Obsessive Reality

Chapter 26: Say Goodbye

“Help!”I yell as I blow the doors open. Doctors swarm us immediately, asking questions and demanding answers.

We rushed to the nearest hospital as soon as we descended the building. Running wasn’t fast enough though. Riley’s breath was becoming shallow and Katie passed out from blood loss. David also can’t see out of one eye. We’re not in the best condition for running. So Anna, Triston and I had combined magic and teleported to this hospital. Yes, teleported. It took the last of my strength.

Justin laid Riley onto a gurney and Riley was whisked away. Katie and David’s fate is the same. The rest of us run along the beds.

“What happened?” One of the doctors asks me.

I stumble to find a cover story. Can’t very well tell him what we were actually doing, I’d sound insane. “We, we go to Bentally Boarding School. We were just walking back to campus, down an alley, when uh... a guy, a couple of guys ...jumped us? They... they had weapons.” I say unsure of what the doctor would think of my story.

“All right. We’re going to get your friends all fixed up.” The man said reassuringly. “Get all of them to an E.R. stat!” He calls to his staff.

“Will he be all right?” Anna asks a woman helping Riley.

“He has excessive bleeding in his arms and legs; the cut across his chest is deep. He’s in a comatose state and his ribs appear to be broken. The rib may have punctured a lung, which would explain his rapidly decreasing breath. We’ll try to stop the bleeding and patch his lung if it is in fact punctured. Then we’ll deal with the coma. He may come out of it or he may not. We have to wait and see. Who is this boy?” The doctor tells Anna.

“His... his name is Riley Johnson. I’m... I’m his girlfriend.” Anna chokes out through sobs. I run to her side and hug her.

“Shh... It’s okay. It’s okay.” I lie. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m to blame if anything bad occurs.

We follow our friends until they disappear into the E.R.

Watching the doctors go to work is nerve wracking. I can’t hear a thing, just see the scene unfolding. Katie is injected with something and everyone goes to work. They remove the bloody gauze from her arm and examine the damage. One of the doctors opens her mouth and seems to start yelling. Her colleagues swarm Katie’s arm.

She better be okay after this. No matter how mean she’s been, she has to live! I pray to some un-known source.

I run to the next room, which holds Riley. My heart drops. His eyes are sealed shut. Surgeons are working frantically to stop his bleeding but the white bandages are rapidly becoming red. I grip Anna’s hand tightly.

Triston is standing at the window, looking at his best friend with a face as pale as ash. He doesn’t look at me when I call his name, he doesn’t respond when I touch his arm. Nothing.

Leaving him alone I stumble back to Anna’s side. She’s crumpled on the floor sobbing. I wonder why I’m not crying. I can feel the tears burning behind my eyes, but none fall. My leadership needs to stay solid, no matter how badly I want to break down.

Suddenly, Riley’s doctors become frantic. I still can’t hear a thing. Anna races to the glass, knocking into Triston as she does. I follow her.

The monitor showing Riley’s heartbeat has flat lined. “No.” I whisper as my eyes widen. People race around and two paddles are brought out. I see the words ‘Clear!’ wisp out of a nurse’s mouth. Riley’s chest jerks upwards but the monitor doesn’t change. They try again, and again, and again. Riley’s body jerking as the electrical currents wash through him.