Your Fall

Thicker than Blood

You cough. The bright red liquid spewing out in front of you as your eyelids begin to flutter. You can feel the warm thick red clog your nose and stick to the roof of your mouth. His eyes. His calm blue eyes are dull staring straight at you as his own blood seems to ingest him and submerge one of his eyes in red.

Your body makes no movement to get up as it aches from falling. You can feel the sludge fluid slip down your throat and soak your shirt. Your shoes are in no doubt no longer their usual grimy white but instead a sickly glowing red. A wimp cough flusters your lungs as your throat closes and convulses. Your eyelids grow heavy. Your left eye had trouble closing against the thick liquid getting in the way.

His eyes stare at you unmoving as you cannot move and feel your thoughts escaping you. Black takes over your vision.

~

"How is she doing?" A familiar calm voice comes into your hearing, buzzing softly in your exhaustion. Your lungs scream and ache, your throat burning with warmth. Your eyes stay glued shut, the heavyweight of your eyelids attempting to pull you back to the calm darkness.

"She is alive, but has a large contusion on the back of her head and she has a small sprain in her left ankle." You hear a few footsteps move close to you while you live nearly unmoving on the uncomfortable table. You focus on your breathing to make sure it stays even as you feel hands softly move apart your hair on the side of your head.

"But she will be okay." You take a deep breath not hearing the owner of the calming voice coming closer with the other voice. Their voices, though closer, begin to fade as you lose the fight against your heavy eyelids.

"Physically, yes. But..."

"But what?" Unable to ball up enough energy to open your eyes you try again to fight your eyelids, attempting to move the rest of your tired body but only to be answered with soreness and more exhaustion.

"Nurse, this is the second... murders... people she is close...mental state can... "

"Do you think... member she... drowned in his blood."

"... know. For her sake... not." You let the darkness wash over you once more feeling your breathing even out on its own.

~

"Y/n?" You feel your eyelids flutter only to shut again. Your body is stiff. You feel the cold of the uncomfortable table beneath the skin of your hands.

"Y/n." A cold hand makes contact with your forehead. Without a thought, you shoot up from your lying position regretting it immediately as the room seems to spin around you. You feel arms wrap around you but cannot figure out where the person is.

"Dr. Griffin, she's awake."

"Great! How is... what's happening nurse?"

"She shot up quickly. Her eyes are severely dilated so I think she got dizzy from moving so quickly. Her breathing is erratic."

"Okay, I'll grab her medication. Better to start it now than later I suppose."

"Hey, Y/n." A calm whisper warms your neck. The room slows down around you slightly enough to recognize brown hair. "You're okay honey. You're in medical." The room shakes with each quick breath. You end up closing your eyes feeling your pulse shaking your head.

"Okay here is her meds, give her one right now and we'll watch her for the next few hours before she leaves to see how she is doing." The calm nurse keeps her hand on your back slowly rubbing circles into your shirt as your breathing hitches in your throat.

"Okay, Dr. Griffin."

"I'll be back to check on both of you in about a half-hour once this meeting with the Go-Sci team is over. Please do not leave her alone." You hear Dr. Griffin slowly walk down the hall away from the room where you sit, heart racing and breath coming in quick gulps.

"Yes, Dr. Griffin." A few moments pass. The circles on your back continue. You begin to feel yourself relax in her touch.

"Here Y/n, I have your meds and some water." You open your eyes, blinking several times to try and push away the blur.

Slowly your eyes see the nurse's hand with the oval white pill resting in the creases of her skin. With a shaky hand, you grab the small pill and quickly push it past your lips. She helps hold the glass of water as you take a few gulps and push it away. You close your eyes and lay back on the uncomfortable table.

There is a shifting in the room and the squeaking of old wheels moving across the floor towards you on the table.

"Y/n?" You nod, feeling your heartbeat starting to slow. Your thoughts are slowing. "Do you know why you are here?" You shake your head not really thinking about her question. The calm progresses and spreads throughout each vein of your body.

"Y/n, there has been another murder." Your eyes shoot open. You slowly rise to a sitting position allowing your legs to dangle over the end of the table.

"It... happened yesterday." You lick your lips which seem to be drying at an exponential rate. "Um.. the the investigation on your parents is being reopened to see if there is a possible link." Your thoughts go numb. Cayen's blank stare standing in your mind.

"Y/n?" You move your gaze to the calm voice.

"Who?"

"Who died?" You nod your head, your gaze looking around the room for the first time since you woke up. Everything is a sick shiny gray. Metallic. Unfeeling.

"Mr. and Mrs. Treye and.." she didn't need to finish. You could feel the hot sticky blood sticking to her throat. Your coughs weaken as your lungs burn. Cayen's skeletal form twisted on the floor in front of you. His eyes. His baby blues. "Hey, hey okay. Y/n lie down." Your head spins feeling the nice nurse wrap her arms around your body and lead you to lie on the brick of a bed. Acid-like tears sting the corners of your eyes.

This is a joke. He is okay. He is recovering well from the oil. He is eating dinner now with his parents.

"Ne," you choke on the acidic dryness of your throat, "need pills."

"Y/n, you already took one, it's too soon." You shove your eyes shut feeling the dots play with your vision. Your heart moves your body with each beat.

"Please." The nurse squeezes your hand before releasing it. You hear the happy clatter of pills escaping their container.

"This is a one-time thing Y/n. Don't make this a habit." You nod your head keeping your eyes closed as you feel the nurse's hands lead your hands to the pill and the glass of water.