Kaleidoscope- a Cherry Valance fanfic

Hospital Visit

When I woke up again, it was to the loud blaring of ambulance sirens. I sat up quickly, coughing relentlessly as a paramedic pushed an oxygen mask onto my face.

"Where's- where's my brother?" I asked through coughs, my voice coming out raspy and quiet.

"Your brother and your friends are in other ambulances. You'll see them all at the hospital," he responded kindly.

The rest of the ride was full of questions regarding my health, but honestly, their talking was giving me a headache, or maybe the pain meds were wearing off. Either way, my head was pounding and my brain felt like it was ten sizes too big for my head. 

When I got there, they performed some more checkups and patched up some injuries before pumping more morphine into me to stop the pain that had now spread from my head to every inch of my body. At some point while I was in my hospital room, I'd fallen asleep.

I awoke in a confused state due to the sun shining through a small window into the unfamiliar white room. I looked around the room, suddenly remembering the events of the night before. on top of being confused and concerned for my friends, my head still hurt. I searched my body for injuries, wondering what exactly I was doing in a hospital room. I felt... fine. 

My eyes landed on my left arm, where the lower half was wrapped in a white bandage. It must've been a burn. Besides that, I seemed to be fine. With that, I decided to get up and search for my friends and brother. The minute I sat up and put my feet on the cold floor, a wave of dizziness hit me. I brought my hand up to my head and shut my eyes as I waited for it to pass. Once it was over, I stood up. I almost began to walk when I noticed an IV drip inserted into one of my veins. I grabbed the metal pole it was connected to and put on a pair of slippers. I slowly walked out of the room. Well, it was more of a shuffle. I might've been spared multiple injuries, but I was still sore all over. 

I stepped out into the hall. The walls of it were painted a bland white, similar to that of my room, but unlike the silence of my room, it was loud and bustling with life (and death). Doctors and nurses were scattered around the place, some calmly filling out paperwork while others ran like lunatics out of sight. A nurse soon rushed towards me, taking my arm to help stabilize me a little.

"What do you need, Ms. Winston?" she asked sweetly, taking a minute to read my hospital bracelet.

"I need to see my brother and friends," I spoke, my voice coming out raspy due to the smoke inhalation and lack of talking. I was thrown into a coughing fit and I tried to compose myself, failing miserably. The nurse ran off and came back with a cup of water.

"Let's take you back to your room," she said.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I just need to see my brother and my friends. Dallas Winston, Ponyboy Curtis and Johnny Cade. Just tell me the room numbers and I'll go there myself," I said, dismissing her with a wave of my hand, but she didn't budge.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that right now," she said.

"Why not?" I said, my voice raising a bit as I tried to calm myself.

"Doctor's orders," she shrugged.

"Why can't I see my brother? He's my family. I should be able to see him," I said, now yelling.

"I'm concerned for all of them and I can't go see if they're okay?" I continued, the strain on my throat once again sending me into a coughing fit. 

I took a seat in a chair out in the hall as I coughed. The nurse left and came back with water which I took, quickly downing it. Once my coughing had subsided, I stood back up.

"If you're not gonna help me, I'll find them myself," I spoke with authority.

"I can't let you do that," she said, grabbing my arm, but this time her grip was tight, as to keep me from going anywhere rather than to keep me from falling.