Destroy Me

Chapter One

The black sedan pulled up to the hospital at full speed. Through the tinted windows, nothing could be seen. The driver slammed on the brakes and, before the car had come to a full stop, a body tumbled out of the back door. Then the vehicle skidded out of the parking lot.

A man in the waiting room saw the pale form fall to the ground and the black car speeding away. He cried for help as he ran outside.

Lying on the ground was a boy. He was stripped bare, wearing only dried blood and bruises. His breathing was rapid. His skin was cold.

The man, Phillip, tore off his jacket and threw it over the boy's body. He couldn't let him stay exposed as the nurses ran to the boy's aid.

"Somebody get a gurney!" one nurse yelled to the others. She dropped to the ground next to the boy and checked his pulse. It was there, slowed and stuttered, but there. Another nurse rushed out with a gurney rolling behind her.

Phillip lifted the pale, lifeless body from the ground and placed it gently on the stretcher. The boy was then rushed into the hospital, Phillip pushed out of the way and forgotten. He walked back through the double doors in time to catch the aftermath of the boy being admitted. The receptionist was calling the police, nurses were rushing around, and doctors were frantically being paged.

In the ER, the boy was being carefully checked out. He was unconscious. The nurses had no way of knowing exactly what happened to him. The dried blood caked on his thighs worried the personnel.

They ran all the necessary tests. He had one cracked rib and a fractured femur. His blood test cleared their fears of STDs. They performed a rape kit and sent it out to a lab.

The next morning,  he woke up.

He shot straight up out of bed, heart beating rapidly, making the machine beside him screech. He gasped for air as he ignored the pain shrouding his body. I need...I gotta escape...get away, he thought, looking around but not taking in the room. He regretted moving as soon as he did it. Pain ripped through him, making him freeze in terror. He couldn't let them hurt him again. He just couldn't.

People rushed into his room. The boy began to scream. "Please!" a nurse pleaded. "We just want to help you!"

"Liars!" He whipped his head around, looking for an exit, an escape route.

"No, I promise! We just want to help you get better!" A small woman approached him. The boy flinched away, pulling his legs as close to his chest as he could. This action made him aware of the cast on one of them. He relaxed slightly.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"You're at the hospital. You were dropped here yesterday by some strangers  in a car." She took a hesitant step forward, causing the boy to whimper. "My name is Bella."

He took in the room full of unmoving people. They were waiting patiently for him to calm down. Seeing their concerned faces helped him relax. "You're not going to hurt me?" he asked in a small voice.

"Oh, honey, no. Never. We just want to help you, Elijah."

He cocked his head at her. "How do you know my name? Can you call my parents?"

"We already have. They’re on their way.”

“How do you know my name?” he repeated.

The nurse smiled wearily at him. “You were missing for quite a few days. You were all over the news. Nobody has stopped searching for you since you disappeared.”

Elijah pursed his lips but didn’t say anything. A different nurse, a male nurse, checked his vitals then said in a gentle voice, "The police wanted to speak with you. Would you let them?"