Chapter
18
After Dr. Marx left, the only sound heard
in the room was the irregular beating of the heart monitor and the sound of the
machine breathing for Nick. All the guys looked down at the young boy lying in
the bed and stared a few moments, imbedding the image in their minds. There was
a white bandage wrapped around his head, concealing most of his golden hair
which was a mixture of it's natural blond color and a light pink from washed
out blood and his face was pale except for a few places of color from the fever
and a mixture of bruises and cuts.
All four of the men jumped as they heard
the door opening and a young nurse stuck her head in the room and asked them to
go to the waiting room while a CAT scan was done on Nick to determine if he had
any brain injuries or damage. Brian looked at his best friend one last time
before he was gently pushed out the door by Kevin and Howie. He reluctantly
followed them to the waiting room and collapsed in the nearest seat and threw
his bookbag on the couch across from him as he took in a deep breath and
watched as the rest sat in the seats around him.
There was a few moments of silence as they
all thought of something to say. All of a sudden Brian smacked his hand down on
the chair's armrest and jumped to his feet, making his way towards the couch
where his bookbag lay. He picked up the navy blue JANSPORT bookbag and
walked over towards his seat again digging through the contents of the bag as
his friends looked on. Without looking up he said, "Kevin hold out your
hand please." Kevin held out his hand as he let out a yawn waiting for his
youngest cousin's next move. Brian stopped digging through the bag for a moment
and reached inside, grabbing something and feeling for Kevin's outstretched
hand. When he came in contact with it, he dropped the contents into his hand
and continued digging through the contents of the bookbag. After a few more
seconds, he came up with a bottle of Aspirin. He dropped the bookbag at his
feet and gave his cousin a sheepish grin and looked at the contents in his
hands "Spare change." he mumbled as Kevin dropped the assortment of
change into Brian's waiting hands. Brian counted out 75 cents and dropped the
rest in his bookbag as he looked up and gave another sheepish grin and then
grabbed the bottle of Aspirin, taking out two and dropping the bottle into the
bookbag. He then got up and mumbled, "Be back in a bit." and started
to walk off but didn't get far because of the grip that was on the back of his
sweatshirt. He turned around slowly and looked at Kevin, "Yes Kevin?"
he mumbled. "Where you going Brian?" asked Kevin as he grip on
Brian's sweatshirt loosened. "To get something to drink so I can take
these Aspirin and then to the bathroom. Why do you ask?" said Brian as he studied
the wall of the waiting room, suddenly becoming interested in the pattern of
the wallpaper. He heard Kevin going through his bookbag and looked down to see
Kevin handing him his cell phone. "Take the cell phone with you, Bri. And
if we hear anything we will call you, ok?" instructed Kevin as Brian
nodded his head in response. "And Bri" started Kevin as Brian walked
away. Brian turned around and rolled his eyes as he waited for his older cousin
to continue. "Should you take your heart meds also Brian?" asked Kevin
as he looked at his watch. Brian rolled up the sleeve of his Navy Blue Kentucky
sweatshirt to look at his watch and said, "Nope not 10:30 yet, I will take
them when I come back. See you in a bit." and then he walked off.
Brian walked down the small hospital
hallway until he finally found a soda machine down a empty hall that was to the
left of the waiting room. He looked at the selection he could chose from and
was pleased to see that they had Ginger Ale. He entered his change into the
slot and pushed the button for his selection and picked up the can. He then
popped the top on the can open and took a drink before popping the 2 Aspirin in
his mouth and drinking some more Ginger Ale to help him swallow the pills. He
looked behind him and was glad to see the sign for a bathroom and made his way
over towards it. He opened the door and walked in, placing the open drink and
cell phone on the counter by the sink as he turned the cold water on and bent
over to splash his face with cold water to wake him up. Through the sound of the
running water, Brian failed to hear the sound of the door opening and softly
closing behind him. The next thing he knew, he felt something in his back and a
rough voice whispering in his ear, "You come with me and you will have no
trouble, got it Littrell?" Brian froze when he realized the man knew his
last name and he slowly reached for the cellphone on the counter and pushed the
first 4 digits of AJ's cellphone before the man behind him pulled him back
roughly and knocked the soda and cellphone to the floor with a loud crashing
sound. He then pushed Brian roughly towards the door still holding the gun to
his back and he followed closely behind him and whispered, "Go through the
double doors at the end of this hall, Don't try to pull anything or you will get
it, I won't hesitate to shoot you, got it Littrell?" Brian nodded quickly
as he walked out in the empty hallway and turned to his right heading towards
the double doors at the end of the hall with the man keeping closely behind
him. When they reached the double doors, they both walked through and Brian was
thrown into the backseat of the Explorer. He didn't know whether he should
scream or pass out. He quickly chose his second option and welcomed the
darkness that surrounded him.
***
