The Third War

Bonus Chapter

Trees and buildings blurred together in a grey swirl as they passed by. My breath exhaled causing a patch of fog to appear on the cold window. I used my finger to draw a flower which to my disappointment disappeared almost immediately. The lady eyed me curiously but thankfully kept her mouth shut. We continued to drive along in silence, neither of us knowing what to say to another. It felt better that way somehow. No lying, no reassuring, just quiet acknowledgement.

Eventually, after what seemed like hours, the car came to a stop slightly skidding on the ice making my stomach drop.

"Here we are," the lady told me with a slight smile. "There's no need to be nervous. Everyone's very excited to meet you."

Without responding, I climbed out of the car clutching the bag so my knuckled turned white. Once I walked around the side of the car, I could see it- the giant, pristine hospital for people just like me.

"Dustin? Are you coming?"

I swallowed down the bile rising in my throat and managed to choke out, "Sure."

My feet shuffled after her not wanting to obey. My nerves refused to calm down as my heart pounded in my ears. The second I entered the hospital, I wanted to retreat.

The sterile atmosphere mixed with the smell of bleach brought the bile back into my throat. As my put the back of my hand over my mouth, a few nurses rushed over instantly shoving me into a wheelchair.

They know I can walk right?

The prying eyes of the nurses staring boring into me as they all rambled off questions and concerns while others asked if I felt okay or wanted to know about the procedure. Someone started pushing the wheelchair down the hall. The walls seemed to cave in as an invisible vice wrapped around my chest. My breath caught in my throat as everything swayed.

The nurses' voices became garbled yells of concern, but I couldn't respond. I gasped like a fish unable to figure out what was happening to me. It didn't feel like any sort of breathing problem I'd had before.

Oh no, not more nurses, please, my thoughts jumbled together in a slur as a new voice joined the others. She sounded younger and concerned.

"Hey! Stop! You're freaking him out," I heard the scuffling of feet as people backed away. "With the way you bombarded him, no wonder he's having a panic attack!"

I rocked back and forth with my eyes closed clutching my bag while trying to calm my gasping breaths. My condition hadn't caused the attack, but it sure wasn't helping.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay. Just calm down friend, I won't let the scary nurses get you." A slight laugh sounded very near my face. Once I managed to calm down, I opened my eyes to find I was right. Bright green eyes were peering at me barely three inches away from my own.

The girl's light brown hair sprouted from her head in small, short tufts. It guiltily made me feel thankful none of my treatments had caused my hair to fall out. Freckles were scattered across her nose which scrunched up as she smiled. At first glance, her childish face made me think she was very young, but the rest of her told me otherwise. My face suddenly heated up at realizing just how close she was.

She laughed again thankfully leaning back, "That's better. How are you feeling?"

Scared, embarrassed, overwhelmed, worried.

"Fine," I answered.

Her eyes narrowed, "Sure." The girl turned to the nurses, "I can take it from here. Gotta give him the proper tour and make the right introductions."

The way she said this made me even more nervous.

One nurse shuffled anxiously, "Are you sure? I don't want him to freak out again. You all can be a bit overwhelming."

"More than a bunch of nurses swarming?" She countered in a way that reminded me of Kristy.

Kristy.... I felt the sketch book in my bag. All my efforts toward not thinking of her vanished. The thought of her smile made me want to never stop grinning. The memory of her protective stance whenever Zoe was threatened, and her refusal to believe she ever needed help, or the different side that appeared whenever we were around her cats caused an actual smile on my face.

It quickly disappeared as the girl turned back to face me, "Right?"

I realized with horror I had missed part of the conversation, "Um..."

"Thank you!" She turned back to the nurse, "See! He agrees with me."

Everyone seemed to ignore my utter confusion. The nurse reluctantly gave in. She and the others walked off nervously mumbling amongst themselves.  Left with only the weird girl, I decided my fate must be death by her hands.

"You're welcome," she told me with a smug grin. Next thing I knew, she had grasped the wheelchairs handles and leaned over them. I tilted my head back to look up at her. "Dustin, right? Dustin Reign?"

"Scott," I corrected her immediately. "Dustin Scott. My name changed when I was adopted."

"You were adopted? Was it when you were older?"

"It's none of your business," I snapped not in the mood to talk to her or anyone else. It was bad enough I had to be in the stupid hospital, but freaking out? Being put into a wheelchair that was now controlled by a random girl I'd never met? It made everything ten times worse. I wanted to go home; I wanted to see the cats; I wanted to feel safe; I wanted to be with Kris.

Her expression stayed stuck in that grin unfazed by my rudeness, "You're going to get along well with Hap. He's grumpy just like you, but you know, there's no reason to mean. We're all just trying to help."

Grumpy!? I sputtered in protest, "I'm not grumpy! I'm Dusty!"

"Really?" She started pushing the wheelchair down the hall. This time, thankfully, nothing happened. "You've been pouting since the moment you stepped out of the van."

I looked down in shame. She wasn't wrong. My bitterness had gotten the best of me to the point of getting mad at someone a completely innocent stranger.

Just be friendly, happy Dustin, Kristy's words rang in my head only making me feel worse. I took a deep breath. Her's weren't the other words I was remembering, Never, ever make someone feel bad over something that isn't their fault.

"I'm sorry," I told the girl making sure to soften my tone. "What's your name?"

"That's okay. No one comes in here with a smile on their face," she ruffled my hair, but I swatter her hand away. It didn't feel right. She continued regardless, "My name's Carmen, world class jokester, funnier than you, and all around American pyscho. First up on the left and right side, you'll find the rooms of all of our fellow cancer ridden buddies."

As we passed each door she pointed to each saying the name to whom it belonged, "Macy, Jackie, Hap, Elyan, me, and that's yours! We're next door neighbors!"

I forced a smile on my face, "Cool."

"Yes, I am." Carmen pushed me down another hall chattering the whole time. I blocked most of it out wondering how things were getting on without me. We stopped at a door where voices could be heard on the other side. "Now, a warning, you can't be rude around here. I can handle a bit of negativity, but some of the others, can't. Pessimism killed the cancer ridden patient you know?"

"Yeah, right." She seemed satisfied with my answer. That, unfortunately, meant next thing I knew, we were entering the room.

Almost immediately, everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at us, or me. Panic rose in me again, so I did the only thing I could think of.

I squawed as loudly as possible.