Markiplier: REBOOT

Episode 24: Chasing Shadows

Episode 24: Chasing Shadows

Author's Note: Hey guys! Many of you don't know this but I am taking some online courses, all of which involve medical jargon. That being said, there are some words that some people may not recognize, beside which I have placed an asterisk (*). At the end of the chapter, you'll find the definitions in order of appearance for each word.

~Elise

Eileen's POV:

beep... beep... beep...

The cardiograph* beeped steadily in the background.

My palms were pressed against my forehead, my elbows digging into my thighs as I sat next Magnolia's bed. I could feel my heart firmly lodged in my throat. Now, we had to play the waiting game. Since Mags was poisoned, it was nothing but waiting. Waiting until she was removed from the operating room, where they pumped her stomach; waiting until we could hear news about her condition; waiting until she woke up.

It was torture.

Mark and Ricky were here with me. Ricky was seated on the other side of Mags' bed, holding her hand, his head resting on the bed. He was quietly crying. Rick would never admit it aloud but he was-if you listened closely, one could hear the occasional shaky intake of breath and if one watched carefully, he shook slightly as he let out a silent sob. Something told me then that he loved her.

As for Mark, he was leaned against the white wall, arms folded across his chest. His glasses, which he had gone home to exchange his contacts for, were perched on top of his head and eyes stared blankly at the wall behind me. Generally, Mark always tried to make the best of the situation-he tried to break the silences by cracking a joke. We would laugh half-heartedly. It wasn't long before we found out that the only thing that would make us smile was if Magnolia woke up. And at this rate, it was going to take a while.

I took a moment to look at Mags where she lay on her bed. The doctor's told us that she was lucky to have survived. Normally the dosage she had ingested would have been enough to kill someone. If we had been any longer getting her to the hospital, she would have died. The very thought of losing her again had sent me into a fit. Mark had to hold me back as she was brought into the O.R. I screamed and cried, just like I had when I was told she was seriously injured while on her tour to Iraq. She was shot in the stomach with a slug fired from a rifled barrel. Nearly missed her intestines.

But as I looked at her now, I felt numb. And it had been a very long time since I felt that way. Not since my mother died in that fire. It was something I wasn't very fond of feeling but the deafening silence of the room didn't help me much, either.

The hand that placed itself on my shoulder was what brought me out of my ever darkening thoughts. My eyes were drawn upward and I saw Mark's face. He wore a weak but genuine smile. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was tired and worried about me. He had bags under his eyes and his ever growing hair was a mess. His glasses remained atop his head.

Slowly, Mark took my hands and helped me to my feet. He wrapped his large arms around me in a huge and the numbness threatening to take over slowly melted away. A warmth replaced it, one that I didn't have when my mother passed away. And I sighed, thankful for it.

"Why don't we go down to the cafeteria? Get something to eat," he said gently in my ear.

I nodded my head and took his hand into mine. Silently, we made our way out of the room. Instead of taking the elevator we took the stairs down to the first floor. After being cooped up in that room for hours it was nice to finally be able to stretch my legs. Walking did us some good.

Mark and I took our time getting down to the general area. The walk had distracted us from what bad was happening upstairs and I quite liked the feeling of holding Mark's hand. It grounded me and kept my mind from wandering.

15 minutes had passed by the time we walked through the doors to the cafeteria. Not a lot of people were present: Most of them were scattered about, sitting in different corners of the room, many of them alone. Some of them were dresses in uniform, reading a book or listening to music while they ate. Others looked tired and worrisome, like they had been there for hours, worrying over someone they loved. My heart reached out them.

There wasn't a lot to choose from in regards to food-only the vending machines and hot beverage dispensers were available. It was still too early for any of the cooks to be here.

A few minutes later, we were seated at a secluded table away from the others sipping our coffees. It was about three in the morning. I looked down into the lidless paper coffee cup, the warmth of the steam warming my face. The sides of the cup warmed my hands. And for a moment, I was lost in its feeling.

"Ellie?"

My eyes quickly looked upwards and into Mark's. "Hmm?"

"What happened?"

"What do you mean, what happened?"

He sighed and took a sip of his coffee. "You had every right to break down and cry but I haven't seen you nearly this upset for a long time."

I looked back down into my coffee cup, tears welling up in my eyes. "Mark, you know what loss is like. Better than anyone, I think. I lost my mother, you lost your... your dad. I nearly lost Mags once-she was overseas serving in Iraq, nearly fatally wounded by a car bomb. She was lucky to be alive. But to lose her again would kill me. Especially since Hunter left."

He raised his eyebrow as if to question who she was. "Hunter was a childhood friend of Mags, Ricky and I. She didn't die but she quit on us when times got tough. She ignored us, ignored Ricky-he was in love with her for the longest time-and left without thinking about what it would do to us if she left. It's like Hunter is dead. Mags is all Ricky and I have left of our childhood. And something has told me he's grown to love Mags. I mean, did you see the way he's never left her bed? If it weren't for you, I'd be there right alongside him."

Mark nodded his head and looked downwards, slowly taking a sip of the hot beverage in between his hands. "I understand."

"I'm sorry that I mentioned your dad..." I said quietly. "I know... I know it's a very sensitive topic, just like mum is."

"It's ok," he said quietly.

A silence enveloped us as I watched him while he stared into his half empty coffee cup. It was a sad silence. I reminded him and myself of feelings that were long ago tucked away, something buried into the dark recesses of our minds. And now we both needed a distraction. I stood and rounded the table, slowly taking Mark's hand into mine. All I did was smile and tug his arm a little, silently asking him to follow me.

I guided him out of the cafeteria and towards the elevator banks. From there, we took the elevator to the top most floor. Mark was aware we were going somewhere and he raised an eyebrow at me. "Just follow me," I told him.

We walked down to the end of a dimly lit hall to the fire escape. With his hand in mine, we climbed to the top of the stairwell and exited onto the roof. The eastern horizon was starting to grey with light and the sun would soon rise. I found us a nice, cozy air vent to sit ourselves on as we watched the dawn of a new day. A new beginning, so to speak. And with new beginnings came an endless amount of possibilities. Maybe this new day would warm our hearts with great new. Maybe Mags would wake up.

**********
So sorry for the long wait. This chapter definitely wasn't what I expected to write when I was trying to get this done. I had it on the back burner for so long that I totally forgot what I wanted to happen. All the same, I sincerely hope that this chapter was worth the wait.

Let's hope I can crank something else out for you.

In the mean time, I'll see YOU in the next episode. Buh bye! :)
~Elise.

*heart monitor