CHAPTER 4

January 17, 2008.

Rae.

"What's wrong with her?"

" I don't know, I just found her laying down. Though her breathing looks laboured."

That's not my mummy. Mummy! Where are you?!

" I think she's coming around. Rachel, honey. Are you okay?"

"What medication is she taking?"

On, off, on, off. The voices kept come and going, foggy and clear.

Daddy are you here?! Can you hear me? I'm scared. Mummy! I want you.

I just wanted to sleep, I feel so tired. I just... Wanna... Sleep.

"I think she's getting worse."

"Take her to the school nurse, I'll contact her parents."

I don't get it. It was lunchtime when I suddenly got so tired and decided to lie down in class.

"Nurse Bonnie! Bonnie!"

I could hear Ms Tilly call her.

She carried me to what should be the nurse's office, I knew because that room sure is cold and it smelt like medicine. Yuck!

"I'm over here Tilly! What's the kerfuffle?"

"It's Rachel, I can't seem to get her up."

"Rachel, honey can you hear me?"

I can hear you. Just don't yell, my head hurts.

"Hmm.. I'll just check her vitals. Make her lay against the pillow, in a semi-sitting position."

I'm being moved again, I just wanna sleep.

"She's awake but too weak to respond. Like in deep sleep."

"So what do we do?"

"Let's see, take her shirt off and shoes.

Cold, so cold.

"Her stomach is bloated, let me check her feet... Swollen, just as I feared.

I could imagine her facials wafted with concern.

What was that about my feet? So... Tired

"Rachel! Rachel! Stay with me, Rachel! Get me water quick."

There was a frantic, I could hear shoes running but it sounded pretty far. Everything fading further away.

Finally some peace.

"Rachel you have to open your eyes for me, come on baby open!"

"Stay with me, Rachel!"

Leave me I'm tired, I want to sleep, is that so much to ask.

"Rachel it's mummy, open your eyes sweety." She too was sounding frantic.

Mummy, but.. why can't I see you?

Daddy?

******

I open my eyes to the blinding light of the sun. I'm laying down, everything around me soft. I look around, it looks like a garden, sitting up straight I realize I'm sitting on a bed of roses.

Birds fly above me with a tweeting sweet melody, everything makes me feel at peace. "Rae!" My heart skips a beat, I know it's a mummy. Wait, where is she! "Mummy!" I get down the bed of flowers and realize I'm in a robe, a white robe. It reminds me of the hospital robes I've seen in mummy's hospital movies, the ones with the doctors, mummy loves them but I don't, they're so boring. Where am I?

Something soft scrapes my foot and I almost lose my footing from fear. I look to where it may have come from and see that it's a golden retriever. "Hello, what's your name?" It looks up to me and laps his tongue in my hand, I place my hand on his head to pet him and he allows me. " I'm gonna call you... Buddy! Do you know where we are?" He looks to his back and begins to walk in the direction I believe he may have come from. I follow him, not wanting to be alone in this fairytale garden.

We walk towards a wooded area for what felt like thirty minutes. Everything here just screams peace, "Rae!", Mummy, but I can't see her. The retriever just keeps moving, a squirrel skitters before me with another following behind reminding me of Surly from the 'Nut Job'.

I continue on the unknown path with the retriever leading the way, only to appear on an open area with trees surrounding us, on them appear to be flower vines that creep around the tree. The flowers had in different colours and designs with little bees surrounding them. The area looked like it came from a Barbie cartoon, maybe Barbie in Mariposa.

The birds that flew above me before now screech with an eerie ear-piercing sound. I cover my ears to try and keep the sound out. Just when I think it's over a bunch of locusts come flying my way, all whose wings sliced the tender skin of my fragile body. I crouch and scream to try and drown the buzzing sounds of the locusts. I count, one.. two. three just to help keep me calm. Once I feel that nothing is happening I open my eyes, still, in my crouching position, I look up and see that nothing is happening. I need to find mummy, something is not right.

I look towards the retriever only to find it standing eerily still, his back facing me. "Buddy?" He turns now facing me, a low growl escapes his now sloppy mouth. My skin runs pale, blood running cold, heart beating in fear. He takes a step forward, as he does that I take one back only to have a loud terrifying bark thrown towards me. He makes it clear that he's the dominant one. Could anything get any worse? Yes, yes it would. He stood and a loud howl escaped his lips, the once beautiful retriever I got accustomed to now looks like it crawled from hell. It doubled over and grew three times bigger. Bolting further into the woods, all I heard were the heavy thuds of the demon dogs feet. My lungs began to burn with exhaustion. Taking a glance behind me I barely notice the branch before me and fall. I get up, unable to go any further and hide behind a tree. The demon dog appears before me, snapping jaws. I close my eyes, awaiting my doom. His breath smelling like raw death. But something pulls me away, something electrical.

"She's coming up! Hold on Racheal!" I jolted forward, what's going on?

"Her vitals are going down!" "Increase the defibrillation to 270, stat. On my count, one.. two. three" I felt cold plates on my chest, then a surge of energy, like an electric shock. I jolt forward again. "She's stable." Where am I? What with the beeping sounds? Am I in Mummy's doctor movie?