Runner

Attempted Murder

I woke up in the hospital. My vision was blurry at first, and I could feel pain coursing through my body. As my eyes opened, I saw my parents and a nurse next to my bed. I could tell my parents had been crying. The nurse was tending to the bags that hung above me that were connected to the IV in my arm. I was sore and groggy and it was difficult to move. My parents leaned forward and looked at me with worry. "How are you feeling, Zephera?" My father asked with a somewhat raspy voice, probably from crying. "I feel like crap." I replied, realizing my voice was even worse than my fathers. I could hardly speak. My mother exhaled a worried sigh. I looked over at her. "I'll be fine mom." I whispered with a reassuring smile. My mother smiled back but worry was still obvious in her eyes. A few moments later, the doctor came in. "It's good to see you awake, Zephera." He said with a smile. "I'm doctor Matthews. I performed the surgery on your spine." He added. My eyes widened and I began to panic. "Am I paralyzed? Is that why it's so hard to move?" I thought. My heart rate went up and the monitor began beeping quickly. "It's alright. Calm down. You're fine." The doctor said, trying to reassure me. "Surgery on my spine? What happened to my spine?" I asked, still panicking. "When the explosion threw you against the wall, the impact displaced your spine. I went in and put it back into place. We hope you will be able to walk in a few weeks." The doctor informed me. "But I have school! I have an important paper due next week!" I said in a loud, raspy voice. I started coughing from the strain I had just put on my throat and vocal chords. The nurse sat me up and helped me stop coughing. "It's alright. I can turn in your paper and pick up your assignments from the school." My mom said, trying to calm me down. I nodded and the room was quiet for a moment. Another nurse came in and said that there were some kids in the waiting room wanting to see me and asked me if I was up to visitors. I nodded and she brought them in. "Oh my gosh, Zephera! We were so worried about you! I'm so glad you're ok!" Said Katie with a smile. The three guys, Antonio, Harrison, and Donny, began to grin. "What?" I asked. Harrison burst into laughter. "You're an idiot! And you look terrible." He said. "Shut up, man. She's hurt and in pain. It's not funny." Antonio said, glaring at him and becoming frustrated with Harrisons occasional lack of self-control. Donny also gave Harrison a disapproving frown. The four surrounded me and and took turns hugging me very gently so they wouldn't hurt me. Katie began to cry and I could tell the guys were having a bit of trouble holding back tears with red eyes, glad to see me alive, but sad to see me hurting. Katie explained to me that they had been so worried and they never knew what was going on. They had only heard that there had been an exolosion, I was in the hospital, and that I might not make it. They heard that if I did live, I may be paralyzed for the rest of my life. That's why the sight of me talking and moving brought tears to their eyes. Soon, visiting hours were over for everyone but the children's parents, so my friends had to leave. They hugged me gently and said goodbye for the night. "Rest and heal up so we can race each other across the football field like old times, alright?" Antonio said with a smile before leaving. I smiled back. "Alright. I will." I fell asleep quickly and my parents slept in chairs next to my bed. But when the nurse woke me up in the morning for my medications, I saw something horrible on the 5 A.M. news that made my heart race and my body tremble with fear and anger. More nurses ran in and injected something into my IV. The last thing I saw was my friend, Katie, being held at gunpoint on the news by someone horrible from my past. Then my body relaxed and everything went black.