Weak

Chapter Five

“Chase! ...Chase! Wake up!” It was Miranda. She was covered in black marks. There are loud sirens going off and the only light was coming from the window. “Can you walk? We need to get you out of here.”

“What's going on?”

“We have to evacuate the hospital.” She's pulling me. Her grip on my arm is so firm it feels as though she's cutting off my circulation.

“Why do we have to go?”

“There is no time for explanations, just get out of here! Take the stairs!” She pushes me out the door and then I look back and Murv is not in the room.

“Where is Murv?”

“He's been bought to another hospital.”

“Why? Why isn't he still here?”

“Look, Murv needs special treatment because he's not doing too well right now. But we'll talk later because now I need you to go outside.” She points to the hall leading to the stairwell and pushes me.

While I'm walking down the hall I see patients being wheeled out of their rooms. The walls are lined with these small emergency lights that are so dim that halls still seem dark. I reach the stairs and run down each flight almost tripping at each step. At the final landing I open the door to the lobby. There are people on stretchers and ambulances at the drop off area. The automatic sliding doors stay open since the power is out. Maybe the generators at the hospital aren't good enough. I walk through the door and there are nurses and paramedics everywhere. On the lawn there are medical tents with red crosses on them. I'm sure those are used to treat patients in; similar to the medical facilities set up for the soldiers during war.

“Chase!” Someone runs up and grabs me. It's Mom. She just almost knocked me over and took the wind of me as if she were a linebacker. “Are you okay?”

“I'm fine. What happened?”

“You didn't hear?” There was an explosion.”

“You mean someone planted a bomb in the hospital?”

“I'm not sure about the details.”

“Well that's horrible. Were there any people hurt?”

“No, not that I know of but...”

“But what?”

“Do you remember Katie?”

“Yes...did Miranda tell you something?”

“Yes. She works here.”

“I know, but what did she tell you?”

“Your roommate. I know that you two had gotten close...”

“Mom! What happened?” I was getting upset. “Is he dead? Alive? What mom?

“He's not doing too well. While he was sleeping he suffered a stroke and almost slipped into a coma. He was unconscious for a bit but the nurses were able to bring him back. He wasn't doing too well when he left. I was going to ask you if you'd like to go over and see him because you seem to have been his only friend.”

“Yes. Let's go now.” I started walking swiftly in the direction of the parking lot.

“But we have to make sure it's-”

“I don't care! Let's go.”

“Chase we don't know if you're healthy enough to leave.”

“Do you see me walking? I'm fine. If I wasn't okay they would have put me in another hospital bed.”

“Fine.” I was walking so fast that Mom had to pretty much run just to keep up.

We made it to the car and I got into the driver's seat. Surprisingly Mom didn't seem to care if I was driving while I was upset, which is unusual for her. She's been acting a bit weird lately.

“Which hospital?”

“Lakeview Jefferson.” Lakeview Jefferson Hospital was at least two away. I wonder why they brought him all the way there if he was in such bad shape. There are so many other hospitals that are close and actually in town but I don't need to think about that right now. I started up the car and zoomed out of the parking lot.

“You were suppose to turn right onto the main road.”

“I'm taking a shortcut Mom!” Mom gave me a look that seemed as if she were afraid of me. I didn't mean to scare her but my emotions have gone wild. I guess Murv isn't just a worthless old man. I care more about him than I realized. The reason why I care, I'm unsure. Maybe it's because Mom mentioned that she and Miranda decided that I was the only friend that Murv had. But really I'm sure this all began before that statement was made. I was horrified when I didn't see Murv in his bed when I had to evacuate the hospital. Now that I think about it, Murv was like a father to me. He was different than my biological father, but he was a potential father figure. He was too old to beat me, but his attitude and knowledge made me respect him. He was also attracted to my mother. Maybe I could learn to call him Dad. At least if he's okay. I hope he's okay.