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John awoke slowly, feeling like a heavy alcoholic the morning after a wild
night on the town. He stared at the ceiling for a minute, trying to
remember�or figure out�where he was. He sat bolt upright. "SHIT!" He was in
the hospital. "Ok, I know it was cold, but did that warrant a trip to the
hospital�?" John trailed off, looking to his left and right. Ringo lay flat
out to the left of him, looking sickly pale. To his right, Paul was lying,
also deathly pale. George was on the other side of Ringo.
John slipped out of bed, walking to Paul's bedside, taking hold of his
mate's hand. "Paul�Paul�come in, lad, your time is up�"
Paul sat up abruptly, breathing hard. "AAUGH!!!" He screamed in John's face.
John leapt back, shocked.
"That's better." John said shakily, trying to recollect his wits.
"John, I've just had the strangest dream�"
"Me too lad, me too." John headed over to Ringo's side. "Ringo�Ringo�wake
up, lad�"
Ringo awoke slowly, sobbing. "Lucy�Lucy, damnit, why did You take her away�"
John and Paul stared at each other.
"Hey, I had a dream about�" Paul trailed off.
"Yea, me too." John said, knowing exactly what Paul was saying. He stepped
to George's side. "George, little mate�wakie wakie�"
George didn't stir. "George?" John looked at Paul, his brow furrowed. George
abruptly sat, up, making both John and Paul jump back.
"Welcome back to reality." John said sourly. Suddenly, they heard voices
outside.
A light, feminine voice: "They've been in a coma for a week and a half, sir. We found
them at�" A rustling of papers could be heard. "�the lab of a Dr. Richard
Cole. He's skipped town. They were hooked up to a large mechanical rigging,
and it looks as though they were shocked terribly. Who knows what would have
happened should we have found them any later."
"Right. Thank you nurse. Is there any chance they'll wake up?" A short
pause.
"I don't know, sir. The circumstances are too strange to make an accurate
assumption."
"Right, well, may I see them?"
"Of course, doctor. Right this way." John and Paul jumped back into their
hospital cots, sitting up and looking dazed and confused, which wasn't hard
considering their situation. A woman in a nurse's outfit and small white cap
entered, followed shortly by a tall man in a white lab coat holding a clip
board. The young nurse looked astonished. "You're awake!"
John bit back a few sarcastic retorts as the nurse and doctor went to work.
The nurse took George's blood pressure. "Amazing�it's completely normal�it's
as if you all just�woke up!" John was desperately biting his lip now, trying
to hold in the sarcasm.
"What happened to us?" Paul asked, shooting John a warning look.
"You were found in the lab of Dr. Richard Cole. He's a well known mental
case, not the brightest crayon in the box." The boys nodded dumbly, feeling
a bit overwhelmed. "You all sustained major shocks to your cerebral cortex,
throwing you into a deep coma."
"How�how long have we been out?" George asked, stunned.
"About a week and a half." At this point, Ringo started sobbing again.
"Nurse, doctor, could you leave us for a moment, please?" The nurse shot
Ringo a strange look, but nodded and left with the doctor. The three
gathered around Ringo's bed.
"Ok�who else here dreamed about Lucy, Ashley, Britney, and 98 Degrees?" John
asked in a low voice. Four hands went up. "This is just strange."
Ringo continued sobbing. "I dreamed all of it?" He didn't want to think that
Lucy was just a figment of his imagination. That was just too much to bear.
The other three returned to their beds, stunned, not knowing what to make of
the whole ordeal. Ringo stopped sobbing, feeling slightly silly. It was all
a dream. His dream girl was�well, a dream.
George sat, staring at the wall. Ashley was just�a dream�he shook his head
vigorously, not wanting to believe it. �She's up there; I know it,' he thought
to himself.
John sighed gustily, just glad it was all over; then again, evidently, none
of it really began, according to what the nurse had said. And none of it
really happened. He reached for the remote, flipping on the hospital room
TV, trying to fill the awkward silence in the quiet white-washed room.
"�Topping today's national news, two young girls were trampled to death
trying to get into the hospital where the Beatles are presently staying.
Reports indicate that the four men are in stable condition after sustaining
massive shocks from a mentally ill scientist. The names of the young girls
are said to be one Ashley Brooke and a Lucy Skye. The two girls were supposedly on holiday to�"
John quickly turned off the television. He turned to Paul, mouth open in
shock. Paul stared back, wide-eyed. "It couldn't be�could it?" George opened
and shut his mouth like a dying fish, unable to speak.
Ringo stared at the blank screen for a long time, tuning out the others.
Looking at his clutched hand, he unfolded it gently.
A pair of Oakley sunglasses laid in his hand.