"How are you feeling, Kevin?" asked the doctor.
Kevin stared with wide, fearful eyes at his doctor and the nurse, checking every detail about their appearance. He had a bad feeling, but he couldn't quite pin it down. Was it something about that door? Was it the room itself? Or was it something about Dr. Huffman and Nurse Rosaline that he just started to suspect? He could not pin that feeling down on anything in particular.
The doctor was wearing his white coat and white, semi-transparent, surgical gloves. The nurse was wearing blue scrubs and her hair was pulled up into a ponytail this time. She was holding a small box.
Josh whispered to Kevin, "What doesn't seem right? What's scaring you?"
Kevin whispered back, terror residing in his eyes, slowly destroying their lively color, "I-I think it's the room. It reminds me of the basement."
"Son," the doctor called, concerned. "I said how are you feeling?"
Kevin smiled nervously and answered, "I-I-I'm fine." He clearly wasn't. He was trying to keep it together before another horrible panic attack struck him. He had gotten tired of his sudden rapid heart beating already. His brain and heart burned painfully everytime that happened. He felt as if he was losing a piece of his life force with every attack. It rendered him tired, always tired. "I'm just a bit tired."
"Well, I got some news for you," the doctor said with a friendly smile. "I just finished talking to your mother. I told her that the new treatment worked fantastically up until a few hours ago when your body stopped recovering at an abnormally fast pace. I assume that the speed-recovery effect of the new treatment wore off, but don't fret. It treated most of the infection in your internal organs. The only thing that bothered me is that is was, in fact, what caused you to wake up early from the medically induced coma. It treated the sedatives in your body as a disease that needed to be treated. Now, you are recovering at a normal pace. The antibiotics treatment should kill this infection within a week or two. Meanwhile, keep that oxygen mask on you all the time. Your lungs were the least successful part of the treatment."
Kevin forced a smile for a second. "Thanks, doctor."
"Please, call me Ed. Just Ed."
Kevin nodded. He seemed to have calmed his nerves down a little when his mind focused on something else. He was glad that he was no longer in danger as long as he kept that antibiotics IV on him for the rest of his hospital stay.
The doctor came closer and said, "Now, would you mind pulling your gown up. I would like to check the surgical incision."
Kevin laid down and did exactly that, exposing his torso as the other half of his body stayed covered with a blanket. The doctor checked the wound for any problems, which was all patched up and cleaned.
"Fascinating," he admired the part that was stitched by the killer. He didn't say more about it in fear that he might upset Kevin. However, he did notice something that changed his expression to a serious face. "Hmm. This needs to be fixed."
He stood up and told Kevin, "This will only take a second if you allow me working on it here with topical anesthesia?"
"It's fine," Kevin sighed with a shrug.
"Great." The doctor said and he began pulling some medical equipment from the box Rosaline was holding.
He and Rosaline worked on the wound until the doctor grunted, "Ugh. I can't see clearly with these dirty glasses." He asked Josh, "Young man, would you be kind and clean my glasses for me. You can use the hand sanitizer in the bathroom."
Josh picked the glasses and said, "Sure."
As he was about to walk, Kevin grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled him back. Josh stared down at Kevin and all he saw was fear.
"Don't leave me," Kevin murmured.
Josh assured him, "I'm not leaving the room. It's just the bathroom. I won't even close the door, OK?"
Kevin hesitatingly nodded and let go of Josh, allowing him to go to the bathroom.
Kevin heard the doctor hiss in pain as he grabbed his lower right side of his back.
"Your back hurts," Kevin blurted as if he remembered someone with a back injury too; a greasy injury.
The doctor answered, "Yeah, it's because of an accident a few years ago."
Then the doctor rose up and lifted his right hand to the equipment on the table next to Kevin, allowing him to get a good look at his hand.
Kevin said, "Umm. Doc. I think your hand is bleeding."
There was indeed a blood spot visible on the inside of the doctor's white glove.
"Oh, would you look at that," the doctor said with a silly chuckle. "It is bleeding."
Kevin suddenly froze as a memory started coming back to him. It happened right after he heard the last gunshot. He remembered Duke screaming, "Ah! Son of a bitch!" while grimacing and squeezing his right hand using his left one.
The brown-eyed doctor smirked at Kevin and removed his gloves revealing a bandaged hand underneath them.
Kevin stared at the doctor's eyes, completely paralyzed by fear. He stared until the doctor blinked and he saw it; the real color of the doctor's eyes hidden behind two brown contact lenses.
Kevin gulped nervously as he felt the air suffocating him. "Your eyes," he said in a trembling, weak voice. "They're-they're blue."
The doctor stood up in full height. He was no longer a hunchback. He replied, "Indeed, they are." His once friendly smile turned into a sinister grin, so sinister that made the hair stand in Kevin's whole skin.
Kevin's voice started quivering as he whimpered, "Oh, crap." No, this is not happening.
Suddenly, the doctor's voice turned deep and gruff when he showed his teeth and said, "What about my teeth? Are they pointy and big?"
Kevin rested his head down as he bitterly closed his eyes. He recognized the voice. He let out a nervous breath before he whined, "Oh, my God." Not again. Please, God. Not again!
"'Cause I'm the big bad wolf!" said Duke with arms proudly spread wide, pronouncing each word with emphasis to deliberately inflict fear into his special victim; the one that got away.
Kevin's whole body trembled in terror. He felt like he might die from a heart attack right at this moment. His tears steadily found their way down his cheeks. His quiet whimpers got lost between his audible, deep, uneven breaths. He was hyperventilating. He denied that it was true, hoped it was his imagination, and prayed so hard that it was all in his head until a blood-curdling laugh snapped him out of his confusion followed by a howl.
"AWOOOO!" Duke howled like a wolf, not caring that he might alert the officer guarding the door.
As if on cue, Rosaline stood behind Josh as he started drying the glasses and took his phone from his pocket alerting him to her presence.
He turned around and said, "Hey."
She smirked at him as she locked the bathroom door.
Josh yelled, "Hey!" He pounded at the door. "Open the door."
Kevin finally cried out with difficulty, "Josh! Help meee!" His chest heaved up and down. He couldn't keep the air in his lungs as if they were being squeezed viciously. He was getting tired. Too tired to lift an arm. Too tired to even speak or breathe. Too tired to... survive.
Josh roared, "Kevin!" He kept kicking the sturdy door when he realized that Kevin's greatest fear has actually happened. The tall guy from room 105 happened. "Don't you dare hurt him!"
Duke started peeling the mask off his face while laughing so loudly. He was having too much fun to conceal his laughter. Rosaline stood beside him with her angelic face ruined by a wicked smirk.
Kevin rolled over and fell off the bed. He endured all the pain of his sore body and crawled to the windowless wall, sat there, and pressed his back to the wall, trying to stay as far away from Duke as he can.
He screamed in despair one more time, "Josh! Help me! Somebody, help meee!"
Josh kept banging the door. "Leave him alone!" he repeated until he couldn't handle Kevin's screams. He broke up in tears. He let his best friend down.
No one came.
And Duke never stopped laughing.
Kevin realized as he scanned the walls, "Soundproof." That was what bothered him about this room. He couldn't hear anything from the hallways when the door was closed, but he heard people chattering when the door was open.
"Smart boy," Duke said as he kneeled to face Kevin too close. "Boo," he said as he flashed a grin across his real face.
Kevin flinched then curled into a ball, protecting himself with his arms wrapped around his legs as he whimpered between his shaky knees. He closed his eyes and couldn't get the courage to open them and see Duke's face again.
This is not real. This can't be real.
When Josh got tired of kicking and banging the door and couldn't hear Kevin's voice anymore, he moved his mouth closer to the door and just talked, fighting his tears, "It's OK, Kevin. Don't be afraid. Kevin, talk to me, please. I'm not gonna let them take you."
Kevin didn't answer.
Duke stroked Kevin's head, making his body shiver more. He glided his fingers through Kevin's shiny hair and gently said, "Did ya miss me, Kevin?" He waited for a few seconds before he pulled Kevin's hair until he was able to see his beautiful face up close again. His gaze turned hazy as he said with the sexiest voice he could muster, "'Cause I sure did." He pulled Kevin's chin toward him and kissed him softly on the lips. As he pulled back from the kiss, he smiled and said, "One last kiss before I close the deal."
Duke's last statement shook Kevin to the core. He timidly asked through his sobs, "W-what... what deal?"
Duke chuckled. Then he sighed, teasing Kevin. "A really really really cruel one," he answered. He tapped Kevin's cheeks and added, "I always win, Kevin. And I definitely never lost a deal."
Duke tilted Kevin's head and injecting him with some serum.
Kevin hissed and winced in pain as he touched his neck where the injection entered his skin. That shot steadily sapped the remaining of his strength and left him limp, slowly sliding down to the floor.
Duke got up and approached the bathroom door, leaving Kevin unconscious behind him. He stood in front of the door and said in a loud, playful voice, "Joshy, Joshy, Joshy."
"What did you do?" Josh screamed furiously behind the door.
Duke continued, "Do you know how hard it was for me to talk to you and smile at you without punching you on the nose for taking my boy away from me?"
Josh whispered to himself, "My boy?" Then he felt furious anger taking over him. "What does that—WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?" Josh raged with one last, powerful bang on the door.
Duke laughed then he provoked him, "It means that Kevin and I are gonna have lots of kinky love together." He dropped this one last bomb before leaving, knowing that it was enough to lead Josh to his mental breakdown.
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM, YOU BASTARD! DON'T YOU DARE!" Josh kept screaming it over and over again while kicking the door. It got quiet after a while. He slammed the door with his shoulder this time and almost fainted from the pain in his ribs. "Don't you—" his voice was interrupted by a sob of hopelessness. Deep down he knew it; Kevin was gone.
My goodness. I cannot believe this is the end oAo
I... I have no words T_T What do you feel, guys?
Just kidding :p One more chapter to go!