The Breaking Point

Chapter 23

A nurse walked out of the small room smiling. "Good news, gentlemen."

The boys looked up at her. "Your friend is past the danger zone. He survived the surgery and a few weeks in hospital should be enough to restore his health. Very smart of you to act quickly and lift the truck yourselves. If you had waited for a tow truck, it may have been too late."

The boys shared the same look of relief but Mark Kruger still looked rather anxious. "And Dylan, is he OK too?"

The nurse's smile widened. "Yes, he's quite alright. He had his stomach pumped and we discovered traces of a slow-effect poison. Tell me, do you know if he ate anything unusual today or yesterday?"

The boys pondered for a while.

"Not that I can remember," Bobby shrugged.

"Yes, we all ate the same McDonald's for dinner yesterday and we had room service this morning. We didn't eat anything after that," Edgar replied.

The nurse looked down thoughtfully. "If you could at least try and identify the source, it would be useful. The doctors would need the information for further medication. But if you can't remember, that's fine. Any idea when he started feeling-"

Teres snapped his fingers. "Wait, I know something unusual he ate." Everyone looked at him hopefully. "Those candies in the car. He ate those alone. Not to mention that they were 'free'"

"You mean...." Eric trailed off, realization hitting him like a rock.

"I can't believe that old man was selling poison," Hector almost yelled.

"You don't have a sample, do you?" the nurse asked hopefully.

Mark Kruger pulled out a plastic bag from his pocket. "I do, a lot actually. I removed them when they took him in the ambulance. Thank God he didn't eat too many."

The nurse nearly cheered. "Thank God. Your friend- both actually -will be more than fine," she assured them. The boys thanked her just as she left.

Hyde shifted uncomfortably. "Mark Evans hasn't called me back yet. I don't know why."

"You call him," Teres suggested airily.

"I don't have his number," the brunet replied.

Teres sighed. "I'll give it to you." He fished his phone out of his pocket. "Ready?"

Hyde was still searching himself for his own. "I can't find my phone."

"Maybe you dropped it here," Bobby suggested.

"Or on the road," Hector tried.

Hyde's eyes widened. "No. Wait." He face palmed. "It was in my bag. My phone was in my bag. The one the driver stole." Everyone face palmed. Hyde sighed. "Whatever, it was out of battery anyway. I'll buy a new one later. Teres, can I borrow your phone?"

"Already calling," the greenet responded. Five minutes later, Teres were still 'calling', to no avail. "Says his phone's shut."

"Why didn't you say this before," Edgar asked, almost angry.

"Sorry," Teres shrugged, not so genuinely. "I'm checking out this Otaku Lover guy. He posted a new vid."

The boys clambered around the greenet and watched as a video of Mark's match played, the beginning only.

"His vid's on live," Eric commented. At first, this generated no response, but then realization finally dawned on them.

"That means..." Hector barely finished his sentence before the boys were all outside, yelling at the top of their lungs for a taxi.