Caught

Chapter Forty

"I'm okay... I'm okay... I'm okay..." I whisper to myself. I run my hands up my arms, going over each goosebump on it. "I'm okay... I'm okay... I-" I have cuts so deep that the monster - Kelly - was able to touch my bones. I lost so much blood. So, so much blood. There are so many stitches on my back, holding together to patch me back up.

"I'm okay... I'm okay... I'm okay..." I continue to whisper.

I wouldn't be okay if I was normal. I knew that.

I also wouldn't be attacked if I was normal.

Dr. Parker smoothed my arm gently. "You need rest," She said, her voice soft. Motherly. She adjusted my IV for the third time today, each after I messed them up by tossing and turning in my sleep. "The pain will go away in your sleep."

"No it won't," I croak, tears in my eyes. I get nightmares, that's why I toss and turn. Kelly was just another one of us kids, I remember her from the meeting we had so many months ago. Red hair, fierce eyes - I remembered her in the arena too.

What did they do to turn her into... that?

A knock came at the door and Dr. Parker told them to come in. The door creaked open, with Kassandra poking her head inside. "Mo - er, Dr. Parker, she has a visitor." Tyson stepped in behind her, wearing a small smile.

I smiled back. "Hey..."

Dr. Parker made sure my IV was secured properly, then she and Kassandra walked out the room, leaving us alone. I pointed at a chair near my bed, where Dad spent the night here. Tyson seemed to get what I was saying and took a seat.

"Um, are you feeling better?" He asked, unsure if that was the right thing to ask. "I mean, you just got attacked by a..."

"An Evolutian, Kelly," I say hoarsely.

"Dawson?"

"Listen, I don't know last names."

He bit his lip. "She wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Well, she ripped my insides out. I think she'd hurt a fly," I say bitterly. Things weren't going all too well and I knew that Tyson could figure that out with my expression right now.

"Cole and Aidan are going to drop by later today. They would've come now but they had practice," Tyson explained. "Alyssa... she went to the Institute..." His voice trailed off.

My eyes widened. "What? Why would she do that?"

"It's still her dad running the operation. She and her mom went back. Alyssa told me she'd tell us if anything else was going on there."

"So she's kinda like our spy," I say, mostly to make me feel better about my friend being there.

"Y-yeah, we could go with that," Tyson said reluctantly.

He rubs his left wrist with his thumb, like something was bothering him. I raised an eyebrow and Tyson noticed. "I'm fine Lauren. It's nothing."

I look closely at the two bands around his wrists. I forgot he had those. Then, looking down, I examined my own.

I forgot I had those too.

"Tyson, did you, um, have those things around your wrists since you were born?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "Um, no. Why?"

"Just... just asking... Is there any other reason why you're here?"

"I'm your friend, I wanted to make sure you're okay," He said simply. "What, you think I'm gonna kill you off or something?"

"Now that you mention it..."