The Dying of the Light

Chapter Eight

Kongpob was groggy as he realized he was surrounded in darkness. Why is it so dark?  It took a minute before he realized his eyes were bandaged, leaving him in darkness. He attempted to sit up when he heard a familiar voice.

"Kong...you're awake." Mongkut moved to the side of the bed and held Kong's hand that was groping for his friend.

"M? Is that you?" His voice was raspy, and he sounded hoarse. Kong turned his head towards Mongkut's voice. Kongpob covered his friend's hand with both of his own.

"Yeah Kong. It's me. How do you feel buddy? You okay?"

"Water," he croaked as he massaged his throat.

"Yeah. Sure. Let me get it." Mongkut poured some water from the pitcher on the side table and handed it to Kong. "Dr. Hottie came in earlier to check on you. Too bad you were still asleep." Mongkut chuckled while Kongpob threw his plastic cup in his direction.

He drank the water and smiled.  "You mean my boyfriend Arthit?" Kongpob smirked and crossed his arms.

"Boyfriend? Did I miss something?"

"Give me time. He agreed to go on a date with me."

"No shit? Good for you Kong. How'd you accomplish that? You're the only man I know that can land a date in the freaking hospital. You're good. Damn."

"I made him an offer he couldn't refuse."

"Is that what you call it," asked Arthit as he walked into the room. "Some would call it emotional blackmail."

"Blackmail?" Mongkut laughed heartily while slapping Kongpob's leg. "I knew you weren't THAT smooth. Really Kong? Blackmail?" Mongkut continued to laugh.

Arthit's cheeks were tinted pink as he watched Mongkut tease Kongpob.

"Well it wasn't exactly blackmail. I was just being persuasive."  Kongpob leaned towards the direction of Arthit's voice and whispered, "was it really that bad of a deal?" Arthit's ears turned bright red as he gently pushed Kongpob back on the bed.

"I'm here...here to ch-check on your eyes." Kongpob noted Arthit's stutter, which let him know he was probably blushing from head to toe at this point. "Let me check your bandages. Are you uncomfortable at all? Any pain?"

"No. No pain. I'm groggy, but it's clearing up. How long until the bandages come off?"

"The bandages will stay on for about a week. You'll have bruising around your eyes for about two weeks after that."

"Oh ho! I can tell people my boyfriend is a bruiser who beat me into being his man." Kongpob and Mongkut chuckled while Arthit blushed once again.

"Really? Wh-why are you so...?"

"Charming? Funny? Engaging? Irresistible?"

"ANNOYING!" Arthit was embarrassed at the volume of his reply. He hadn't intended to yell. Kong made him so flustered. He just didn't know how to handle the attention from the persistent man. He was relentless. He still couldn't believe he allowed himself to be bullied into a date with him, but he was also secretly excited. The more time he spent with him, the more intrigued he became. His smile was addictive and his scent intoxicating.

It had been quite a while since he had shown any interest in a love life. The last time he felt anything at all for anyone was when he was in college and had a crush on his best friend Namtarn. Unfortunately, she had fallen for their other best friend Jay, so that went nowhere fast. Since then, Arthit decided to change his major from engineering to medicine. He couldn't bring himself to see them every day. The distance helped him heal. He had only seen them in passing over the years and he preferred it that way. He thought love was something for other people.

Now? This man with his charming wit and his relentless attention was making Arthit rethink his entire life's choices.

"So, we can have our date in about three weeks then? Lovely. I was thinking a romantic dinner and dancing. How does that sound?"

"Like someone needs medication. Dr. Rojnapat can you give me a bucket to throw up in?" Mongkut mimicked a vomiting sound while Arthit giggled and Kongpob grimaced. "Oh, come on Kong. You are laying it on THICK! Good thing I'm in a hospital because I could easily get diabetes listening to you. Jeez!"

"Your friend is right about one thing Kongpob. You need to take your medication. Judging from the progress of your IV, the nurse will be here momentarily to change the bag and give you something to help you sleep. Please be a good patient and get some rest. I'll be back tomorrow to check your progress."

"See you tomorrow Kong. I'll update you on what's happening at work then. Rest well, my friend."

"Thanks M. And you have a good day Arthit. Sleep well and dream of me." Kongpob smirked and blew a kiss.

"Insufferable..." mumbled Arthit as he left the room.

Kong was sleeping when he heard the door open and footsteps coming towards him.

"Good afternoon nurse."

"----"

"Are you here for something else? Another nurse came earlier to change the IV bag. Is there additional medicine I'm supposed to take? Are you here to change my bandages?"

"----"

The man moved closer to the bed, pulled down his mask and took out a syringe. Kongpob, sensing danger, reached for the call button. The masked man roughly grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Who are you? What are you...?" Kongpob felt a rough hand cover his mouth as he scratched at it. He was kicking and thrashing about trying to free himself from his attacker when he landed on the floor. The force of the fall stunned his attacker, knocking him to the floor. He landed on top of Kongpob causing Kongpob's head to hit the floor hard.

Kongpob slowly turned over while holding his head. Although he was dizzy and could not see, he crawled across the floor towards the door. Just before he could make it to the door to scream for help, his attacker grabbed him by the ankles pulling him back towards the bed. The leads and wires attached to Kongpob detached themselves from the machines causing loud beeps and alarms to go off in the room. Startled, the attacker got to his feet and ran out of the room.

Hearing footsteps run towards the door and the door opening, Kongpob felt his forehead and realized his hand was wet. He tasted the liquid on his fingers and recognized the iron taste as blood. He tried to hang on and scream for help, but he was slowly engulfed in darkness as he passed out.