A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM | WENCLAIR

007. | Recovery And Danger

R E C O V E R Y   A N D   D A N G E R

12.5.2022 | 5.12.2022

✢✢✢

Wednesday's POV

✢✢✢

I allow the nurse to place the bandage onto my forehead right above my eye as I hear chuckling behind me. I can feel the stickiness of the bandage as it touches my skin while the nurse finally walks away after it's stuck on. 

The headache I was feeling earlier, induced by the fight and Enid's constant worrying, has finally disappeared into oblivion. Enid had left earlier to leave me to the care of the nurses but not before giving me an earful like she's my mother. I don't understand why that girl is so focused on wanting me to feel accepted here at Nevermore and to make sure I'm okay constantly. 

I alone can take care of myself. 

I turn around to see who is laughing quietly under their breath as Rowan is getting a bandage for a minor scratch he had received on his arm. 

He's sitting in a small blue seat while the nurse finishes up her work on his arm. She eventually walks away as I stand up staring at the boy, my hands resting together in front of me. 

"You're Wednesday, right?" he asks, the light from the window bouncing off the glass of his eyeglasses. He gestures to himself, "Rowan...And I know how you feel."

I clasp my hands together as I respond harshly, "I guarantee you don't."

He twists a smile at my words in an eerie way I did not find amusing, "My mother promised me I'd finally fit in somewhere." 

He takes in a deep breath as he continues while I continue my harsh gaze at him, "I never thought it was possible to be an outcast in a school full of outcasts." 

I hear the door of the infirmary squeak as I assume it's just a nurse leaving the room while I continue listening to the boy. 

"But it looks like you're gonna give me a run for my money," he smirks even larger now before hesitating to continue. "Uhh....sorry about the....nick." He points to his own forehead above his eye to represent my own. 

"No good deed goes unpunished," I reply waiting for this conversation to end. 

Another noise could be heard as I turn my head in that direction, this time, it was evident it was not the sound of a nurse. Next to another bed, the one I was not previously laying in, I spot a sharp movement of what appears to be some flesh-colored animal. I watch as the sheets move underneath where the animal was at. 

What could that be I question myself until I notice a small finger slip out of the bedsheet. I shut my eyes for a moment looking back toward the direction Rowan is sitting. 

Thing is here I ponder to myself. Of course, he is.....mother just has to keep an eye on me somehow. 

"Are you alright?" Rowan asks me noticing that I was absent-minded from our conversation. I assume he just said something, but I had completely missed it. 

I'm tired, that's for one I think to myself, but I would never admit that to anyone. I decide to ignore Rowan's question as I patiently wait to see if he has anything else of value to say to me. 

I then notice he is concentrating on coming up with more conversation as I start to bore with our interaction. A very awkward boy I think to myself as I swiftly move across the room. I grab my coat and gently rest it around my shoulders while beginning to exit the room. 

I can hear Rowan start to say something but he changes his mind and goes silent. But before leaving, I take one quick glance back as I see him with his light orange inhaler, sucking on it like a baby sucks a pacifier. I shake my head with annoyance as I turn back to the door to exit. 

I pull open the door, the same squeak I had heard earlier emanating from it. As I walk out, the water cooler next to the door begins bubbling as I turn to look at it. The styrofoam cup holder was nearly empty as I contemplate grabbing a cup of water to drink, my throat being partially dry from the fencing. 

But the bubbles continue to bubble up as I question to myself how peculiar of a water cooler it is to continuously create bubbles like it is. I'm sure Thing is in there somewhere I think to myself whilst rolling my eyes. 

I'll let him think I haven't discovered him just yet I reason with myself. 

Walking through a few more passages, I notice that in order to get back to the dorm I share with Enid, I'll need to go through the rain. I pull out the umbrella I keep in my rain jacket and flick it open revealing its jet-black color. The handle feels nice in my hands as it's dry rather than wet. 

I place it over me as the sound of rain enters my ears upon stepping out from underneath the building foyer, the drops landing on top of my umbrella, and a couple of scattered cool-to-the-touch raindrops caressing lightly the skin on my hands. 

As I walk through the little area not covered by the foyer, I hear the scraping of stone pushing on stone above me. I stop for a moment as I look up to see a large statue, a bird of some kind coming closer to the edge of the building. 

Suddenly, its large frame comes tumbling down like raindrops currently coming down from the sky yet this will hurt significantly more. 

I continue to stare and as for the moment, I reflect upon my life and my readiness to accept the sweet release of death barreling toward me until I feel something hard hit my lower stomach propelling me backward out of death's cold grip.

And then my vision turns into my favorite color.

Black.

✢✢✢

Author's note

Alright, here we go. Now we're starting to veer off the road from the main storyline. There were little bits here and there but now it's really starting. 

Last chapter's author's note, I said that I would slow down and really do a chapter a day. Well, screw that, here's the second one today (12.5.2022 | 5.12.2022)

Thanks for reading again, and I hope you enjoy it :)