Late Night Thoughts

Chapter 2

The next day came, and the house was silent. I stepped out of my bed and scanned around my bedroom. I looked at my phone again; it was 8:56 in in the morning. 'Looks like I missed school today' I thought. I decided to head over to the kitchen expecting a sarcastic remark from my sister. The house stayed silent. I looked around the house but everything was paused as if time has paused all objects in their place in black and white. Something was wrong. My sister should've made it home by now at least. 'Since she worked overtime and her work was about 15 miles away from our house, she probably just stayed at a friend's house for the night or spent the night in a hotel room closer to her workplace' I thought. I shrugged passively and slowly started getting ready for school. I left the house quietly, hoping to see my sister tonight

Even though I got to school hours after it began, the classes seemed longer than usual. When all the classes finished, I was dragged by the back of my shirt towards the yard of the school. 'Here we go again,'  I thought in my head. They forcefully slammed my face against the wall. I start to breathe heavily after a while as I struggled to keep my consciousness. My eyes began to blur. I close my eyes for a moment trying to gain enough energy to focus on what is in front of me. I hear the sneers and devilish giggles vibrate in my eardrums. I open my eyes to see three boys equipped with switchblades with an edge with a minimum of a hand's length. They rushed towards me as two pinned me down with knives shaving my neck. I close my eyes again. "Let's see you try and endure this, Punching Bag." That voice seemed so distant yet I can feel him breathing on me, eager to torture me until I was unrecognizable. I hesitantly open my eyes and regret that I ever opened them at that moment.

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I don't remember getting out of that situation nor the rest of the day, but when I woke up, I was in the hospital waiting room the next morning. I dragged myself off the chair and decided to head to the restroom. I rinsed my face off and peered at my reflection in the mirror. Surprisingly, there were no black-eyes nor bruises on my face, but I can't say the same for my torso and limbs. It looks like they got me good this time. Instead of the bruises, there were multiple thin cuts along my face. They neglected to get the eyes, nose and mouth, so it looks like I was wearing a clear mask that covered these regions of my face as my forehead, cheeks, and chin were blood-red with innumerable scars. Looks like they took it easy on me yesterday considering that the three of them had knives. Content with my extreme luck, I exited the restroom pondering on another question. Why am I at the hospital if I wasn't here for myself?

I looked around the restroom and saw a familiar door with the room number 176. It was strange since I didn't recall seeing that room number nor being in this hospital before. I felt as if I should wait outside since I was not sure who was in there. A few minutes later, a nurse approached me and asked if I was here to see anyone. I pointed in the direction of the strangely familiar room. The nurse then said that it is open to friends and family if I wanted to go in. I nodded and gave the nurse my thanks.

I chose to open the door slowly and quietly, so that I do not disturb the patient in the room. When I walked in and saw the patient, I froze in place. This can't be real. This can't be happening. The pain from the wounds on my face started to pierce my head, and solidified this harsh reality and the existence of the being who is nearly unrecognizable at first glance laid out on the bed barely breathing. I closed my eyes trying to keep the confusion and sadness within myself. I opened my eyes and sat next to the bed, holding her hand. I struggle to bring out these two simple words that were so easy to say for as long as I can remember: "Hey, Sis."

According to reports, the protests last night broke out into a full-blown riot as people started to throw bottles and rocks at the government building. All of a sudden, Rebels drove right through a crowd of over 2,100 citizens and broke through the gates to the government building. Over 110 casualties, 90 of which are now dead and only 20 are wounded and being treated at this exact same hospital. My sister, is one of those lucky 20. As a result of the victims' "honorable sacrifice, the militia took over the local government and look to create a new form of government that defended the rights of the people and allowed the people to continue living their ordinary lives, which I find hard to believe what was actually going to take place here in this city once the government starts to take action.