Black and Blue

Aftermath of the Blizzard

The first time Keith woke up, he thrashed around in pain and shock, pulling at the various wires and tubes that threaded his body. His body was numb to most of the pain it was in, causing more cuts and bruises as he struggled. Nurses flooded in and his father called out to him in a pained voice over and over. He was sedated after a while of resisting and finally pushing a nurse against the wall.

The second time Keith woke up, his eyes teared up in pain and hysteria as he frantically tugged at his ventilator. His chest felt like someone had taken a hammer to it a hundred times; and his head felt like his brain was trying to explode. One arm was in a brace and the other scratched at his mouth. Again, nurses came in and, in the end, he was sedated once more.

The third time Keith woke up, he tried to reach for his IV, but found his hands were bound to the bedrails. He found his head was wrapped with a bandage of some sort, one part covering his right eye, obscuring his vision. Looking down caused a sharp pain to shoot up his spine and he tried to cry out, but ended up choking on tubes.

His father grabbed his arm and jumped up to lean over him, "Keith?! Keith?!"

Keith opened his tightly shut eyes to focus his left one on his father, squinting and furrowing his brows in annoyance and pain. He tried to move his legs, but they were bound as well, which caused a sudden painful shock in his left ankle as he tugged. His face scrunched up in pain and he cried softly.

He heard his father yell for nurses in desperation, keeping his grip tight on Keith's right hand. Keith opened his eyes slightly and saw a few people wearing colorful scrubs run into the room. Two black figures caught his attention and he inspected them, finding two security guards. He figured that was probably his fault. The people talked at him and checked various machines, but Keith closed his eyes and sobbed, ignoring their presence.

"Keith, could you look at me please?"

Keith opened his watery eyes to a man in a long white lab coat. He had knelt down to the side of the bed opposite of his father, keeping a hand on the bed for support. His dark hair and beard were greying and his pointy jawline gave his face a slim presentation.

The man smiled at him, "Hello there, welcome back."

Keith pushed his eyebrows together to give him a look with eyes filled of hatred.

He kept his calm and gentle attitude as he continued, "My name is Dr. Forte. Keith, you're in the ICU right now. Do you remember how you got here?"

Keith thought for a moment, then nodded.

"So you remember jumping off the building?"

Keith rolled his eyes, but nodded.

"Great, that's really good." He pushed himself up lightly to check the nurses' progress, then returned to Keith's level. "Are you in pain, Keith?"

Keith squeezed his eyes closed, letting a few tears out, and nodded.

Dr. Forte pulled himself back up slightly to face the staff, "Up his pain meds, stat."

Keith tried to force his voice to come out, but it was impossible with the tubes in his throat. He wanted to scream at them. Lance! Where's Lance?!

The doctor looked back at him, "We're gonna take that ventilator out very soon, alright? Please wait just a little longer." He returned to a standing position and slipped his hands into his pockets, "Are you going to try to pull out those tubes, or can we unbind you?"

Keith looked to him desperately. Just get me the fuck out of here! Where's Lance?!

Dr. Forte turned to the nurses. His voice switched to an authoritative tone as he dropped his smile, "Take off those binds when you're finished, and you-" he pointed to the security guards, "make sure he doesn't try to kill himself again." He walked over to the door and glanced at Keith's father, "Mr. Kogane, may I have a word?"