The Wretched

Chapter 11

As the big Saint Bernard ran through the living room, Octavia was carefully descending the ladder, afraid of tripping and falling. But she fell anyway, her whole body smashing against the carpeted floor, when the dog unbalanced the ladder with its giant body.

The young doctor’s head cracked open with an audible sound. Her red blood stained the beige carpet, surrounding her head like a blood red halo. She fell into unconsciousness immediately, as the other two women winced and frantically thought of something to do in this unfortunate situation.

“Lauren, call 911!” Hepta yelled, throwing her body next to her dying daughter. “Now”

The red-headed reached for her mobile phone and quickly tapped in the number, yelling with panic at the operator, who said they’d send someone immediately.

By now, David ran inside the room and took in the horrifying sight of his daughter quickly slipping into the afterlife. Down the hallway, in the study, Crimson felt that something was wrong and rushed into the living room.

His jaw fell to the ground, and he blinked a few times to convince himself that this was the cruel reality. He shook his head and buried his face into his hands, sitting down on the floor, next to the other two women.

“It’s my fault entirely. I shouldn’t have been so naïve” he mumbled. “I should’ve guessed he would do such thing”

Upstairs, while Theo, Caleb and Austin were minding their own business, a loud thud from the living room was heard and Rufus jumped to his feet, sensing that something terrible happened downstairs, and ran out of the attic. The three men looked at the dog curiously, then exchanged glances and decided to go see what happened.

“No” Theo mumbled as he looked inside the living room. “No!” this time, he shouted and threw his body next to his loved one, immediately checking her vitals. “Her heartrate is dropping” he yelled to the others, who had no reaction than stare at the soon-to-be-dead woman. “Wake up, Octi! This is not funny! Stop it” he shouted, tears welling up in his eyes and spilling, as he was towering above the injured woman.

He had seen his fair share of deaths and dead bodies. He was used to it. He had seen the ugliest and most disgusting forms of death humanly possible, he had worked with disintegrated, rotting corpses, he had cut open stomachs utterly destroyed by the corrosive powers of acid. But this he couldn’t take. Not his beloved fiancée, lying on the cream-colored carped, a pool of blood surrounding her head while a serene expression was stretched over her face. As if she wanted to laugh, but was struggling not to.

Bewildered, the tall and lanky man looked at the other people in the room. “Tell me this isn’t real!” he shouted, a tint of madness playing in his eyes. “Tell me she’s only faking it!”

His grey eyes traveled from Hepta, who was frowning while clutching onto Octavia’s hand, to Lauren, who was chocking back soft sobs. Turning around, he saw David petrified, his gaze fixated on the black-haired woman lying on the floor, Caleb burying his face into Austin’s chest as the brunet stared blankly towards the ground, his usually slightly tanned skin now pale, and Crimson, who was pacing around, mumbling to himself and pulling at his dark brown hair. Theodore waited for the confirmation of this being just a practical joke, but not receiving any put him on the brink of madness.

‘This can’t be happening! Just as we were about to start a new chapter in our crazy lives, this had to happen!’ he thought, holding onto her free hand.

His train of thoughts was cut off by the sound of sirens coming closer, and soon the front door swung open and they heard hurried footsteps rushing into the house. Never in his life had Theo thought that one day the sound of sirens would bring him a glimpse of hope.

Paramedics entered the Igneel residence, and as soon as they spotted Octavia, they put her on a stretcher and rushed her to the ambulance, with the family trailing closely behind, following them to the vehicle.

“Only one person can ride with the patient” one of the paramedics said as the group piled at the back of the ambulance.

Hepta and David exchanged glances and were ready to say something, when Theo cut them off.

“Let me go; I’m her fiancé” he said, determination in his voice as the paramedic let him climb in next to the patient.

The three couples watched as the sirens faded away due to the distance before rushing into the cars carelessly parked around the house and tailing the ambulance closely.

In the ambulance, Theo was chocking back his sobs while holding Octavia’s hand, praying that she would pull through. This wasn’t meant to happen. They were meant to spend a lifetime together, raise their child and be happy, but a certain supernatural creature just had to butt in and stop it from happening. Squeezing his eyes, he let tears roll down his face, dampening the cold hand he was holding tightly.

The rest was a blur. Men in jumpsuits rushed the black-haired woman into the hospital, nurses running around while she was wheeled into the ER. Hands were pulling Theo, leading him after the patient, being clear that he wasn’t able to do it himself. Papers were shoved into his hands, while he was being sat down on a hard plastic chair and someone handed him a pen. With teary eyes he absentmindedly filled in the paperwork and handed it to the waiting nurse, proceeding to bury his face in his palms. There was commotion around him, muffled sounds and blurred sights, but he was oblivious to everything around him. He so close to lose not only his wife-to-be, but also his unborn child.

A hand shook his shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Theo?” Hepta’s voice rang in his ears. “Theo…” she started to shake him again.

He didn’t lift his head up from his hands. “They didn’t say anything yet” he answered shakily, lifting his knees up to his chest.

Just then, a nearby door swung open, a middle-aged man emerging from it, holding a clipboard. “Igneel?” he asked and seven heads snapped up, glancing his way.

Hepta jumped up from her seat next to Theo. “Here” she announced, as they surrounded the doctor.

“Well, she lost a lot of blood and she slipped in a coma” he said, his voice holding no emotion; clearly he had several such cases every day.

Winces and gasps erupted from the seven men and women.

“Fortunately, we were able to stop the bleeding and stitched up the wound. It was just a fracture in the occipital bone, which will heal in a couple of months. And fortunately, the fall wasn’t very high, so she didn’t miscarry and there was no damage to her spine. The embryo is intact and growing accordingly” he waited for the seven to sigh in relief until he threw the bad news towards them. “The bad news is that the occipital lobe took most of the blow. She may suffer temporary or permanent blindness. And even if it is indeed temporary, she will lose her sight every now and then”

Their relief was immediately replaced by sorrow. Of course there was a catch.

Theo sat there as if struck by lightning. He could cry no more. Everyone around him broke down, only he was standing straight, dumbfounded and unable to articulate anything. Caleb was sobbing on Austin’s shoulder, the brunet caressing him absentmindedly, a few tears running down his cheeks. Hepta and David were both crying in each other’s embrace. Crimson and Lauren were pacing around like madmen while Crimson was mumbling to himself about this being entirely his fault.

“Can we go see her?” the five words slipped out of Theo’s numb mouth, to which the doctor nodded and motioned to the sickening white door.

With long, firm steps, Theo found himself next to Octavia’s bed, clutching her left hand tightly. The ring he put on her finger not even 24 hours prior stood cold against his skin, and just then, reality came and crushed him under its weigh. Everything, the smell of disinfectant, the monotone white walls, the sounds of the beeping heart monitor, the rushed footsteps from the corridor, the loud sobs of the others that came for Octavia to the hospital, the sound of her steady breaths, hit him all at once, leading him to break down next to the hospital bed, falling to his knees as a fit of sorrowful crying took over his lanky body.