Saturday's Short Story - NAIA pt. 4

Hello my phenomenal friends, Dillfinger is back with part 4 of the NAIA story! If you have not read parts 1-3 of the story, make sure to go back and read them. I hope you enjoy this part of the story!

Visibility was incredibly low; the snow was falling harder than ever, and the wind had started to blow. Despite the cold climate, Natalie took off her coat and laid it on the hood of one of the cars. She watched from the side as Justin drew his gun and neared the mutant. As he was preparing to shoot, Natalie noticed something that no one else had. The mutant, it had turned to face Justin, it was going to charge him. The beast was able to move so quickly that it would overcome the officer before he would be able to shoot. She tried to yell something, but she couldn’t make a sound. She pushed pass the officers, before they could have time to react, she sprinted towards the mutant. She heard a gunshot and a deafening roar. It leapt from the car towards Natalie. She heard two more gunshots before feeling the weight of the freak upon her. She was knocked to the ground, hitting her head on the pavement, her vision became clouded. The mutant was so heavy she was unable to breathe, a sharp pain shot down her chest, her wrist was searing with pain, the last thing she remembered was hearing the officers running towards her.

Natalie faded in and out of consciousness, she felt the mutant being pushed off her and her body being lifted from the cold, wet, ground. She felt herself being lifted onto a stretcher and into the ambulance before she totally blacked out. She came to her senses in a hospital room with Justin sitting in a chair beside her bed. He leaned forward, combing his fingers through his short red hair and his green eyes staring blankly at the floor. When she opened her eyes, she was blinded by the bright light around her. Her eyes quickly adjusted, and she became aware of the loud, echoing, beeping of the monitors attached to her. When Justin saw that she had woken up, he ran and called in a nurse, who then called in a few other nurses and a doctor. She could hear them trying to explain what had happened to her, but she couldn’t make sense of what they were saying. It sounded like they were speaking gibberish into microphones that were on max volume. The noise of everyone talking got so loud that she had to cover her ears. Her eyes darted around the room, everyone was everywhere. Her heart started to race; she saw the mutant bounding towards her. She managed to let out a scream before she passed out. When she woke up, Justin was not there, but Mary was sitting beside the bed. Tears welled in her eyes as she grasped Natalie’s hand and whispered about how everything was going to be okay. Noises weren’t as amplified as before, but they were still echoing around her head. Two nurses, a doctor, and Justin walked it. They explained what had happened, keeping their voices low and soft as not cause her to have another episode. The doctor explained that she had suffered multiple bruised ribs, a sprained wrist, and a serious concussion from when the beast attacked her. She would have to undergo therapy for at least the next year in order to hopefully get back to how she was before the incident. The nurses and doctor examined Natalie for the next hour before finally leaving her alone with Mary and Justin.

“The mutant…it’s…” she asked, slowly,

“Yes. It’s dead.” Confirmed Justin. Natalie breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was going to be okay.

“Oh, um, can I ask a question?” she asked, “How long was I out?”

“It’s been almost a full 24 hours,” responded Justin, showing her the numbers displayed on his phone screen. He then explained that he had to report back for duty and promised he would return after his shift. Natalie thanked him for everything and said goodbye. She then asked Mary how Michael was doing. Mary explained that Michael was doing well and that hopefully the two would be able to see each other soon. Natalie had to remain in the hospital under 24-hour monitoring for the following two days. She was grateful to have Justin, who would stop by every evening to make sure she was doing alright, and Mary, who would console her when she was awoken by terrible nightmares about the mutant. When she was finally discharged, Justin and Mary led Natalie through a maze of halls through the hospital to the room Michael was staying in. When she saw him, her heart sunk. He was there, laying on the bed, his left leg cut off just above the knee. His left arm was in a cast and his right forearm had a line of stitches.

“Michael, I am so sorry,” she apologized, holding back tears.

“Sorry for what? None of this is your fault, Natalie,” Responded Michael, his voice raspy and tired.

“No, I could have gotten there sooner. I could have stopped it from happening,” Natalie couldn’t stop a tear from rolling down her cheek. They talked for a few more minutes before Natalie left because Michael had an appointment with a physiotherapist to help him get used to his new prosthetic leg.

Mary dropped Natalie off at her doorstep. As she walked into her house, she went straight to the kitchen to make food. The food at the hospital was bland and dry, she needed something that had flavour. As she cooked an egg, her head started to spin. She sat down and reoriented herself before continuing to cook her egg. When she finished eating, she retired to her room and went to sleep. Her sleep was filled with horrifying nightmares about the mutant and about all of the terrible events that had taken place. Her dream ended with her banging her head on the pavement and everything going dark. She woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily and shaking uncontrollably. She got up, checking her phone for the time. 7:15am. She panicked, she had to get to work by 8:00. She went into the bathroom, examining her bruised head in the mirror. She undressed and got into the shower, noticing more bruises on her arms and legs. By the time she finished getting ready it was 7:45. She didn’t feel like driving, she grabbed her purse and walked down the street to the bus station. As she sat on the bus, she gazed out the window wishing the events that had unfolded the previous days were all a dream. When they reached the stop closest to her work, Natalie got off the bus and walked to the office. She hoped her day would be calm and quiet with not a lot of stressful work. As she walked through the lobby and down the hall to her office, she tried to cover the bruises on her head.

When she finally made it to her office, she stood outside the door.Scared to open it.When she finally did, she was appalled by what she found.

Tune back in next week for part 5 and make sure to let me know what you think about the story!

Keep writing ;)

-Dillfinger