Eight

I have no clue as to what time it was, but I couldn't sleep and I think it was pretty late, too. Leib insisted that he be my watcher reasoning our parents' works, to which mom and dad agreed to after a long minute of persuasions. They took me to the radiology department for my scheduled CT scan and all the way, I kept a tight grip on my dad's hand as they wheeled me on the hallways of the hospital. The slow motion of the moving bed made me dizzy and claustrophobic when it entered a washing machine-like hole. It took all my guts not to scream with terror as my mind kept playing that blades will come down out of the circular thing and cut my head off. Thankfully, I survived that bit and I was brought back to my room after the doctor notified us that the results of the scan would be available the next day. Now, I lay in the bed with the blanket up to my chin, ready to pull it over my head in case I see something. My eyes were as jumpy as the other parts of me that they darted to every corner of the bright room to check if there was a man in a white lab coat. The scare I got earlier worsened my paranoia, even with my brother assuring me repeatedly that no one would be able to do something bad to me again. The fright remained because we didn't know what they were capable of. "Little T." There was that sinister laugh again. I closed my eyes with the hope to wipe his voice but then I saw that masked face again sneering down at me, too close for comfort. My heart doubled its beat, my eyes shot wide open and started scanning the room again. He's not here. It's only in your head. I repeated my self-assurance over and over again but it was useless. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop, pop, pop, pop. The succession of bubbles going off became louder every time until it was so loud it sounded like a bombs sequentially exploding. I felt like I was drowning in air—like there was too much of it being shoved in my nose and throat. To gasp or to swallow, I didn't know what I would do first. There was a notable pinch on my left hand and my eyes swooped down to see the IV line slowly morphed and divided into two, and they were both injected in my skin. There was something red flowing on one of the tubes and it was making my hand bulge like a balloon being inflated. I tried to take it out but I couldn't touch it no matter how much I attempt to pull it out. I tried to convince myself that it was not real, that I was just hallucinating, but it was futile. My whimpers and tears started escaping when I saw my hand doubling its size and it looked like it was about to burst. It was hot, very hot—the temperature was very comparable to hell at this point. I got up and was full on panicking that I started hitting my hand to slow its growing size. "Kat." No, stop growing! "Kat!" I didn't want to lose my hand so I pressed it on the bed and covered it with pillow. "Kat, goddamnit! Come to your senses!" Suddenly my right hand was taken away and I couldn't move it to save my other hand. It was growing—now the size of my head—and it was very red, and glowing like a magma. The veins inside it looked like they might burst at any moment because they were bulging too. I saw Leib's face so close to mine for a moment and then there was blank whiteness. Everything was floating and feeling good. "I need to have a word with you." It was the last thing I heard, before my senses shut down. I think I was on constant sedative regimen for the rest of my days in the hospital, because after I wake up, I was put to sleep again after a few minutes. I didn't see mom, or dad, or even my brother in my awake moments but I didn't feel sad or alone, I just felt so light and heavy at the same time. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and succumb to the sleep beckoning to me. I was very thoughtless when woke up again. The bright light assaulted my eyes, making them sting and teary. My gaze stayed there for what seemed like minutes until I decided to roam them around. I was so sluggish that I couldn't even move my head right, it was wobbling and heavy. I felt so tired—too tired. The soreness crept in my muscles when I tried to shift them, and the slightest of movement made me cringe with sudden stabbing pain everywhere. "Leib?" And I flinched at the sting in my throat. It hurts so much that I didn't dare repeat calling out my brother. The silence was deafening as I waited, but there was no response. Guess I gotta take a look by myself. One hand after the other, I gripped the rails on the side of the bed and with tearing eyes, hoisted myself up. Gosh how long was I out, a year? Surprisingly, there were no popping bubbles or flashes of white anywhere. There was no Leib in the room, but I saw his phone on the long upholstery bench with no backrest that was backed against the wall, parallel to my bed. I answered my own question of whether I could stand by going down the bed and falling down on my butt because there was no strength on my legs. Great, and ouch. Upon a quick gaze on the IV stand, I remembered that I was supposed to be wearing my tube on the left hand but when I checked there was only a taped cotton there. I crawled—more like dragged my lower half—to Leib's bench and sat myself there. I waited for him while gazing at the white, sheer curtain that was failing to block the strong rays of the sun coming in from the window. My heart nearly went out of my mouth when I heard the sudden opening of the door. My immediate thought was that, that man came back. "Good morning," The nurse greeted with a small smile when she saw me on the bench. "Where's your watcher?" She went to help me up and assisted me back to the bed. "I guess he went out." My eyes water with the sting in my throat. "Tell him to go to the radiology department to get your results from yesterday's scan, okay?" I nodded. "The dietician will deliver your food later and after fifteen minutes drink your medicine." She explained and put a small cup on the table with a pill in it. "What is it?" I pointed at the cup. My throat got a bit of lubrication minimizing the stinging feeling. "That's Clorazil, it makes hallucinations go away." The nurse smiled again and left the room after reminding me to press the call button if I needed assistance. I laid back down and waited for the food. That medicine really did made those things go away. Does that mean that it was all in my head? That I was mentally sick? The dietician came and I followed the nurse's instructions before taking the medicine in. It didn't take long before it kicked in and made me sleepy, but before I closed my eyes and succumbed, my brother entered. "Leib," I called, my throat was a lot better by this time, thanks to the water the dietician gave me. He rushed beside me bed, "Hi, how are you feeling?" He put his hand on my forehead. "No more fever." He mumbled. "Where'dya go?" "To the doctor's office," Leib continued to gently stroke my head. "Why?" He inhaled deep. "I went and got your CT scan results and asked if he could explain it to me." I was fighting my eyes from closing but they were getting heavier every second. "And?" I could only slur a word at this point. "Your head's normal, no brain injuries or anything dangerous." He took his hand away and that woke me up a bit. "The doctor wanted to see mom and dad so that he could tell them his diagnosis, but I told him they were busy and I could explain it to them when they visit you." Leib's voice was still surprisingly clear despite my drowsiness. "He said that you might have a severe case of schizophrenia and suggested that we consult a psychiatrist. Didn't we went to one already? Oh, that was a psychologist. But what was their difference anyway? "Leib, you think I'm crazy?" I mumbled. I was losing to sleep. "Based on my experience, no." "Mmm." "We really have to find out what really happened to you, though, and I don't know how." And then, his voice faded.