Firefly Light

Chapter 16

She lay in a coma, in the ICU of Hamilton General Hospital for over three weeks. Joseph, ignoring the demands of his office, spent hours at her bedside every day, thankful that he had Jefferson and Victor to cover for him. The doctors had no idea if she would live or not. All they could do was to keep her as comfortable as possible and respond to her emergencies as they happened. There were few drugs available now, and simple aspirin, made from the compound salicin found in white willows, was the only pain killer still manufactured in the city. Her body temperature stayed at one hundred four degrees and her eyes were swollen completely shut. On four occasions her heart stopped and they had to use emergency CPR. Even though she was unconscious, she constantly moaned from the pain that racked her young body. Her limbs twitched and moved restlessly, driven by the torment. The sounds of her suffering wounded Joseph anew every day and haunted what fitful sleep he was able to manage. It was fortunate that no significant emergencies happened within the borders of the kingdom during this time. He would have been useless as a leader and unable to handle them.

No one was affected more than her brother Edmund. He had long ago taken on the role of her mentor and guardian. He loved his little sister intensely. When he found out what had happened, he lost all control and attacked Cynthia in her room. He was trying to choke the life out of her when the guards pulled him off, his face and arms bloodied by her fingernails as she fought back. She wore bruises around her neck for days. From that moment on, he never again acknowledged her existence, unless forced to do so by circumstances. Edmund, almost always accompanied by Valerie, was in Keika's room every day, for every hour that they did not have to be in school and were allowed by the hospital. Each holding one of Keika's hands, they both said many prayers and shed many tears in that room. Every cry of pain she uttered reinforced their rage and hatred for Cynthia. Valerie tried her best to support and comfort him while at the same time attempting to control her own anger, fear and pain.

Seth also visited her in the hospital quite often, but he wasn't well liked by Keika's family or Valerie, so he generally did not stay very long. Still he was clearly quite concerned for her condition and frequently left flowers in a vase beside her bed.

Brian, only five years old, was too young to understand what was happening. Valerie's mother, Marilyn Vair, and Jefferson Parks kept the young lad cared for, entertained and occupied as best they could. His father and brother spent as much time with him as they were able, but Brian knew something was not right and kept asking for his "Kei". She had always doted on him, trying her utmost to make up for the absence of their mother and as the days passed he grew increasingly difficult to placate. There were nights when he was inconsolable and cried himself to sleep.

Understandably Dr. Silva was quite upset the incident had happened and, despite Joseph's assurance that he was not to the one responsible, blamed himself and his staff for not locking the laboratory door. During the time Keika was in a coma they worked tirelessly, with almost no sleep, to uncover more information about the serum......but made frustratingly little progress. They did manage to translate a little information. There would be at least two permanent side effects from the serum outside of its intended physical and mental alterations. One of them relatively minor, cosmetic in fact......the other much more significant. The doctor visited her room whenever he had to time to check on her condition, his face gaunt and harried from fatigue and worry.

Cynthia, despite the fact that she was the cause of all of this, blamed Keika and refused to visit her in the hospital. She acted like she just didn't care, and Joseph finally decided that was exactly how she felt. The previously strained relationship between them now degenerated into something akin to hate. The child he had been so happy to receive into the world, his first daughter that he had loved so much became someone he did not know and could not even bear to share the same room with. They didn't have discussions any more, only venomous arguments. She kept pretty much to herself, or was out with those she called friends ........'The Jerk Squad', as Edmund dubbed them. Her previous tendency to drift towards the wrong crowd became even more pronounced during this time. Cynthia now related only to the bullies and social outcasts in the school and had attracted an unsavory group of followers.