literature

Ch 30: One To Go

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“Crimson, what happened?” High Flyer had a hoof on my back as I clutched my forelegs to my torso.
I sniffled as I answered, “I… I don’t know. One s-second he was fine, and the next—”
“No, Crimson. Not your father— you. Why is that sitting there?” He pointed to the bucket sitting next to me. “I’ve only seen you vomit once, and that was during a chemotherapy treatment. You haven’t had chemo for a month, so something else is going on here.”
“I don’t care what’s going on! What about my dad?!” I screamed. When Tess climbed up on my bed and gave me a hug, I clutched her back and squeezed my eyes shut.
I care what’s going on, Crimson. You are my patient, and I want to make sure nothing new is going on. Your father is being taken care of; the nurse is bringing him to the adult cardiology wing, and then she’s calling your mother and grandmother. It’s a good thing your friend knows the symptoms of a heart attack, and how to use a defibrillator.”
As I nodded slowly, I heard Tess say, “I watch a lot of science shows, and electricity is kind of my thing.” Then she rested her head on my shoulder as I continued to hold her close.
After a few seconds of pause, High Flyer said, “I… I can see that.”

At that moment, I felt something jump up in my throat again. I sniffled and said, “Tess, get off.”
She lifted her head and asked, “Huh? Why?”
“Just get off the bed!” I gently pushed her off me and reached for the bucket.
When she saw where I was reaching, Tesla cried, “OH! Sorry!” She jumped off just in time for me to get the bucket in my lap again.
As more green goop shot out of my mouth, High Flyer kept a hoof on my back and steadied the bucket in my lap. “Good, let it out.” When I finished, he asked, “Do you feel any more coming up?”
I sat there for a second, panting as I kept my eyes shut. I put a hoof to my gut and waited a moment before I responded, “I don’t think so, but I can’t really tell.”

He sighed. “Crimson, can you think of anything strange that might have happened over the past few days? Did you eat anything that made you feel uncomfortable?”
I took a deep breath. “I’ve been eating hospital food for months, High Flyer.”
He chuckled softly before he said, “I know the food isn’t ideal here, Crimson, but I mean anything… unique.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m serious. It’s all I’ve been eating. Well, except for my birthday cupcakes this weekend. But anytime I’ve eaten lately I’ve been feeling uncomfortable— it just doesn’t last long. I thought it was the crummy food, and I won’t say that cupcakes are good for you.”
High Flyer put a hoof to his head and sighed again. “Crimson, you really should have told me— that’s important. How long has the food been making you feel like that?”
I thought for a moment. “About a week.”
“Geez, Crimson. How have your—” He glanced at Tesla. “How have your trips to the rooms been?” When I raised a brow at him, he leaned in and whispered, “The bathroom, Crimson. How have your bowel movements been?”
I stared blankly at him for a second as I remembered what I had thought of earlier. “Um, they haven’t.”
High Flyer stared at me. “What?”
I leaned in and whispered, “I haven’t been going. I’ve just been using the urinal here in the bed.”
He raised his brows at me. “For how long?”
I thought for a moment, and right before I answered, something connected. “…About a week.”
His eyes went wide, and he responded, “That’s not good. I’m calling the doctors right now. Hopefully your mother and grandmother will be here by the time they arrive.” High Flyer took the plastic bucket into my bathroom, then I heard a flush and the sound of running water. He came back with the now-empty bucket and gave it to me. “Keep a hold of this just in case. I’ll be back in a minute.”

As he turned to the door, I called out, “Wait!”
He whipped back around and asked, “What’s the matter?”
I paused for a second. “The colt down the hall… is he okay? What’s a code blue?”
High Flyer relaxed and sighed. “Code blue can mean a few things, but generally it means a patient needs immediate attention. I can’t say much about it— he wasn’t looking good… but he seems alright for now. We got him back. Just like your friend did with your dad.” He nodded at Tesla, then walked out the door.

I took a deep breath and looked at Tesla, who was propping herself on the side of my bed again. I could see her eyes watering, mirroring my own expression. I leaned forward and wrapped her in a hug as I shut my eyes again. “How in Equestria can I ever thank you, Tess? You just saved my dad’s life!”
She sighed and returned the hug. “I… I just did the first thing I could think of. I’m glad it was the right thing.”
I felt a small smile break as I said, “Me too. You’re one smart cookie, Tess. I’d be lost without you.” I felt a tear slide down my face as I lifted my head off her shoulder to look at her in the eyes. When she looked back, I gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, “Thank you.”
Tess put a hoof to her face, which went bright red, then a small smile of her own broke as she simply replied, “You’re… welcome.”

After a minute of gazing into each others’ eyes, I finally slouched forward and sighed, “I guess we just need to wait for my mom and gramma now. Hopefully they’ll get here soon.” I stared across the room at the empty wall; Mom had taken Starry’s painting to get it framed. At that moment, I wished she hadn’t; looking at it always made me feel better.
Tesla got back on the floor and walked towards the window as she said, “I’ll let you know when they’re coming. I can see your window from the entrance when I come here.”
“Thanks.” I glanced down at my sheets for a second, then spotted the empty bucket. At least there was one piece of good news: I hadn’t thrown up any more, and my stomach pain seemed to have gone away. I looked up at Tesla, who was facing the window. I was going to say something about my lack of vomit, but instead I let out a loud gasp.
Tess turned around and said, “What? Is something wrong? I mean, other than… well—”
I cut her off as I pointed behind her and shouted, “LOOK!”
She went to look out the window and asked, “What? There’s nothing out there right now.”
I shook my head and cried, “Not outside, Tess— you!
“Huh? What are you—” It took only a moment after I said it: her eyes went wide and she whipped her head around, just like Starry had done months ago. There it was, clear as day— three golden lightning bolts adorned her flank, circling each other like a vortex.

As Tesla stared at herself, I could see her eyes watering again. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. When she looked up at me for a moment, her brows were furrowed, and I could see multiple questions running through her mind.
As High Flyer came back into the room, he saw Tess looking back at her flank, and began answering some of her unspoken questions. “Not five minutes ago— right before Crimson threw up. I saw it appear with my own eyes. Unfortunately, Crimson’s were closed.”
I put a hoof to my forehead. “I can’t believe I missed it…” I looked back at Tess, but she was still staring at her flank.
“I must say, if you’re going to get a cutie mark, saving somepony’s life is certainly the way to go about it,” High Flyer remarked. “It might not have been the way you expected, but congratulations, miss…”
“Tesla,” I said. When High Flyer started putting my IV on the pole, I asked, “Are we going somewhere? Are you gonna take me to my dad?”
High Flyer shook his head. “Sorry, Crimson— not right now. I just got off the phone with the doctors. We think we know what’s going on, so they want you to get an X-ray. We’re jumping you to priority, so we won’t have to wait; it won’t take very long.” He turned to Tess. “Miss Tesla, can you stay here in case Crimson’s family arrives? If we’re gone, I want them to know where we are.”
Tess nodded and quietly said, “Sure…”

After High Flyer set my pole up, I got out of bed, stumbling as my hooves hit the floor. I turned to Tess and said, “We’ll be right back. If we don’t have to wait, it’ll be quick. Oh, and if my mom shows up, tell her I’m okay, would you?” Tess silently nodded again. I couldn’t tell if she was in shock over her cutie mark, worried about me, or maybe she felt nervous about seeing my mom without me there. I felt a little better, though. As far as I know, X-rays usually don’t show anything major, so if that’s all they’re doing, I’m probably okay.
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