It didn't take long for us to reach the local hospital. It was only a 5 minute drive from Eva's house to downtown and maybe a half hour walk. The last time I was here was when I broke my toe because my friend dropped a broom on me. True story.

  I hate hospitals. The smell bothers me and makes me extremely uncomfortable knowing that some people in here are suffering and some can't even be cured. I have lost some family members here too.  Nonetheless, I march down to the secretary to find information on Vicky with my head held high. If I look as confident and calm as I want to be maybe I will be it. The secretary sits at a large secluded desk off to the side of the waiting room. It stinks of cleaner and chemicals. I approach the desk and tap lightly on the desk with my nails. She spins in her swivel chair. Her round Harry Potter style glasses are hanging on the bridge of her nose.

  "Hi. I'm looking for Victoria Mason. She was admitted into the ER around half an hour ago," I tell her. I brush a loose strand of hair behind my ear. She eyes me up and down then types on her computer.

  "Room 216 at the very end of the hallway. She isn't accepting visitors at this time though."

  My heart falls. "Oh I understand. Do you know when we can see her?"

  "I only know what's on this computer. So no."

  "Okay." I spin around to find Eva. It must kill that lady to crack a smile once in a while. I find Eva sitting with Vicky's dad. He has his arms around her while she cries softly into his chest. Even though this situation is horrific they're still cute together. 

  We sat in the waiting room for an hour until the news came that we could visit Vicky. We sped down the hallway until we came to her room. Just as her dad is about to turn the knob it swings open. A nurse who was too busy paying attention to her clipboard looks up and drops it. I drop to my knees to help her pick up the papers that weren't properly clipped to the board and fell to the floor. I take a look at several. They're all medical charts about Vicky.

  From over her shoulder I could see Vicky laying in her bed. She was wearing a night gown and I can only imagine what she's going to say when the medication wears off and she notices what she's wearing. She snores softly.

  "Are you family?" the nurse asks while standing up. I follow her motion.

  "Yes."

  "No," we reply at the same time. Our voices clash over one another.

  "Well I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we are only accepting family at this time." She looks at me sympathetically. I nod in understanding.

  "I understand." Eva and her dad waste no time in entering her room. They pull of chairs by her bedside and hold her hand. I turn to leave when the nurse offers to bring me a chair.

  "That would be awesome. I'm going to get some coffee. Can you just leave it in the hallway when I come back?" She nods and disappears. I follow the signs into the hospital cafe. I wait in line and purchase three coffees in case her parents want some. While waiting in line I start to think about Vicky.

  Eva is my mom. Well, birth mom. Eva then married Vicky's dad making me Vicky's step sister. I'm family. Too bad I realized this in a bad situation and don't have time to celebrate. My best friend needs me. Everyone else in line turns to look at me like I'm crazy. Guess I screamed it. I look at them sheepishly and take the tray from barista. Once I return to the room the same nurse as before is there.

  "I'm her step sister."

  She looks at me in disbelief, but let's me in anyways. I smile in victory and set the cardboard tray down. Vicky moves in her sleep.

  "Why don't you guys go get some food. You've been here for ages."

  "I think I'm going to go out and get some better coffee. There's a Starbucks down the street," Eva grumbles. She has heavy dark circles under her eyes.

  "I have to go get some sleep. I have work early in the morning," Vicky's dad informs us. They walk out hand in hand. I sit in one of their seats right beside Vicky.

  I take a deep breathe and study Vicky in her sleeping form. She has some major bruising on the side of her head. Her face are shades of purple and swollen. She tubes running up and own her body giving her blood. There is only the low constant beeping of the heart rate monitor. After a few minutes the nurse with the clipboard walks back in to take diagnostics.

  "What's wrong with her?" I ask cautiously to the nurse. She flips through several pages on her clipboard.

  "She has a gash wound on her stomach which led to some internal bleeding. Her face has some major bruising and a wound from hitting the counter. She was beaten up pretty bad. She has a couple cracked ribs and a broken wrist, but we got to her in time and will make a full recovery. However, she will have to go to a physiotherapist for some sessions."

  "That's not as bad as I thought. She's a pretty tough girl. How did she get here?"

  "Someone phoned from the house. They said their step sister was beaten up. They told us the address and said their name was Marley and to come right away." She turns around and writes down some information from a monitor and leave. Eliza injured Vicky, but called for help. She's rubbing in the fact that she can do anything. I frown. I sink into the chair and relax for a few minutes when Vicky starts to grumble and roll around in her sleep.

  She grumbles incoherent words. I perk up instantly.

  "Vicky? It's me Marley."

  More grumbling.

  "Vicky? Vicky!" Her eyes slowly flutter open. It takes a moment for them to adjust to the bright lightening. But when they do and she sees me she starts to scream.

  "No! Please don't hurt me! I'm sorry! Help! Help!" Her body is thrashing wildly and her eyes wide with fear as she looks at me. The heart rate monitor spikes and is rapid, but is barely audible over her screaming. My body jerks backwards trying to gain distance from her. 

  "Nurse!" I call. I put my hands in the air although it doesn't seem to appease Vicky. A team of nurses rush into the room. Two hold down her arms and the third plunges a needle into her arm.

  In seconds the screaming Vicky calms down enough to fall asleep.

  "We're sorry. She's just a little out of it from the pain medication we gave her. She should be fine soon enough," one assures me. Vicky's dad and Eva enter the room.

  "We heard her screaming down the hall? What happened? Is she alright?" Eva questions frantically.

  "She's alright. She just awake with a fright is all. Perfectly normal."

  "Hey honey. why don't you take Marley back to the house. She needs some sleep." Vicky's dad asks Eva even though he isn't asking, but demanding. Eva mutters something about wanting to stay, but takes me nonetheless.

  We spot her car in the overly packed parking lot and start to drive away.

  "So what really happened? Why was she screaming."

  "She woke up and saw me and started begging for mercy."

  "I knew it was Eliza." She narrows her eyes. "She's going to far with this."

  I roll my eyes internally. You don't say.

  "I know. What can we do to stop her?"

  "We need to lure her out. Then call the cops and have them ready to capture her." I don't have a better plan.

  "That might work. I can stay home alone tonight. You give the sops a head up telling them we know where the missing child is. They will come and they will take her in and she won't be able to hurt us anymore."

  "That's a good plan. It can happen tonight. We can't have anyone else get hurt," Eva says. It will happen tonight. I stare out at the world in front of me. At night everything looks so peaceful. Not as many people to witness things and it feels so free. There isn't too much noise except the noise of nature.It's just so calm.

  Eva drives down the road and we exit the urban environment with the radio humming lowly. Large oak trees line the side of the road. The moonlight shines through providing an ominous effect. My eyes start to droop with fatigue. Suddenly the headlights shine onto a person in the middle of the road standing directly in front of the car. They wear a dark hoodie and jeans that is the last clear thing I see before everything becomes a blur. I gasp and Eva squeals. She spins the steering wheel hard causing the car to make a sharp turn. I clutch the arm rest on the door, but my body is flung sideways and my head connects with the window. Eva loses control of the car and we spin into the forest. The car drops down into a ditch and thumps down. The headlights shine on and several trees pass us until our car finally collides with a tree trunk. My body jolts forwards then backwards. My head smashes off the dashboard hard. Darkness starts to fill my vision. I wonder if I will ever wake up.   

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