The Next Step (Amyplier)

Chapter 5

Mark's P.O.V.

        My eyelids lift slowly as I am blinded by the bright white fluorescent light. My eyes water as they adjust, but I blink away the moisture. Once my vision is no longer blurred, I take in my surroundings. I'm alone in a claustrophobically small room. Where the frick is Amy?! What about Tyler? Kathryn? Ethan? Chica?

        I am distracted from my thoughts when I hear the creaking of a door opening. Weakly, I slowly twist my head in the direction of the door in the corner of the room. A woman in a pale blue set of scrubs walks in and sits on the chair placed to the left of my bed.

        "Mark Fischbach," she says with question in her voice as she looks up at me from the clipboard she was holding close to her chest. Slowly, I nod to confirm. Her expression softens as she continues, "My name is Susan, but you can call me Suzie if you like. Anyway, Mr. Fischbach--"

        "Mark," I interject, my voice hoarse, "Just call me Mark. Mr. Fischbach is my father." She smiles a crooked smile.

        "Mark," she picks up where she left off, looking back down at her clipboard, "You have suffered a minor injury to your L2 and L5 vertebrae." Susan looks up and I must have had looked confused--which I was--because her smile grows the tiniest bit. "Your L2 and L5 are in the lower portion of your back, called your Lumbar Spine. When these are injured, they affect the lower half of the body." She pauses, and I notice a nagging pain in my legs. It was bearable, but there nonetheless. I must have made a face because Susan continues with, "You were given some pain-killers, but from your expression I gather there is still some residual pain." She looks at me as if waiting or a response. I simply nod my head. She looks down at her clipboard one more time, flipping through some of the pages as a way of double-checking something. "So, my job today is to see if you are on board with the course of action we have laid out for your recovery."

        "I'm all ears," I say, my voice ragged and barely comprehensible.

        Susan smiles again. "Well, the doctors have decided the best way to heal the injuries would be to have steroid injections for the next eight weeks. Until that point, however, we will prescribe some painkillers to numb the pain. Any questions?"

        I think for a moment. "What happens if the steroids don't work?"

        Her face is completely straight as she looks directly at me. "There is a very slight chance that they will not work, but in the likelihood that it does happen we would have to do spine surgery right away or you could become paralyzed. But like I said, there is almost no possibility of that happening." A strong windy breath escapes my mouth. I feel my lungs relax. How long had I been holding my breath? Susan smiled warmly once more, seeing my relief. "Any other questions?"

        "Yeah, just one. Where are my friends?"