In My Time of Dying

Lucky Escape

When he made it out into the corridor however, there was no sign of the figure he had seen.

Puzzled, Dec glanced around, eyes searching out any flicker of beige that could point to what he had seen. 

Nothing.

There was no flash of beige, no familiar disembodied voice (that was still turning his brain cogs, by the way), and no echoing footsteps.

In fact, the whole corridor was completely silent.

Deciding to leave it for the moment, Dec decided to go off in search of Ant and Lisa - maybe he could glean some more information from them. And even if he couldn't, he could use the company - he was starting to get a bit lonely.

So he strode off down the winding corridor and wandered into the bowels of the hospital. He had no real idea where he was going, but something was pulling him in the direction of the memorial garden a bit further down the corridor.

He continued to walk towards the sign pointing to the door into the garden, so focused on getting to his destination that he didn't notice the figure hiding in the shadows as it watched him go by.

*****

True to his suspicions, Dec found Ant and Lisa sitting on a bench in the garden. As he walked over to them, he glanced around appreciatively.

There was a peaceful vibe about the gardens - tall shady trees towering overhead providing some protection from the sun, colourful flowers adorning the beds around their massive trunks, the sound of birds flying and tweeting overhead, the soft trickle of an artificial waterfall in the corner, the little ripple of water as the goldfish in the pond swam merrily around. 

It was like sitting in a rainforest in the middle of London. 

He was pulled out of his musings by the sound of Lisa's voice.

"Anth, I just want to be sure you're alright" she sounded like she was pleading.

Frowning, Dec glanced over at his two friends, and was startled to see Ant on his feet and pacing in front of Lisa, frustration evident in his features.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Ant exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "I'm fine! How many times do I have to say it?"

Lisa - forever patient - looked up at her husband sadly.

"Because we're worried about you, darling. It's kind of our job" she replied calmly, relief flickering in her eyes as Ant seemed to calm a little himself.

Ant sighed heavily and sat back down next to his wife, leaning his weary head on her shoulder.

"I know, pet. It's just a bit frustrating that everyone keeps asking me, when we should be worrying about how Dec is doing" he murmured, closing his eyes.

Lisa pressed a loving kiss to his hair, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Well, between you, me, and Al, I think we can all worry enough for the rest of them" she teased gently, grateful to hear a wet chuckle rumble through Ant's chest.

Dec watched the whole exchange with a sad, faraway look in his eyes. He wished there was something he could do to let them know he was still there, but he knew from the many times he had tried over the past 12 hours that it would be impossible.

So he settled for standing back and watching his best friends converse and comfort with each other.

"What would I do without you, hey pet?" Ant whispered, looking up at Lisa.

Dec smiled at that, wondering the exact same thing.

Lisa smiled back at him, "Probably fall to pieces and be locked up in an asylum before the day was out."