A Varchie Story

Chapter 12

The hospital seemed still. Sounds of beeping from monitors and shuffles from rushing nurses filled the hallway. Things were finally seeming to calm down, but then again, not so much.

Archie has been in the hospital for about a week, and has been on and off asleep or awake.

Snow danced around and fell from the sky in Archie's head. He pushed through and screamed, yet no one could hear his cries. All through his body from head to toe he was frozen, and most of all scared.
Archie's eyes quickly opened, and he say straight up. It was only a dream, better yet, a memory.
The room was practically empty. There was a couch, a door that led to a bathroom, a tv, monitors, and that was it. No one stayed with him while he slept.
In his right arm there was an IV that led clear fluid into the body, and an oxygen hose that sat in his nose.
The TV was off which made the silence grow louder as Archie had woken up. He sighed, reaching for his phone that happened to be dead.
The window had no light shining through, the skies were grey and miserable. There was little to no cars driving on the streets, like always.
A loud click made the hair on Archie's arms stand up, as a nurse in blue scrubs came into the room.
"Ahh, you're awake !" She smiled.
The nurse had short brown hair and bright green eyes, she was the type of person you could see as a lawyer or involved with the city, but she was in fact a nurse.
"How are you feeling ?"
Archie didn't say a word, continued to look all over her just to make sure he wasn't in the hell he was before. The name tag on her scrubs said 'Mandy'.
"You look like you saw a ghost. You okay ?" Mandy studied him and all the things that were hooked up to him.
Archie rubbed his eyes and nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay."
The nurse smiled at him, "Okay, just came in to check on ya. It looks to me that you're getting better and better, you will be able to leave in a day or two."
"What happened ?" Archie asked, fidgeting with the hospital gown he had to wear.
She sighed, and put her hands on her hips, "Well, I don't know what all happened, but the cops down at the police station do. I know that you were kidnapped, about a week ago. A couple of your friends found you almost frozen to death out in a field, they called an ambulance and brought you back here. That's all I know."
Archie nodded and looked away.
"What's wrong with me ?" He asked.
"Well, when you were brought in your heart was going at a rapid pace. To fast that it could've lead to a heart attack, so we were transferring some healthy fluids into your body to help regulate everything that was going on inside you. But, your heart pace is back tomorrow and you are looking a lot better. So, there isn't really anything wrong with you." The nurse, Mandy, replied.
She snickered and patted Archie on the shoulder, "I'll go get the doctor."
He nodded and didn't say anything else, as his mind was still blurry and confused to what had really happened before he came into the hospital.
Then he realized how hungry he was, and didn't feel like waiting for the doctor.
Slowly, Archie pulled the oxygen hose out of his nose and turned off the monitor that lead to it. Then, he slowly pulled out the IV that was transferring liquid into his arm. It only stung for about a second.
It didn't hurt to walk, there was no pain in his body. The little bit of chill that passed when he walked made the back of his mind shudder with fear.

The hallway was pretty much clear, there was no one who would tell Archie to go back to bed.
There was hallways beyond hallways, it was a big hospital in the inside.
Arrows pointed to where things were, which parts of the hospital are which. The big words 'Cafe' were painted in red around the halls.
Archie felt as if he was going in circles, his mind was spinning and he felt dizzy with all the arrows and mass of directions.
"Archie hey !!!" A happy sounding, female voice wrapped her arms around Archie and pulled him into a hug. He looked down, to see a blonde Betty with a big rosy smile.
"I was just stopping by to give you these flowers." She pulled away and held up a bouquet of red roses that matched the color of her blouse.
Archie snapped back to reality and nodded, using a small grin to show her he was okay.
"Can I take you back to your room ?" Betty asked, rubbing his back and walking next to him.
Archie looked at her and back up to the Cafe signs, "I think I actually want to go get something to eat. I'm starving."
Betty chuckled and nodded her head, as she lead the right way to the cafe.
They got some food in complete silence, the fear stuck in Archie's head and Betty was more concerned than ever.

"We are all worried about you." Betty said to Archie, as they sat by each other back in the hospital room Archie was assigned.
He nodded, "Yeah I miss you all." He looked down and continued to eat as Betty watched.
"We were all so worried when we found you. You looked horrifying Archie." He didn't bother to look up at anything she said.
"Do you remember anything from before, when you were, kidnapped ?" She asked quietly.
Archie finally looked up and shook his head no, even though slight bits and pieces were coming back to him.
Betty stood up and gave him another hug, "I'll text you, and I'll come back to check on you probably later." She smiled and left.
Archie let a tear roll down his cheek as he thought about Veronica and how he wished he could talk to her and hug her. He laid his head back and let the tears overcome him, as the memories flooded back into his mind.
Monitors beeped and nurses shuffled through the halls, but Archie laid still.
Everything was falling out of place.