Visions of Greed

Chapter 9: Just a (Fever) Dream: Part 1

Recommended Songs: The Darkness (Original Mix)- Haze, Falling Inside The Black- Skillet

When Once-ler woke up, he was lying on top of his bed, wearing his pajamas. His body felt hot and fatigued, and his mind was hazy. Once-ler was confused. Why was he in his bed? Was it still morning? Had he even woken up and left the penthouse that day? He recounted all of the events that had supposedly happened earlier, his housekeeper finding him, the meeting, the encounter with Greed-ler, and wondered if it had all been a dream. Then Once-ler heard a familiar voice behind him.

"So what exactly is wrong with him?" It was his mother Isabella who spoke.

"According to the test, he does not appear to have any sort of viral infection. So it appears as though he has a psychogenic fever. It is a fever that is caused by stress, not a virus. The fever is also making him delirious." another voice answered.

Once-ler rolled over to face the other side of the bed. Standing right next to him was a woman he did not recognize, who had curly brown hair and glasses. The woman was talking to his mother, who stood at the end of Once-ler's bed. Standing behind his mother were his two brothers, who silently looked down at Once-ler with concerned looks on their faces.

"How long will it be until he's able to go back to work?" Isabella asked. Her tone was mixed with both annoyance and concern.

"He should hopefully start feeling better in a couple of hours, but he will need to rest for a few days at least in order to fully recover." the mysterious woman answered.

Once-ler slowly sat up in his bed. The woman next to him noticed and turned around to greet him.

"Oh, hello Mr. Once-ler, I see that you're awake," she remarked. "My name is Norma. I'm a nurse from Greenville Hospital, and I'm here to look after you while you recover from your illness," she explained. "As I was just telling your mother and brothers, you appear to have developed a psychogenic fever due to stress, and you are also delirious. You are seeing and hearing things that aren't really there and have been experiencing some intense nightmares, but don't worry, I'm going to do my best to help you feel better." She handed him a bottle of water "Would you like a drink? It is important to stay hydrated."

"Yes. Thank you." Once-ler replied. He took the bottle and slowly began to drink.

His mother sighed "Unbelievable Oncie, I can't believe you got yourself down sick," she scolded him "You're awfully lucky that you were able to submit your finalized plans at the meeting this morning, and what if this had happened right before your TV appearance? You need to be taking better care of yourself."

"If your son gets plenty of rest, He should be able to recover and get back to work in no time." Norma tried to reassure her.

"I most certainly hope so," Isabella replied with a scoff. She took one last lingering glance at Once-ler before leaving the room, with Brett and Chet following behind her. She turned around and waved at Norma as they left "Thank you so much for looking after Once-ler, Norma."

"You're welcome," Norma replied as Once-ler's mother and brothers left the penthouse.

Once-ler finished drinking the water and set the bottle down on the nightstand "What happened?" he asked. He now knew why he had felt so bad, but he still wondered why he was in bed and wearing his pajamas.

"Your brothers found you passed out in the hallway," Norma explained. "They couldn't wake you up and you were talking in your sleep. So they called your mother, who then called the hospital. It was determined that you had a fever and were delirious but otherwise fine, so your family opted not to have you admitted to the hospital. Instead, I was assigned to look after you while you recover here at your penthouse. Your brothers then brought you back to your bedroom, and your mother changed your clothes and put you in your pajamas." Norma continued to explain "She thought you would be more comfortable that way, and also for some reason your shirt had ink on it. There was a large blob of ink on your right sleeve and hand."