Dominion

Chapter 13

"Is she going to be okay?" Leslie voice wavers, is she crying?
I hear a sniff and I know for sure she is crying but why? What happened.
I try to open my eyes but a sudden pain jolts through my head and I squeeze my eyes shut, my hand lifting to my head.
"I think she is waking up" I hear someone say but I can't place whose voice it is. Who is waking up? Why do I feel so numb all over and where did this sudden headache come from?
I try to sit up and I feel hands on my shoulders immediately. The blanket covering me falls a little as I do so, I feel cold and subconsciously drag the blanket up to cover my body as much as possible.
"Easy there, Clara" Ben's concerned voice rings in my ear.
I open my eyes confused, what is he doing in my room? All I see are blurry figures, I blink several times and start to see things clearly. Everyone's face comes into view, they are all looking at me with worried expressions. I take in my environment to see I am not in my room but still at the pool side, laying on top of one of the
Did I pass out? What happened? Why are they all looking at me like that? Last I remember I was swimming so how did I get here wrapped in a blanket? I don't remember coming out of the water.
I look at Leslie's soaked eyes, I am right she has been crying.
I begin to cough and Debbie offers me a cup of water, while Ben pats my back. I look at the cup of water in her hand skeptically due to our last encounter.
"take it, you need it." She urges.
I take the cup and bring it to my lips despite every alarm going off in my head not to. I hand over the empty cup to her waiting hands and she smiles satisfied. I can't tell if it's a good or bad sign.
"Oh Clara." Leslie engulfs me in a tight hug, crying into my shoulder. I push her away slightly when I feel air not flowing in my lungs.
She gets the hint and let's go, taking a step back. "Sorry, I am just so relieved. I thought I had lost you Clara, I was so scared." I watch as she wipes the tears of her cheeks looking more confused than ever, did something happen to me?
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"You can't remember what happen?" She asks shocked.
I shake my head sadly, I can't.
"We were swimming and I decided to take a break but you wanted to still spend some time in the water so I left you. I was watching you swim and perform new tricks initially but other things caught my attention" I can tell she is beating herself up over what happened judging by the way she refuses to meet my eye during her narration.
" After a while, I noticed I couldn't see you again so I tried looking around for you perhaps you had come out from the water but I couldn't find you. I asked Ben, James, Daniel, Mary, none of them had seen you. Ben assured me you were probably in your room or around somewhere and I needed not to worry. So I decided to have a last swim before retiring to my room myself that's when I saw you " Her voice quivers at the end and I feel more pity for her than myself.
"I was so scared, you were bobbing your head back and forth in the water and I could see panic in your eyes, I thought you were going to drown. I swam to you as quickly as I could and pulled you out." She finishes her narration of my near-death experience.
I am so dumbfounded, I don't know what to say. I can't even remember any of it happening.
"How long have I been out?" I cough, my chest aches as I do and I raise my hand to rub my chest.
"Thirty minutes or so." James answers. I look at him and for the first time since I have known him, his countenance isn't cheerful but sad. I want to tease him on it but I don't have the strength to.
Ben places two tablets in my palm and hands me a cup of water
"I am sure you are having headache, this will help." I chug it down to help with the nasty headache I am having and hand the cup over to him.
"I heard she is awake now." Everyone parts way to allow Mathew along with Mark and another trainer, William to pass through. They come to stand in front of me each carrying worried expressions.
"How are you feeling?" Mathew asks me.
"My head is banging, my chest is paining me and I have a bit of cough apart from those, I am fine I guess".
He observed me for a while not saying anything."Do you remember what happened."
I shake my head, that's the thing. My memory is blank, more like someone washed away the memory, I don't know whether I like it this way or not.
He turns to Mark and whispers something to him. Mark nods and steps aside for Mathew and William to leave before facing me.
"Do you feel very week? Can you stand?" I try to stand but stumble, Ben is quick to hoist me up.
"I'm good"
"Come with me, we will take you for a check-up at the hospital nearby."
"Okay, but I need to change first." I say holding down at my robe just in case he missed the fact that I am not properly dressed to go out.
"Sure, meet me in the car park in ten minutes. " he informs me walking off.
"Can I come along?" Ben stops him
"Me too." Leslie adds.
He looks at them uncertainly  but finally gives in giving them a subtle nod.
"Sure, but if you both are not there in ten, we are leaving." I smile assured that Ben and Leslie are coming along with me. At least the ride won't be awkward with Mark alone.
Leslie and Ben walks me to my room and I can't bear the look Leslie is giving me anymore.
"Stop looking at me like that" I snap though it's comes out more like a plea.
"Like what?" I soften seeing the tears still glistening in her eyes.
"Leslie," I draw her name pulling her into a hug.
"It's okay, I am fine" I assure her.
"I was so scared, I thought I lost you. I thought I...I-" She doesn't complete her statement and just sobs.
Ben rubs her back, funny how she needs more comforting than I the victim here.
She pulls away from me wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes.
"Let's get you dressed, we know how grumpy Mark can get."
We get to my room and Ben heads to his to dress after making sure we will be okay.
I sit on the edge of my bed trying my best to stifle my coughs in order not to get Leslie too worried. I remove my robe as Leslie ransacks my wardrobe to get me something convenient to wear.
She pulls out a blue sleeveless A-gown and grins at me.
"Do want to have a quick shower before you dress up?"
"Yes please." I certainly need to even though I don't feel up to it but I am not a fan of missing showers before and after swimming, I would feel so uncomfortable.
"Okay, I will run to my room to have a quick shower too and get dressed. I'll be back before you know it, will you be okay while I am gone?"
She is really getting all worked up over something not so serious. "I am fine Liz, I appreciate your concern."
Hesitantly she leaves the room, I literally have to push her out the door before she concedes. I remove my swimsuit and step into the bathroom where I have a quick shower, as quick as my strength can enable me to.
By the time I step out, Leslie is already back and is sitting on my bed. I am wondering if she actually  did have a shower or merely washed her face, put some clothes on and rushed back here.
I dress up, all the while I feel Leslie watching me as if afraid that I will break. I sigh but say nothing, whatever must have happened having experienced it first-hand is really taking a toil on her. With the way she is acting, I don't even wish to remember what happened.
Someone knocks on the door and Leslie waits till I am fully dressed before going to check who it is. Ben stands in the doorway dressed in a navy blue t-shirt and a jeans with his sneakers on.
"Are you guys set?" he asks, Leslie looks at me for confirmation and I sluggishly slip on my sandal before leaving the room with them.
We get to the car park shortly just as soon as Mark arrives too. Glad to know he wasn't kept waiting.
True to his words, the hospital is a trekable distaste from the camp and from the 'DR' logo on the signboard of the hospital, I can tell the hospital belongs to DR Troop.
We alight the vehicle and enter the hospital, a nurse meets us at the entrance and leads us to a doctor's office much to my relief of having to wait my turn. One of the perks of having it owned by DR Troops.
"Only one person can enter with the patient to see the doctor. The rest will have to wait outside." The nurse informs us as we approach the doctor's office.
"I will go with her." Leslie speaks up looking pointedly at Mark.
Mark opens his mouth to say something but Leslie beats him to it. "I am the one who knows to an extent what happened which will be useful information to the doctor." She adds convincingly.
"Okay then" Mark agrees.
We enter the doctor's office to see a woman who looks to be in her early thirties.
She smiles at us warmly as come in.
" Good afternoon." we greet
"Good afternoon, please have your seats." the nurse walks in with a file that has my passport  stapled to its front.
We were asked to fill a medical form and submit eight copies of our passport when registering for the camp, I guess this is what it was used for.
The doctor takes a look at the file then clears her throat and looks up at us.
"What brings you here Miss Johnson?"
"I was drowning, apparently." I say with a cough.
She quirks an eyebrow at me, the kind of reaction I was expecting.
"Apparently?" She questions
I sigh running my fingers through my hair. "I don't remember what happened."
"And I suppose you do," She faces Leslie questioningly.
Leslie nods, "I found her in the pool and pulled her out."
"Was CPR performed on her?" She asks writting something down.
Leslie shakes her head and I feel relief knowing no one's mouth was on mine.
"We checked her pulse, she was still breathing so we just pressed her chest, to get as much water out of her system." Leslie explains.
"How do you feel?" She looks at me the same way Mum looks at me when she feels I am not okay.
Mum can't know about what happened today, I am sure she will drive here straight away and insist on taking me home.
"I have a headache, my chest aches, I was cold at first but I feel warmer now and I have cough." I cough for good measure.
She nods at me and scribble something down in my opened file.
"We will have to run some tests on you to verify that is all there is to it ." She explains.
I feel goosebumps rise on my body, "What are the other possibilities?"
The doctor smiles at me faintly, "pneumonia, brain tumor among others."
I look from the doctor to Leslie in horror. Leslie takes my hand in her's
"Don't worry, you will be fine." She tries to assure me but I can see in her eyes she is also scared of the outcome of the test.
Something comes to my mind, "You think I have a tumor? " my voice gives away my fear.
"I can't say for sure, I can only pick my guess from you not remembering what happened but if it so happens it's only the event you don't remember happening then we are quite safe." the doctor tells me.
"You know what, we will give it the rest of today and tomorrow. Let's hope you remember but whatever the case may be you have to report back to me then we will take it up from there."
I nod in understanding, brain I don't know whatever job you have doing but you need to pause it and start remember what happened.