DRENCHED IN CONFUSION

"Thea! Where on earth are you? Are you fine?" York with his stomach in a knot, walking back and forth, not minding the busy hospital lobby. But instead of hearing an answer to settle his nerve, all he had taken is, is the weak sigh of Thea together with her tensed low voice saying. "I'm not sure, I don't know. But I don't want you to come near me again". And drop the call.

His shoulders fell with her response, staring the blue sky as the sun is high, praying for some wisdom from the real God, the one that not only human knows and feared but even the mystical beings as he is.

A pat on his back got his attention. It's the doctor who attended their companions, with Nerie beside him, her eyes were swollen from crying, "Hey, Doc. how are the patients?".

"I will not sugar coat, and I'm sorry to notify you that they are both under comatose. We detected Severe Brain Hypoxia in both their cases, and we're presently doing more tests. They are currently dependent on life-support treatments and ventilators. With the few test results that we have, we can't determine the cause of their conditions yet. We're hoping that additional lab tests and brain scans will give us some more insight into it." He stopped, tilting his head to the side, lines are forming between his brow, and open his mouth, didn't utter a word instead close it again. He opens and closes his mouth several times before he speaks. "Actually, this case really confused us. Their blood test results show nothing; everything is clear. No poisoning of any kind nor smoke inhalation, even suffocation. No signs of heart and respiratory problems, except for shallow heartbeat. We can hardly identify such a cause, for they don't have any pre-existing medical conditions and/or addictions that we know of. But, don't worry, we are not done with all the tests. I'm pretty confident that we can make this more comprehensible after all the test done with its result."

York distanced himself after they excused him while the doctor continued talking with Nerie. Tapping a fist against his lips lightly while thinking, he then shakes his head as he utters a repeating "no... no, no, no," warding off his memories and confusions.

Nearly dusk, when the patient's family arrived, time for York, Nerie, and the rest of the group to hit the road. He drives them home one by one and lastly Nerie, and take a cab to the bachelor's pad that he rented with diamonds. Paying with it surprised the owner but didn't bother to be nosy since he was paid more than it cost.

After he cleaned himself up, in his black shirt and faded jeans, he grabbed his leather jacket, put it on, check the key inside its pocket and dash off with his Neiman Marcus Limited Edition Fighter Motor Bike.

He might not want to think about it, but what the doctor said about the patients' situation provoked him to make some speculation and confused him as he cast his mind back to what happened the other day when he finds Thea and her roommate Jassy, unconscious. Their situation is similar, made him suspect that both cases are related. It scares him more since Thea is one of the victims, although he's glad that Thea didn't end up severely like the others.

Now, before anything might happen, uncontrollably, that might affect his loved one. He's fired up to search for some answers or rather make an investigation.

He arrived at the hospital, where Jassy is confined, only to received the same answer and explanation from the doctor. A possible case of brain hypoxia but no exact evidence to confirm.

He's about to go back to the parking when a nurse running towards the doctor he just has spoken to. Together is an echoing voice from the speaker calling the same doctor for an emergency in the ICU room 2. "Doctor, you're needed in ICU room 2." The nurse approaching flee-footed. And as soon as the doctor hears the information, he abruptly spins around to attend to the patient.

York's eyes widened after he heard and recognized the room number. It's Jassy's, and she's the one in an emergency. Instead of making his way out. he stayed and wait until the doctor comes out.

"Doc, how is she?" York quickly stands up as the doctor came out after almost an hour of reviving the patient.

He takes off his disposable mask and gloves. "She's fine for now." Before he let out a deep and contemplative sigh and continued. "I'm sorry, but as of now, we're back to zero since new symptoms showed up. We are presently losing on our speculations. We need to conduct another set of tests. Pardon me, but I have to go. The nurse already knows what to do so far". They nodded unto each other us the doctor proceeds.

New symptoms showed up? Curious with the said new symptoms, he makes headway straight to Jassy. Not just because of curiosity, but he feels there is some mystery lurking around the corner that is greater than he take cognizance of, greater than his secret.

After wearing a protective suit, gloves, and sanitizing, York opens the ICU door with reservation. The entire room feels heavy with all the machines and the various beeping sounds it makes. He approaches Jassy queryingly and comes to his sight the visible purple-blue color of the enlarged, twisted veins comparable to a varicose, despite that it is all over Jassy's bloated face and body. Her skin color became unnatural chalky, eyes half-open, showing only the white part of her eyeball. Her loose hair stiffens like thin wires.

Walking towards his big motorbike, the image of Jassy's appearance was fixed in his mind. There something familiar with what she looks like, the enlarged veins, bloated body, her eyes, and hair that goes up in stiffness. He recalled that's exactly how his father looks in his death bed. He also remembered the dreadful look of his kingdom's healer when he says, "This is witchcraft in the highest kind."

York comes to stand still with his thought, "I know there is something divergent with all these happenings, does everything of this relates to me? What if there is somebody that killed my father, and it's not just a simple illness after all. What if all of this is somebody's undertakings aiming for my misfortunes" and brought Thea to his mind. With fear and worries, bumps showing out from his skin. As fast as he can, he wears his helmet, get the key and turn on his engine. And for a few moments, York reaches Thea's place with a hasty clutch on his handbrake lever and pressing hard the footbrake while disengaging the throttle beforehand. Kick the stand in position, then walk briskly inside. Not minding the clamors of Thea's housemates, he treads directly towards Thea's room.

He opened Thea's room, exposing a messy, chaotic view of their bedroom. Her closets are open and empty, but Thea's things are not missing. Instead, it was scattered all over the place, her books, clothes, and even Jassy's belongings. Two more wardrobes that belong to her other roommates are open and empty, just like nobody stayed in the room anymore.

On his way down the stairs, he bumps someone he's not familiar with, but she seems to know him and greets him with a sneer. "Oh, You're Thea's gorgeous boyfriend. Can't you take your crazy girlfriend out of here? She's wreaking havoc on everything in our room!"

"Where is she?"

"The hell I care!" rolling her eyes with one of her eyebrow's upturn and move ahead.

This time the more his anxiousness got no place to settle. Waiting outside, sitting on his bike. Calling Thea's number countless times without an answer until it is unattended. He kept on waiting without any assurance for her to come home. But since York is out of idea where to find her and can't use his power to locate her anymore. He's determined to wait for her patiently; anyway, Patient is a Virtue. He told himself.

Past 12 midnight, York's head is getting heavier as he's getting sleepier. A blaring headlight of a fas-approaching vehicle regains his awareness. He can barely set eyes on it as it's light is blinding, only when it turns back and drove away that he perceives that it's a taxi cab and a girl came out from it. As quickly as possible, he followed the girl to check if it was Thea. At first look, by the girls behind, he figured out that it's not Thea. She wears a playful ponytail hairstyle. The curves of her body were presented deliberately with her sexy dark blue club mini sleeveless dress. The fitted dressy, classy style makes her look seductive and irresistible. York bit his lips while looking at her from behind. Her magnificent buttocks were perfectly formed with such a dress and her long and slender legs with her high heeled sandal. Made York questioning himself. He had never felt like this before, ogling on someone, and he thought she could only feel this thing with Thea since she's the one designated for him. He stops to bring a halt to his degrading act of perving on her, the same time the girl noticed someone followed her and looks back.

*****DISCCLAIMER*****

This book is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of physicians. The reader should regularly consult a physician in matters relating to his/her health and particularly with respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention.