Chapter 4: The Battle Within

 

Everytime he went to sleep, Alex had hopes to wake up, to really wake up.  He knew that the world he was in couldn’t be real, and refused to see it as that, though for his fathers sake, he put on an act, and stopped telling him what he thought.  Now he sat in his class learning his math, though he was more focused on trying to find his way back to the real world.  He thought of all the stories his mother had told him of Egypt, and not one of them which came to his mind delt with other worlds, dream worlds.  It was a ruler being slapped down on his desk which quickly got Alex’s attention.

 

“Mr. O’Connell, you will pay attention in my class,” Miss Andrews said gruffly.  Alex had almost wet his pants when she did that, and as it was he was having a difficult time catching his breath.  His head started to hurt something awful, and he, and he rubbed his figures over his temples, finding that the hurting originated around certain parts of his head.  Aside from his head hurting, he was having a hard time catching his breath.  He closed his eyes and the pain in his chest intensified, as though his heart would burst, then he heard a pop and everything went dark.

 

 

 

 

 

Two weeks had passed since Alex went into a Coma, and neither Rick nor Evelyn had left his side.  They had once, and gone home to their own bed where they had shared in a joining which renewed their love, but aside from that they had been there for their baby.  Right now Evelyn was giving him a sponge bath with Rick’s help.

 

“Megan sent you a letter today,”  Evelyn said as she finished wiping down his arms and chest.

 

“She misses you, and wants you to get better.”  Evelyn wiped his face, and then she started to cry.  Rick came to her, and held her in his arms.

 

“Why won’t he wake up?”  she asked softly.  The thought of loosing her only child terrified her, and she wanted to help him fight, but she wasn’t sure how to do that.

 

“We have to keep talking to him Evelyn.  I think that he hears us, and somehow maybe he will fight his way back to...”  He stopped when Alex took a gasp, and while Evelyn took Alex’s hand Rick ran out to the nurses station and called her in.  Nurse Annie followed him and when she came to Alex’s side he was taking several labored breaths.  She held her stethoscope to his heart and yelled for one of the other nurses to get Doctor Brigman then forced Rick and Evelyn to wait outside.  Now they waited in the hall, Evelyn in her husbands arms.

 

“Why is it taking so long?”  she asked terrified.

 

“I don’t know,”  he said as he kissed the top of her head.  When Doctor Brigman finally came out the look on his face was grim.

 

“His lung collapsed, I’m not sure what caused it, but I inserted a tube in his chest which should help him.  I know this is difficult for you to hear, but usually parts of the body start to shut down, and usually death isn’t far behind,”  he said.

 

“He won’t die,”  Evelyn said, then walked back into the room to her baby.

 

 

In his darkness Alex heard his mother’s soft voice, and his fathers.  They were talking about him, and he heard her telling him about Megan.  Alex fought to wake up, and when he did he was in his own room, and his father was resting his head against his bed.  Alex closed his eyes and tried to find the voices he wanted, but they were not there.

 

“Hey,”  Rick said as he had felt Alex move a little.

 

“Hi dad, what happened?”  he asked.

 

“You had a dizzy spell,”  Rick said as he leaned in and kissed his cheek.

 

“Dad I need to tell you something and you have to believe me,”  Alex said.  Rick took his hand.

 

“Tell me,”  he said.

 

“When I was asleep, or where ever I was, I heard mum.  She told me that Megan had written me a letter, and that she missed me.  Then I felt a pain in my chest, it really hurt but I couldn’t scream,”  Alex said.

 

“Alex, Megan has been gone since you two got into my guns,”  Rick said.  That he knew wasn’t right, and for now Alex closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

 

 

 

 

Tired of having her baby in the hospital, Evelyn demanded that they release  him and with persistence they did.  Now he was home in his own bed, and under the care of a private nurse, as well as the care she and Rick gave to him.  Today Megan had come to see her best friend and sat with him on her own per her request.

 

“Hey Alex you need to wake up so they can take that metal thingy out of your head.  You look about as good as Frankenstien does,”  she said in a light manor. 

 

“You should see yourself, you have this tube in your stomach which gives you food, and this one going up your nose that is so if you vomit, and an IV, and the Halo, its quite a mess they have made you, and you even have one in your winky that goes in a bag so that when you pee you go in that.  I wonder what you do while you sleep, I mean do you dream?”  she asked as she rubbed his hand.

 

“Siam is getting fat, I think everyone feeds him, and I saw him sitting on the table while your dad gave him...”  She stopped when she saw his eyes squinch up.

 

“Alex can you hear me?”  she asked.  His mouth opened and Megan yelled for his parents, who came running.   He squeaked out something and Evelyn took Megan’s place.

 

“Alex baby fight I know it hurts but wake up,”  Evie said kissing his cheek.  She looked at him and his mouth had shut and there was nothing more.

 

“I was telling him how he looked,”  Megan said as Rick held her.  She was crying now, afraid for her best friend.

 

“It’s okay honey, I think he hears you,”  Rick said daring to hope that were so , and from then one he, Evie, Jonathan, and when she could Megan took turns talking to him about anything and everything.

 

 

 

Life went on for Alex though the ache in his head got worse by the day.  Today he had his father take him to the Cemetery and saw Megan’s grave for himself, but he knew it wasn’t real.  When he slept he heard voices, their voices, his fathers at times, his Uncles Mum’s and Megan’s at others, and he was bent on finding his way back to that reality.

 

“Megan I know your alive so I won’t be sad by this,”  he said and went over to his father.

 

“I thought perhaps you and I could go to a picture show,”  Rick said.  Alex shook his head.  When they got to the house, Alex went to the Barn and got Seti out of his stall.

 

“Okay big guy, you and me are going back to the woods, and your going to throw me,”  he said.  He had with him, his fathers gun, and the only thing he remembered with clarity was the huge storm and the fall into darkness.  Once Seti was groomed,  Alex road off into the woods.  He found the Rock and knew it was likely that he wouldn’t hit it again, and as he was about to fire his gun, when a clap of thunder rumbled through the sky.  Seti reared back and Alex fell from him.  His head felt as it was going to split in to, then the darkness came, and with it intense pain.  He felt pain in his chest and every part of his body, then he heard his mothers lullaby, and focused on that.  For some reason his eyes felt like they were taped shut, and it took him a while but he finally got them to open, and found her there.  Something was wrong with his hands because he couldn’t get them to move, and again he had to focus on that and wiggled his middle finger which got her attention.

 

“Oh Alex,”  she said as she kissed his hand.  It was late at night, and she wanted to scream for Rick but she didn’t want to scare Alex.  He tried to speak that all that came out was a  “Muu,”  Evelyn left him and he made more noises then she came back with the nurse.

 

“I’ll call Doctor Brigman and wake your husband,”  Annie said.  She left.

 

“Shhh, it’s all right baby, I know you must be hurting, and Doctor Brigman will come and help us,”  she said.  Rick walked in and stood next to Evelyn.

 

“Wwwhyy..Wwwhyy not ove,”  he said.

 

“You can’t move?”  she asked afraid now.

 

“No,”  he said.  They got him to relax, and kept him awake until Doctor Brigman arrived.  He examined Alex thoroughly and was pleased to see him pass the pain stimuli.  His reactions were slow, but he passed.

 

“Since he hasn’t used anything in such a long time, he has atrophied, meaning his muscles have softened, as for his speech the more he talks the better.  I’ll remove the Halo now.  Alex this is going to be painful, and I’m sorry but we can’t put you under for it, because I don’t want to risk you going back to sleep,”  he said.  Alex screamed for the entire twenty minutes it took the Doctor to get the Halo off of him and once it was done, Evelyn held him in her arms, which calmed him.  He wanted to tell her everything that had happened in his dreams, and tell her what he was afraid of but his words wouldn’t work right.  As morning broke he finally fell asleep in their bed.

 

 

It was feeling a washcloth wiped over his face which woke him, and Alex found his father there.  Panic set in.

 

“Mum,”  he said, and that had come easy.

 

“Whhr mum,”  he slurred.

 

“She’s getting your breakfast ready,”  Rick reassured, and Alex relaxed.  When he had slept, he hadn’t had any memorable dreams, and he looked past his father as Evie walked in.  She had a large glass of milk, and a bowl, and Alex made a face when he saw that it was porage.

 

“I know you hate it, but for right now you have to stick to easy things, just until we get you better,”  she said as she sat down with him.  Alex took a bite from her and managed to get his arm to move a little wanting to try it with help. Evelyn caught on fast, and took his hand in hers, putting the spoon there and holding his fingers around it.  She dipped his hand, making the spoon take a bite and helped him feed himself.  Alex felt the food dribble out of his mouth and turned his head away in shame.

 

“No merr,”  he said closing his eyes.  Rick settled next to him.

 

“Alex, you need to eat, and mum and I don’t care how much of a mess you make, the more you do on your own the quicker it will come back to you,” Rick said hoping that what Dr. Brigman had told them was right.  After a moment Alex let Evelyn help him, and finished his meal, then went back to sleep.

 

 

 

The next few weeks were long ones for him, and by the third week Alex could talk with ease, though the rest of his body was slow to work like it should.  Today Megan had come over for a visit and now the two of them sat in his bed.

 

“When I dreamed I found myself in a place where Mum wasn’t alive, and you weren’t either,”  Alex said.

 

“That’s creepy, how did you know it wasn’t real?”  Megan asked.

 

“Because I just did, this is where I belong, and that world I’m not sure.  Mum told me it was made from my fears, but I wonder if maybe there are different parts of our world, like different worlds, or maybe its a different reality, where in one world I exist without my mum, and without you,”  Alex said.  Megan smiled.

 

“Maybe then I exist in another reality with both of my parents,”  she said, then laughed when Siam pounced Alex’s face.  Alex moved his arm with ease and got him off and Megan leaned against him.

 

“Well I’m glad that you are back with me,”  she said.  Alex sighed.  Megan was his best friend in the world, and to her he told all his secrets.

 

“Let’s take a nap,”  Alex said still tired.  This morning he had his therapy session, walking, and that had not been much fun, but he was getting better at it.

 

 

 

Time moved on, and by the middle of the second month after his Accident Alex was back to full speed, and back in school finding that the teasing there was unbearable, and so he began fighting, and put his parents through another challenge of helping him grow up.

 

THE END.

 

NOTE:  The next part of this story is of Coarse the Big Suprise so go check it out  Love Shell