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Blind Rage - Chapter 19

~*~*~*~
Before AJ went up to Brian’s room, he snuck outside near the hospital employee’s entrance to get a quick cigarette and to call Kevin and Howie and let them know what was going on at the hospital. After a few minutes of debating back and forth, Kevin and AJ decided it would be okay for Howie and himself to come up to the hospital. “I seriously doubt that old lady even knows the rest of us guys, it was just dumb luck on my part or something and with her daughter being out of commission with her surgery, my theory is tht one of us can cover Brian and the other cover Lizz,” AJ stated to Kevin. “Sounds like a good plan to me AJ. I’ll call Howie and we’ll be there as soon as we can,” Kevin replied. AJ closed up his cell phone and too one more deep drag off his cigarette before flicking it to the ground. “I gotta stop one of these days,” he sighed and then walked back towards the hospital.
~*~*~*~
I sat on the edge of my bed, facing this Jalen person. He looked like a bookworm, I didn’t know if he was crazy or semi crazy like me. “So Nick, obviously Mandy didn’t formally introduce us,” he held his hand out for me to shake. “My name’s Jalen, but I perfer to be called Jay.” Jay? God that name sounded so familiar to me but I couldn’t place it at the moment. As I shook the hand that was offered, I couldn’t help but notice the tons of freckles that ran up and down his arm and hands. He had deep red hair, wore braces and was wearing glasses like the actor Drew Carey wore all the time. “Oh, you like these?” Jalen asked. “I noticed you staring at them. They’re requisitioned here. You can’t have any things that belong to you here at the nut farm. Have you had your medical eval yet?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Medical eval?” Jay let out a long sigh. “God, you know, medical evaluation?” I folded my arms across my chest. “I dunno, she asked me some questions and stuff, wasn’t that it?” Jay started to chuckle. “Oh not even close, you’re gonna hate every bit of it.” He looked at my face closer, pushing his thick glasses up with his finger. “You wear contact lenses?” “Yeah, so?” “Kiss them goodbye after tomorrow,” Jay laughed. A ringing bell, similar to ones you would hear in a school building caught his attention. There was a strong buzzing noise and suddenly the door swung open. “Dinner Nick, come on, green block goes first this week!” I stayed planted on the bed. “You go on, I’m not really hungry.” Jay stopped and stared at me. “You better go cause they watch everthing you do and I mean everything. If you don’t eat they’ll put you in the hole and force you to eat.” I shrugged my shoulders and stood up and followed Jay to the cafeteria. I had a feeling this was going to be rough.
*~*~*~*~*
Agnes returned to her daughter’s room, her face flushed with anger. Her plans were starting to unravel. “Mommy, what’s wrong?” Terri asked, she could tell by the look on her mother’s face that something was wrong. Agnes sighed. “I just met that weird Backstreet Boy again,” she snapped her fingers, “the one with the tatoos on his arms.” “AJ mama, it was AJ. Why is he hanging around here, I thought you told them no outside visitors.” “Evidently this one isn’t too bright. I caught him in Brian’s room and Lizz’s room. I think I fixed it this time though, I told him I might have to inject air into Brian’s IV line,” Agnes grinned as she recalled. “Better yet mommy find someone that’s dying of some disease and take their needle and stick it into both Brian and Lizz,” Terri plotted. Agnes gasped at the thought. “You sure are the evil little one.” “Just like daddy is,” Terri piped up. “Speaking of, I have tried their cell number and it just keeps ringing, I’m starting to get a little pissed off at them,” Agnes stated.
~*~*~*~
Suddenly, the over head lights in the room flickered on. “What the hell..” I mumbled as I took my pillow and placed it across my face. “It’s six-thirty, rise and shine,” Jay mumbled. “What the hell are we getting up for?” I questioned. “Breakfast, therapy, med line and the most fun, work stations,” Jay replied as he pulled his scrub pants on. I heard the distinct sound of keys rattling outside our door. Quickly the door was opened and Mandy entered our room, holding a chart. “Nick, still not dressed yet? I need you to get dressed and follow me, you will have your breakfast during our evaluation. Hurry, I will wait for you outside this door,” Mandy cheerfully requested. I slowly dragged my body out of bed and went over to the commode that was in the corner of our room, no doors to aid in privacy. I got dressed and quickly splashed water on my face and brushed my teeth and raked my hands through my hair. I definately was not looking forward to this medical evaluaton at all.

~*~*~*~

Officer Mallow sped down the long stretch of highway toward the station. He was pretty much in the middle of nowhere and his shift would be over by the time he made it back. He usually disliked patrolling this stretch because it was out in the boonies and he never got to see anything good. Today, however, he was relieved because that meant he would actually get off on time. He heard ESPN and a cold beer calling his name.

"What the hell?" He mumbled to himself as a very large object came to view in the distance. As he approached it he realized that is was a van. An overturned van.

"Shit." He cursed when he realized that this would prolong his shift. He could kiss that beer goodbye. He picked up his radio and called for backup. When he reached the vehicle he could see broken glass everywhere. He turned on his flashing lights and the strobe effect stood out in contrast to the darkening area. He finally pulled to a stop behind the van and caustiously made his way towards it.

"Police! Anyone injured?" He called out, shining a huge flashlight over the crash scene. He was met with silence. The van was turned so that passenger side was closest to him. When Mallow shined his light into the window he saw a man leaning half inside it and and half out.

"Shit! Sir? Sir?" Mallow carefully leaned over and put the pads of his fingers agianst the man's throat. It was cold to the touch and it was obvious that he had been dead for awhile. Mallow shined the light further and noticed that there was a lot more blood than there should have been for just one man. Mallow walked around to the other side of the mangled vehicle and shined his light around some more.

Damn it! Where is my backup?! He thought to himself. As he tried to peer inside the van, his light fell onto the victim's face.

Mallow gasped. He recognized him from the picture that had been flashed all over the news.

~*~*~*~*~

This was not something I wanted to deal with right now. There was far too much going on for my kidneys to decide to start failing on me. They hurt, but with everything that had happened to me recently, I was getting used to constantly being in pain. It was going to have to wait. I was going to go see Brian.

I pushed the blankets away and gasped at the sight of my legs. They were a mess of black, blue, and faded yellow. Terri's beating. Gross. I carefully edged them over the side of the bed, wincing as I did so. If I hadn't been on some pretty decent pain meds, there was no way I would be doing this. I could barely move as it was. Very slowly and deliberately I went into the long process of turning all the alarms to silent and removing the bloodpressure cuff and oxygen that was attached to me. Man, was I going to get it good when I got caught. Then it hit me that Kyung wasn't here to catch me and my eyes filled with tears.

"Not now!" I berated myself outloud.

I was very dizzy on my feet, but I held tight to my IV pole. I'd just put my weight on it. As I inched towards the door I caught my face's reflection in the dark window, almost as clear as an actual mirror. Wow. Sick. I already knew about the white bandage that covered the stitches above my eye. The black eye from Terri was starting to fade, but the rest of my face was still pretty bruised. I guess I wouldn't be winning any beauty contests any time soon.

The hallway was pretty clear and I barely missed a nurse disappear into someone's room. I walked unsteadily towards the exit to the ICU, trying to act like I was supposed to walking around. It worked. I made it to the ICU doors and went right through. Call it practice from years of sneaking around hospitals or call it dumb luck, but I made it through. I was so floored that I had made it out, that it seemed to give me a boost of adreniline. I was still unsteady and dizzy as hell, but I had made it further than I thought. The elevators were right outside ICU and I pushed the button to go up. When the doors opened I noticed only one person inside. As soon as she saw me, she turned quickly away. Okay, I know I looked bad, but sheesh! That was rude. I didn't even get a good look at her until the doors shut and we started moving.

"Well well..."

The blood froze in my veins. That voice. I looked up and Terri's mother stood in front of me.

"What a pleasant surprise." She smiled, menacingly as she hit the stop button on the elevator.

Shit.

~*~*~*~
By Marcus’s stupidity, he allowed Kyung to walk in front of him for the last hour of the hike. He had no idea where he was and was wishing that maybe Kyung would figure a way out of the mess they were now into. Kyung’s heart caught in her throat when she thought she saw a disinctive flash of red and then of blue. She decided before Marcus noticed, she grabbed her bad arm with her good and started running down the path, the branches on the trees that hung across where beating unmercifully across her face. “HEY WHAT THE HELL!” Marcus called out from behind. “I THOUGHT YOU WERE FINISHED WITH THIS DUMB ASS GAME!” “I see a highway, maybe we can find help!” Kyung yelled over her shoulder. She fell down once into the soft dirt as she climbed the hill, grunting when she hit the ground. “Take it easy,” Marcus hollered. He realized he was losing control of the situation. As Kyung crested the hill, she started screaming. A state trooper’s car was parked alongside of the road, investigating an accident. She starting running blindly towards the car. Marcus was about ready to yell at Kyung but stopped. He crested the hill in time to see her furiously running towards a policeman standing near an overturned suburban.... their suburban! He suddenly realized that they had been wandering through the woods in a complete circle. Marcus immediately did a quick turn around and ran into the dense woods, trying to put distance between himself and his hostage.
~*~*~*~
“Well, well, look what we have here,” Agnes glared at Lizz. “You look pretty sad and pathetic, I guess that Nick Carter really did a job on you.” Lizz narrowed her eyes at Agnes. “Don’t play that shit on me! You forget, I’m not the one with trouble remembering things.” Agnes laughed sarcastically. “Oh yeah, it slipped my mind. Well, you know what? We have things fixed up pretty good for your friend Nick and your friend Kyung too.” Lizz felt her heart starting to beat faster, her chest was tightening. “What do you mean?” she asked, trying to keep her composure. “Well, Kyung is out in a cabin in the middle of the woods in Tennessee and as for your young friend Nick, we have him convinced that the only way to save his friends is to take the guilt and spend the rest of his life in prison. He’s accepted it and he will be talking to a judge before the week is done. You can kiss any chance of seeing him again in oh, about forty to sixty years from now.” “He won’t,” Lizz gasped, unable to get air into her lungs. “Ah but he has to. You see, we told him if he screws with us Brian gets it. Brian is his best friend and it will be easy to do him in unsuspectingly. A little puff of air in his IV line and,” Agnes snapped her fingers, “poof, bye bye Brian.” Agnes pushed the button on the elevator to start up again. Lizz was clinging onto the IV pole, trying to keep from falling over as a full blown panick attack was building. By the time the elevator stopped on a floor, Lizz was now doubled over, coughing and hyperventilating. “Oh dear lord, somebody please! Someone help her! Help!” Agnes barely yelled out as the doors opened. As she stepped out, she ran head on into a man. She appologised quickly and then looked into the face and gasped.

I couldn’t catch my breath. God, I hope Nick isn’t feeling this. My heart was threatening to pound out of my chest and my legs were shaking so bad that I could barely keep standing. I heard Agnes start hollering for help and then apologize when she ran into someone. When I heard the reply, my head shot up at the familiar voice.

“YOU?!” Brian glared at Agnes as she stood there, looking uncomfortable. He was out on physical therapy rounds. The therapist was hovering behind him since he wasn’t very steady on his feet. He was ghostly pale and looked exhausted, but determined. His eyes shifted to mine and his jaw dropped.

“Brian.” I choked out, stumbling towards him. I started to fall, still gasping frantically, but his therapist caught me before I hit the ground.

“Easy now. Just try to breathe.” She urged. “Hey we need some help over here!”

Brian very slowly and carefully knelt down in front of me. “Lizz what’s wrong?”

“Brian...she...can’t...she...can’t...” I couldn’t even get the words out. I was totally panicking and everything was spinning around me.

“Shhhhh. Lizz, breathe!” Brian said softly, trying to calm me down.

“No! You...” I clung to him, determined to keep Agnes away. The frustration of not being able to get any air was too much. I was so afraid that Agnes was going to do something to Brian.

“Lizz, just take it easy. You’re gonna be fine. Take deep breaths.” He coaxed.

Meanwhile other nurses had appeared, one with an oxygen tank. I felt someone put a canuala on me and it got a little easier to breathe. The PT looked at Agnes.

“What exactly happened here?” Marilyn had a bad feeling about that woman that was standing there. The look of horror on her face when she ran into Brian was odd. It wasn’t fear of what was happening with this girl, but a fear of Brian’s reaction.

Agnes shifted her feet and wrung her hands nervously. “I...I don’t know. She stepped on the elevator and suddenly started freaking out. She doesn’t even look like she should be up and around.”

Brian looked up and glared at her. He was about to open his mouth to inform the small crowd that this woman was lying, but he stopped when he felt Lizz grip his arms harder. He looked at her questionably and she shook her head vehemently. Her eyes were wide with fear.

“What did you do to her?” Brian demanded angrily.

Agnes looked shocked. “What do you mean? I don’t even know her.” The last part was said with a hint of malice. None of the nurses seemed to notice it, but Brian heard it and obviously Lizz did because she began to tremble.

“Brian, please.” Lizz said softly, pleading.

The look in her eyes was desperate and he finally relented. Agnes smirked at them. How pathetic. She thought to herself.

Marilyn noticed the look on Agnes’ face and grew uncomfortable. Her patient looked furious and the girl that was clinging to him was obviously terrified for some reason. Two of the nurses began to lift Lizz onto a gurney so they could take her back to her room. They covered her up with a blanket and attended to the IV pump which began beeping shrilly.

“No! You can’t make me go back! Please!“ Lizz cast a pleading look towards Brian.

He watched helplessly. She needed to go back to her room, but he also wanted to know what had happened. He was totally spent and Marilyn noticed.

Let’s go back to your room okay?” She said softly, taking his arm.

He nodded and turned back to Lizz. He wanted to tell her it was going to be okay. That he would figure something out. She was already being pushed down the hall though, her voice softly carrying through the hall. He glared at Agnes, wanting to say something. The look that Lizz had given him stopped him though. He needed to find out what was going on first. She smirked at Brian and went back to talking to one of the nurses.

Brian sighed in frustration. His stomach hurt and he felt so tired suddenly. Too much had happened so fast. He and Marilyn walked slowly down the hall and upon turning the corner, he was relieved to see the familiar face that rushed towards him.

~*~*~*~*~

I was so disoriented. Things seemed to spin in and out of focus around me and every fiber of my being hurt. Was I ever going to get better? Probably not if I kept causing myself this damage. At least I accomplished something by doing this; I found out Agnes’ little scheme. My eyes filled with tears. I needed to warn them, but how did I do that without endangering their safety?

“Oh sweetie, I’m so glad you are okay. You sure gave me a fright!” Agnes suddenly appeared alongside the gurney and my chest immediately tightened. Damn it, I was just finally being able to breathe. I glared at her, but didn’t say anything.

She leaned close and whispered in my ear. “Don’t worry, you’ll be getting a nice visit later. Brian too. Too bad, he was the least annoying of all of you. Tsk tsk...You’ve already lost Kyung and now Nick, very soon Brian will be gone too.” She patted my shoulder and then walked down the hall.

Shit. Shit. She wasn’t going to do this. I couldn’t catch my breath all over again.

“Lizz? Lizz?” Their voices were a blur and I couldn’t stop the spiraling darkness.

~*~*~*~*~

“Help!!! Please!!! Help me!!” Kyung screamed frantically.

Mallow jumped a mile, dropping his flashlight, when he heard the sudden noise from the woods. “What the...” Ghosts? Surely not...

Kyung stumbled up to the accident site and dropped to her knees in fatigue. Her broken arm was throbbing her, but she didn’t care. She found someone. “Please, help me!” She cried.

Mallow retrieved his flashlight and shined it towards the young girl’s voice. His eyes bulged when at what the beam of light revealed. A young Oriental girl, not more than her younger twenties, smeared with dirt and blood. Her tear-streaked face was etched in a mixture of fear and relief. Realization dawned on him, it was one of the girls that was kidnapped. The one that hadn’t turned up. Until now.

“Miss? Shit, are you okay?” He mentally smacked himself for such a dumb question as he rushed towards her. She was shaking and crying.

“He...he’s out...there...” Kyung gestured over her shoulder into the woods.

“Who? Who’s out there?” Mallow demanded.

“Marcus...kidnapped...” She stopped and started to sob. Mallow took his jacket off quickly and wrapped it around her. She looked like she was going into shock.

“Miss? Look at me okay? Can you look at me?” Mallow tried to get her attention to no avail. Her sobs started to subside, but she had begun to rock back and forth, staring blankly ahead.

“Shit.” He reached for his walkie talkie. “I need backup!!”