Patient Twelve

Chapter Five

Sweeney took my wrists out of the restraints. He stood behind Phillips with his arms crossed over his chest. She was pulling the corner of my eyelid to the side and was flashing a light into my eye. It made my vision blur into a hazy fog. She looked over her shoulder at Sweeney, and he uncrossed his arms.

"Go get her something to eat," she told him. "I'll keep a watch on her down here."

"She's a bit of a fighter," he said.

"I think I can handle it," she said.

Sweeney let out a huff of breath and walked toward the stairs. Phillips got off of the side of the bed. She reached into the pocket of her lab coat. She placed a cellphone to her ear and turned her back to me.

"Ben," Phillips said. "I have something you need to do."

She had a phone, and it got reception. I needed to rip that phone out of her hands and call the police. I would lock myself into that bathroom, and wait for the cops to come.

My head was throbbing as I sat up straighter. I held my head in my hands as pain radiated from behind my eyes to the back of my skull. I pulled the blankets off of my lap and there was a tug at my skin. I glanced down to see the IV sticking out of my arm. I held onto the pole as I swung my legs off the side of the bed.

"She has nothing here," Phillips said. "You'll need to get it all: a brush, deodorant, shampoo."

I slid forward so that my toes touched the cold floor. I held onto the pole to steady myself as I pulled myself up onto my feet. My knees wobbled, and I held onto the bed to maintain my balance. The wheels of the IV pole squeaked as I took a small step forward.

"For clothes," Phillips said. She turned around, and when she saw me she rolled her eyes. "For clothes, I'd say she's a size four. I have to go. Be here in an hour."

Phillips hung up the phone and slipped it into the pocket of her coat. She shook her head as she walked toward me. She put her hands on my shoulders and pushed me down onto the bed. I swatted at her hands. I kicked my foot out, and she jumped out of the way. She reached down and grabbed both of my ankles. She turned my body so that I was lying across the bed. I balled up my fist, and punched Phillips in the jaw. She yelped and held onto her face.

She was leaning over me, and her cellphone was poking out of her pocket. I grabbed it. Her eyes grew wide when she saw I had her phone. I swiped my finger across the screen to see that she had it protected by a password. My hands were shaking as I tried to get back to the menu screen to find the "emergency call" button.

Phillips wrapped her fingers around my neck. She pushed her hand down onto my throat, and I gasped for breath. I reached to pry her off with my fingers. Phillips gritted her teeth as she squeezed my neck tighter. I threw my legs out and tried to kick her off of me. Phillips let go of my throat with one hand and snatched the phone away from me. She let go of me and she shoved the phone back into her pocket. I gasped for breath and held onto my throat.

"Please!" The warm tears were running down the side of my face. "Please, you don't have to do this."

"I know that," Phillips said. "We do this because we want to. It's like getting to be God. It's a lot of fun."

"Where are my eyes?"

Phillips shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know," she said. "But it doesn't matter."

The door clicked as it opened. I sat up and wiped the tears off my face with the back of my hand. I pushed myself back until I was resting against the pillows. When Sweeney came into view, he had a bowl in his hands. He handed it to me, and I looked down to see it was full of macaroni and cheese. It looked like the cheap stuff out of a box that I would make after class. The warmth from the bowl spread through my hands.