A/N: This work is under intensive revision. Ignore this work for the mean time. Apologies for the inconvenience.
Woebegone – Chapter 2
C R E E P I N G S H A D O W S
Travis
I was awakened by the shrill voice of the nurse who was calling for the doctors, “Doctor, her bandages have reopened! Her wounds are bleeding heavily!” I heard those words loud and clear, making me open my eyes right away.
“Is this a new bruise?! How did she—” When I heard that male doctor's voice, I sprang up to my feet only to be surprised at the gory scene before me. A tremendous amount of adrenaline pumped through my veins, preparing me for action; but upon seeing the bed, I swore that my heart almost stopped beating, literally.
The entire surface of the bed was coated with fresh blood as if a bucket of paint spilled all over the place; but instead of it smelling like addictive paint scent, it gave off that nauseating metallic odor. Bile rose up to my throat, and the courage that flared up a minute ago instantly diminished and departed from my side. It was evident. There was no mistaking it. Fresh blood — Tiffany's blood.
“Travis... What did I tell you last night?” the doctor glared at me as the other staff pushed her wheeled bed towards the emergency room. As I ran alongside them, the feeling of déjà vu spread out in the atmosphere.
“But — But, it's not my fault!” I tried to make myself sound innocent, but it was clearly my fault. “Stupid me! Grah!” I screamed in my head. Now I regret having to go to sleep. My entire face looked like it was drained of blood and painted with horror and guilt. I clenched my fist in frustration. Two incidents in one night? Seriously? My luck can’t possibly get any worse, can it?
“Yes. It. Is! You should be ashamed of yourself!” he shook me back and forth violently. Specks of his saliva splashed onto my face. His breath was likened to onions raised to the tenth power. I could really see the puff of bad breath coming out of his mouth — all the more my skin crawled! My eyes twitched and watered as he continued reprimanding me.
“What kind of a brother are you?!” a nurse shoved me, causing my back to land on the wall. Her face was scary as hell. It looked like she was going to stab me with the long syringe that she held on her hand. Grabbing my arm, she sent me flying. To my surprise, the window at the end of the hallway slid open, and I fell to my demise. Numerous times I screamed for help, but my words fell on deaf ears.
“Nooo! It’s not my fault! It’s not my fault...!” I screamed, waving my hands around like a mad man. No one was there to save me. Tears gushed out of my eyes as I crossed my fingers. For some reason, they floated above my eyes and defied gravity. The next thing I felt was a warm splash of crimson nectar accompanied by a familiar scent lingering in the air. I tried twisting my body, but it only aggravated the situation. There was no doubt about it — I had broken my back.
While waiting for my life’s candle to burn out, I stared at the silver moon, the one and only witness of this ill-fated incident. It emanated an innocent luster, something I’d say that I also emitted. Unfortunately, my time was running out all too quickly.
I never thought that everything would end this way…
Thud.
