They Chose Me (Draft 1)

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

                While I’m in the hospital, I sleep a lot. Sometimes, I have typical nightmares. But I do have a few dreams; which is pretty rare for me. One thing I learned since my mother and sister died: sometimes dreams only happen once, so you have to live them to their fullest potential.

                The first dream I have is extremely deep and philosophical. You ready? I got a dog- well, a puppy, actually. It was a black lab with soft, silky hair. The literal puppy eyes stare up at me as I hold it up. A few scenes slide by with me walking the puppy and playing with it. But the dream dissolves too quickly.

                There are also the nightmares. Of course. Just the usual, too; watching my family die all over again in flames, or bullets, or bombs. Or seeing Leader Mason put the syringe into my arm as he watches my blood flow up the tube, but then he takes too much and it’s the end of that dream. A new one recently has taken place in my cell. I sit in the corner that I continually sat in as the walls nonchalantly press in on me, forcing me to move closer to the center.

                However, there are a few occurrences where I do wake up. I think they’re keeping me on a sedative so I can heal at my body’s pace. One time when I was awake for more than a couple of seconds, I talked with Landon. He’s often there when I awaken to glimpse at the world; other times it’s Mary or the nurse, and Ted even visited me once.

                When I rouse, the light in the room always blinds me at first and the muted beep-beep of whatever machine startles me due to my soundless sleep. Just a second later, the nurse enters the room. Her white hospital uniform shines lustrously in the bright lights and against her dark skin. Apparently, I have several nurses. I’ve seen this lady before, but I’ve seen other nurses as well.

                “Emma, you’re awake. How are you feeling?” She says, relieved.

                “Better. Thank you.”

                “Do you need anything?”

                “Not right now. Where am I? What…” I start to ask something, then I don’t know what to ask. Real helpful, I know.

                “You’re staying in the hospital sector of the rebellion camp. But you want to know how you are, not feeling?” I nod. “Well, you almost died for the first part. When you passed out in the car, your body went into shutdown. You lost quite a lot of blood, but there was no internal or external damage. That’s when Mary told me what she thinks happened- that Leader Mason needs Roche blood in order to make a machine work and to build a back-up.” Which Violet told Mary.  

“Anyways, we wanted to do a something like a transfusion, but we weren’t sure how you would react because of your traumatic experiences. We didn’t want to try anything that might involve syringes or deep sleep due to the anesthesia. In an agreement, we decided an alternative of putting you on a light sedative to ease the pain in your head and decrease dizziness.  You’re on medications as well as iron pills an anemic uses. That being said, Emma, you will be under the same conditions as an anemic or you may have anemia from your sudden lack of blood loss. We don’t know if this is something that will continue for your whole life, but it’s definitely not terminal and is easy to work with. Every day, anytime, have an iron pill. Once you’re feeling better, we can see how much red blood cells you have and if it’s less than the normal rate. If it’s poor and stays that way, you will be categorized as an anemic. However, if you’re not, still take the iron pill until further notice.”