Meeting the Jokers

Part 26

"Woah," Sal stood up quickly, "get a doctor."

The same trip I ran yesterday when we thought everything was ok.

"Excuse me," I panted from running all the way to the nearest doctor, "my friends heart rate has picked up... Brian Quinn."

Just like the last doctor- after he heard the name he was straight into the hallway and into the room. Everyone must have memorised his room number.

Already, as we entered, there were 2 other nurses beside Q, monitoring each and every heartbeat.

"Is it looking good?" Sal asked.

"It's not what you'd expect," the doctor replied, now using his stethoscope to manually check his heart.

Beep.
Beep.

Beep.
Beep.

Repetitively.

This had to be better.

"But... is that good?" Sal repeated anxiously. The worry in his voice made it tremble slightly.

"If say, if this continues, he may wake up in a day or two."

The producers and the guys' faces lifted, smiling for the first time in 2 days.

"But," the doctor continued, "that is just a guess. You can never tell if a patients health may decline."

"Not Q," Joe said, smiling at Sal, "Q's our warrior."

Whatever hit these guys, they bounced back from. Together, they could overcome anything.

Feeling uplifted- in these situations- may be hard, but with the doctors words for the future we found the day a lot clearer and brighter. Gone were the black and white hallways; they were now clearly different shades of green or yellow. Maybe white but that didn't matter.

Even getting a snack with Sal- he kept his head up high.

We sat in the cafeteria for 5 minutes, devouring a small salad or lunch bag. We couldn't head out anywhere for food- we were practically stranded here.

"So," Sal said, placing his tray on our small table, "it's looking good for Q."

I nodded. I was still, unconsciously, on the lookout for fans. Even though our cover was blown, I still was worried about all this publicity.

"Olivia?" Sal caught my gaze, "who cares if anyone sees us? Murr's blown our cover."

"I know..." I trail off, "but I still just don't want them to be able to follow us... to Q or hassle you while we're in the midst of a breakthrough."

He smiled wholeheartedly and shook his head- not saying a word. We sat in silence, eating the food as though we were back in middle school.

Childish.

Looking out, I did notice many people give us second glances. It made my heart beat faster- but with no real explanation.

"Let's get back to Q." Sal clapped his hands, eager to get back.

With an almost jolly walk, Sal paced to Q's room. Smiling. Actually smiling.

"I've never seen you so happy." I said.

"Well, he's getting better!"

"He might be."

He rolled his eyes and took a left, then a right and there we were. Facing Q who had a much paler face and a much thinner body.

"He doesn't look better," Sal said, taking in a deep breath.

From all his joy outside, it just broke like a balloon.

"Hey, buddy," Sal said, sitting in his usual spot next to Q. "So you can hear what we're saying? Can you?"

It was almost spoke to like Q was a child- trying to make sense of the world.

Q's heart rate increased again.

It was almost...

A normal pace now. Maybe over the normal rate but it was certainly good.

But then again; your hearing is the last sense to go. Maybe this was the end.

"It's gone up!" Sal stood up, grabbing Q's hand. "Come on, Q! Please. Please wake up."

The heart rate stayed the same.

Fast.

                    Then slow.

Then, without warning, Q's eyes opened.

Sal cried with happiness. Me too.

He was alive.

—
Thanks for reading! I may not post as frequently now, as less people have been reading. So please vote for this chapter and keep it going.

(Then a 2nd book may be on the way).