Post by Seth Dillinger on Oct 23, 2018 20:33:03 GMT -5
The hospital was buzzing by at lightning speed.
Truth be told, Seth didn’t remember much anyway. He was already about to pass out from the grueling Wildfire Tournament. He had been leaning on Dennis for support, for the most part… and then…
THUNK!!
Seth just remembered hitting the ground. He remembered the sound of Dennis screaming. And then, when all seemed mostly quiet aside from a few murmurs, he felt something metal crash into his chin like a fucking freight train. Then there was the ambulance, and the lights passing overhead. Seth tried to talk but it felt like his brain wasn’t sending signals to the right place. There were women and men standing over him – medical personnel, he presumed – chattering back and forth in a language Seth didn’t understand.
Actually, it might’ve been English. He just couldn’t hear a damn thing. The last thing he remembered is using his last bit of energy to crane his neck over. There, rushing alongside Seth through the sanitized, cold corridors of the hospital, was Dennis.
And then it all faded to black.
I’m awake.
Seth’s eyes shot open, but almost immediately, he regretted it. Bright light seared into his retinas, and he felt like his eyes were being burned out of their sockets. He quickly closed them and slowed his breathing through his nose.
Okay, dipshit, take it easy this time.
Seth tried once again to open his eyes… this time, slowly. Light slowly trickled in, giving his eyes time to adjust to the light. The edges of his eyes felt sticky. Pushing them open felt like he was ripping glue apart from the seams where his eyelids met. Finally, he could take in where he was. Obviously, this wasn’t heaven.
Alright. Hospital. Right. Okay…
After a few blinks, moisture returned to his eyes and he glanced over to the side to see someone sitting there. Long hair, long nails, tapping away at an iPhone in a pink glitter case...
SETH DILLINGER
“La…”
Only the first syllable escaped his lips before he realized his throat was on fire. His sister, Lauren, glanced over and tossed her phone down, scrambling to lean over Seth.
LAUREN DILLINGER
“Hey, dumbass, stop. Here. Drink water.”
Lauren held a straw up to Seth, allowing him to sip on that high quality hospital water. For all he cared, it might as well have been the nectar of the gods. The cooling balm flew over his arid tongue and throat. He felt it hit his belly, and stopped drinking. He managed to open his mouth and croak out a response.
SETH DILLINGER
“Nice… to see you… too…”
Lauren pulled the straw away and set the glass back down.
LAUREN DILLINGER
“Just take it easy. You took a hell of a beating.”
Seth stretched his eyes open again and raised a hand to wipe away the crusty bits lingering on the edge.
SETH DILLINGER
“What… happened?”
Seth noticed the IV line going into his arm for the first time. Lauren clenched her jaw.
LAUREN DILLINGER
“That motherfucker. Bobby Barratt. You don’t remember?”
The blank stare in response told Lauren the answer.
LAUREN DILLINGER
“Christ. Yeah, Bobby didn’t like you snapping up his title, apparently. He and Maverick and Jack jumped you backstage. Bobby cracked you over the skull and jaw with his baseball bat. That fucking lunatic almost killed you.”
Seth opened his mouth wide, expecting to feel the results of the baseball bat. Surprisingly, he didn’t feel much.
SETH DILLINGER
“Huh. Don’t feel like I almost died.”
Lauren pointed to the IV bag beside him.
LAUREN DILLINGER
“No shit. They’ve got you plugged up on morphine.”
Seth’s blood went cold.
SETH DILLINGER
“…morphine?”
LAUREN DILLINGER
“I know. I wasn’t here to tell them your history with drugs and all that. But man, your jaw is fractured. If you didn’t have that pumping through your veins, you’d be screaming.”
Seth began to panic and tug at the IV in his arm.
SETH DILLINGER
“Get it out. No.”
Lauren started to try to push him away, then darted out into the hallway, muttering under her breath. A few moments later, two nurses rushed into the room.
LAUREN DILLINGER
“Seth, calm down.”
NURSE 1
“Mr. Dillinger? We need you to relax.”
Seth heard none of it. He just kept tugging away at his IV.
NURSE 2
“We need to sedate.”
NURSE 1
“Right. Ready the benzo.”
LAUREN DILLINGER
“You’re gonna knock him out again? Come the fuck on, he just woke up!”
NURSE 2
“Ma’am, we need you to wait in the hallway.”
LAUREN DILLINGER
“I’m his fuckin’ sister, I’m not waiting—“
Bam.
Seth was out like a light.
Seth was out like a light.