Operation Blue

Part II Chapter 2: Playing Hide And Seek With Death

"I believe that not your physical strength makes the difference... but what makes it is your mental strength."

I had sleepless nights these nights. It has been three days; these were the worst days of my life. Now I feel better. Doc said that it would take more than two months to recover. So, I guess I will be stuck here for a while. At least I am still alive, and I saved Matteo too. The food is great, I have got the prettiest room. This kind of event makes you think that it could be worse, and it could end differently. But I am here, which means I still have to do a lot. I have got a huge TV on my wall, I can watch baseball and movies on it. The wound is more serious than I would ever think. They said only a few inches, and I could be on the other side. Speaking of other sides, I cannot turn on my left because of my shoulder, I used to sleep on my left side.
-Good morning, Nate!
-Good morning, doc!
-How are you feeling?
-Thanks to the painkiller, I now feel better!
-As you know, you will stay a bit longer... we want to be sure you are healed completely.
-I know, doc!
-Two months will pass fast! Go and have some rest! Muscles need rest to recover!
-Alright!
-Call me or the nurse if you need anything!
-Ok, thank you!
-Have you eaten already?
-Yes, the food is great!
-We try to make our patients feel they are not in a hospital! You will have a lot of guests today! Go have some rest before!
Even if I have good conditions here, I am afraid; I am afraid of what will happen next; the car thief is still on the loose, and we do not know where he is... I should rest more and stop worrying; I need to rec, over, and if I will continue worrying, I will freak out... I need to calm down. I will turn on the TV.
-Good afternoon! We have some terrible news: Nate is still in the hospital; he will not get out of there soon because of the wound; thankfully, he is still alive! Doctor Wilson mentioned that Nate was a few inches away from death, how lucky is Nate! More information is on the way, stay tuned and watch us!
I cannot even turn on the TV, everyone is talking about me... and the case... What if... they... Do the camels come after me? I cannot defend myself...
I am going to take a short nap. It took about 30 minutes, then the door opened. It is Taylor. She comes every day after she finishes her lessons.
-How was your day at university?
-Hi! It was nice, everyone missed you...
-I miss everyone too!
-I am worried, Nate! My dad found out about us...I cannot see you anymore, he is very angry...
-Wait, what?
-Yeah, it is true...I am sorry!
-I have no words, Taylor!
-I love you, Nate! I cannot believe it; I hate my dad! I hate him with all of my heart!
-Do not say that... it is your dad... he just cannot stand me. It is ok, but I do not want to lose you.
-You know that we are in the same class, you do not have to be afraid, only if he signs up for another university!
-Do not even mention that!
She stayed for ten more minutes after she left. I do not want to lose her, how nice, after everything happened, now this... I am confused, why do I have to suffer a lot? Was it not enough for me... now this? After one hour Mayor Norman came.
-I am sorry, I heard about everything, it is heartbreaking! Are you feeling better?
-Yeah, I got strong painkillers; I will be alright in a couple of months...
-Speedy recovery!
-Thank you!
Joel came.
-I am sorry, Nate! How are you feeling?
-Hello, Joel, I feel better!
-The class is empty, without you!
-I know, Taylor told me.
-Speaking about her... since you have been here, she seems to be distracted, she is sad, and she is not talking to anyone...
-I do not know what is going on with her; her father is strict, and he does not want us to talk... he even hit her; her life is a living hell, and he does not let her anywhere.
-I did not know about this...
-No one knows. She told only me!
After 15 minutes he left. Matteo and the others came, they brought me a lot of stuff.
-How are you feeling little hero?
Asked Matteo. He brought me a brand-new hat and a glove from my favorite baseball team.
-Wow, this is the brand-new hat and the glove, thank you so much! I feel much better than the last time!
Max brought me some doughnuts; Mark brought my favorite snacks.
-Wow, my favorites, thank you so much, guys!
-No problem! We knew that you would like them, we know it is not the healthiest, but we want you to recover fast and forget about the pain!
-You guys are the best!
-Nate, I know, your birthday will be in a few months, but I will give you my birthday present for you now, it is like a watch, but it will send an SOS message to someone when you are in trouble, it is very useful, I made it. It will send to the one you choose your location, a photo, and audio.
-Thank you!
-I hope you will never have to use it!
-Me neither... But it is helpful!
They stayed for more than one hour. After they left, Tiffany and Mike, with Uncle Myles, came. They came with a cake
-My sweet angel, are you feeling better?
-Hi, yeah, Mom, I feel better.
-You will recover soon, Nate! You are strong!
-How are you feeling my favorite nephew?
-I am your single nephew! I am feeling a bit dizzy; the painkillers are so strong; the problem begins when their effects are gone, then I feel the pain!
-You know, if you want to be one of us, you must go through a lot!
-I know!
-I see, you got a lot of gifts today!
-Yeah, I am so happy, let's try the cake!
-It tastes so good!
-This is my favorite flavor! Thank you, guys!
-The rest we will leave it to you, we will put it on your bedside, take care!
-Alright, thank you! Take care guys!
-Good night!
-Good night!
The cake was delicious, it was with chocolate and caramel, my favorite. I will eat one more slice before I go to sleep. It is a peaceful night everything seems to be ok. I am so scared and angry at the same time. We do not know much about The Skulls ...but they know a lot about us now; they know that I am in the hospital, and everyone is talking about this. We took the phone of that man who shot me, but we did not find anything, it was a number, named Boss, but we could not reach the line... Now they know more about us, they know that we are dangerous, and we can end this. Now they will try to get rid of us. Somehow, they know our next moves.
I do not even know if I should or should not turn on the TV... Honestly, I hate the news... I will watch a movie.
I watched a movie, now it is 11 p.m. I will go to catch some z's. I feel that the painkiller starts losing its effect. I will call the nurse soon; there is a button; I just need to push it; the pain is unimaginable. It is on my left side next to my bedside, my shoulder hurts so much. I will call the nurse. I pushed the button. I heard something. It was a gunshot, as I heard; I know it is an assault-type; they are after me... My heart stopped for a second. I am in pain; I cannot defend myself... The only thing I can do is to hide until help comes. They killed the guards, that means, it will take them two minutes to find me. I need to keep my calm and get out of here. The real pain started after I got up from the bed. The pain is so intense, I cannot grab anything with my left arm. I took everything I could and put them on my bed, and I covered them with the blanket; in the dark, it would look like a person lying in bed. I slowly turned off all the lights and I left the room. I must be quiet. I still have one minute left. My heart is beating fast. I will hide in the doctor's changing room. Hopefully, they will not find me there. It is two minutes from here, one if I hurry up... I am almost there; I heard a gunshot... Now they are in my room. It is only a matter of time until they search every inch of the hospital and find me. I am in the changer; I found a wardrobe. I opened it, and there were doctor and nurse clothes. There is a three-foot-tall shelf, and above it is another one. I will take the clothes, and I will hide there, and after I am in the box, I will cover myself with the clothes. It is a hard job because the place is small, and I can use only my right arm. Between the shelves is a three-foot-tall space. I will use all my powers; it hurts so much. I put the clothes above me, and I will stay in silence. I will use what Olivia gave me. I will send them an SOS message; I hope they will get it. In case they do not see it, I sent it to Mike, Uncle Myles, and Fred. The message says - I am in trouble, I need help, this is my location. I also sent an audio recording saying - I need help! I am hiding in the doctor's changing room, in a big wardrobe! They are after me! Come here ASAP! I hope they will come soon... I was never scared like today before... I am wondering if I am having a nightmare right now or if this is the reality... My shoulder hurts so much that it means I am not dreaming... unfortunately, this time. This cannot end like this, we cannot lose! This cannot be my end; I do not want to die young; I do not want to die like this! It is silent, that scares me the most. They are desperate, and they will look everywhere, even here; they want to kill every one of us. It starts being uncomfortable here, I cannot breathe. I started to sweat. After five long minutes, I heard gunshots, this is Matteo. I thought they would never come for me... Someone opened the wardrobe... they are my people.
-These were the guys who were after you? It was a snap to kill them!
-It is easy to say, you had a gun, I do not!
-How did you manage to get here; you were supposed to be injured!
-Well, after fully armed people come after you, and you cannot defend yourself and be injured too, you will know the answer: I guess adrenaline made things happen...
-Are you ok, Nate? You scared us to death!
Asked Olivia.
-Well, I am scared and my shoulder hurts so much, but I am ok! I am worried about Taylor, her father is very mean to her... he even hits her, and she cannot see me anymore...
-I am sorry, Nate!
-I loved her...
-Let's get you out of here! We can talk in your room.
-Well, if I can call that my room...
-Maybe the doctor will give you another room...
-Hello, I am sorry for what happened, we will give you another room!
-Thank you so much!
-The BTF will come soon to investigate, maybe this will lead to the mischief...
-Guys, I am so tired; we will investigate tomorrow!
-You just stay where you are, you need to recover! We can handle it!
I was very tired; the nurse finally gave me some painkillers, and the pain was gone in a few minutes. I hope now no one will bother me and I can sleep... It is good to have friends like them; we have each other's back, and they saved me today.
Yesterday I thought I was going to die, I was scared. Thankfully my friends came to help me. The hospital was locked, and the BTF came to check the place. There is Mike and Uncle Myles too, no one can come here. Taylor came to see me; her eyes were full of tears; she ran to me and hugged me.
-I am sorry, young lady! But you cannot come here!
-Nate is my boyfriend! Let me see him!
-Oh my God! Are you ok?
She hugged me. I do not want to lose her.
-I am ok! Do not worry! I am here! Do not cry, everything will be ok!
-I do not want to lose you! I ran away from home; I do not know what my father will do if he finds out that I am here... He hates me; he will probably kill me!
-Do not say that! It is your father; he cannot do this to her daughter...
-You do not know him! He is aggressive; I hate him so much that I do not want to live with him anymore.
-We should talk to him!
-It is dangerous! He will kill you, and everyone!
My friends are here too. We are looking for more information, we hope that there is something that can lead us to mischief.
-They have no phones, they have nothing at them, but they are definitely from The Skulls... They were sent to kill you...
-So, we do not know anything more?
-Unfortunately, this is all we know...
For half a year, there was peace, no one bothered the city, and it was suspicious that nothing happened. Now they want to kill us. They studied us, and know everything about us, unlikely us, we do not know anything about them. They will attack repeatedly... until they win. But that is what they think...we are not going to let that happen! We will end this. No matter what. I am worried about Taylor too. She is a kind, beautiful, smart girl who does not deserve to live a life like she does... I love her so much. I do not want anything bad to happen to her. I always try to cheer up others, even if I do not feel well, because when I do it, I forget about the pain and sadness. Life is too short to live in pain. We cannot live without pain; it is not our choice. We are humans, but then it is good to have friends like my friends, who have your back and help you in need.