Chapter 34 - Panic

POV

Young boy:

A loud beeping noise greeted me when I woke up. My eyelashes fluttered and I opened my eyes. A bright white light assaulted my eyes, so I quickly shut them again. It smelled like disinfectant that had a slight citrusy undertone. I moved my right arm only to find strange tubes inserted into my skin. I reopened my eyes and looked down at my body. There was no longer dirt on it and my pale skin was extremely white. You could see my light blue veins running throughout my body. My hair was no longer a dull brown but a shiny pearlescent white.

I tried moving my legs, but they felt really heavy. I began to become panicked and started to flail. The beeping grew faster and faster. I felt something pull in my nose and in my hand. A man in white quickly ran into the room. "I need a doctor in room 23H now!!!" He yelled out into the hallway. I saw fresh blood run down my hand and I could taste the tang of coppery liquid filling my mouth. Four people entered the room. "Nurse I need 7ccs of pentobarbital stat!" White began to flood my vision before fading slowly into a black nothingness. The last thing that I heard was someone saying to get the lady that brought me. With the last amount of energy I had I raised my wrist up to a person in beside me. He looked down at me with confusion.

Then everything was gone.

Memories filled my dreams. I recalled my capture. It was cold outside other children would run away as soon as they saw me. "Ghost! Monster! Demon!" Was what they would yell when they saw me. I moved between the alleys all alone. No one would ever stay with me. They would all leave me even if I offered them food. After all, all I wanted was a friend. Was that to much to ask? I really did not know. Stray cats would scamper away from me ,or they would cry for food. I was never able to stay in the sunlight because my skin would blister and burn. I would retreat into the alleys again.

Occasionally you would hear the moans of a man and woman being promiscuous in the dark. I would walk to the back of bakeries and rummage through the bins. An older woman with long, braided, grey hair would hand me a loaf of bread in the evenings. She would smile at me and try to talk with me for a little while. She was the only person that was nice to me. She wouldn't yell at me like the other adults. She didn't tell me to leave. I wonder how she is doing now. How long have I been gone? Is she still alive now? I don't know anymore

I started to notice that other children from the streets were disappearing. One night a handsome man approached me saying that he could save me from this place. I gazed at him cautiously. He was wearing a nice dark blue shirt with black pants and a belt. He didn't look like he was mean. My stomach made a loud rumbling noise. He laughed and took something out from his bag. It was a sandwich.I looked at it greedily.

"Here, take it." He said and smiled at me. I reached out to take it and he grasped my hand and pulled roughly. I was confused. Why did he do that. I tried to fight back, but years of malnutrition had made me weak. He forcefully took me into his arms. I screamed. He covered my mouth with his large hand. Then he injected something into my arm, and everything went dark once more.

Ahh there's the nice lady again. She held me in her arms. She is humming again, but she let go of me and walked away. "Wait, Please don't leave me here all alone! Please don't make me go back!" I screamed in my mind. I ran and ran as fast as my legs could carry me, but I couldn't catch up to her no matter how hard I tried. All I could hear was her beautiful humming, but now it was almost like it was mocking me. Everything faded back into black and static reverberated throughout my skull. I curled myself into a ball and started screaming while crying.

I jolted awake to find someone beside me. The person was gently holding my hand. She lifted her head and stared at me with her stormy eyes. It was her! She was here; I cannot believe she is here. "Nurse!" She called out. She then quietly said

" I told you I would always come." She smiled and stroked my hair. I leaned into her gentle touch. For the first time I felt safe.