v2.0 C9.2

In C9.1:

“Okay, people, you heard her!” Danvers shouted over the hubbub. “Alpine boards over to the left, Freeride, centre, Freestyle, right. We’re going off in five minutes, hurry up, everyone!”

-

I bent my knees further, leaning my weight on my left foot, increasing my acceleration. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, making me feel energised and refreshed. It was exhilarating. I wished it would never end. I took a sharp turn and fresh snow blasted my left side. I whooped as a slight bump in the terrain made propelled my board into the air for a few precious moments. Oh, the pure joy of snowboarding.

Then someone zoomed past me, spraying snow all over me. The person made a sharp turn ten metres away, then accelerated towards me again. This time he – or she – passed within two metres of me, sending a wave of cold snow towards me.

“Hey!” What exactly was he trying to do?

The dark blue figure came back, gathering speed and aiming straight at me.

“Are you out of your mind?” I bellowed. Fear coursed through my veins. I managed to slow down my board to avoid the potentially disastrous collision. But the snowboarder expertly manoeuvred his board and veered towards me again. I gained speed, trying to outrun him.

It didn’t work.

Skilfully, the snowboarder banked his board, sweeping in front of me. That sent fresh snow spraying right into my face, blinding me effectively.

“What the hell…?” I wiped my snow goggles.

There was a flash of dark blue. Then I pitched forwards. My momentum must have flipped me over because all of a sudden I was staring at the dismal grey sky, pressed up against an extremely hard and cold surface. A few seconds later, my mind caught up with me, and I tried pushing myself up. Stars filled my vision, but not before I saw a figure zooming away. That idiot. Was he trying to get me killed? Who was he, anyway? I scrambled to get up, but collapsed almost straightaway. My head hit something hard. Was it bark? Why were there trees around me? I was vaguely aware of a searing pain in one of my shins. Soft sinister laughter. Then a louder sound. A shout.

Why was there snow on my face?

Then everything became blissfully black.

*

The little girl watched, wide-eyed, as the grey man rose from the snow. His face had the pallor of death.

“Are you afraid of me?” He asked.

The child shivered in response. The other stranger fidgeted, placing himself in front of the girl.

“You can’t possibly be afraid of me, can you, brave child?” The grey man stepped out from the trees.

She shook her head slightly, edging away bit by bit.

“You’re scaring her.” The stranger stated almost protectively.

“That’s the general idea.” The grey man took a step towards the girl.

She looked upwards at the stranger. His expression was bleak. He’s scared of the grey man, she thought in wonder. Then the grey man lunged towards her.

She shrieked as his green eyes came to a stop several centimetres from her face.

“You won’t be afraid…”

With another shriek, she pushed off, hurtling downhill as fast as she could.

Laughter came in sporadic bursts from behind her.

*

“No one saw what happened?” A voice demanded. When the silence dragged for far too long, the voice rose slightly. “Well, what do you think happened?”

“She might have leaned forwards too much.”

“No, she wouldn’t have done that. She’s not a total beginner.”

“Well, what else could have happened?”

“I don’t know…”

I blinked. Then I shut my eyes tightly. Why was the room so bright?

“Shh, she’s coming around.”

I felt several people crowding around me. I blinked again.

“Katherine?” The voice was so gentle that I almost didn’t recognise whom it belonged to.

I blinked again. “Anne?” My voice came out softer than I’d intended it to. “Why are you…”

“Shh. Don’t speak.”

Someone handed me a glass of water and supported my back. I gulped half the glass of water down. The water soothed my parched throat considerably. Then the person – Ms Daniels- carefully lowered me back onto my bed.

“Thanks.” Then I opened my eyes fully, having finally adjusted to the overhead lighting. How long had I been asleep? Why was I asleep in the first place? I looked out of the window on my left. It was dark outside. Wasn’t it bright before? I turned my face to see the rest of the ward. The other beds were empty.

Someone gasped. Yelena. I focused on her, blinking rapidly.

“Your eyes…” she murmured, “your eyes, they’re blue and green.”

“I know,” I muttered.

“You mean you didn’t notice…” Anne spluttered in mock indignation.

“Uh, I didn’t either.” A new voice. I looked to my left and saw Kelly. Worry was etched into her face. It made a strange change from her usual cheery demeanour.

“But first things first. How are you, Katherine?” Bethany asked on my right.

“Um… fine, I think.”

“Fine? You cut your arm, bruise your shin, and bang your head against a tree trunk and you still say you’re fine? Are you outta your mind?” Yelena gazed at me in disbelief.

I laughed helplessly at her tirade.

At that moment, the door creaked open.

“Shh. I could hear you from… Oh.” Chris stuck his head outside the ward for a second, then stepped into the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

“How are you feeling? Do you need a nurse?” He strode towards my bed, rubbing his face. He looked dog-tired, but then, so did every one else, I realised.

“No, I’m fine.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Dr B. said you had a concussion.”

“Yeah. You hit a tree, remember?” Kelly managed to keep her face straight for a second, then broke into a wide smile.

I raised my eyebrows at her, making her dissolve into a fit of laughter. “Did I? Really? Well, I’m fine now. Who’s Dr B.?”

He frowned slightly. “Your doctor, Dr. Raymond Baker. Quiet, Kelly, the Boss’s outside.”

“The Boss?” I whispered.

“Matron. She looks like a mushroom, though she’s not at all like enoki mushrooms. Actually, she’s more of a button mushroom. Oh, wait, she’s poisonous as well.” Anne provided.

That drove my confusion up a notch. “What?”

“Anne,” Ms Daniels began, exasperation in her voice.

“Shh, she’s just down the corridor,” Chris reminded.

“Right.” Ms Daniels glanced at Anne. Then she enquired, “Do you feel up to answering some questions, Katherine?”

I shrugged. “Shoot.”

“Okay. Do you remember what happened?”

I blinked. Ah, the snowboarder in dark blue. “There was a snowboarder… He collided into me, I think.”

Yelena frowned. “We didn’t find other snowboarders near you.”

“He didn’t get hurt badly.”

“Do you remember what he looked like?” Ms Daniels peered at me, her amber eyes solemn.

I shook my head slightly. “Didn’t get to see his face. But he was wearing dark blue.”

“So he collided into you and escaped unscathed?”

I inclined my head.

“It was intentional, then?”

I frowned. Had it been intentional? “I don’t know for sure. He, or she, may have lost control.”

“Are you…”

“Excuse me, visitor hours are strictly over.” The stern voice belonged to a grumpy-looking nurse. Somehow, she had managed to sneak into the ward without anyone noticing. It was a great feat, considering how massive she was. She was almost six feet tall, and looked to weigh over 150 pounds. I didn’t see any resemblance to mushrooms, though. Except maybe her hair. It did make her head look rather like a mushroom. Her face was just a big beige blur, though; my spectacles were nowhere in sight.

“Nurse Wanda… I’m sorry but…”

“Chris Kendrew. I told you to lead all visitors out fifteen minutes ago.” Her eyes flashed.

“I know, but Ms Daniels had to ask Katherine some questions, and she hadn’t woken up then. It’s urgent.”

“This is a hospital, Chris, and patients are our first priority. Patients need rest. Now – Ms Daniels, is it – I’m very sorry but you have to leave immediately.”

“I’m sorry, Nurse Wanda. We did have to ask Katherine some urgent questions…”

I saw Chris shake his head slightly from the corner of my eye. Ms Daniels stopped mid-sentence, then began to pack up her things. The whole group was out in under ten seconds.

The Boss turned back to face Chris, crossing her arms. “I’m going to have to report to…”

He frowned. “Does it even matter…”

“If this happens again I’m going to make you scrub toilets in block D. And if I’m in a foul mood you’ll wish block B never existed.”

Chris grimaced. “Alright, Nurse Wanda.”

“Be sure this doesn’t happen again.” The matron turned to address him as she opened the door to the corridor.

“Yes, Nurse Wanda.” He held the door open for her, thoroughly exasperated.

As the door to the ward closed with a soft click, Chris sighed deeply. “That went well,” he muttered under his breath.

I blinked rapidly. Now that the excitement was over, I realised that my eyes were really dry. I closed my eyes, trying to sleep. My brain kept buzzing with questions, though. Of paramount importance was, where exactly was I? Which hospital was I in?

I heard a chair being dragged across the floor. Then a slight creak as Chris settled down on my right. I wondered why he was still here after the others had left. The Boss obviously knew him personally. Did he work here? And…

“What’s so bad about the toilets in block D?” I asked suddenly.

I could sense his muscles tensing even without opening my eyes.

“I thought you were asleep.”

I cranked open my eyes slightly. “I’m just not used to the light.” I closed my eyes again.

“Then why didn’t you say so?”

He switched off the main lights, leaving a wall lamp casting a warm glow in the room. “Better?”

“Loads. Thank you. So, which block am I in?”

“Block C. The toilets here are much cleaner than those in Block D.”

“Oh. Would I want to know why?”

“No.” He shuddered. “The exact details are… well, gruesome.” He grimaced.

“Why do you need to clean the toilets here, anyway? And how did the Boss know you?”

“She’s been threatening me with toilet-cleaning duty ever since I started helping out here. My father works here, and so does my mum sometimes.” He fumbled with something on the bedside table.

“Your parents work here?”

“Yes.” He was oddly unforthcoming. I decided not to press him for details.

He glanced at me as the silence dragged on. “You’re not going to ask anything else?”

“No. You did tell me the other day that your mother’s a nurse and that your father’s a doctor or something.”

He smiled ruefully. “Actually, he’s a surgeon.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologise.” He sounded amused. “Now, sleep. I’m going off to see if the Boss needs help.”

-

And from C9.3:

A boy stared back at her, eyes flashing.

“You just steamrolled me,” he accused.