Nightmare on Third Street - Chapter Fifteen

I looked up as a nurse entered the waiting room at the hospital on Alden Street. I felt exhausted, and was sure I looked even worse. I sure didn't want to be looking at myself right now, especially after all that had happened. I rose to my feet quickly when the nurse with light brown hair entered the room with a grim expression. I knew that couldn't mean good news. I still remembered what had taken place at my house nearly three hours ago. Coming home, the bathroom, the fight...it was all still so very, very fresh in my head, though I wanted to forget it so badly.

It had taken the ambulance forever to arrive at my house, but then that was probably my frantic mind, slowing time down. It probably only really took them about five minutes or so, but that had been long enough. Elrick had been fading away, my floors stained with his blood. I shivered as I remembered it. The towel he'd had wrapped around his waist had been a deep red by the time the ambulance had arrived. The towels I had place on his stomach had been soaked through and his blood was wetting my fingers. I glanced down at my fingers, a brownish color of dry blood.

I shivered involuntarily, remembering that scene in the hallway. God, I hoped something like that never happened again. I prayed Elrick was okay, for I was beginning to get used to having him around, and he was the only one who knew what was happening with me. He knew what was going on; I didn't. I needed him more than I cared to admit.I sighed softly, and focused on the nurse.

She looked to be around her mid-twenties, early thirties, but I wasn't exactly sure. Her sharp green eyes looked worn and exhausted, and her light brown hair hung limp on her shoulders. "How...How is he?" I asked quietly. I hadn't noticed how quiet it was in the room until then. I was suddenly very aware of my heart as it hammered against my chest in anticipation.

The nurse sighed and shook her head once. That was more than enough for me. My legs went weak and I sank back down into the chair, staring straight ahead, having difficulty swallowing. 'Please don't tell me he's dead,' I silently pleaded. 'I can't take anymore death. God, too much has happened today, don't make it worse. Please.' It was silent for a moment, and when I finally managed to focus on the nurse, she was looking at me with worn green eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Randall," she said, but there was something in her eyes. She wasn't really sorry at all, she just had to say it as part of her job. How could she honestly be sorry, anyway? She hadn't known Elrick. She didn't know who he was, what was going on, why he was hurt. She knew nothing. About either of us. "We had a few problems while we were stitching your friend up." She was acting hesitant. That was never, never good.

I swallowed and closed my eyes as I bowed my head. "What...kind of problems?" I murmured, dreading the answer. 'Just tell me if he's alive or not,' I thought. 'Stop leaving me in this anxious suspense.'

"He went into cardiac arrest while we were stitching him up and giving him more blood."

She continued speaking, but I had gone deaf by that point. The only thing I could hear was the beating of my heart as it sped up with despair. My expression crumpled and I clenched my eyes closed even tighter, my hands forming into fists in my lap. 'Damn it, no...' I thought faintly. 'This isn't fair.' It wasn't fair to have him die like that. It just wasn't fair. She was still speaking, and suddenly her hand was on my shoulder. I flinched and brought my gaze up to look at her. Her expression was tense with concern.

"Mr. Randall?" she asked. "Are you all right?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah," I mumbled beneath my breath. 'Unlike Elrick,' I silently added.

"As I was saying," she continued. "We are going to keep an eye on him for a few days just to be safe."

I frowned and then stared at her. "What?" I asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Your friend," she said. "He went into cardiac arrest, we revived him, stitched him up, and he should be okay in a few days. He's going to have to take it easy, though. Too much moving and his stitches will open up, and that would be bad."

I nodded rapidly, unable to contain my joy and relief at this news, and jumped to my feet with newfound energy. "What room is he in?" I asked, for I had to see that he was still breathing for myself.

She smiled, slightly, and then told me the room and floor number. I nodded in thanks and darted out of the room, headed toward the elevator. On my way there, I ran into an unexpected guest.

I stared. "Dominic?" I gasped, startled, for it was my little brother, standing in the hallway. "What the hell? What are you doing here?"

He said nothing, darting toward me, wrapping his arms around me almost immediately. I felt tears wetting my stomach as he buried his head there, and slowly wrapped my arms around him in return, stunned. "We got a call from the hospital," he cried, sniffling. "We thought...we..." he trailed off, shaking his head.

"...Dom? Mom and Dad are here?" I groaned inwardly at the idea. Now I'd never hear the end of it.

"Yeah," he sniffled. "They're here. They're talking at the front desk. I snuck away. I...I knew something would happen. Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?" He clutched at me as he spoke, and I felt a stab of guilt. I had forgotten to call my family in the rush to get to the hospital for Elrick. I had forgotten to call them and let them know I was all right.

"Dom," I murmured quietly, so only he could hear. "I'm perfectly fine. Rattled, but fine. Elrick...he..." I trailed off without meaning to. My voice just suddenly stopped working, my throat constricted.

Dominic stiffened. "Is he okay? What happened?"

"He...Yeah, he's okay."

"What happened?" he repeated.

"A little misadventure with a knife," I muttered. Hey, it was only a half-lie, after all. A knife had been the cause of his hospital experience. I just decided to leave out the gruesome details of the scene in the kitchen and fight in the hallway and all the craziness that had happened since I got home from the concert. Concert. I felt like smacking my head. I needed to call Jake and see what was up.

Then I felt guilty for thinking about my stupid band at a time like this. Elrick was in the hosptial, he had nearly DIED, and here I was being selfish and thinking about my own personal gain. Something twisted in my gut as I swallowed down the guilt.

Dominic looked me over before he nodded his head in approval. He was sure that I was okay now. "Where were you going?" he murmured, gesturing at the elevator.

"To see Elrick," I said honestly.

He hesitated. "Can I come with you?"

I frowned. I wasn't sure how bad off Elrick was, what he looked like or anything, and wasn't sure Dominic should see him like this. But the pleading look in his eyes was too much for my battered mental state, and I quickly relented. He followed me into the elevator, and together, we rode to Elrick's floor.

We got out of the elevator and I hurriedly searched for Elrick's room. Once I finally found it, I told Dominic to wait outside for a minute. He agreed reluctantly, and I entered alone, shutting the door behind me.

Elrick's room smelled of medicine and felt chilly for some reason. I felt uneasy, being in here, but I slowly crept toward the bed despite that fact. Elrick was deathly pale, and it made me choke back tears. Sure, he wasn't as pale as he had been in my kitchen, but it was close enough. And this was real, I told myself. This wasn't an illusion. This was real.

He was lying in a small hospital bed, covered by a single sheet. His chest rose and fell slowly, and his breaths rattled as they came out. I swallowed thickly, and took in a deep, calming breath. But there was no way to calm my nerves, not at a time like this. At least he would be okay, I told myself. He was going to be okay.

'Unless the voice attacks him again,' I thought bitterly. That thought alarmed me. Would the voice really attack while he was in the hospital? I wasn't sure, but I wouldn't put it past him. I stared at the far wall for a long moment, my thoughts racing around in my head, when I heard the door start to creak open. I stiffened and then spun around to face it.

Dominic poked his head in. "Can I come in now?" he asked slowly, unsure of himself.

I nodded slowly and gestured for him to come in. He did so, shutting the door behind him before he came toward me. I was standing next to the bed, and once he stopped next to me, I turned to look back down at Elrick's battered body.

"Is...Is he okay?" Dominic whispered, obviously not used to seeing someone so pale. Not to mention so still. I swallowed hard before I answered.

"Yeah," I murmured in a thin voice. "He's okay. Just tired. He needs his rest. He'll be better in no time. Promise."

Dominic looked uncertain for a moment, but then sighed and shook his head. "This was an accident, then?"

I nodded slowly, deciding that it as better if he didn't know about what had really happened back at the house. "Yeah," I whispered, clutching the bedrail tightly with both hands as I stared down at Elrick's still form. "An accident."