Forlot - Books 10-12

Chapter Thirty-Three

Usually, I would be full of worry if somebody, whether it be a person whom I know or a complete stranger, was not functioning well. In Jorgie's case, I was petrified.

If you do not remember who Jorgie is, then...where have you been?

The reason that Jorgie was such a big concern was because of her health condition. She is the one and only person ever to have Tenomeya, and Tenomeya takes a lot out of her. Even before the age of ten, she suffered through her first heart attack and stroke - at the exact same time!

And yes, I know what you readers are thinking. Tenomeya also makes its victim unable to die, so Jorgie would not leave us.

But what if I told you that Jorgie had an underlying condition that had been left unchecked that surprisingly was not caused by her Tenomeya? That is what Libby told us.

If you do not remember Libby...really? Do you want our writer to start giving you Forlot homework?

"I already called the hospital!" someone in the room reassured us. "Paramedics will be here shortly!"

"There is no time!" Margaret exclaimed. She slid across the room - somehow - and to Jorgie. She immediately got on her knees and started doing chest compressions.

"Jorgie!"

There was Jorgie's older sister, Jorga. She scurried over to her unconscious sister and Margaret and let out a horrified gasp when she saw Margaret.

"It...it is you. That girl who tried to murder Margie."

"Yes," Margaret said. "And I am sorry for that. I am trying my very best to change. To see the light at the end of the tunnel."

"W-what happened to my sister?"

"This is your sister?"

"Yes. Her name is Jorgie. Did...did you do this to her? Is that why she is unconscious?"

"I had nothing to do for what happened to her. I swear."

"Then...it must be because of her Tenomeya."

Margaret stopped with the chest compressions and glanced up at her. "Teno...what?"

"Ah! Why did you stop?! Keep going! She is not breathing yet!"

"Oh! Sorry." She placed both of her hands on Jorgie's stomach and continued. "Would you mind telling me what this...Teno...meya...is?"

Jorga dropped to her knees and explained it. Meanwhile, all the guests were surrounding them. They watched as Margaret was desperately trying to save Jorgie's life.

I wanted to hurry over and help Margaret out, but the crowd was blocking my path, so I had to wait patiently until the paramedics arrived.

The paramedics ordered for everyone to stay back. The crowd dispersed, and the paramedics came to Jorgie's aid. They thanked Margaret for helping before putting Jorgie on a stretcher and taking her away. Jorga followed right behind them.

I could tell that Margaret was exhausted from doing the chest compressions. She was giving her own hands good massages, and her forehead was completely drenched in sweat. Even her legs were shaking.

I hurried to her side. With one arm wrapped around her shoulders and the other around her stomach, I helped her to an empty chair. She sat down and leaned back in the chair. She was breathing heavily.

"Did you hear that, Margie?" Margaret asked me.

"Hear what?"

"The paramedics. They thanked me because I...I helped." She sighed happily and for the first time, smiled. "I am not useless after all."

"Of course not. Everybody has their own unique talent. By the way, how was Jorgie before the paramedics took her?"

"Not...good. She was not breathing before I got there and still is not." The smile instantly vanished. "It makes me wonder if I actually made any difference."

"I am sure that you did, Margaret. Regardless, you should not worry."

"Why not? She could die!"

"Um, did Jorga tell you that a person with Tenomeya cannot die?"

"No. Not that I remember."

"Jorgie will be fine. She has been through terrifying health problems and survived from them."

"Okay. If you say so."

"Believe me. Now, why do I not fetch you a glass of punch? You look thirsty."

"I would not do that if I were you, Margie."

"Huh?" I turned my head and spotted Libby. "Libby. I was wondering if you were going to attend Katrina's wedding."

"And I am glad that I did. After it was announced that Jorgie had collapsed and was unconscious, I decided to do some investigating." She was holding a laptop and typed on the keyboard. "You will never believe what I found." She set the laptop on the table and next to me and Margaret.

Margaret and I squinted at the screen. There were just graphs on it, which made me confused as to what we were supposed to be looking at.

"Boring!" Margaret said. "I would rather be watching cat videos."

"I got in contact with all of Jorgie's doctors and specialists, and they recently discovered that Jorgie has kidney failure."

"My gosh," I said. "Hopefully, that it will not be a problem."

"Unfortunately, it has escalated to more than a problem. This specific kidney failure is not being caused by Tenomeya. She has it because of normal circumstances. You know. Anything else that would cause kidney failure."

My hands shook. "Will she be okay then?"

"They do not know. They will have to check both of her kidneys thoroughly. However, it has been confirmed by me that the kidneys could no longer take it and gave up. That is why Jorgie was unconscious."

"Sounds like when the writer's dad had pancreatitis," Margaret remarked. "His pancreas gave way hours after he ate something."

"But Jorgie had poison in her food. Or more precisely, her drink."

I stroked one of my braids. "Wait. What?"

"Jorgie had a glass of punch right before she collapsed. I tested the punch for anything out of the ordinary...and found sugar...tons of sugar..."

"Phew."

"...and poison."

"Oh, no!"

Dang. It makes me glad that I startled Caleb earlier.