Son of Tesla

SON OF TESLA: Chapter 17

THE HOSPITAL ROOM WAS quiet except for the rhythmic beep of the life-support machinery and the soft breathing of the woman lying unconscious on the bed. Every few breaths, the air would catch in her throat with a short rasp, like the sound of a nail sliding across a concrete floor. On a cushioned ledge beside the window, the young girl with blonde hair slept fitfully, curled into a ball to protect against the cold. The west-facing window was still dark, and the girl shivered slightly in her sleep.

Gillian Fletch made a series of quick check marks on the medical form attached to a clipboard in her hand. The name at the top of the form read Rachel Parsen, and Gillian frowned slightly before marking out the "e" and penciling in a tiny "o" above it. Tim was getting slack about the details again. But after what had happened, who could blame him?

Grabbing a folded blanket from the tiny supply closet in the corner of the room, Gillian laid it across the little girl. Her hand reached out and pulled it up around her neck, but she didn't wake, just curled tighter and began to murmur in her sleep. Gillian leaned forward, trying to catch the words. "Fire" was one, followed by "mom." Just dreaming.

It was 7:30, still thirty minutes before the morning shift came in to relieve her, but the night had calmed down soon after the woman and her daughter had been dropped off. The woman – Rachel, Gillian reminded herself. Her name is Rachel – had woken up briefly while Shane was patching her wound, but she'd soon dropped off again and hadn't woken since.

Gillian brushed the girl's golden bangs off her forehead, thinking about the children she'd never had, and decided that she'd run into the neighboring room and grab another blanket for her. Even the light from the overheads felt cold. Gillian turned and managed two steps before the girl uttered a piercing shriek.

Gillian's heart flew into her throat, and she whirled to find the girl's eyes open and staring at the ceiling. The muscles in her neck had tightened to taught cords that pressed up into the skin.

"It's alright," Gillian said softly, kneeling beside her and resting a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, I'm here."

But the girl seemed to still be asleep, although her eyes were open wide and fixated on something over her head. Gillian had seen this before, and she silently cursed the man for not telling them the girl was an epileptic.

"Shane!" Gillian yelled over her shoulder, keeping a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. "Shane! Get some diazepam!"

Silence from the hallway.

"Shane! Get off that game and bring me some–"

"Red rain, red, red raindrops."

Gillian's head whipped back to the girl at the words. As before, she seemed oblivious to Gillian's presence.

"Red rain and black eyes, the black eyes. They see me."

The lights went off, plunging Gillian into perfect blackness.

Thanks for reading my story! Please VOTE and let me know what you think of it so far, then check out Chapter 18!