Trial and Error

Chapter two: First Friend

     I awoke the next morning in a small white room, filled with beeping noises and chattering outside of the room. My eyes were stinging and puffy, though I don't remember why. My sister sat on the bed to the right of mine, looking out the window. "Gretch?" I called.

     She turned around at the sound of her name. "Hm?" She asked.

     "Where's mom?" I asked.

     She stared at me before turning away to the window. "The house," she said.

     I stared at her, confused, but then the memories came flooding back. I remembered the crying, the crackling fire, and everything we left behind. I started to cry. I hugged the unfamiliar blankets and wrapped my wings around myself for comfort.

     Gretchen simply looked over at me and hopped off the bed to the windowsill. The ledge was too high for her to jump, so watching her attempt to fly up to it made me giggle a bit until she gave me a glare. I stopped laughing. I stared down at the white bedsheets, remembering my mother's cries. I began to cry again, I just wanted the comforting hug of her. My tears dropped onto the sheets, creating pretty patterns out of my misery.

     After a few minutes, a tall man in a white lab coat came into our room. His teeth were sharp and he appeared to be some sort of spider creature, but he spoke with a deep, friendly voice.

     "Good morning, how are we doing today?" He asked. "I'm Dr. Coast, and I'm here to check your information, is that okay?"

     I nodded, but Gretchen kept looking out the window. What she could be looking at that had her so interested was beyond me, but she was kind of different. I liked that about her.

     Dr. Coast walked over to my bed first, and checked some papers he had in his hand. "Adam Xavier Spear, huh?" He said. "That's a nice name Adam. So how are you this morning?"

     I wiped the tears out of my eyes and looked at him. His hair was fluffy and black, with a single purple streak heading down the middle. His hands held a clipboard, and two long appendages like spider legs protruded from out of his back. He looked a little scary.  

     "I want my mom." I said, my eyes tearing up again. He grabbed a box of tissue and wiped my eyes of tears.

     "I know, Son," he said. "How are your arms and tummy?"

     I was suddenly reminded of the sharp pain on my body. "They hurt..." I said. They did, they really did. I lifted my hospital gown up to look at my stomach, and it was covered in bandages, as well as my arms and legs.

     "Okay, well I'm going to go and check up on your sister, okay Sport? Once I'm done we'll go get some breakfast, okay?" He said, and left to the windowsill to talk to Gretchen.

     I only heard him say my sister's name, Gretchen Lauren Spear, until I zoned out. I didn't have the energy to listen. I thought of not only my mother, but all the comfort items we left behind. My teddy bear that got me through dad's screaming, my bed that was my fort during playtime, and my books that my mother read before bed.

     Where will we go? Will we live here? I wondered. I looked at Dr. Coast, and thought, is he our new dad?

     "Dr. Coast?" I called.

     "Yes Adam?"

     "Are you our new dad?"

     He chuckled. "No Sport, I'm just your doctor. Soon, you'll be out of here and have a new home."

     I sat and thought. A new home? Does that mean a new mom too? But I want my old mom.

     Dr. Coast stood up from the window and walked to the door. "Okay guys, let's go get you some breakfast," he said, and led Gretchen out the door. "Come on Sport, let's get something to eat, you are hungry aren't you?"

     I nodded and crawled off the bed. I walked toward Dr. Coast and he walked me out into the hallway.

   The hallway was noisy, and I heard people talking in other rooms, and a few crying. I followed Dr. Coast down the hallway, the floor was a dark pink and the cream walls held various paintings of wildlife and scenery. We headed into an elevator, something I had only been ina few times before. Dr. Coast let me push the button and I thought it was fun when it lit up yellow, but when the elevator started to move I ran over to him and held onto his leg.

     When the doors opened, it was another hallway, almost identical to the one upstairs. We were led down into a large room with a few others sitting at tables. Dr. Coast sat us down at a table and told us to wait for a while. I looked at Gretchen, who was still just looking and examining things.

     "Gretchen?" I said.

     "What?" She asked.
  
     "I love you."

     "Okay." She said. It hurt, but that was Gretchen, she had never told anyone she loved them, not even mom.

     Dr. Coast came back a few minutes later with two bowls of cereal and two juice boxes, one orange juice and one strawberry kiwi. I reached for the strawberry, it was my favourite.

     "Here we are, now I have to go take care of a few other patients, but the lady in the kitchen is there if you need anything." He said, and left us at the table. Gretchen started eating her cereal, but I was hesitant, I wasn't a fan of cereal. Though I was hungry so I did anyway. I looked around the room, hoping to find something interesting.

     I spotted a goat boy and his father at another table, but he got to eat a bowl of ice cream. The thing that caught my eye was not the ice cream, however, it was their horns. They glowed such a pretty light blue, and I had to go see them.

     I hopped off of my chair with my juice box in hand and walked over to the goats. The father stopped talking with his son and looked down at me.

     "Hey there buddy," he said, causing his son to turn and look at me.

     "I like your horns," I said.

     "Thank you," the father said. "Lincoln, say thank you."

     "Thank you," The boy, whose name was apparently Lincoln, said. His voice was scratchy, but friendly.

     "What's your name bud?" The father asked.

     "Adam," I said, "Are you sick?" I asked Lincoln.

     "Kind of," his father said, "He needed surgery." He explained.

     "I had tonsilis," Lincoln added softly.

     "Tonsilitis, but close, Linc," his father corrected.

     I took another sip of my juice and looked at a box of toys in the corner of the room. "Do you wanna go play?" I asked Lincoln.

     Lincoln looked at the toys. "Can I?" He asked his dad.

     "Sure, just be careful not to hurt your throat," his father replied.

     He hopped out of his chair and we sat on the mat, pulling toys out of the box.

     We spent the morning playing with the toys. I had never really had a friend to play with, there weren't ever any children around, and Gretchen never wanted to play. Lincoln was probably my first friend.

     I liked Lincoln.