Patient Twelve

Chapter Eleven

My eyes felt glued shut as I started to gag. Something slick was running up my throat, and I thought I was going to be sick. An awful smell hit me as whatever was in my throat ran through my nose. I started coughing and gasping for breath in between coughs.

My eyelids were peeled open and I could see Oliver leaning over my body. He was blurrier than normal. He flashed a light into each of my eyes. I groaned. I tried to push him away, but my hands were stuck. I couldn't feel any restraints around my wrists, but my hands were impossibly heavy. I must have passed out after getting onto the bed.

"You'll have to keep an eye on her tonight, Ben," Oliver said. My eyelids crashed back down. "This shouldn't cause respiratory depression, but you never know."

"Yes, sir." Ben's voice came from somewhere in the room.

"You told me she was doing good," Bethany said.

I tried to open my eyes, even just a sliver, to see where they were standing. I couldn't do it.

"She was," Ben said. "She just had a bit of a moment."

"She was like that this morning," Oliver said.

"She better not do that during the dinner," Bethany said.

"She won't," Ben said. "I'll make sure of it."

"Thank you, Benjamin," she said. "I'm glad we can trust you."

I listened as footsteps walked around the room, and a door clicked shut. The bed dipped, and warm fingers ran through my hair. I managed to let my eyes flutter open for a few seconds to see Ben beside me. His lips were pressed into a line. He shook his head as he curled a piece of my hair around his finger.

"I'm not the bad guy, Diana," he said. "I'm really not. I'm trying to keep you safe from them."

He tucked the strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers brushed along my cheek to my chin.

"I don't want you getting sedated, and I don't want them putting a feeding tube down your throat," he said. "But that's what happened because you're not listening to me."

Ben cupped my face in his hands. I wanted to raise my hands and push him away, but I could only twitch my fingers.

"The only time I've been around people like me is at the dinners," he said. "For the past few years, I've only been surrounded by Bethany and Oliver. I was kind of hopeful once Oliver started his experiments, but his patients kept dying. And then there was you, and you survived. Bethany and I were both surprised."

I opened my eyes to see Ben leaning in closer to me. His lips spread into a wide smile. I blinked a few times to try and clear my vision. The lamp next to the bed was the only light. It provided a faint glow and cast shadows across Ben's face.

"I need you to stay alive for my own selfish reasons, Diana," he said. "All I've had for the past three years is the two of them. You need me, but I also need you. You're going to keep me sane. Please just listen to me so that you'll be okay."

My fingers tingled, but I managed to lift them off of the mattress. My hands shook as I brought them up to Ben's hands on my face. He misunderstood my intentions and intertwined his fingers with mine. I squeezed my eyes shut, and rolled my head to the side.

"Ben," my dry voice cracked.

He leaned down and pressed his lips against my cheek. He let go of my hands. He turned off the lamp. He lifted the corner of the blankets and slid into the bed. He grabbed my hips and rolled me onto my side. He pressed himself against my back. His arm slipped around my waist as he laid down.