The long white hallways, the lively activity, the smell of disinfectant. These were just some things that Snaptrap hated about hospitals. But the thing he hated the most was that he remembered every single injury he ever had.
And now he just stood on one of these hallways with a bunch of flowers in his hands. It weren´t the nicest or prettiest flowers, they were not even real, but it was the gesture that counts. At least that´s what everyone said.
"Can I help you, Sir?" a nurse next to him asked. He must have looked very disorientated because it sounded like the nurse was unsure if he was a patient or a just visitor.
"Yes I´m searching for Dudley Puppy. He should be somewhere around here."
"Puppy…Puppy." The nurse drummed pensively with a pencil on her clipboard. "Oh yes! Puppy. Room number 86. Over there." She pointed at the room next to Snaptrap. On the little tag next to the door even Dudley´s name was printed.
"Oh… yeah. Thank you." Snaptrap turned away from the nurse and walked through the door. In there a terrible sight greeted him. Dudley lay in his bed and was covered with plastic tubes. Most of them were infusions which led to his arms but one big lead into his mouth. The feeding tube. Snaptrap laid the flowers on the table next to Dudley´s bed, grabbed a chair and sat down.
"Wow agent Puppy… You really look bad." Snaptrap laughed and his laughter echoed in the empty room. But he fell silent again fast and looked with sad eyes on Dudley.
"I just want you to know that this is my fault. I let this building collapse. I didn´t want that. Please believe me this shouldn´t happen. I thought nobody would be in the house… I´m sorry." Snaptrap stood up from his chair and walked around the bed.
"Why am I telling this to you anyway? You can´t hear me. And maybe you´re already dead."
"No not dead yet." Said a voice from behind that made Snaptrap spun around startled. It was the Doctor that also spoke to Kitty. And he somehow seemed to appear out of nothing.
"How long did you stand there?"
"Long enough." The Doctor walked past Snaptrap without deign a look at him. He bent over Dudley and used his flashlight to check Dudley´s pupillary light reflex again. "Good morning agent Puppy. Enjoy another wonderful day on this planet."
"He´s still alive?"
"Yes. He is. His brain is completely functional. But his left arm doesn´t look good." The doctor stroked worriedly through his hair.
"And how is his heart?" Snaptrap received a confused look from the Doctor.
"His heart?! His heart is okay but it doesn't matter."
"I thought that a person is dead when his heart stops."
"Per definition maybe but this is nonsense of course. You can replace a heart. You can transplant it or replace it with some kind of pump… Okay maybe the medical research has not managed to build a working artificial heart, but they will. Give them some time.
Anyway, you are not able to do the same with a brain. How could you even replace the center of our emotions, out thoughts, our whole being? Tell me Mr. Snaptrap." The doctor sounded a bit angry but maybe about it was just because of Snaptrap´s stupidity.
"I don´t really know how…"
"You see? So Snaptrap. Mind if I call you like that?" Snaptrap nodded confused of the coming change of the subject. This Doctor was somehow suspicious for him but he didn´t know why. It was the way he spoke and looked like.
The guy was some kind of chimpanzee with a pair of these nerd glasses on his nose. And of course he wore the obligatory white doctor´s coat. Also his serve deep dark voice that reminded Snaptrap on his math teacher.
"Okay, Snaptrap, why are you here. It is a bit dangerous to visit your victims, or is it not? And lying down a full confession in presents of someone else? You know that I am a potential witness?"
"I haven´t saw you as I entered the room. And it never was my intention to hurt him. Never!"
"You do not have to explain that to me." Meant the Doctor baldly.
"So will call the cops?"
"No. I am saving lifes. I am not helping to end them. There is someone else…"
"What do you mean?" Before the Doctor could answer Keswick opened the door and interrupted the conversation. "Snaptrap?! What a..a..are you doing here?!"
"He will tell it to you. And now both of you, leave the room. I have to check something." Ordered the doctor and almost pushed them both out of the room. Back on the hallway tried Snaptrap to justify himself by stammering. "I..I..I"
"Are you crazy?! What if agent Katswell comes to v..v..visit him. She will kill you!"
"What? Wait, you know…"
"Of course I know! What do you think who told Ollie and thus you that D..D..Dudley is here?" shouted Keswick angrily.
"Why? Why would you protect me?"
"I´m not protecting you. I´m protecting a..a..agent Katswell. You have no idea w..w..what she is able to do… and she maybe also not."
"And what now?" asked Snaptrap who was anxious and bewildered.
"You b..b..better hide. Hide good. And p..p..pray. Pray that agent Puppy will wake up before she will find you. And she will find you. That´s just a question of time." Whispered Keswick in a creepy manner.
Snaptrap tried to stay calm but a voice deep inside of him screamed. "RUN DAMN RUN!"
Keswick was right, if agent Katswell, the number one T.U.F.F. agent, gets him his days were counted. "You better g..g..go now!" Keswick entrusted this to him and walked away. He didn´t want to get seen with Snaptrap.
"He´s right. I better…" Snaptrap turned around and wanted to finish his sentence while also walking away but he missed Peg Puppy who bumped directly into him.
"Uh… sorry I… Verminious?"
"Peg?"
"What are you doing here?"
"I…" Snaptrap couldn´t just tell her that he was here to ease his conscience. And above all he couldn´t tell her that it was him who destroyed her house and put her son into that coma.
"I know why you´re here! You visit Dudley." She beamed.
"Uhm.. yes" Snaptrap lied.
"That´s so nice of you! Oh and I´m sorry that you had no time to come to the party. Still problem with the kidney stones?"
"Kidney stones?" Snaptrap had no idea what Peg was talking about but he had no problem with his kidneys. On the contrary his kidneys were in an excellent condition.
"Yes. You sent me that letter in which you explained that to me. So are you alright?"
"Uhm…yes. I went to a specialist and now it´s better." Snaptrap never sent a letter to Peg, he was sure about that. It felt like somebody wanted him to stay away from the party. But who?
Even if that was an interesting question Snaptrap had no time to investigate into this direction. Kitty was the one who he should worry about.
"Well, Vermi. The Doctor wanted to talk to me so…"
"I am already here." Said the Doctor who seemed to appear out of nowhere again. Slowly but steady this was getting creepy.
"Okay Doctor. How is my little sweety? Tell me Doc."
"He is still alive. But his left arm had multiple fractures. We tried to fix it and we first thought we had succeeded but serve thrombosis formed in his arms. We first tried to treat them with blood thinner but that had no use."
"What is your point Doctor… uhm…"
"Doctor Amid Savors" he said while he pulled a clipboard out of his white coat. "And my point is that the fractures together with these thrombosis giving us just one choice. We have to amputate the arm of your son."
"What?" Peg asked unbelieving. "His arm? Is there no other choice?"
"I would not suggest it if there is another choice. If we do nothing this would lead to a blood poisoning. And that would lead to his death."
Doctor Savors held the clipboard and a pen towards her. "Your son isn´t able to make this decision so you have to." Peg reached slowly for the pencil. Is it right to decide something so life-changing without even asking the person? But in this case the person was in a coma. Asking him wouldn´t be so easy.
And if she doesn´t do it Dudley would die. But when he wakes up again would he be angry on her. Those were the questions that rushed through her head as her fingers clasped the pen.
"Mrs. Puppy I don´t want to urge you to do that but we can just prepare anything if you sign here."
Peg pressed the pen on the paper and said. "I´m his mother. I´ll do anything that will keep him alive! Even if he maybe hates me for that." Then she signed the documents fast and shaky.
"Thank you." Doctor Savors turned around and walked into Dudley´s room again while Peg stood on the hallway and thought. "What have I done."
Snaptrap somehow knew what she thought and hugged her. "You done the right thing" he whispered sympathetically to her while she burst into tears in his arms.
