Invisible Killer

Chapter 10

    Nurse Allison walked into the waiting room and up to Troy. "Excuse me? Mr. James?" she asked. Troy perked his head up from his palms. "It was very responsible for you to bring her down. It was nothing serious, so your friend is going to be just fine."
    "Thank you," said Troy.
    "Apparently, that dart that you found was just used as a tranquilizer. She's still out at the moment, but you're more than welcome to see her. We went ahead and placed her in the bed next to your other friend. Whenever you're ready, you're welcome to go down the hall and check on her." Nurse Allison smiled.
    "Thank you!" Troy took a deep breath and headed down the hall.
    Troy quietly entered the room with Rachelle and Lyndsay. Rachelle heard the crackling sound of the door and began to wake up. "Troy?...," she quietly mumbled as she slowly opened her eyes. He waved at her.
    "What do you want?" asked Rachelle as she slowly sat up on the bed.
    Troy stepped into the room. "I just came to check on Lyndsay," he replied as he pointed over to the side.
    Rachelle looked over to her left and saw Lyndsay in the other bed. "Lyndsay?" She turned back to Troy. "What did you do to her?"
    "I didn't do anything."
Rachelle rolled her eyes. "What happened?"
    "She was knocked out. Apparently, somebody shot her with a tranquilizing dart."
    Rachelle gasped.
    "I'm guessing that you saved her?" Rachelle smirked.
    "What makes you think that?"
    "Gee, I don't know. Ryan is at home asleep. Every time that I've been in trouble, you've never shown up to this room. The minute that Lyndsay's in trouble, you immediately show up to check on her."
    "Rachelle, I couldn't just let her suffer."
    "Yeah, yeah, whatever. You've been telling me that every time you saved me," snarled Rachelle as she looked off into the distance.
    "Rachelle, can't we talk about it?" pleaded Troy.
    "There's nothing to talk about." Rachelle crossed her arms. "Right now, I don't want anything to do with you. As a team, we're strong. Without you, we're not as compatible. The team is weak, because you won't step up and help us out. The main point here is that I'm going to die, because you won't help us find the killer. In other words, it's going to be all your fault for when I die."
    "What do you want from me, Rachelle?"
    "I want you do your job, but I can clearly see that that's not going to happen. Even if you were to do something right now, it would still be worthless...just like you. And you know what? Why don't you just go on home? And don't even bother showing up to my funeral."
    "I can't go home."
    "Why not?"
    "I need to make sure that Lyndsay's okay."
    "Are you kidding me right now?" cried Rachelle as she threw her hands up in the air.
    They suddenly began to hear a moaning noise. They looked over and saw that Lyndsay was beginning to wake up. Lyndsay slowly raised up from the bed. She rapidly moved her eyes and blinked a few times in order to focus from being unconscious. She placed her hand up to her forehead and saw a pulse reader on her finger and an IV in her left arm. She leaned up onto the bed, scanned the room, and saw Rachelle on the right side of her in the other bed.
    "Hi Rachelle...," mumbled Lyndsay in a soft mumbling tone. Rachelle waved in an innocent gesture as a response.
    "How do you feel?" asked Troy.
    "Woah..." Lyndsay placed a hand on her head. "My god...my head hurts. It feels like that I have a terrible headache." She opened her eyes a little wider. "Where am I?"
    "You're in the hospital," answered Troy.
    "Why...What happened?"
    "You fell unconscious, into my arms."
    "I did?"
    "Yeah...as I was looking inside the bulldozer, you called my name. You then fell out of a tree and into my arms," explained Troy. Lyndsay became lost, and Troy became concerned.
    "You weren't responding, so I immediately rushed you to the emergency room," Troy added on.
    "Where is she?" Ryan called from out in the hallway. He bursted into the room and was happy to see that Lyndsay was awake.
    "Ryan?..." Lyndsay was surprised to .
Ryan rushed to her, hugged her tight, and kissed her on the forehead. "Thank goodness you're alright," he muttered. "What happened?"
    "I don't know," answered Lyndsay.
    "Wait, you don't remember anything?" asked Troy.
    "No...honestly. All I remember is getting whacked in the back of the head with a shovel. The next thing that I know, I'm here in the same room with Rachelle." Lyndsay sighed in misery as she placed a hand on her forehead.
    "Lyndsay?" mumbled Ryan. He placed a hand on her back in worriness. Lyndsay began to lean forward in pain. "What's wrong?" Ryan worried as he placed his other hand on her stomach to keep her from falling off the bed.
    "I don't know. I just feel so weak, and I can't focus," said Lyndsay.
    "Lyndsay..." Ryan lifted her head up to face directly to him. "How many fingers am I holding up?" He held up two fingers.
    "Four..." Lyndsay began to fall to the side. Ryan immediately caught her and slowly laid her down on her back. "Where's the doctor?" he demanded. Lyndsay began to sweat, have difficulty breathing, burning up, and became red in the face. "Lyndsay?" Ryan felt her forehead. "Oh my God...Troy, she's burning up!"
    Troy turned around. "Woah! She's sweating like crazy. I'll get the doctor," he said.
    Ryan grabbed a wet wash cloth and laid it on Lyndsay's forehead.
    Lyndsay grabbed Ryan's shirt. "Ryan...," she's mumbled.
    "Hang in there. Troy went to go get the doctor," he responded. After a few minutes, there was so sign of the doctor. "Troy! Where's the doctor?"
    "I don't know. I'm trying here. There's just nobody at the Nurse's Station," reported Troy.
    Ryan gasped in discouragement. "Typical...Lyndsay, don't you have a button to call for assistance?"
    Lyndsay was barely able to breathe. "Yeah...somewhere...," she muttered. Ryan looked on the sides of the bed, found a red button, and pressed it without hesitation. A beeping noise instantly went off in order to call for the nurse.
    Seconds later, Nurse Allison rushed into the room. "What's the situation?" she asked. She quickly saw Lyndsay suffering. "Oh my land lord! Dr. Baxter, we have an emergency!" She barged into the room to assist the patient.
    Dr. Baxter entered the room and rushed into action. "Bring me an oxygen tank, stat!" he commanded.
    "What's going on?" asked Ryan with worriness.
    "It's nothing serious; she's going to be just fine," informed the doctor. "I'm going to give her some Ibuprofen to reduce her fever. She'll then have to wear this oxygen mask for a little bit, so that she'll be able to regain control of her breathing. Then, we'll place an ice pack over her forehead in order to get her body temperature back to normal."
    Nurse Allison brough in a cup with two Ibuprofen pills. Ryan raised Lyndsay's head. She opened her mouth, and the nurse placed the pills inside. After the pills were in Lyndsay's mouth, Ryan helped her take a sip of water. Dr. Baxter then placed an oxygen mask on Lyndsay, and she closed her eyes as she fell asleep. Finally, the doctor pulled out an ice pack and placed it on her forehead.
    "Let me know when she wakes up. I have some important news to share with y'all," the doctor told the boys.
    "Wouldn't you be able to just tell us, and then we can tell her later?" asked Troy.
    "I think that it would be more beneficial if I were to tell y'all when the one who's suffering is not asleep," answered the doctor.
    "Thank you, Dr. Baxter," said Ryan. The doctor smiled and left the room.
A few seconds later, Ryan heard Rachelle waking up from a short snooze. He turned around and spoke to her. "Hey, Rachelle," he greeted.
    "Hey...," greeted Rachelle as she sat up on the bed.
    "How do you feel?" asked Troy.
    "Why do you care?" hissed Rachelle with a smirk.
    "You're my friend. You're in pain, and I just want to make sure that you're feeling okay."
    "Oh big whoop!"
    Ryan placed his hand on his forehead in dismay.
    "If you were really my friend, you would be out finding the one who's causing me all of this pain." Troy rolled his eyes. "Don't you dare roll your eyes at me! I might be crippled, but I can still take you down," hissed Rachelle.
    Troy got up to her face as he placed his hands on either side of her on the bed. "I'd like to see you try...," he muttered enviously.
    Rachelle squinted her eyes in disgust. She grabbed a cane from under the bed and abruptly whacked Troy in the head with it.
    "Hey, hey, hey!...," cried Ryan as he grabbed the cane from Rachelle. "Give me that!" He snapped it in half across his leg.
    "Ryan!" yelled Rachelle. She suddenly heard a sigh coming from behind Ryan. "Lyndsay?"
    Lyndsay carefully sat up and slowly opened her eyes. Ryan directed his attention back to Lyndsay. She gently rubbed her head to focus and noticed an oxygen mask on her face.
    "Here, let me get that," Ryan insisted as he carefully pulled the mask off. Lyndsay sat up on the bed.
    "How did you sleep?" asked Rachelle.
    "I couldn't sleep...," answered Lyndsay.
    "Why not?"
    "I couldn't sleep..." Lyndsay's voice got louder. "Because of all the yelling!"
    "Well you're yelling too," smirked Troy as he crossed his arms.
    "Shut up, you idiot!" Lyndsay grabbed a pillow from behind her and threw it at Troy. She then grabbed her head in pain.
    "Hey! You should be thanking me; I saved your life!"
    "I would've rather died!"
    Troy moved closer to Lyndsay. "That can be arranged," he remarked.
    Lyndsay flashed him a devious grin and strikes a fiery punch to his stomach.
    "Why you little...," grunted Troy. He threw a fist in Lyndsay's direction until Ryan snatched Troy's arm away.
    "Don't you dare lay a hand on her!" yelled Ryan.
    "Well...there's no rule saying that I can't take it out on you." Troy directed his attention face-to-face towards Ryan.
    "Bring it on, buster!" Ryan spreader his feet apart and kicked up his fists. Troy charged at Ryan with a knuckle punch. Lyndsay saw Troy's fist going towards Ryan. She immediately grabbed Troy's forearm and flipped him over and down to the floor.
    "Wow, Lyndsay!" said Rachelle.
    "Hey, you're not the only one with feisty moves," joked Lyndsay as she winked at Rachelle. Rachelle smiled with sophistication.
    Troy climbed his way back up to his feet. "Are you seriously kidding me?" he grunted.
    "Oh come on, you know that you deserved it...," snarled Lyndsay.
    "Especially since all of this mess is your fault," added Rachelle.
    "How is this situation my fault?" cried Troy.
    "We're trying to work as a team here, and we can't get much done because you're not cooperating with us," answered Ryan.
    A couple of seconds later, Dr. Baxter showed up to the room. "Dr. Baxter?" said Lyndsay.
    "It's great to see that you're awake, Ms. Schafer," expressed Dr. Baxter.
    "Thank you! I just hope that I don't lose control of my breathing again!" There was a moment of silence. "So...give it to me straight doc. What's going on?"
    Dr. Baxter sighed to catch his breath. "Apparently, the dart that you were shot with contained an unusual substance known as Ketamine."
    Everybody gasped in shock.
    "Ketamine?" Lyndsay freaked in shock.
    "What's that?" asked Troy. Lyndsay shot an expression at him, thinking that he was an idiot.
    "Ketamine is categorized as a 'dissociative anesthetic' that is used in powder or liquid from a general anesthetic. Being exposed to it may cause the victim drowsiness for up to 24 hours," Dr. Baxter explained.
    "What makes it a 'dissociative anesthetic'?" asked Troy.
    Lyndsay sighed. "It means that the substance is in the class of hallucinogen. It can distort perceptions of sight and sound and produce feelings of detachment from the environment and ones self," she added. She then became depressed. "Are you kidding me?" she moaned to the doctor.
    "But why Ketamine?" wondered Rachelle.
    "Well...it's a strong enough drug that when used, the victim can have a case of amnesia," answered Dr. Baxter.
    "That must explain why I can't remember anything from the previous day," mentioned Lyndsay.
    "Correct."
    "Okay...so why am I vomiting, feeling nauseous, and being unable to focus?"
    "Oh...those are some of the many side effects that someone experiences when they come in contact with the substance."
    "Many...," began Ryan.
    "Side effects...," finished Rachelle.
    "Of course. The victim could have bloody or cloudy urine, bluish lips or skin, blurry vision, and discomfort in the chest. They could experience confusion, have convulsions, a cough, or hives. They can have difficulty in breathing, urinating, or swallowing. One can have dizziness and lightheadedness when getting up suddenly from a lying or sitting position. They may have a fast, slow, or irregular heart beat, in breathing. They could even have shortness of breath or not breathing at all-along with tightness in the chest. The victim will have a frequent urge to urinate and puffiness or swelling of the eyelids. They can possibly see, hear, or feel things that are not there. This causes them to become disoriented, experience hallucinations, and have mood changes. They can have unusual excitement, nervousness, and restlessness. This causes them to became unusually tired and weak. This finally leads them to have possible impaired ability to thinbk or learn, become nauseous, begin vomiting, and experience a case of amnesia," explained Dr. Baxter.
    The teens became speechless.
    "Although...," the doctor began again. "The most common symptoms are: blurred vision, confusion, difficulty breathing, lightheadedness with dizziness, urinating frequently, shortness of breath, sweating, unusual tired or weakness, hallucinations, impaired ability to think or learn, nausea, vomiting, and memory impairment."
    "Seriously?...," moaned Lyndsay. She flashed a glance over to Ryan. Ryan rubbed her back in sympathy. "And I'm experiencing every one of those side effects."
    "Not all of them, Lyndsay...just some," said Troy.
    "I'm talking about the most common side effects, you idiot!"
    "The good news is," began Dr. Baxter. The teens directed their attention back to the doctor. "It won't take you long to get over this stuff. you should start to feel better in the next day or two."
    "What will it take for me to get over this?" asked Lyndsay.
    "We'll just have to put you on a low dose of a benzodiazepine," answered Dr. Baxter. "Don't worry, we'll get you to feeling back to normal."
    "Well, that's a relief...thank you, Dr. Baxter."
    "Anytime. Just know that you'll have to stay here for one more night for any further observations."
    "Yes sir."
    "Now, get plenty of rest and have a good night." Lyndsay shook his hand, and the teens waved goodbye to the doctor as he left the room.
    "I'm so sorry, Lyndsay," said Troy.
    "Oh shut up!..." Lyndsay gave him a disgusted facial expression. "I don't want to hear it."
    "Lyndsay, I'm just being generous."
    "No!...you're being an idiot like usual. Just go home already." She pointed to the door.
    "You can't just kick me out," hissed Troy.
    "I think that I just did," Lyndsay snarled. "Troy, you don't care about anybody but yourself. You don't care about me, Rachelle, or Ryan."
    There was a moment of silence.
    "You haven't done anything to help us, so why don't you just go home. Ryan and I will handle this," Lyndsay went on.
    "Oh...so you think that you two can find the killer without me? Fine! Then I'll leave you to it. But don't come crying to me when you've failed," said Troy.
    "Oh...that won't be necessary...because we can find the crook without your help."
    "Well then...good luck," Troy hissed sarcastically. He walked out the door and down the hallway. Lyndsay sighed in disappointment.
    Ryan saw Lyndsay become even angrier as before and was concerned. He slid his feet closer to the side of the bed on Lyndsay's right side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards him. Her head laid against the side of his rib cage.
    "Hang in there, Lyndsay...we won't let the criminal get away with it," he mumbled. He squatted down to be eye level with her. "Look at me...," he requested.
    Lyndsay directed her attention over to Ryan. "We got this, okay?" he said. "Rachelle is not going to die, because we will not rest until we find out the one who's behind all of this madness. She's not going to die and neither are you, okay? We will bring this loonatick into justice, because that is what we do."
    Lyndsay began to feel tears filling up in her tear ducts. She softly smiled down on him with hope. "We can, and we will bust this criminal," Ryan added on.
    Lyndsay sniffled as she wiped her tears with her hands. She placed her hands on either side of Ryan's lower cheeks and kissed him on the forehead. Ryan rose up from his knees in the squatting position. "Now, why don't you two get some rest, okay? Y'all will feel much better if you just relax. I'll be back in the morning," he said. He was ready to leave until he heard something. Rachelle sighed with confusion.
    Lyndsay leaned up from her pillow and faced Rachelle. "Is everything okay, Ray?" she asked.
    Rachelle placed her pointer finger to her chin. "There's just one thing that doesn't make any sense," she pointed out.
    "What's that?" asked Ryan.
    "Where did the bulldozer and the Ketamine come from?"
    "Well the criminal obviously got the Ketamine from the store."
    Lyndsay and Rachelle looked at each other in confusion and back at Ryan. "That's impossible," said Rachelle.
    "How?" asked Ryan.
    "The drug can be found in India, and it's illegal in the U.S."
    "So that means?..."
    "Whoever used the drug had brought it into the U.S. illegally. But the question is...how were they able to do that?"
    Rachelle, Lyndsay, and Ryan looked at each other with sly expressions. "So what does that bulldozer have to do with the drug?" asked Lyndsay.
    "Don't you remember? Troy said that he found you tied to a tree, and a bulldozer was coming at you," answered Rachelle.
    Lyndsay was confused. "Okay...and your point is..."
    "The bulldozer was from the construction site, right?" said Rachelle. Lyndsay nodded her head in agreement. "Well, all of the construction work is on the other side of town. When the workers aren't using the machines, I'm pretty sure that they keep them locked up. Now my question is...why and how is the bulldozer on this side of town when it should be at hte construction site?" Rachelle added.
    "Well we know 'why'. They wanted to kill me. The real question is: 'How' did they get it over here if it was supposedly locked up?" corrected Lyndsay.
    "That's what we have to figure out." Rachelle winked at her. Lyndsay winked back and gave a thumbs up.
    "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" said Rachelle as she leaned over to the left of her bed. she screamed as she fell out of the bed, landing on her back on the floor. Ryan quickly came to her assistance.
    "Rachelle...," began Ryan. He placed her arm around his neck and lifted her into his arms. "You're in no condition to be going anywhere." He laid her back on the bed.
    "Oh and Lyndsay is?" Rachelle smarted off.
    "No. You two are going to stay right here, and I'll go question the construction worker first thing in the morning."
Rachelle got herself situated back into the bed. "You two get some sleep, and I will see y'all tomorrow," said Ryan. The girls waved goodbye as Ryan walked out the door.