Run

Chapter 3

Nothing is better than curling up in a beanbag chair with a cup of hot chocolate and reading a book. A chance to escape reality. Dr. Henderson brought me to this room with a bunch of kids my age and told me to make friends since, apparently, I'd be here for a while. 

Kids were everywhere, playing board games, doing karaoke, watching TV. No one paid attention to the girl in the corner with her nose tucked into a book.

I was reading "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" when a voice interrupted my thoughts and prevented me from going to Diagon Alley.

"Hi!" the voice said. I looked up and saw a boy staring down at me. He was tall with light skin. He had hair the color of the night sky and dark brown eyes. He doesn't look sick, not at all. He shouldn't be here.

"H-hi." I stuttered.

"Hi" He replied. "My name is Aidan."

"You don't look sick." I blurted out. He gave me a confused look. "I mean, if your at a hospital, shouldn't you be sick or injured or something?"

"Nice to meet you too." 

"Sorry. My name is Lauren." I said.

"That's better. So about what you said earlier. I look great, don't I?" He said, running his hands through his hair. "You on the other hand look like you haven't eaten in a month. Not to be rude but... have you looked in a mirror recently?"

"Well, I've been a coma for, like, eleven months and since then, I haven't left my room. Does that answer your question?"

"So that's a no..."

"Right."

He grabbed my arm. "Up." He ordered.

I tried to stand up. Instead, I stumbled over my feet and if Aidan wasn't there as support, I would've fell.

"I don't think you walked on your own since you woke up from that coma." He said. I shook my head, then pointed to the wheelchair.

"It's okay, we don't need it." Aidan said. "We'll only be walking there." He pointed at a mirror near some girls playing dress up.

"But its so far!" I complained.

"Please, it's right there. Not even ten steps away."

We walked, or Aidan mostly dragged me, to the mirror. What I saw in it screamed sick, tired and hungry.

My skin was pale. Very pale. Ghostly pale. It clung onto my bones, making it seem like I haven't eaten in a while. There were stitches on my forehead. Probably from the gash Dr. Henderson was talking about. A bandage was peaking out from under my shirt, crimson red blood leaked from it. My long, dirty blonde hair lay limp on my head, and dark circles surrounded my ocean blue eyes.

"Lauren... are you okay?"

I looked away from the mirror. "Uh... I'm fine. It just that... I never knew I looked..." My voice trailed off.

"That bad?"

"Yeah."

I walked back to the beanbag chair, surprisingly not falling. Aidan sat on the floor beside it.

"What do you want?" I asked him.

"I'm just wondering why you're here. This room is for the kids infected with the disease and you just -"

"Wait what disease?" I asked, suddenly interested.

"Umm... apparently everyone in this room, every patient in this building is infected with this disease called Mortirus and we have to stay here for tests and to make sure we don't end up hurting our family and people we care about and..." His voice trailed off.