay?"
She sighed.
"It should be me asking you that question."
I chuckled slightly.
"Believe me, I'm just fine. Just.. a shitty situation."
"I agree.." She said.
There was a pause for a moment.
"Are you going to school tomorrow?" She asked with a tone that seemingly dreaded my response.
"Are you kidding? School is the last thing I'm worried about as of right now. What about you?"
Kate let out a humored huff.
"Hell no." She murmured.
There was a brief pause.
"Do you want to come over?" Kate suddenly asked.
I thought to myself for a moment.
"Well, I'll be going back to the hospital in the morning." I replied, letting my eyes droop in exhaustion. God, It's been a long day.
"I knew you would be, which is why my next question is: can I come with you?" Kate asks hopefully.
"Of course you can. But just know that I don't plan on leaving the hospital much." I said.
"Fine by me." Kate replied rather cheerfully.
"Alrighty then. I'll be over soon. You already cleared this with your dad, right?" I asked.
"Humph, you already know the answer to that. You know you've been over here a couple hundred times already, right?" Kate asked giddily.
"Yeah yeah, I know. I just don't want to be there unannounced. You know how I am.." I replied with a yawn.
"I do. Alright, I'm gonna go shower." She said.
"Mhm. Stinky butt." I joked.
"Hey! My-" She began to say before I hung up.
With a chuckle, I plugged my phone into its charger, and began leaving the parking lot. I figured I'd stop at home and change into some different clothes, and also stop over at Six's to switch cars. Wouldn't want his to get stolen since now it's missing the driver side window.
Sorry, again.