Look Behind You

Chapter One

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It was Sunday. A plain, boring Sunday. Nothing to do, nowhere to go- except for the doctor's office.

My friends, Nitro, Maggie, Kate, Logan, and Iris all have the same Doctor. I do as well. We decided- why not schedule an appointment altogether?

So I waited in my puffy purple chair, drawing a group photo of us all. I took a pen and delicately traced over messy pencil sketches, taking my eraser and cleaning the lines on the way. As I was halfway through Maggie's outline, the doorbell rang. "Coming!" I yelled from my upstairs bedroom, dashing downstairs and opening the door.

Nitro and Maggie waved at me. "Hey, Kitty!" Nitro grinned. "Ready to go?"

"Where's everyone else?" I leaned out of the doorframe, trying to catch a glimpse of my other friends waiting.

"Oh, that's the thing," Nitro let out a laugh. "We rented a six-seater bike!"

"Oh my God," I face-palmed myself. "You're kidding."

"Nope!" Nitro shook her head. "And Kate's driving. I can't tell you how many times that bike went into a bush or a tree."

"I am not riding a six seater bike!" I spat. "It's gonna be so cramped! And smelly!"

"Cmon, Kitty," Maggie stepped forwards. "It's actually pretty fun, once you get used to it. You can drive, if you'd like."

"No way. I'd rather take my chances with the smelly backseat, thank you very much." Wrinkling up my nose, I locked the door behind me and walked towards the bike in my driveway.

The ride to the doctor's was just as I had expected- my butt was hanging off the edge of the seat, with Logan and Iris taking up the majority of the room. "Couldn't Three people sit in the front, instead of two?" I had called out to Nitro in anger.

Finally we pulled into the parking lot of the Doctor's office. My stomach did a somersault. "It's so big," I whispered, finally noticing that the building stretched far into the distance. I couldn't even see the end of it.

"You've never noticed?" Nitro laughed. "We've been doing this for a month now. Going in to talk to the doctor about our problems."

I nodded, remembering last week's visit. The doctor acted so weird. "I wonder if something's wrong himself."

Iris climbed out of the backseat, Logan at her heels. "Why do you say that?"

"Didn't any of you notice how weird he was acting?" I pointed out. "Almost as if he's unconscious or something."

"I don't think he was weird," Logan shrugged. "That's probably how doctors are."

"I have to agree with Kitty," Kate replied. "He was asking me continuously, "How have you slept? Why haven't you been sleeping?"

"That's exactly what I mean!" We began walking towards the door to the doctors office. "I have been sleeping. But it's almost as if he's deaf to everything I tell him. Like he chooses not to listen."

"It's probably fine," Nitro rolled her eyes, gently stepping on the cement with her clumsy ice leg. "He means no harm."

We pushed through the doors, revealing a large waiting room. I saw people sitting down in cheap folding chairs. Their eyes lingered on me and my friends as we settled down in an open row of chairs.

Nitro wobbled up to the counter. "Appointment for six, please. Our names are Nitro, Kitty, Maggie, Kate, Iris, and Logan."

I pointed my ears in the direction of a teenage girl, a couple years older than us. She sagged down low in her chair, her eyes focused on me. She had dark purple eye bags crawling up her cheeks, and red veins brightly shone through her eyes. Her long black hair dropped down her filthy white shirt. She looked miserable.

I turned my head, trying to draw no attention. This was like a therapist. They had flaws. The doctor didn't do this to them.

Or did he?

Before I could get lost in a deeper thought, the girl was called up to the doctor. I saw her gaze at me, and for a moment,  I saw a flash of color. I shook my head and looked away. The girl was gone.

I looked over my shoulder and stared at a magazine Iris was reading. Everyone else seemed okay. So why was I so troubled?

"Group of six," the receptionist called out, her voice booming in the large room. I gingerly stood up, pulling Maggie to her feet. "Let's go," I murmured shyly.

We followed a nurse to a room. She seemed friendly enough, and not as strange as the doctor. I took mental notes as I listened to her voice.

"The doctor will be with you all soon," she told us, guiding five of us to a row of seats against the wall. Nitro remained on the hospital bed, her feet gently kicking against the bedpost.

We waited a few minutes. I examined the posters on the wall. Eat healthy. The Human Skeleton. How to Stay Safe.

I tilted my head. How to Stay Safe? It almost sounded like a survival guide. But why would we need one of those in the doctor's office?

I was identifying the poster for so long, I didn't notice when the doctor strutted into the room. "Good evening. I am your doctor."

He turned to us, one by one. "I recognize you all. You are the group of six. Been here for a month now."

"Yup," Maggie kept her voice low. How could she be so calm when I could tell something was going on?

My eyes fluttered away from the doctor, and back to the poster. It featured a little girl and her mother. The litter girl's knee was exposed, showing a giant Band-Aid stuck to it. Her mom had her arm wrapped around the child, squeezing her tight. They stood in front of a big grey door, with a bright green button against the wall. I noticed spots of read leaked onto the floor. The girl's blood.

"Kitty, it is your turn." The doctor beckoned me forwards. "Sit on the bed."

I did as he told.

"How have you been sleeping?"

I looked away. "I haven't." There was no point in explaining this to him every week.

"Why haven't you slept?"

"I don't want to."

"Why not?"

I stayed quiet. What should I say?

"Kitty, why haven't you slept?"

I hated his tone of voice. It sounded almost robot-like. It made me cringe. How could my friends resist this? Did they understand now how odd the doctor was acting?

"I don't think this is working, Doctor."

He stared at me.

I climbed out of my chair, and seated on the floor beside Nitro.

"We still have half an hour."

I didn't want to stay. My time here was over. Something was wrong with this hospital. I began to breathe heavily. "Leave me alone."

"Are you OK?"

My chest tightened. My friends turned in my direction. What was wrong with me?

I quickly jumped to my feet, and flung open the door. My vision was growing dark. I stumbled through the hallway.

"Kitty!" Maggie was tugging at my arm. "Kitty, what's happening?"

Did he poison me?

I could see the reception area now. People were watching me in horror. "Help!" I rasped, my chest fighting for breath,

People ran to help..

Before I could see what was happening, before I knew where I was going, the lights shut off. And just like that, I was in the middle of a maze.

Alone.