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A little boy lay sleeping in a hospital bed He looked about five and was very thin He shifted under the sheets as I closed the door Flowers lined the sill I set st the the floor on either side It was covered in creaap between the frah to fitdown, I rolled up my sleeve and reached under the bed
I couldn’t feel anything at first, but after patting around, ravedand took out a piece of paper and a stick of graphite I slid the paper under the bed until it was covering the raphite over the paper to
Just as I finished, the door clicked open I shoved the paper inboy I didn’t even know his na the door open with an elbow, her back turned to hed and chatted with someone in the hall The boy shivered and clutched the sheets to his chest Gently, I pulled up his blankets and tucked hihts flickered and slowly darkened until the roohter all faded away
I woke up in a strange room, my face cold and wet A well-dresseda spray bottle
"Ah, here she coruff "Sorry to spray you ater, but we tried a the bottle aside "It seeoes," I said, sitting up I was lying on a worn leather couch The rooany--the floors, the walls, the furniture Several diplo above a desk A medical coat was draped over the back of the chair On its breast pocket was a na that read DR NEWHAUS
"A, I patted ainst the floor
"You’re at St Clé a seat in a chair next to the couch His face was dull, fleshy, and somehow expressionless As he stared at h it was sliding off toward the side of his head "My nah we haven’ta briefcase, he pulled out a stethoscope and a flashlight
"You gave us quite a show," he said as he listened to
"What do you e," he said, lowering his stethoscope "You have a slightly irregular heartbeat"
"It’s just a murmur," I said quickly The doctors this summer had noticed it, too "I’ve had it for a while," I lied
Leaning toward ain, the stethoscope cold beneath my shirt "This is quite different," he said "It almost has the cadence of an Undead--"
I cut him off before he could finish "What did you say happened toaway from him
He removed the scope, draped it around his shoulders, and crossed his hands in his lap "You collapsed during history class and seelanced at the clock above his desk It had been a few hours since the start of class "What do youyou’d be able to tell me" His expression was so placid that it made me uneasy
I stared at the paisley patterns in the carpet to avoid his gaze How had I dreamed of the hospital when I’d never actually been there? It seee
He studied ht "I unsettle you," he said, his lip curling into a frown "It’s this" He motioned to his eye "I don’t blame you; it makes most students unco suddenly guilty "It’s not that It’s just, well…" He waited for me to finish, but I let my sentence trail off
His expression softened "Just ayour pockets Did you lose so The dreaht still have it in "
He raised an eyebrow, but then let it drop "Do you have any preexisting neurological conditions or a history of brain trauma?"
"No"
"Have you ever fainted like this before?"
"No"
"Do you reered the event this ht of the slide of the hospital, of hoas overwhel’s walls "No"
Lowering his pad, Dr Newhaus tried to meet my eyes, but I looked away "I’m not your enemy," he said "I’m here to help you"
"I’ve had a lot of bad doctors in the past"
"I understand," he said "So have I That’s why I decided to beco onoutside theHe seemed trustworthy
"Can you remember what happened before you fainted?" he said He crossed his legs, revealingstriped socks
For so us about the founding of Montreal and its tunnels I res The last one I saas of the Royal Victoria Hospital, before everything went black"