The Mars Experience

Chapter 32: Athena's POV

We all push and pull Donna from the elevator to the room. Her body is limp and lifeless, not to mention her face even looks faintly shaded green. Blood drips terribly from her forehead, lips, and cheeks. Zac and I try our best to shove her down the long hallway, but with our strength, it doesn't do much. Brianna, Hugo, Emma, and Jedrek are the ones doing most of the heavy lifting. They have their hands underneath her armpits and are flying her down.

They throw her on the bed, and the doctor immediately recognizes how bad it is. She has short hair, muscular arms, and a grave voice, with tan skin and brown hair.

She takes the needle and shoves it in Donna's hand using one swift movement. Donna looks to us as if asking for approval, but it's hard to read what she would be asking approval for. The doctor takes a different, slightly thicker needle and jams it with an upwards movement leaning towards her head. Donna's fists ball and her whole body contracts, but we don't speak to her or touch her.

They measure her breathing rate and her heart rate, calming us all down with its steady, patterned movements.

"You are alright, Donna," I try to comfort her.

"Yes, this will all be over soon," Jedrek adds on. We all spiral into talking about how much we love her, all at the same time.

We're calm until her heart rate fastens. The whole room falls into noise and a nurse slowly walks into the room to fiddle with buttons on the back of the screen. Then, it stops beeping. The gradual up and down triangles her heartbeat was making becomes a straight line with a long, monotonous sound. Donna stops blinking. The nurse runs this time, calling three others into the room.

They pull out what looks like one headphone, chopped in half, both halves against a side of the boombox with colorful lines and buttons. A defibrillator.

"Ready? Clear!" They yell, before pressing it into Donna's chest, like a suction tube pulling her chest upwards then letting it fall back down. Meanwhile, we sob.

"She can still come back, right?" Emma whimpers. None of us answer her.

"Ready? Clear!" The pattern repeats. Still no movement from her.

They prepare again, this time being the fifth, before Donna takes inhales like she finally managed to swim her way back up from the deep end of the swimming pool. We shower her with hugs and kisses.

Donna begins acting weird. We talk to her but she says she met her dead family again while she was out. I don't believe that. But, clearly, wherever she went, it seems to be a pretty good place. She looks really sad to have left.

"All right, now get me out of this bed!" she exclaims, trying hopelessly to move her arms.

"Ma'am," a nurse whispers in the doctor's ear. "Um, my apologies. Ms. Caleb, I'm afraid you'll be in bed rest for up to two weeks." Donna looks confused, but I put my finger over my lip to signal to her not to mention it.

"We don't have two weeks," she bickers and looks towards us. "We have to work on that English project, remember?" she expects us to make a run for it, but Jedrek pushes his way through us to get right near her bed.

"Listen," he begins. I mouth Jennifer. "Junie," he continues through gritted teeth. "The doctors said you have to be here, so I'm gonna make sure you stay here. I'll stay here with you. Or Bree will. We can't risk having you die... well, almost die... well..." he shakes his head. "Point is, you're staying until these medical professionals give you the all-clear."

"Yeah, but, Jedrek... ette." She looks towards me for approval. I shrug. "This project is really important. So I don't think I should be here right now, especially me being the leader of it and all."

"Listen to me, Do-Junie. You're staying here whether you like it or not. They can handle themselves fine, alright?" His voice turns angry and starts to rise.

"You listen to me, Jedrekette!" Her voice starts to rise as well. "Ever since I was born, I knew I was meant to be the leader! I worked to get here!" Her pretty light brown eyes begin to water, her voice begins to quiver, and one of the machines starts beeping more rapidly. "And I worked because of you! So don't try to take this from me! I'm going!"

"Are you crazy? Do you really think I'm going to steal your place while you're at the hospital?" His eyes start swelling up. "You're deluded if you think I'm letting you leave until the doctors say you're ready. There's no way in hell you're dying again!"

Donna speaks with her hands a lot, and she looks frustrated she can't get up and talk to Jedrek at eye level. "The others will back me up on this." She tries to move her body to face us but fails. "Right?" We all stand there in awkward silence, even more awkward than when the two were arguing between themselves.

I clear my throat. "Um, Donna, I think you should stay."

"Yeah, it's way too dangerous. We'll make do without you," Brianna agrees.

"Bree, really? You too?" Donna disappointedly replies in argument.

"Well, Donna, everybody says you're not going so you're not. You're an idiot if you think we're letting you go out while you're like this," Jedrek settles.

I realize something. I walk over next to Hugo. Before I can say anything, he whispers in my ear, "We called her Donna first, then Junie, and now we're back to Donna."

"We need to leave. Now," I whisper back, keeping one eye on the doctors who also seem to be having their own private conversations, and one of them leaves.

"Yeah, but we can't. We physically can't account for you, Donna, and Zac. I can barely carry a toddler."

"Well, we're gonna have to find a way."

I walk over to Jedrek and whisper the plan. He seems hesitant but agrees. I lean over next to Donna to fill her in while Hugo makes sure everyone else knows what will happen.

"Agh," Donna groans, while putting her arms on the metal 'gates' around the bed and tearing up. I look around and Jedrek seems to be the one most uncomfortable about this situation. She yanks the needle from her vein. "I'm all better now," she finally squeals, her voice cracking as much as her joints.

"Great. Then we can leave now," Jedrek acts out poorly, picking Donna up and out of the bed and slinging her over his shoulder.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask all of you to stay. Junie still seems way too sick," one of the remaining doctors orders.

"Actually, we're really fine," I stall, while everyone else slips out behind me. The doctors try to keep a peaceful approach but still slowly turn to guarding the door. Finally, Jedrek runs out with Donna and I follow.