Time is Slipping Away

Chapter 5

The monotonous sound of raindrops was having a soporific affect on him. He lay still on the large couch, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm himself as the middle-aged woman ran her cold fingers across his ill-ridden body.

He had been forced into making the trip to the infirmary by the two younger warblers, blackmail could be a powerful thing; he didn't need the rest of the group to hear about the day's drama.

“Can you sit up for me dear?”

He groaned, this was going to take effort. He bustled up the strength to lift his heavy limbs and managed to push himself into a sitting position. He squinted and fought against the sharp pain that had now become present in his temple; he just wanted to sleep, he wanted the world to swallow him whole, he wanted to be set free from this degenerate life.

He needed to keep them quiet, there was no promising that they wouldn't tell. They didn't know half of it, they had no right telling the others of his situation. He would get them if they so much as breathed a word to the other warblers.

“I need you to take these for me”

He brought his mind back to the room in which he was in and turned towards the woman. He hated taking pills, he couldn't stand the unwieldy feeling of them slithering down his throat. The fact that she was presenting them to him was an insult; he didn't need his weaknesses made apparent.

He took them; wincing as that familiar sensation travelled down his oesophagus. It was over in mere seconds, but he inhaled deeply once again in order to restore calmness.

“Am I okay to go?”

He spoke up, showing a sense of hope in his eyes that the nurse would allow him to return to his room to hibernate. He hated the infirmary, it was like Dalton's own hospital wing; the same stench of peroxide and disinfectant present in the air. The white walls made him feel enclosed, they reminded him of why he was here; the real cruel reason of why he was sat here now.

“You should be. Are you taking any other medication?”

“No, just the stuff the doctor passed on to you”

He wasn't very observant when it came to keeping track of medications, he left that to his parents and all the doctors. It was their job to medicate him, it was his job to keep from death for as long as possible.

“Very well, you're free to go”

He slowly but surely stood up from the couch, keeping each movement easy and leaden; he didn't want to risk fainting again and ending up back on that lumpy piece of furniture.

By now it was late evening, Warbler practise would have finished hours ago for sure. He would have to check with some of the guys as to what had been practised, they couldn't be slacking off now that Regionals were coming up. Especially since it could be some of the boys' last chances to make it to nationals, some in particular more than others.

He made his way back up to the dorms and let himself fall heavily on to his bed as soon as he stepped into the room. Each day seemed to be getting longer and more of a challenge for his debilitated body. He often wondered how long his body clock was going to last.

He rolled over and faced the clock, it was nearly 8pm, two hours before curfew took hold. He could probably get away for a bit, visit a familiar face, a face he actually wanted to see.

It would take some strength to drag himself to his car and drive the roughly one hour journey to the ex-warblers house, but it would be worth seeing whether or not his plan had worked. It would be one step closer to his goal if it had.