The Deadly Truth

Chapter Eight

The next morning I was awoke by Len shaking me gently. I was surprised I even woke up from it; the motion was so tender and kind. He kept shaking me even though I had already awoke, causing me to giggle. He withdrew; surprised I had already woken up.

                “Sorry about that,” he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. I giggled even more at his uncomfortable stance, and remained on my bed, lying there. The lack of movement and brain processes were most likely caused by my sleepy state. Also, it was so nice to see Len after my restless night. He usually calmed me down, so naturally, I wanted this moment to last. It must have been incredibly strange and for Len.

                “Well… uh, I brought all the money I saved from work for our trip,” Len said after a few seconds of me staring at him. That woke me up. I sat upright, almost too fast, since a few bones crackling could be heard.

                “How much is that?” I asked, my eyes widening, images of money raining from the sky filled my mind. I hopped out of my bed and watched Len as he pulled bill after bill out of his bag. It was magnificent to say the least. This must sound greedy to you, but truthfully, I had not seen so much money in my entire life. My dad always made enough to get by, but we never had much surplus.

                “Did you save all of the money you have ever earned?” I asked incredulously. If it were me, all of my earnings would be gone within the week. That is just the difference between Len and me. He always did the right thing, and thought everything through, while I reacted purely on my emotion, often doing something stupid.

                Len laughed in reply. “Yep, I always knew I would need it for something like this. We actually do need all of this, anyway. The train ride to Gasdile is surprisingly expensive,” he explained, stuffing the money back into his bag. I nodded. It was quite a distance away. Gasdile was a bustling and industrious city, full of companies and power plants. Regeres was almost as rural as it got these days. Being that there was a park, no matter how wimpy it actually was. The two polar opposites would clash drastically if they were anywhere near each other.

                “We should go see Lanai…” I suggested as I brushed my hair lightly. The tossing and turning last night caused it to turn into quite the rat’s nest. “Wait,” I realized. “How did you get in here?” In my excitement, I didn’t even notice how odd it was to have him waking me up in the morning.

                “Your dad let me in before he left,” he answered. “He went to see someone about his Mone, I think,” he continued, sounding unsure. “Sorry about the Mone, too, “Len added, and squeezed my hand in reassurance.  I looked at him with a furrowed brow.

                “What do you mean ‘you think’?”

                “He said he was going to see Kilig, someone who you only see to get something removed. Kilig is too terrifying to just sit and have a chat with. Trust me, I’ve seen him a few times at the homeless shelter; not someone people want to talk to. Your father also said this was the only time Kilig was available. He would have stayed if he could,” he told me, looking over for my reaction. I bit my lip, hoping Kilig was that good enough of a workman to remove the Mone. I took a deep breath and grabbed Len’s hand.

                “We should probably get going to the hospital. We don’t know how long Lanai has,” and with a rapid change of subject and a quick grab of the essentials we needed for the trip, we took off. I didn’t want to think of my dad. It would only bring pain.

--

                “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you pass,” the receptionist repeated for the seventh time. And for the eighth time, I told her that we desperately needed to see Lanai.

                “With the way you were acting yesterday, you’re lucky you’re even allowed to enter the building,” she said this without any emotion, almost like she had to rehearse it earlier. Judging by the way she kept avoiding eye contact and messing with her hair, I could tell she really didn’t mind if we went to Lanai’s room. The doctor from yesterday probably pounded it into her head that we couldn’t pass.

                “Look, ma’am. I know the way we acted yesterday was out of line and disrespectful, but if you don’t let us see Lanai… we’ll…” Len paused, a threat unable to be conjured in his kind mind.

                “We’ll scream, right here,” I finished for him, pointing at the ground for effect. The receptionist chuckled as she checked her reflection in her Mone. I cocked my brow. Did she think we were joking? I had no problem yelling in the hospital again. In fact, I wanted to. This place made me so furious.

                “No need for that. You can go on right ahead, but behave yourselves,” she reprimanded with a pointed finger. Len and I beamed and thanked her enthusiastically as we walked briskly to room 504. During the short walk, I convinced myself that we would walk in, see Lanai had improved somewhat, then head off to Gasdile with newly optimistic hearts… however, I couldn’t have been more mistaken.

                Len and I both gasped of pure shock upon entering her room. It wasn’t that we saw something terrible. It was the exact opposite. We saw nothing. There was an empty bed with the sheets stripped, an absent IV, and most importantly, no Lanai. I felt my heart ascend up my throat, but I couldn’t rush to conclusions. Maybe Lanai was simply moved, or we were incorrect about which room she was held in. I pondered the possible explanations as a nurse pushed through Len and me. She mumbled ‘excuse me’ and started to disinfect the counter near the door.

                “Wh-where’s Lanai?” Len choked. The nurse turned around, confused.

                “Oh, the young girl that used to be in here?” She asked, remembering. “She passed away about an hour ago, I believe,” she answered herself, glancing at the clock to make sure. I collapsed onto the ground, my legs giving out. Why were all these terrible things suddenly forcing themselves upon me now? Why all at once? I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer. It was too hard, what with last night and now Lana dead. It felt strange to admit it to myself. Lanai was always, although annoying, full of life. All she wanted to do was live life the way she wanted to… and she perished. She had fallen victim to the Mones’ death grip on humanity.

                The nurse, feeling uncomfortable, squeezed past both mine and Len’s shaken faces once again to leave. She patted us both on our shoulders and mumbled her condolences as she left. I reached out for Len. He was the only one who could make me feel better in these kinds of situations. I waved my arms around blindly, not caring to look up from the linoleum floor. Len grabbed my arms and pulled me into him. I stuffed my face into his chest, letting all my sobs and wails out. Although I knew her death was coming in the back of my mind, it still hurt, and I couldn’t help but weep. The piece of me that was positive about the Mones, however miniscule it was, flooded out of me with my tears. It was shattered with the reality of Lanai’s death.  For awhile, Len and I sat entwined, shaken and hurt; just crying.

                Despite the ache, only a certain amount of tears could be shed. There’s a moment that you reach while crying where you can feel yourself all dried up. It’s the point where your voice, although still shaky, is able to pronounce full sentences, instead of short cries and phrases. Both Len and I reached that point and stood up slowly.

                “The next train to Gasdile is running in twenty minutes. We can make it there if we head out now,” Len told me, looking at the train schedule he had brought.

                “Yeah, let’s go,” I agreed. “For Lanai,” I added. Len nodded with a smile and led me out towards the train station.