ANATHEMA

chapter seventeen: oh ms. believer

I woke up back in the medical ward. I really hoped this wouldn't become like a second home to me.

I suddenly remembered why and how I got here.

The Martinez girl wasn't real. She was just another one of my visions.

This concerned me for a multitude of reasons; I thought I would only see Strings. I have only seen Strings all my life, and they've never pulled something like change forms before.

Could this possibly mean that I was getting worse? Was anything I saw real? Was I just imagining everything around me?

I let out a sigh when I remembered Tyler; how long had he waited? Was he angry? Would he understand?

I could feel tears prick at my eyes. I was disappointed in myself. How could I have thought Tyler would make everything better?

My questions remained unanswered, but my train of thought was derailed as several people rushed into the ward.

There were at least two guards carrying somebody in between them, with doctors scrambling around them, trying to get a good look at the person being carried. I couldn't see them, but I knew for a fact that there wasn't that much red in the clothes the hospital gave us.

The red had coagulated near the sleeves, near the wrists.

This person had cut themselves on purpose, with what I'm still not sure.

The guards carried the limp body to a bed next to me, which made me feel faint. I could practically smell the blood.

I tried to fight my curiosity, but I had to look over.

I wish I hadn't.

Lying in the bed next to me was Tyler Joseph.

I screamed. A true, loud, piercing scream, making everybody in the room jump.

"Miss Jones, I know this is a hard sight, but-"

"What happened to him!?" I demanded.

"We don't know when or why, but a patient found him like this just minutes ago, we're trying to get everything squared away to operate."

"What do you mean, 'operate'?" I asked, glaring at the doctor who was giving me answers.

"Miss, he's lost a lot of blood, he needs a transfusion," the doctor explained.

"Who did this to him!?" I cried, sitting up as much as I could. "Somebody must have attacked him, don't you have cameras, or-"

"Miss Jones, he did this to himself," the doctor stated. His eyes were filled with sadness; my guess was that he was Tyler's doctor. He must have felt responsible for his wellbeing.

"N-No, he couldn't have," I stuttered. "He was fine, I don't understand, I-"

"I'm as shocked as you are, Miss Jones," the doctor said quietly, his voice breaking.

"Dr. Trohman, we need to get started immediately," another doctor said from the other side of Tyler's bed.

"Right, of course," Dr. Trohman sighed, turning away from me.