I begin to open my eyes. The brightness of the room causes me to quickly close them again. I hear the beeping of my heart monitor start to pick up. A click sounds across the room and my bed starts to lift. I retry to open up my eyes. This time I succeed. A nurse quickly walks up to me. She turned off half the lights. I give her a weak smile as thanks. She returns it. "How are you doing, hun?" I lean over my bed quickly and empty my stomach for the 100th time this week. She rubs my back and hands me a napkin. I quickly wipe my mouth and throw it in the waste bin. Being in this hospital is my living hell. I lie back down in my bed. She hands me a cup of water and I take a sip. She looks at me somberly. I give her a smile to try to cheer her up. "I'll be fine," "don't worry," I speak weakly. She nods accepting the words.
She pulls up a chair and sits next to me. "I got you a make a wish " My eyes widen. "I know you didn't want to do it, but I really think it could be good for you." I sigh and nod. She smiles happily. I've been diagnosed with stage 1 pancreatic cancer. It has a 3% survival rate. The doctors say I have a month left. I have long ago accepted that I am going to die. "Where did you choose for me to go?" "I choose a one-week serenity camp!" She says excitedly. "You'll be pampered, massaged, and fed well." "It'll be great." Her excitement makes me laugh. "Did they approve?" I ask. She nods very fast. "When do I leave?" "Tomorrow?" Surprise crosses my face. The nurse smirks. She must have been planning this for a while and If I refused it wasn't going to be enough time to cancel. Clever. "Will my mom be coming to see me off?" "I don't know sweety? She replies. I nod. I start to feel nauseated. She quickly hands me the trash can and I puke my guts out.
***
The next day I'm woken up to do my daily routine. The nurse helps me get out of bed and into the bathroom. She tries to follow me into the bathroom but I stop her. "I can do this alone," I say. She gives me a questioning look. I sigh and close the door. "If you need anything let me know immediately!" She shouts. I hobble over to the shower and turn it on. The water sprits out. Sticking my hand under to feel if its warm, I shoot my hand back quickly. It's ice cold. I hobble over to the sink and begin to brush my teeth. Looking at myself in the mirror makes me sick. I look terrible. My hair is all over the place, I have bags under my eyes, my face is sunken, and my eyes look so tired. I sigh and continue my routine. Once I'm done with my routine I pack a bag. The nurse comes in with some food. It surprises me when it's not hospital food. it's Wendy's. I smile and get up to hug her. She stops me and comes to me instead.
Her hug is warm and inviting. "Thank you for the food." I beam. "No problem, sugar," she replies. I take the food and begin eating. I take one bite of their jr. bacon cheeseburger and I moan. I haven't had Wendy's in the longest. I begin to hum as I eat. Patty (the nurse) watches in amusement. Once I am done demolishing the food in 10 minutes, I ask Patty a question. "When will the transportation be here?" "In a couple hours." I nod my head. So I wait for the few hours. In those hours my mom doesn't come. Typical. I shouldn't have expected for her to come. Why would she? She dumped me here the first chance she could. Patty comes in with a wheelchair. I slowly walk over to the wheelchair and get in. I sit my bag in my lap as she begins to roll me off. "Thank you, Patty, for everything," "You've have made this experience a little less painful." She grins from ear to ear. When we get outside the hospital I am shocked to find a bus full of teenagers. I get up and walk. My walk is stronger than it was yesterday.
I turn and wave goodbye to Patty before getting on to the bus. All attention is averted to me. I swallow and walk to the first open spot I see. I sit down and they're eyes avert off of me. The bus picks up a few more kids before finally hitting the road. The last kid sits down next to me. He doesn't say a word to me. He has a hat on and his eyes are dark. He is wearing a black shirt with a black jacket and black Jeans. The only thing colorful about him is his eyes. His eyes are green. He's very well built and looks around 6, 2. He catches me looking at him. I cough and look out the window. I could've sworn I heard a chuckle. But it was as quiet as a mouses footsteps. The guy and I do not make eye contact or talk. The bus starts to have quiet conversations as we hit the freeway. I take notice of my surroundings. There are about 12 kids, the bus driver, and one person I can't Identify wearing a black jacket. The dude has a black ski mask on. I hear the guy next to me clear his throat.
I look over at him. "Hi, I'm Joshua," "Hey, I'm Clover," I respond. I stick out my hand for him to shake and he does. I give him a smile. He doesn't return it. "Is it rude to ask what's your diagnosis?" "Sort of." He shrugs. I nod and turn back to the window. Stage 4 colon cancer. "What about you?" he returns. "Stage 1 Pancreatic Cancer." he nods. Our conversation doesn't continue after that. A few miles go by before we talk again. This guy is a real chatterbox. "Out of all the places you could have chosen to go to, you chose a serenity camp." He releases a deep chuckle. "Guys liked to be massaged and fed well too." I laugh. "I'll keep that in mind."
The bus rocks when we ride onto a bridge. The dark green water below is shining in the sun. "OH MY GOD!" someone yells. The bus swerves into the bridge railing and breaks through. I scream as the bus hits the water. Everyone begins to panic. My heartbeat is racing as water rushes through the cracks and starts to rise. The passengers start banging on the windows. "Stop!" you're going to bust the windows," I yell. Then, I start a series of coughing. "Alright everybody calm down please!" The bus driver yells. He takes one step then he slips and hits his head on the stairs. A pool of blood starts to spill out of his head. The bus driver is dead. We are screwed "I think I'm going to be sick." Someone yells the water breaks the windows and now the water is up to my head. "I can't swim!"I yell. "Hold your breath!" Joshua yells. He grabs my hand just as the bus is completely submerged. All the other teenager are swimming towards the surface. Joshua begins pulling me to the surface when he stops suddenly and opens his mouth. I hear a muffled scream as his body jerks forward. The man in the ski mask. He shot him with something. Joshua starts to sink. I grab his hand quickly, forgetting I can't swim. His body weight pulls me down as I try to swim up. The man in the ski mask looks me in the eye. His brown eyes piercing mines before swimming away. I start to panic even more as I sink further into the water. Is this how I'm really going to die. I accepted the fact that I was going to die because of cancer, but I never thought it would end any other way. I look down at Joshua's limp body. It feels as if minutes pass as we continue to sink. I'm running out of breath. I close my eyes and drop my head, giving up.
*** FlashBack
The sun is beaming into my room. I sit up in bed and stretch. My dad bursts into my room with breakfast and a cupcake on a tray. His smile is as big as the world. "Dang," he says. "I was hoping to catch you before you woke up." I smile in return. He sits the food on my bed and hugs me. "Thanks, Dad," "Happy birthday Clo," he says before kissing me on the forehead. I grab a piece of bacon and begin eating. With my mouth full I ask, "Where is Mom?" He sighs."She's working." He replies. "As usual." He takes a deep breath and is about to go into a speech before I stop him."I know," I mumble. "Her job is very important," He nods. I grab another piece of bacon. "I still wish she could be here." "I got a surprise for you." My dad chirps. I smile and bounce on my bed. "What is it?" My excitement is radiating off the walls. He pulls a necklace out of his pocket. It has a symbol on it that has a whole bunch of moons. "Its called the triple moon," he says. "Whenever you're in trouble, open it and drink whats inside." I nod. "What is the drink?" I ask. It'll give you courage. I smile.
"Clover, only use it when you really in trouble," "not fake trouble or minor trouble." I nod taking in every word he says. "Real trouble." "And after you opening remember that no one else is more powerful than you. "All power comes from your soul, heart, and mind." " ελευθερώ," He says next. Confusion crosses my face. "Remember that word but never say it." I'm still confused. "What language is that word from?" "It's Greek," he replies. I repeated in my head over and over. He hugs me again. "As you grow up life may take you places you never thought you would ever be." I hug him tightly. "remember that I'll always be with you." "Yes dad," He lets go of me. "Enjoy your birthday sweety. " I smile and look down at the necklace
*** End of Flashback
That was 6 months ago. After that, he disappeared. I don't know what the liquid inside will do to me. I've thought about using it for my cancer, but I never did. Could that liquid cure cancer? Anyways, something in my gut told me not to. Maybe I would use it right before I was about to die. Anyways, I was right to wait. To save another life I will use it now. I open my eyes and use my last breath. I open and drink it down fast. Water starts to drown me. Joshua definitely doesn't look good. I guess it was really a placebo. Suddenly I look up. White, blinding light shoots out of my eyes. Suddenly I can start to breathe again. I start to float. What the hell is this? I float all the way to the top and climb up on the grass. Then I start hacking up water. My throat burning while I do so. After I'm finished, I begin to catch my breath. My heart rate hasn't stopped beating rapidly since the bus swerved. Then I remember Joshua. I pull him up quickly and check for a pulse. No pulse. I know what to do. The others rush to my side. I begin pumping his chest quickly and begin mouth to mouth resuscitation. Other are crying around as I do this.
I keep pumping his chest and giving him mouth to mouth no results are coming out of it. Tears spill out of my eyes. I was too slow. "DAMN IT!" I yell while pumping his chest. I lean down again and keep trying. "I think he's gone." someone whispers. That makes me go faster. "You could break his ribs!" A girl yells. I don't care. I cannot let my failures cause him to die. I lean down and blow all the air I have inside of me and lean up to pump his chest. I'm out of breath. I've been doing this for a while. Maybe I am too late. I start to slow down while punching his chest. Then, I eventually stopped. I pound on his chest in frustration and his body jerks hard. Suddenly he jolts to his side, spitting out water and throwing up his stomach contents. Once he is done he gasps for air dramatically. I hear multiple people breathing and sighing in relief.
I sit there shocked. "Did anyone call the police I ask. A boy nods. One moment of relief comes to me when I hear shuffling in the water. Everyone turns their attention to the water. I stand up stumbling a little. The man in the ski mask rises onto of the water and begins walking on it. He raises his hand towards all of us. Suddenly there is a ringing in my ear. I let out a loud scream and fall to my knees. I hear others scream too. Then he opens his jacket and throws a container over here. I try to run but I'm frozen. The container explodes and smoke starts to fill the air. I can't see a thing. I begin feeling for something to grab and I feel someone grab my arm. I scream. "It's just me!" Joshua shouts. Suddenly black spots start to appear in my eyes. I start to feel dizzy. "Why is this happening to us," Joshua says. I try to say something but I fall completely to the ground. My face in the dirt. My body completely unmovable. I feel Joshua's hand slip away. I black out.