Scarred

Chapter 1

I can barely move. "Hello?" I choke out. I try to move my arms but find that I can't. I try my best to look around the room to see where I am. The room is very bare. It has a bed with plastic bars on both sides and a shelf along the opposite side of the room. In the corner, there is a small plastic table with wheels. My hand is sore and when I manage to look down I see an IV protruding from my hand. The IV is connected to a pump that has two bags of clear liquid.

"Good, you're finally awake," I hear a voice say. I try to move my head to see who is talking. The face of a doctor comes into view as the room is flooded with light.

"Where am I?" I ask.

"You are in the Intensive Care Unit of the St. Agatha Memorial Hospital. My name is Doctor Phere. Do you know who you are?"

"I'm Victoria Reeding. Why am I here?"

Dr. Phere marks something down on his clipboard before continuing. "Do you know what year it is?"

"It's 2019. Now, why am I here? Where are my parents What's going on?"

"2019 is correct. Unfortunately, your parents are not allowed into this ICU because this is a completely sterile environment. If all goes according to plan, you should be able to move out of the ICU in a couple of days. I'm going to send a nurse to go over everything with you soon," Doctor Phere says before walking out of the room, leaving me all alone.

"Please, let me out!" I beg. I clutch at the sheets and feel my stomach twist into a knot.

I lie in bed wondering what happened. The last thing I remember is changing for the operation. I was with my parents when I had an IV put in and then I fell asleep. It was only supposed to be a routine procedure. I had gone into the hospital with pain in my side. I was given an ultrasound in the emergency room. The pain turned out to be appendicitis. I was scheduled for an emergency appendectomy and was put on morphine. The morphine made me feel loopy and I don't remember much. I remembered being wheeled down a long hallway as my parents said that they loved me. After that, nothing.

A nurse enters the room after what I estimate was around half an hour. "Hello, darling. I'm Nurse Anne. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better. Where-"

"Good, good," Nurse Anne cuts me off. "Now, I'm going to take your vitals."

I stay quiet as the nurse takes my vitals and asks me basic questions to check my memory.

"Do you know why you are here?"

"No... I came in with appendicitis. Can you please tell me where my parents are?"

"Something went wrong with your surgery. I can't tell you what but the surgeons sent you here for observation. You will be allowed to see your parents tomorrow." Nurse Anne passes me a menu. "Order dinner with the phone over to your right. To order, dial 001. I will be right outside if you need anything" She opens the door and leaves the room. I open the menu to see what there is.

I spend the rest of the evening alone. I order food and watch whatever is on the room's TV. A different nurse comes into the room around 8:30 to give me pills.

"What are these?" I ask. The nurse stares at me without answering. After a minute, I swallow them without protest. The nurse takes my vitals and asks her questions about how I am feeling, then leaves. I turn off the lights an hour later and fall asleep thinking about what could have happened to put me in this room.