Escaping the Lost Island (working title)

Chapter 25

I had never realized how loud the consistent lapping of waves against the sides of the raft had been until the silence of its absence woke me up. For a moment, I just laid where I was, listening to the stillness. Then I sat up and took in my surroundings. I was in a small, dimly lit room, painted a dreary blue that made me tired to look at it. The sheets beneath my bare legs felt cool and smooth. I wiggled my toes with pleasure and wondered if I was in heaven. My level of alertness made me doubt it; I had not felt this awake in at least a week. On the other hand, I had never been to heaven so I had no idea what it would feel like.

To my immense relief, I saw that Toby and Jessie were slumbering peacefully in beds that flanked the one I was currently sitting on. Rita was not in the room. There were three other beds across from ours, but they were empty.

My feet slipped to the floor and I started as they made contact with the carpet. It felt impossibly soft against my calloused toes. When I stood up, my head spun. I gripped a metal rung on the wall next to me until I felt more stable. Then, cautiously, I tiptoed past my sleeping friends to the door. I had to go find Rita. The possibility that we had been rescued had not even entered my mind. Rita was missing and therefore we must be in some sort of trouble.

The door opened into a very narrow hallway which led to a row of unmarked doors. All of them were locked. At the end of the row, there was another, wider hall with a staircase at the end. The stairs only went up so I figured we must be on the bottom of whatever building we were in. Thus far, I had encountered no one which seemed strange. An open doorway marked the next floor and there were still more stairs presumably leading to a floor above that. I went into the open door and paused. Murmuring voices echoed faintly from an unseen hall to the right of the large space I was currently in that reminded me of an empty cafeteria. I followed my ears to another unmarked door where I stopped to listen.

"...vital signs are fine, but we need to do some more blood tests. The other girl hasn't woken up since we brought her off the ship." A soft female voice was saying.

"What about the other two?" A male voice.

"They're looking okay. Both have been eating more each day and they should be almost back to normal by the end of the week," the woman replied.

The man snorted. "Whatever normal means," he said. "Those kids looked like they'd been through hell when we found them. I doubt our normal and theirs have much in common."

The woman murmured assent. A distinct creak informed me that there was another door leading into the room I was outside of.

"Here she is," a different voice announced. I heard some shuffling as more people entered the room. "Dr. Jameson and Dr. Harris are going to ask you a few questions and then they need to do a few more tests, okay?" the new voice asked someone who I assumed had entered with them.

There was no sound of confirmation from the patient, but a moment later the other door into the room creaked again and I heard some papers being moved around.

"Okay, Rita," the male doctor said and my heart lurched. "How are you doing today?"

"Well." Rita's voice sounded tired, but it was really her.

"Have you had any unexpected headaches or stomach pains as a result of your new medication?" the female doctor asked.

I heard nothing but Rita must have shook her head because after a brief pause, the questions continued.

"Any constipation, fever, rashes, or other complaints?"

"No."

"Have you experienced any allergic reactions to your shots?"