*The Chronicles of F.R.E.E. Atania's Knight - Raquel Festow* Part 1

Chapter 21 - Hospital

*Tommy Hunter POV*

I frantically crawled to Raquel and Watson's sides.
"Watson! Raquel! Answer me, please!" I cried out.
Theo was getting his phone out and calling 999. People were running over to help us. I didn't know what to do!
I grabbed Watson's phone and desperately called the only person I could think of. Hodgson!
He answered after a few rings.
"Not now, baby! Rebecca was seen by Sawyer walking towards the A124. We have to find her. I'll call you back."
"NO! WAIT!" I screamed.
"Hunter?" He shouted. I could hear beeping of cars and people talking around him. "What are-"
"Something's wrong with Raquel and Watson!" I cried out, feeling like my whole world was being torn apart. "They both clutched their chests and fainted. We've had to call an ambulance! They're not waking up."
Theo appeared by my side, and gently rolled both the girls over into recovery positions. He glanced up at me and titled his head to let me know that the ambulance was on its way.
"Oh please god, no!" I heard Hodgson hiss through the phone.
"Hodgson! What's wrong with them?!" I felt like Hodgson wasn't telling me something.
"STAY WITH THEM!" He suddenly bellowed, his breathing broken and jagged like he was running. "DO NOT LEAVE THEIR SIDE WHAT EVER YOU DO!"
He put the phone down on me. Oh fuck! What was happening?!
Watson's sword was flashing silver and red inside her bag. Neither of them were responding to us and they just looked like they were sleeping. I could hear the sirens approaching from behind us and Theo put his hand on my shoulder.
"You 'ight, bruv?" He said to me, trying and failing to make his voice sound calm. He was panicking like me.
I shook my head. "I can't lose them, too, Theo!" I said, quietly. staring intently at Raquel while holding her hand. "I couldn't bear it!"
"We won't!" He said defiantly, shaking his head. "We won't lose them. What your friend say?"
"Not to leave their side." I responded, glancing over at Watson, mirroring Raquel. They looked so peaceful.
"Then that's what we'll do!" He got up and tried to lift up Watson's bag, but it wouldn't come off the floor.
"No one can lift her sword except her." I told him.
His mouth fell open and he looked inside the bag.
"Shit, Cuz! That is some blade!" He cried out.
"Hide it!" I whisper-yelled at him. "No one can see it!"
"Well, they're going to look in the bag anyway aren't they?" He reasoned, before crawling back over and checking Watson's pulse. "Mate, she's barely there.."
I let out a sob. I cupped Raquels cheek with my hand and leaned forward. I kissed her forehead, tenderly, before placing my own forehead against hers.
"Don't leave me..." I whispered to her.
We could hear more people running over and there were four medics. They got straight to work on Raquel and Watson in teams of two, checking their pulse and putting breathing masks on them. One of the men got up, his face concerned, and approached us.
"Can you tell me what happened?" He asked.
"We don't know. They were sitting and chatting with us normally, then looked like they were having a heart attack and collapsed." I replied, wringing my hands together and gazing over at the two girls.
"Hmm." He put his finger and thumb around his chin in thought. "Well, good news is there isn't any signs of trauma. Their vital signs are there, but their pulses are quite slow and faint. We need to take them to the hospital for some tests and scans."
I nodded to tell him I understood, but in reality, I didn't. I didn't understand what was going on at all. I felt numb but my mind was racing. I remember Rebecca experiencing Watson's pain in the cave when we were following Watson's trail to Mournstead. Did that mean all the Doppelgangers are linked to each other?
This was bad. Really bad! I knew those at FREE relied on the doppelgangers. They ran everything and attended every call. With Rebecca and Watson here on Earth, that would mean Rhianna and Ruby were on their own and in charge, but if they were in the same state as Raquel and Watson was right now...
Something had happened to one of them. But what?
The medics were putting Raquel and Watson on stretchers to take them to the hospital. I turned to Theo.
"You go with Watson. I'll go with Raquel. Please, Theo, do not leave her side!" I begged him, before running over to Raquel's side and grabbed her hand as she was moved to the ambulance.
"Hey! You forgot her bag!" Someone shouted after me.
I looked back and ran over. I knew it wouldn't work, but I had to try. The sword was gleaming silver right now. I bent to pick the bag up, but it wouldn't move. I groaned. I would have no choice but to leave it here. I quickly took out the other contents and turned to leave, but the sword started glowing blue. I looked down and thought, one more try couldn't hurt, right? I bent over and but still the bag wouldn't lift. I roared at it and ran back to the ambulance, just as they were putting Raquel inside. I sat in the seat on the wall of the ambulance as they closed the door and watched the medic hook her up before sitting and filling in a form. I needed to let the others know what was happening. I lifted Watson's phone again and looked for Perkins number, so he could spread the word.
"Perkins." He answered straight away.
"P! It's Hunter!"
"Hunter, you alright, mate? Who's phone you using?" He asked.
"It's Watson's. Listen, something is happening to all of them. They all seem to be out of it. I was with Theo, Raquel and Watson and the girls just collapsed. I have no idea how or why, but I'm in an ambulance on the way to the hospital with them right now. Theo is with Watson." I couldn't mention Doppelgangers or FREE or anything in case it caused a problem.
"Shit! Alright, I'll get hold of the others. Why wasn't Hodg with you?" He asked.
"Long story, he will be better telling you than me. It's been a hell of a day!" I told him, rubbing my cheek.
"Right. I'll speak to you later, ok? Call me if anything changes." Perkins put the phone down.
I was shaking. I felt so helpless as I looked up at Raquel's lifeless form laying on the stretcher with a drip in her arm and breathing mask over her mouth. I leaned over and held her limp hand gently while the Ambulance weaved through Croydon's rush hour traffic.
"We're taking her to St Georges in Tooting." The female medic told me.
I nodded and quickly messaged Hodgson on Watson's phone to tell him where we were.
Upon arriving at the hospital, I was given some forms to fill in for the both of them. Raquel and Watson were put in rooms next to each other while they waited for testing. I had no choice but to lie on the forms for their basic details. I gave them the same surname, Watson, the same date of birth which I completely made up, the same address, mine, and everything else I left blank.
The nurse came in and wheeled Raquel away for testing. I followed her as far as I could then sat down and waited, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees and biting my nails. I kept Watson's phone in my hand for any news and kept glancing at the screen in case I had missed anything. Time seemed to drag slowly.
Raquel was brought out from her scan and I followed her as she was pushed back to her room. She was hooked up to a fresh drip and heart monitor machine and the nurse told me that someone will be with me soon.
I stepped outside the room and stood in front of the door. I needed to make sure she was kept safe. Theo appeared from Watson's room and stood outside the same as me.
"Is she ok?" I asked him, not moving from the door.
He nodded. "She's ok. They did some scan, but, bruv, they doesn't seem to be nothing wrong. It's weird." Theo replied from his door, scratching his head. "You had any news, at all?"
I shook my head. "Perkins is calling everyone to let them know. I just hope Hodg found Rebecca. She was missing when I spoke to him on the phone. He sounded really worried and he seemed to be running somewhere."
"Shit, cuz. This ain't good." Theo shot me an anxious look.
I sighed and hung my head. "No. It's not."
A nurse came over and went into Watson's room. I nodded to Theo to follow her and he disappeared.
I wanted a cigarette. I needed to calm my nerves, but I couldn't leave her. I sighed heavily and went into Raquel's room. She was laying there, peacefully.
I bent over to kiss her on the forehead and stayed there for a while brushing her gorgeous long hair away from her face.
Why did I feel this way about her? Why did I feel like my whole world revolved around her being happy and content beside me? Together forever?
When I turned round back in Sutton and couldn't see her, I had gone into a blind panic. I had shunted her because she had told the driver of that cab that I was her soulmate. I didn't know how to take that. Did she say it because she had misunderstood when I told her I loved her because she made me laugh all the time? Or maybe because I had pretended to be her boyfriend in the cab? Had I misled her and given her the wrong idea?
It didn't feel like it. In fact, she had acted strange around me since I first met her.
When I pulled Gerri into the room to introduce her, Raquel had grabbed me and pulled me into a tight embrace. It had felt wonderful being held by her, but I had my girlfriend there with me. When Sawyer officially introduced me, all she did was make a bizarre sound before being nudged by her friend. I just though she had a teenager crush on me. It was quite flattering really, but now I'm the one with a crush... On someone who is nine years younger than me.
I cringed at that thought and sat back in the chair beside the bed, staring at her.
I have no idea what she did to Gerri, but that scared the living shit out of me. I knew Gerri could fight as she took self defense classes, but to use those moves on an innocent teenager? All wrong in my book. I was furious with her. But it seemed Raquel had other ideas on how to get her own back. Pointing at her and talking absolute gibberish. Gerri seemed to freeze for a moment, then just pissed off. All like, 'I'm going home to watch tv' type of attitude. She wouldn't speak to me or even stop for me when I ran after her. I gave up trying when Hodg called me. It was so good to hear his voice.
But then Gerri rang me when Raquel was talking about Rebecca. I went outside and the bitch started screaming at me, asking me why I hadn't come after her. When I told her I did, she called me a lier. Thank fuck Hodgson was there otherwise things could have got really nasty. She accused me of cheating with Raquel, but when I reminded her I had only just met her, she changed her accusation to cheating with Watson. She was making absolutely no sense! I was glad when she put the phone down on me. Thank god that part of my life is over.
Although, I did wonder why Raquel and her Atanian friends were so afraid of her right from the beginning.
The door opened and I looked to see the nurse come in. She smiled at me, all flirty, and I inwardly rolled my eyes. I know I am good looking, but should she really do that when my girlfriend is in hospital?
She walked past me and checked Raquel's drip and the readings from the machine. She tore off the paper and looked at it closer, frowning.
"Have they said what it could be?" I asked her.
She raised her head and gave me a smile. "She's not showing anything on the scans, but she does seem to be in a coma. We don't know what could be causing it, so think it could have been extremely low blood pressure. Although, the both of them losing conciousness at the same time with the same symptoms is very odd."
I looked back at Raquel, lifting her hand in mine and kissing it, gently. I closed my eyes and bowed my head as I heard the nurse walk out of the room with the paper.

We have been in the hospital for hours, now, and none of the doctors are able to tell us what is wrong with either of them. I've been unable to get hold of Hodgson, Rebecca, Natalia nor Sawyer and Ashdown. Green and Perkins were at Dean's cafe with her and Hewitt, as well as Raquel's friends, but they're none the wiser at what had happened than me.
I couldn't hold on anymore. I was starting to panic more because I wasn't getting answers. I needed that cigarette!
I stepped outside of the hospital grounds and rummaged in my pockets for my lighter. It had got dark. Looking at my watch, it was half past nine. They've been out for six hours now. Instead of finding my lighter, my hand came across a card. I pulled it out and it was Bookers contact card. She was a doctor!
I immediately whipped out Watson's phone and dialled her number.
"Doctor Booker?" She answered.
"Booker, hi! It's Hunter." I said, smiling at her voice.
"Heya Hunter. I wasn't expecting you to call me. I thought you would be at the hospital." Booker said in a surprised tone.
My breath hitched. "How did you know I'm in the hospital?"
"Oh you are there. That's good! How is she?" Booker asked, her voice turned sympathetic.
"Er, well the doctor can't find out what's wrong with either of them." I updated her.
"Can't find out? Hunter, she was hit by a car! Fuck sa-"
"Who was hit by a car?!" I shouted at her, panic flowing through me.
"Watson was, hun. Are-Aren't you there with Hodgson?"
"Watson wasn't hit by a car, I was with her in Croydon. She was here with me and Raquel." I told her. Oh fuck! It was Rebecca!!
"No, she isn't. I was the first doctor to see to her. I was the one who had to administer the defibrillator to restart her heart again when she arrived in A and E." Booker assured me.
"Th-that wasn't Watson..." I said, my body starting to break down. "That was Rebecca. Watson's a doppelganger. Oh shit! Fuck!"
"She's a doppelganger?" Booker repeated.
"Yes. The girl you attended to was called Rebecca! She's-" I stopped myself. I can't talk about FREE out loud. It's not safe.
I forgot about my need for a cigarette and headed back inside for Raquel's room.
"What state is she in?" I asked Booker, desperately.
"She's critical, Hunter. After I left, she had another seizure because of her head trauma. My replacement was working on her. I know this is a long shot, but... Would you happen to have any potions?" She asked.
"I know just the person!" I cried out. A silver lining! Finally! "I'll call you back, I'm going to contact Dean. She should have some."
"Good. I will put it in her drip when I attend to her tomorrow morning. It was awful seeing her like that. Poor Hodgson was beside himself when I caught a glimpse of him in the waiting room, but that black haired girl was absolutely distraught. We can't let anyone see her at the moment as they're still trying to stabilise her condition." Booker sniffed through the phone and let out a sorrowful sigh.
"I'll get Dean to get to you straight away. Would you be able to give her the potion sooner than tomorrow morning?" I asked, desperately.
"I can. I can lie and say I was called in for an emergency and wanted to check up on her."
"Great! I'll get on it now."
I put the phone down and called Dean. She answered straight away.
"Dean, I need you to get some green potion to Booker, now!" I ordered her.
"What? Booker?"
I reached Raquels room and slipped inside. I walked over and held her hand as I spoke. "Yes. Booker. The girl from Narthwich. She's a doctor in Barking Hospital now. I need you to head to her and give her the green potion to give to Rebecca."
"Oh my god! What's happened?" I could hear her footsteps running across the tiled floor of the kitchen.
"Rebecca was hit by a car and is in hospital. She's critical, Dean. Booker is her doctor. She can put the potion through her drip ASAP.!"
"Oh my god..." I heard her breathe. "A car?! I thought she had gone to the hotel?"
"I don't know the details, just get that potion to Booker now! I'll send you the address."
I put the phone down and took a picture of the card for her and sent it via email. I then called Booker back.
"Booker, Dean will be on her way soon. I've sent her to the address on the card."
"Excellent. I will meet her there and I'll leave now."
"Thank you so much!" I cried through the phone, the tears I had been holding back since we got here, finally breaking free from my eyes and coursing down my cheeks.
"Anything for a friend, Hunter!"