Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Puppy Kicker" data-source="post: 2102714" data-attributes="member: 20284">Sick and Tired and Dead1:00 PM, Monday, July 19thMotel 6, Newport News, VirginiaQuin, Meadow, Lisa and Rebecca entered the motel room to find Devin and Armani sitting at the little guest table playing cards.  “How’d the meeting with the professor go?” Devin asked.Rebecca and Quin sat down at the table.  Meadow took Lisa over to have a seat on the bed – the little girl was still feeling sick.  Quin dealt himself in while Rebecca explained what had happened at their meeting.  “So you see, the bear really shouldn’t be in the hands of bad guys like Sammy.”“Well tough sh**.  It’s in the hands of bad guys now and we’re out of the whole situation.”  Armani scowled.  He looked Quin in the eyes with a hint of malice.  “You have any sixes?”“Go fish,” said Quin.“F**K!” Armani shouted, and fished.Devin flashed a glare at Armani.  “Don’t talk like that around Lisa,” To Rebecca, “So explain to me why this thing is so important, anyway?  You said it had some kind of magical powers?” Armani scoffed.  “Seems to me you’ve been watching too much fu…” Armani glanced over at Lisa.”  …umm… too much durned Buffy the Charmed sh.. stuff or something.” While the conversation was going on Meadow had been examining Lisa.  Lisa’s skin was slightly burnt from even the short time she’d spent in the sun that morning.  Beneath the burn it was very pale and her heart rate was weak and unsteady. “Guys, Lisa’s not looking great.”  Meadow looked concerned.  “I think we need to get her to the hospital.”●2:00 PM, Monday, July 19thRiverside Community Hospital, Newport News, VirginiaQuin drove Lisa to the hospital.  His car was the only one with tinted windows and she seemed to be very sensitive to the sunlight.  After he dropped her off Quin left the hospital muttering about being “late for a very important date.”“Ah, Mister Cole.  I see you were here just a week ago.  How is your head?”  The receptionist asked.  Devin rubbed the bandages self-consciously.  “Still aches.  Umm… about the bill.”“What bill?”“The cash I owe you for my stay.  I’m good for it, it’ll just take a bit.  And my little sister really needs…”The receptionist furrowed her brow.  “Your bill’s been paid, Mister Cole.”  She slid a clipboard full of papers to Devin.  “Now please fill these out and we’ll get Lisa in to see someone right away.”  A nurse led Lisa away.Devin looked a little dazed as he grabbed the clipboard and stumbled over to a chair.  Armani scowled at the receptionist out of habit and then sat down next to Devin.  Rebecca and Meadow took a seat across from them.  “So, who paid for the last visit?” asked Rebecca.Devin glanced up from the paperwork.  “Dunno.  Probably some computer glitch and I ain’t going to ask for clarification.”  He returned to his paperwork.  “I sure can’t afford to pay for this visit.”“Look, man.  I got some cash.”  Armani squirmed uncomfortably on the small chair.  “I can cover the bills from this f**kin’ visit.”  He looked up at Rebecca and Meadow, who were both staring at him slack-jawed.  “What the f**k are you looking at?  I ain’t no bad guy.”    “Thanks, man.”They sat in silence for a few minutes while Devin finished the paperwork.  He brought it up to the receptionist who took it and directed him to where Lisa was being examined.“I’ll be with Lisa, guys.”  He looked at the floor for a second.  “Look… thanks for being here.”  He left the reception area to be with his sister.“Looks like the f**king paintings are watching us.” Armani said, perusing the walls.  “Must be magic.”Rebecca sighed and looked up from her Redbook.  “Look, Armani, I don’t believe in magic either, but this is weird.  Martin said some stuff that made sense and…”  She flipped a page in the magazine and began to read about '10 Ways to Please Your Man (With Food)'.  “Meadow can probably explain better.”Meadow took a deep breath.  “It’s magic.  It’s real.  Ever since I was a kid, whenever I was around things that were otherworldy I got sick.  That bear made me sick like I’d never been sick before.  Until we talked to Professor Galivan and he showed me that bowl.  Then I got even SICKER!  There is some major magic going on here and we’re involved in it.  And now Sammy Nickels has magic that he shouldn’t have and we need to get it back.”“Uh huh.”  Armani nodded.  “I guess I can pretend that’s true.  They’ve got some weird sh*t on Unsolved Mysteries and sh*t.”  He stood up and stretched.  “I’m going to go grab some f**kin’ coffee.  I hear it has the magical ability to wake a motherf**ker up while he listens to boring women jabber about bullsh*t.  Anyone want some?”“Please.”“Yes, two creams, one sugar, please.”Armani returned a minute later with a single cup of coffee.●Devin returned to the waiting room a half hour later and sat down.  He looked like he’d aged years in the last week and the hospital visit wasn’t helping.  “Any idea what’s going on with Lisa, Devin?”  Rebecca asked.“I don’t know what’s wrong with her.  The doctors don’t know what’s wrong with her.  She needed a blood transfusion.  Her heart rate is abnormally slow and kind of fluttery.  Doc says her body temperature is abnormally low too.”  He looked half-despondent, half-pissed.  “She has things wrong with her that don’t happen from going to Busch Gardens, but she insists that all they did was go there and Chuck-E-Cheese’s and to that bar.  Sammy did something to her, and he’s about to end up in the hospital with some severe injuries…”“Why do I get the feeling we’re going to be committing even more felonies in the near future?” Rebecca said.An hour later a doctor approached the group.  “Mister Cole, I need to talk to you a moment.”  Devin got up and the two talked in private.  He returned a few minutes later and sat down.  The others looked at him expectantly.“She had needle tracks on her arms, recent tracks.  They’re testing for drugs.  They’re testing for all kinds of stuff.  There’s something in her blood they can’t identify.”  Devin’s head was bleeding a little.  “She doesn’t do drugs.  Never has.”  He reached under his jacket to where the Desert Eagle used to be.  “Sammy’s going to pay.  Who has weapons?”“I got a couple pistols.”  Armani patted the back of his pants.  “I think Quin gots one too.”“I’ve got pepper sprays.”“I think Allison has a sword that she got at a ren fair.”Rebecca’s brow furrowed, slightly.  “Anybody else worried that we’re talking about guns in a hospital waiting room?”Devin shrugged.  “Yeah, and we’ve been talking about magical bears too.  If anyone asks we’ll just say we’re talking about Dungeons and Dragons.”  He looked around though, to make sure nobody was in obvious earshot.  “Look, I just want to know that we have options.  I’ll stay here with Lisa tonight.  You guys go do what you need to.”“We’ll get a hotel room closer to the hospital, Devin.  I’ll call Quin and have him close out the other room.”  She got up to leave and Meadow got up with her.Armani remained seated.  “I’m gonna stay here for a while.  I’ll give you a call later.”“Suit yourself.  We’ll find the closest hotel and get a room.”  She handed her cell phone to Devin.  “Take this.”Devin pushed the phone away.  “I don’t need your char…”  Meadow interrupted him.  “Look.  If someone can sneak into the hospital to kill a police officer, then we know it’s not completely safe.  Something odd is going on here and you need to have a way to get ahold of us in an emergency.  Take the damn phone.”Devin took it.●12:00 AM, Tuesday, July 20thRiverside Community Hospital, Newport News, VirginiaIt was midnight.  Armani had gone to the new hotel.  Rebecca had called Quin’s cell phone and left a message asking him to check out from the old motel.  Devin had fallen asleep plagued by nightmares and the steady beeping of the heart monitor attached to his little sister – the only person he had ever really cared for and the only thing that kept him going.He awoke to the steady tone of a stopped heart.</blockquote>

Verification