The Pizza Boy

part 9

I watched his sneakers pass by under the crack in the door. I listened to his frantic shout as he found Kevin lying dead or alive in the snow. Felt Sam’s hot breath against my ear. Tasted the saltiness of his sweat as his hand remained tightly clamped over my mouth.

“Katy?!” Calvin shouted, his voice heartbreakingly urgent.

Every fiber of my being wanted to reply but I forced myself to keep quiet.

“Katy!” he yelled again.

I looked under the door, he was on the other side, so close yet so far. I watched as he started to walk away and my resolve finally gave away, biting down on Sam’s hand until he released me with a cry of pain I screamed. I heard a surprised Calvin call my name as I reached for the door handle however Sam was too quick, standing in front of me, several steps up he raised his foot and heeled me as hard as he could in the face.

My neck snapped back with agonizing pain and then I was falling, falling down towards the hard cement floor of the basement, down the hard, cement basement steps. I closed my eyes waiting for impact, however when it came it was brief, I felt a split second of pain and then everything went black.

I opened my eyes but my head was killing me so I closed them, that’s when I felt Coco lick my hand which was dangling off the bed. I wanted to reach out and pet her however my limbs felt like they weighed, and my pillow felt so good and my blankets do warm that I quickly dozed off pack to sleep.

Sometime later I was awoken by Coco licking my face, forcing my hand up I lightly scratched her head, before drifting off back to sleep.

This carried on throughout the night, she licked my face and my eyes and my ears and my mouth, my neck, my arms, my legs and even my feet. As she was licking my feet I slowly woke up with a yawn and opened my eyes, however there was no sign of Coco. I tried to sit up but to my surprise could not. Looking down my eyes widened in shock at the sight of a leg cast, arm cast up to the shoulder, neck and back brace, I was in the hospital.

I felt Coco lick my foot again, and couldn’t help but crack a small smile, I couldn’t really remember why I was here but at least I had my dog with me. As Coco licked my foot again I froze. Why would Coco be here, she wouldn’t be allowed. My foot was licked again, and my heartbeat began to quicken as did the beeps on the machine to my right. Coco’s tongue was bigger than that, her licks quicker and shorter, not long and drawn out and she never licked my feet. My face, all the time, but never my feet.

My hand inched along the bed to the help button, however before I could press it a someone reached out from under the bed and grabbed me. I screamed and several doctors and nurses poured in, along with both of my parents, and to my relief both of my brothers. Kevin’s head was heavily bandaged but other than that he appeared unscathed.

“Honey what’s wrong?” Mom asked.

“He’s under my bed,” I whispered, shaking with terror.

“There’s no one under the bed sweetie,” a nurse reassured me.

“He’s down there,” I whisper screamed, tears running down my cheeks.

 “He licked me,” I cried.

“Honey you were probably dreaming,” Mom reassured me, “Nobody licked you.”

“Bump her up a dosage,” the doctor said quietly.

“What?” I demanded, “What are you giving me.”

Mom crossed over to the side of the bed, “Sweetheart you haven’t been taking your medicine for the past couple weeks, it’s getting bad again.

“What happened?” I asked.

“You were going crazy,” Kevin said slowly, “You kept saying someone was calling you, and that you saw someone outside, and then you hit me in the head with a rock.”

My head spun.

“No, what are you talking about?” I cried.

“When I got there you were at the bottom of the basement stairs.” Calvin informed me.

“You think I made him up?!” I demanded.

“No honey,” Mom said, “I just think maybe you thought you saw something and you didn’t, but it won’t happen again, you’re all sorted out.”

“We should let her rest,” the doctor said.

Nodding my Mom rose to her feet and kissed me on the forehead before leaving the room, my dad smiled awkwardly then followed, as did my brothers. Feeling completely alone I closed my eyes and leaned back against my pillow.

Suddenly I hear laughter from the corner of the room. Looking up I watched in alarm as Sam stepped out from behind a curtain wearing a too small pair of scrubs.

I opened my mouth to scream however no sound came out. Grinning Sam walked towards me a large needle clutched in his hands.

“You and me forever,” he whispered lunging forward and plunging the needle into my neck. I cried out in pain as injected my vein with air. Unable to move I watched as he pulled another needle out of his pocket and did the same to himself.

I could feel my heartbeat slowing as I watched him wobble on his feet for a moment before falling face first on top of me. I felt him on top of me, his large body crushing me, heard the beep of the machine to my, smelled his horrific BO, saw a stream of doctors and nurses run into the room, tasted the air as my mouth opened and closed struggling to breath, felt my heart breaking for my family, heard them crying and calling my name, smelled the sourness of the cleaner which had scrubbed the sheets on which I laid, saw my eyelids droop closed and tasted nothing, soon I felt it too and heard it and smelled it and saw it and was it, and that was my last thought, and then I was no more.