CHAPTER FIVE

David was lucky, very lucky. After describing his symptoms to the attendant in charge of admission, he was immediately rushed to a CT scan so they could check for dangerous clots. The machine, which had improved greatly in the last five years, picked up on several small ones throughout his body, including a few in his brain. He was rushed into surgery, where the same life-saving treatment that couldn't help Jane was done on him…except it worked. David woke up without any tingling sensations in a hospital room with his wife, who was still the same drooling statue she'd been when he went under.

David had looked at her in horror before, but now he meant it. The supplement they'd started taking together in an attempt to get healthier had nearly killed her, and it might as well have killed her because of the rough shape she was in now. His operation meant he was safe, as long as he continued a regiment of blood thinners, but worry swept through him. He knew that was a popular supplement nationwide, namely because a friend of theirs who had moved to New Hampshire—small town New Hampshire—told Jane about it in the first place. If it had spread that far then it was everywhere, possibly even in other countries.

While Arthur sat at the hospital with his parents, Kate took her first trip with the graduate student, Lacey Mills, to the Barnes household. When they arrived, it was just their parents, but Kate could tell by the bumps from Mei-Lin's bedroom that she was here. When Binky emerged removing a pair of surgical gloves, she knew her best friend had been moved here so they could take care of her at home. Judging by the extra car in the driveway, a nurse had been dispatched there too.

"Kate, we're sorry we couldn't speak to you about this," Mrs. Barnes began, snatching up a Kleenex from the box her husband passed to her. He grabbed a palmful before nodding in agreement to the girl that had been their second daughter growing up.

"We're here to figure out what's going on," Kate smiled, "and while I'm aware it won't do much to help Mei-Lin, we might be able to help other people."

"How do you mean?" Mr. Barnes inquired as Binky, his spitting image now that he was an adult, stood behind him.

Lacey told them their theory, "We've discovered a link between the local victims that could be part of a nationwide problem. We think that something the victims ingested was possibly the reason behind Mei-Lin's strokes and the many others that have happened."

Binky stepped out from behind his father's chair, "So you're telling us the same thing that caused Mei-Lin's stroke caused Mr. Ratburn's stroke and your mom's? What would all three of them take in that would connect them? Mr. Ratburn is an old man, your mom middle-aged, and Mei-Lin a child."

"That's why we need to make sure there's a real link before we get head over heels about this," Lacey said firmly, standing up, "I need to see your daughter's medicine cabinet or pill box, anywhere she kept medication that she took on a regular basis."

Mrs. Barnes looked confused, "The only thing she took was a multi-vitamin. I've been taking it for a while because my girlfriend in Connecticut said it would help my tiredness during the day. Mei-Lin had the same issue because of her rigorous studies, so we've been taking them together. I'll go get the bottle," she said, disappearing into the kitchen. She came out a moment later with a bottle Kate recognized instantly—it was the same brand her mother took.

Mr. Barnes swallowed, unable to speak, as Lacey put the bottle into a quart-sized plastic bag. Once she sealed it, she looked up with a serious expression, "I don't wish to alarm you, but as soon as we're done, you need to go to the emergency room. David Read was taking the same regiment as his wife, the same regiment as you, and he'd be just like her soon if he didn't go. I don't want to alarm you, I really don't, but I'm going off experience—"

"I'll get the car, honey. Son, help her in. You can stay here with your sister," Mr. Barnes said in a serious voice, his sad exterior suddenly broken. He went into the kitchen and grabbed his keys with the quickness of a soldier, and he barely nodded to his guests before disappearing out the front door.

Lacey sighed, "Do you think I was too harsh there?"

"No, you probably just saved her life," Kate said, her voice barely a whisper as her eyes moved up the hallway. She then turned to Binky, "I know she can't say anything, but can I see her?"

"I think that'd be best. She's in hospice care. She has a feeding tube because Mom couldn't stand the thought of not feeding her, but she probably won't last too much longer. She can barely breathe," Binky whispered with a solemn tone.

Kate nodded and went with him up the hall. A breathing machine was there along with several others. A nurse in a bright pink outfit sat next to the bed reading an issue of People in between glances up at a soap opera on the television in Mei-Lin's room. Kate didn't recognize her friend in the bed, but she saw what Binky meant. She had to watch closely to see if Mei-Lin was even breathing despite the mask over her nose and mouth supplying her with pressurized oxygen.

"Mom couldn't let her stay in a hospital either. We're wiping out her college fund, but we won't need it," Binky murmured, sinking onto a pink beanbag. "Will my mom be okay?"

"My dad was," Kate nodded, sitting on the floor across from him adding, "I mean, it was scary to see him go through that, but I knew he'd be okay. I got the same feeling with your mom. We caught it before it got any worse, and now, thanks to these developments, Brain can tell everyone else. Soon the whole world will know that there are vitamins causing strokes, and they'll stop it."

"Maybe, maybe not," Binky whispered, looking up at the bulletin board on his sister's wall. It was exactly like Kate's with many of the same pictures. He sighed, "I never thought it would be this way, but I'm glad she's at home. I just want to take care of her, so I am. I won't get to do that much longer. Hospice says it'll be any day now."

"It'll be good for her," Kate heard herself say. She blushed, "I didn't mean it—"

"No, I've been thinking the same thing," he smiled weakly. He looked up at his sister's bed, but he couldn't see her because of the way it was angled. He sighed, "She shouldn't have to live like this. I'd kill her myself if I knew it would help her, if it would help me. But that wouldn't do any good. I give it a few days, then she'll be free. Mom will have her cremated. Whatever's left after the amulets will be spread over the garden, by the tree."

Kate couldn't help but smile, "Her favorite reading spot."

Binky nodded, "I asked Mrs. Turner to supply me with any library books too old to keep, ones she would've liked. I plan to bring her one every two weeks then take it away. I'll keep all of them, no matter how soggy they get."

"Oh, Binky, send me some too!" Kate cried, falling into his arms. They cried together until Lacey appeared in the doorway. She stood there solemnly until they were finished, then she drove Kate home in silence. Kate would have to recover, but she also knew she'd have to sit this one out. A supplement available nationwide that was giving people strokes? That was something much bigger than a high school student could handle.

A/N: I hated writing this. Sorry for all the sadness guys.