About a week later, Roger woke up again feeling drowsy. Dr Hayley and Alex came in to check on him. "Hey Roger, how are you feeling?" Dr Hayley asked. Roger just shrugged. "We're gonna have you off the ventilator before we take off the annoying trach today so you're gonna breathe in through your nose via a nasal cannula. You're familiar with it, right?" Dr Hayley asked. Roger just nodded because John and Curt use it. Alex connected the nasal cannula to the wall oxygen tank before putting it on to Roger. She then took out the ventilator and capped the trach as Dr Hayley nervously waited to see if the trial was working. Roger was breathing normally with the nasal cannula so that's good. That means that he'll be off the tracheostomy sooner than expected.
"Can you breathe?" Dr Hayley asked. "Yeah, it feels good though my chest hurts a bit," Roger said. "If you feel like you're suffocating, we can have the ventilator back in, I'm just unsure if the alien DNA is doing anything or not," Dr Hayley said. "That vial is 40-years-old and we're not sure if it would work on modern teenagers with pre-existing mutated DNA so that's why we're worried," Alex said. "What are the side effects once this kicks in?" Roger asked. "Because you already have a pre-existing mutated alien DNA, your powers might be twice as powerful as before," Dr Hayley said. "So I might get more triggered, I'd write with my mind?" Roger asked. "We're not sure about that yet, but once you're completely out of the trach, we'll test that," Dr Hayley said.
"You can sleep it off, if you're feeling off like you can't breathe without your ventilator, the call button is next to you," Alex said. "Thank you, for everything, helping me not die from organ failure," Roger said. "You're very welcome," Dr Hayley said before she and Alex left. Meanwhile, back in school, the Wild Boys were in Maths class which was the last class of the day. "Can any of you help me with this trig question?" Curt asked. "I'm not even the best at Math in general," Bryan said. "Nevermind, got it," Curt said after finishing a question on trigonometric identities. "How can you do that?" John asked. "Magic," Curt said, just a hint for one of his powers, which is the ability to pick up skills easily. "Dude, can't believe I managed to finish this question too," John said.
"Wow, you and John pick up every single skill," Roland said. "You're welcome," Curt said. After Maths, the Wild Boys decided to go see Roger hoping for some updates. The entire week has been the same, Roger knocked out due to the alien DNA and still on trach. Chris was hoping to see some change whether Roger's off the tracheostomy or off whatever IV line he's connected to. The Wild Boys are now at the bus station waiting for their bus to the city. Chris was sweating nervously and his hands were sweating too so he wiped them on his trousers. "Chris, you alright, lad?" Jim asked. "I'm fine, it's just hot right now," Chris said, when in reality, he was very nervous. "It's November, it's not supposed to be hot right now," George said.
"Chris, are you nervous?" Roland asked. "Alright, you caught me because of your telepathy, yes I am nervous," Chris admitted. "What's making you nervous?" Simon asked. "I'm just worried about Roger, what if we get news that he died or something? What if something happened to his central line or IVs or his trach?" Chris asked as so many questions ran through his head. "We all get nervous at times but Roger will be okay, the alien DNA is injected into him so it should work," Curt said. "Yeah, I actually vomited due to nerves when Curt got sick," Roland said. "And Jim bites his nails," Andy pointed out. "What the? Kid, how do you know?" Jim asked in embarrassment. "I could feel how awful your nails were when you carried me while John was in a coma," Andy said.
"Just get a nail clipper, what you did was disgusting," John said. The bus soon arrived as the Wild Boys hopped in. They are now on the way to the bus terminal before going to the hospital. "How many times have we been out of Basildon?" Alan asked. "A lot because someone's sick," Chris snapped out. "Buddy, I know you're worried about Roger but we're gonna see him today and I'm sure he'll survive organ failure," Bryan said. "Nobody in our team has had organ failure," Chris said. "Dude, I'm on respiratory failure because of my asthma and pulmonary fibrosis," John said. "What about the digestive system? Roger's stomach and intestines literally shut down," Chris said. "My stomach is paralysed," Andy said. "Roger will get better, I promise, the alien DNA is doing its job," Bryan said.
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Stuck In The Box: A New Normal
Mystery / ThrillerA few days after John, Curt and Andy were released from the hospital, the Wild Boys had since continued their education. While catching suspicions of an alien invasion, Roger had fallen ill with appendicitis. After being rushed to the hospital and n...
