Rock Climbing Conundrum

Chapter 5: The Car Ride

Gwen informed the quartermaster about what had happened and said she'd be taking Max to the hospital while tasking the campers to make get well cards for him. She frantically grabbed every art supply item she saw and laid them all out on the different tables in the mess hall. "You kids get to work, I've gotta run." Gwen panicked before grabbing her keys out of her pocket. The ran to the car as quickly as she could. Max was already in the passenger seat up front. Just staring at the window blankly. His eyes were slightly puffy, indicating that he had been crying. But once he heard Gwen unlock the car, he quickly moved the tears to his forehead to look like he had been sweating. "Gee, is it hot in here?" He said in a shaky voice, trying to laugh it off. "Don't worry, kid. I've got air conditioning." Gwen said in her usual monotone. She hadn't told Max where they would be going just yet other than "to see a doctor." Max used to be scared of regular doctor's appointments, but that faded due to him having to grow up too fast. But there was one thing that hadn't changed though...

"...How you holding up, kid?" Gwen asked. "Ok I guess..." Max said in a shaky monotone. Gwen swore she heard his voice crack a few times. "You know, it's perfectly normal to be scared, Max." She said trying to reassure the child. "I'm not scared, Gwen. You're just looking for material to write in your stupid fanfictions." Max retorted, wincing as he held his arm. "Geez, I was just trying to help..." Gwen muttered, focusing on the road. The car ride was silent for a while. Gwen tried turning on the radio to listen to some music, hoping that would make Max feel better. But the stations wouldn't come in, no matter how hard she tried. Max noticed how oddly long it was taking for them to get to the nearest doctor's office, or at the very least, an urgent care. "Uh, Gwen?" Max asked. She hummed in response. "We just passed an urgent care, why didn't you stop?" He looked at the counselor as she frowned. "Because we're not going to an urgent care, Max. ...I'm taking you to the ER." She confessed.

Back at the mess hall, All the campers were busy cracking away at get well cards. Space Kids glued the items he was using to his helmet on accident while Nurf just had a poorly folded piece of paper with the words "get well soon, asshole." scribbled in black pen. Neil and Nikki were the only ones working hard on their gifts. Neil wanted to make his card look as formal as ever while Nikki showered hers with so much glitter that you couldn't even make out the words "get well soon" anymore. "Uhhh, Nikki? Don't you think you're wasting too much glitter?" Neil asked. "There's no such thing as 'too much glitter,' Neil!" Nikki replied before blowing off the excess, getting some stuck in her eyes. "HELP! I'M BLINDED BY GLITTER!!!" She screamed, knocking various art supplies over from her table. "Fear not, strange being! I'll save you!" Nerris declared, holding a cup of paint water in her hand. She ran up to Nikki and splashed the water in her face. The girl slowly opened her eyes, noticing the glitter wasn't stinging them anymore. "Wow... Thanks, Nerris!" Nikki said. "No problem, Nikki!" Nerris replied before going back to her table. "...Y'know she could've just used REGULAR water." Neil suggested. 

Meanwhile, Max was undergoing a panic attack during the car ride. "Why the fuck didn't you tell me this sooner?!" He yelped. "Because I had to inform the quartermaster about what happened!" Gwen replied, noticing his distress. "Turn this car around, Gwen! I'm not going to some hospital!" Max said stubbornly. "Max, there's gonna be doctors there to help figure out what's wrong with you!" Gwen said, Max giving her a death glare. "Ok maybe I could have worded that a bit better..." She admitted. "Damn right you could have worded it better!" Max retorted, tears filling his eyes once again. Luckily Gwen hit a red light as Max said this. He tried holding it in like usual, but for some reason he couldn't this time and began chocking up sobs. Gwen's heart sank as she saw Max this upset. It was so oddly out of character for him, sure. But she could tell how frightened he was. Max cursed at himself for showing this much vulnerability around somebody, considering how he's so used to being shamed for it because "boys don't show weakness." He kept apologizing over and over again, and tried with all his might to "suck it up" but he couldn't. Gwen looked around frantically and spotted a nearby parking lot for some 7\11 type place and pulled over. Once she found a parking spot, she unbuckled her seatbelt and put an arm around Max. She unbuckled his seatbelt too and placed him in her lap, allowing him to cry as much as he needed to. "You're gonna be ok, Max..." She said softly, holding him close. Her shirt was stained with tears, but she didn't care. "E-Everyth-thing h-hurts." Max said, his voice shaky as he hyperventilated. "It's ok, Max." Gwen gently held Max's free arm and put it against her chest. "Follow my breathing, ok?" She tried to help the child calm down until his cries were reduced to whimpers and his breathing regulated.

"I know hospitals can be scary." She admitted, putting her hand under Max's chin and lifting his head so he could look her in the eyes. "But there are people who wanna make sure you heal as quick as possible." Max wiped his eyes with his shirt sleeve, his eyes glossy from crying so much. "I've seen you be brave back at camp... Do you think you can do that now?" Gwen asked. Max thought for a minute, he had never seen someone actually care about him to this degree. Sure, David tried to show Max that he cared, but he was usually pushed away. There just seemed to be something about Gwen that made him feel "safe" in a way. He began to feel guilty for wasting Gwen's time, so he nodded. But the counselor was onto him. "...Do you need another minute?" She asked. Max was silent as a few stray tears rolled down his face. "I'll take that as a yes..." Gwen said as she hugged him. she didn't care how long it would take for Max to be mentally prepared, she just wanted him to feel safe.