Everything will be fine...

Chapter 01 - ...Right?

I’ve always thought it was strange how the world works. People, myself included, get up, go on about their days, and generally hold little regard for the happenings around them, but sometimes there are anomalies. Sometimes, somebody does take a moment to take in the world around them. In this instance, I was that somebody.

The streets were crowded and bustling with people as is typical of a lunchtime rush, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise to see at least one car moving too quickly, probably rushing to get some food so they could get back to work in their allotted break time. Nor was it uncommon to see people crossing the street with little regard for the oncoming traffic in their own eagerness to get to wherever they were going. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have even seen either of them had I not been watching the crossing lamp so eagerly. I watched that small, blue sedan as it sped, completely unaware, towards the equally oblivious little girl. I didn’t know why she was running across such a busy avenue, nor did I care as I dropped my messenger bag and raced to intercept the kid before the car did.

Blood pounded in my ears as adrenaline coursed through my veins, drowning out my attempts at screaming the girl back to safety. She stopped and, for a moment, I thought I’d be able to get her out of the way. I reached for her, sweat beading on my forehead and stinging my eyes, and lifted her into the tightest grasp I could manage as I rushed to jump back onto the sidewalk, but I was too late.

Was it selfish of me, in that moment, to wish I hadn’t tried to save the girl? Was it wrong to think of myself just then? I had a split second to realize my folly and pray that the car would swerve into the other lane before I felt the fiberglass body, then metal frame, crash into my hip and send both me and the girl tumbling over the car’s hood. We were dropped, broken and bleeding, on the hot asphalt. The girl was screaming on the ground next to me, choking on her own blood, and I wanted to soothe her, to try and caress her short brown hair and tell her that everything would be fine, but I couldn’t move. I was terrified, breathing erratically. It was strange. I couldn’t even feel any pain. I did just take the full impact from the car, right?

Maybe.... Maybe everything would be fine. I could hear sirens and thanked whatever God, Goddess, or holy being that had influenced a paramedic into driving down this random street. I think I smiled. We were going to be fine. I had saved the girl and, other than some broken bones, we’d both come out of this without a hitch.

I could see the paramedics, dressed in their navy uniforms, working frantically to help us. Everything would be fine.... I just had to take a nap, first. As I closed my eyes, still smiling, one of the EMTs knelt down by my head, staring down at me with her bright, blue eyes. I didn’t understand why, though. We were going to be fine. I couldn’t even feel any pain. We would be fine..., right?

~{E}~{w}~{b}~~{F}~

I woke in a cold sweat, my heart thundering with adrenaline as if it was trying to burst from my chest. It was dark, almost too dark to see anything, but a soft light pouring into wherever I was from under the door at the far side of the room gave me just enough to light to make out some of my surroundings. The walls seemed blueish, a strange sight considering every hospital I’d ever been in was always a sterile white, or, rather, every hospital I’d seen in movies was. I was in a hospital, right? I could clearly remember the accident, being hit by that car, the strange euphoria I’d felt knowing I’d saved the little girl, the paramedic staring at me with pity.... My body still ached from it, too.

How long was I out? How was I not hurting more? A myriad questions ran through my mind, but at the forefront of all of these thoughts was a niggling doubt, another question that haunted me for every second I didn’t have the answer. Did the girl really survive? I threw the hospital sheets off my body, shivered as the chill hospital air met my bare skin— Why was I naked? —and crawled off the bed. I was startled when my feet hit the floor so quickly, the bed barely came up to my thighs when I wobbled up to full height on my unsteady legs, but I quickly filed it away for later as pain shot up through my limbs.

It wasn’t anything unbearable, more like a mixture of the pins and needles you’d get after having slept on your arm and clipping your shin on the edge of a table, but it was enough to drop me back onto the very welcome padded perch. I hissed as I tried to massage it away, but it only seemed to make the sensation worse, so I gave up and soldiered on, back to my feet, and towards the now-obviously too small door. It was then that I realized that I could just barely touch the ceiling, a feat I’d never been able to accomplish before considering my rather limited height.

It was another issue I filed away, though; I had another, more pressing matter to attend to and I needed to find a nurse to see if they could point me in the right direction. I twisted the door’s handle, slowly pulled the door open, and nearly had a heart attack when I saw the small, powder-blue horse sitting away from me barely three yards away, or, more accurately, the very sharp horn on its head. Immediately, images of various art forms depicting the savage nature of unicorns flashed into my head, all of them using that horn to gore some unsuspecting fool, and I had to forcefully calm myself to keep from hyperventilating and alerting the creature to my presence.

I carefully peeked out the door, using the frame as support, and looked for where the little girl may have been taken. Luckily, there only seemed to be one other closed door in this section of the hospital, or what I assumed was a hospital, and I prayed that that was her room. Unluckily, the unicorn seemed to be watching it very intently. I cursed my luck as I examined the situation. The unicorn was small, barely even half my height, and it seemed cute, like it’d be weak, but looks can be very deceiving. The unicorns I’d read about in fairy tales were beautiful, majestic, and looked nearly harmless, but, instead of wishes and rainbows, all they brought upon those they met was death.

No, it seemed cute, but there was no way that I could fight it. My mind raced; if I couldn’t fight it, then what? Maybe I could knock it out with something? I looked around, hoping to find something large and heavy, but all I found was a small, wooden pencil laid out neatly on the desk. I could probably stab it, using that pencil, but if it didn’t die... I’d be done for. I looked around more, wishing that something else would come by as my saving grace, anything that could distract that horse, when I thought of it.

Moving as quietly as I could, I crept up to the count, holding my breath for good measure, and grabbed the little piece of wood to hold against my chest. I waited for a moment, building up what little courage I had remaining while I waited for the blue unicorn to make some move. I could just barely see it in the rounded mirror on the ceiling, staring blearily at the closed door, occasionally blinking as if it was trying to stay awake. For a moment, I thought I wouldn’t have to even distract it, this cliche tactic probably wouldn’t even work, but it finally stood and turned away, its hooves clopping noisily against the hospital tiles.

Taking my chance, I chucked the pencil down the opposite hall and, almost comically, the pony spun around. “What was that? Nurse Redheart, is that you?” She eyed the hallway carefully before trotting towards where I’d tossed the pencil. “This isn’t funny, guys! You know I get scared easily!”

To say I wasn't surprised to hear the unicorn talk would have been a lie, even if it was a strange, foreign language. I guess it made a little sense, unicorns were magical creatures, after all, but it was still alarming to hear something other than a whinny, almost enough to make me forget I had to sneak past it. I waited just long enough for her to get out of sight before scrabbling along the tiled floor on all fours. I reached the door, praying that it would be as well-oiled as mine had been, and rushed through the opening as soon as I had enough room.

The door closed behind me with a soft click and I held my breath, the hairs on my arms standing on end, hoping that the unicorn hadn't heard me. After an eternity, my nerves calmed back down enough for me to breathe again and I took that moment to peer through the darkness. I couldn't see anything with the measly light from under the doorframe, but I could just barely make out the sound of breathing from the other side of the room. That, or I hadn't calmed down nearly as much as I had thought.

Slowly, carefully, I crept towards where I assumed the girl was. I hoped that it wasn't just another unicorn; my heart couldn't take another jolt like that. As I drew closer, and my eyes adjusted to the darkness, the little girl's form took shape under the pristine, white hospital sheets. She looked just like she had before the accident, no signs of damage outside of a small bruise on the side of her face. She was sleeping so peacefully, too, like she was at home in her own bed after a nice bedtime story from her father; I almost didn't want to wake her up, but there were more pressing matters at hand.

"Hey. Hey, wake up." She didn't move other than to turn away from me and pull the blankets further over her shoulder. I wanted to scream at her. How could she be sleeping at a time like this? Just like a kid to sleep through a disaster. Of course, though, I couldn't yell, I could barely whisper, and I knew it wasn't her fault. I may not like kids, but there wasn't any reason for my anger; I was just scared, and who wouldn't be?

I was in an unknown hospital, all the staff were gone and probably dead, and there were bloodthirsty horned horses roaming the halls ready to murder us at any given moment. If it wasn't for the slowly fading needling sensation in my legs and how lucid I am, I'd say it was all a crazy dream and I'd wake up and I'd be in South Memorial hospital with my family and the girl's family and everything would be fine. But this wasn't a dream; there wasn't any way it could be.

I sighed and frowned down at the kid I'd rescued. I wanted to blame her for all of this, but I knew I was the one that had to act the hero. Hell, I couldn't have even saw myself doing that had I not already done so. Regardless, this was neither the time, nor the place, for hesitation. I gently grabbed the girl's shoulder and shook her. "Hey. Wake up!"

"I don't wanna wake up, Mommy. Still sleepy...."

I almost screamed. She was just like my sister and it bothered me to no end, but, again, there wasn't any reason to be angry at her, so I simply redoubled my efforts until she cracked her eyes open. "Finally! Do you know how hard you sleep?"

Of course, I should have known better than to greet her with sarcasm, especially in this situation. I could see the confusion, and then fear, play across her face as she realized she wasn't at home and I wasn't her mom. She opened her mouth to scream and I reacted purely on instinct, clamping my hand over her mouth before she could make any noise that would alert the unicorn.

The screech was thankfully muffled, but it didn't stop her from trying harder and adding kicks and trying to bite me. I had to force myself not to strangle her as I stared pleadingly into her eyes with one finger pressed against my lips. It took her a moment, but eventually she calmed down enough for me to talk. "Try not to scream, okay? It's not exactly safe here." I flashed her the friendliest smile I possibly could, which was probably more akin to a serial killer's grin given my shot nerves, and lightened my hold over her mouth. "If I let you go, you won't scream, will you? It's very important that you don't scream." She nodded slowly, obviously still terrified of the stranger in her room, but it was enough for me. Scream or not, we had to leave, even if I had to drag her through the halls.

As I lowered my hand, a thought occurred to me. Why was I even bothering with her? I didn't know her. She doesn't know me. Was it some sense of valor that I didn't know I had? An attachment after having saved her life once at the risk of my own? I shrugged it off. Whatever it was, it didn't matter now; I'd already dove in headfirst and the shore was miles off.

"You're nak-!" I slapped my hand back over her mouth and shh'd her a bit more forcefully than I would have preferred, but I didn't need her talking so loudly. I watched the door with wide eyes, my heartbeat thundering in my ear, and only when I was sure that, miraculously, nothing had heard her did I look back down at her.

"Don't talk so loud, okay?"

Another nod, this one paired with the least menacing glare possible, and I let her go again. "Mommy told me not to talk to strangers."

I almost chuckled at that. It was so cliche that I should have expected it. "Well, my name's Sarah. What's yours?"

"'lizabeth."

"Well, Elizabeth, we know each other's names, so now we're not strangers." I smiled at her while I mentally beat myself with a hammer. I couldn't have sounded like more of a pedophile if I tried.

"I guess.... Where's Mommy? I wanna home."

"I'm not sure, Elizabeth, but we'll find her, okay? First, we need to get out of here." I glanced around the room, peering through the darkness for a window, but there was nothing other than the blue walls and Elizabeth's bed.

"Why?"

"Because it's dangerous." She gave me that inquisitive look, the same one my sister always gave me whenever she was on a 'Why?' spree, but I silenced her with a stern glare. "Look, I know that you don't know me and that you're probably scared-"

"I'm not scared. I just want my mommy. Where are we?"

"We're in the hospital. Don't you remember the car accident?" She nodded and stared down at the sheets she had bunched up in her hands. I understood the look; if I wasn't so concerned for our imminent safety, I'd probably be just as scared. That accident should have killed us, but here we are with barely a scratch on us. "Come on, Lizzie." I held out my hand and she warily took it. "Let's get out of here and try to find some help, okay? You just have to be really quiet, got it? There are some dangerous animals outside the door." I picked her up, grunting as she shifted her weight off the bed and onto my chest, and wrapped the bedspread around us. Was she always this heavy? I remember her being much lighter when I grabbed her out of the street. "Just... hold onto me, alright? We may have to run."

She nodded and tightened her grip on me, nearly squeezing my head from my neck as she trembled against me. I guess she was terrified and it's not like my warning about the unicorns helped calm her down either. I bounced her up higher in my arms and pressed up against the door, trying to listen to the horse just outside. "Please be looking the other way...."

With a shaky hand, I turned the door handle, peeked an eye out into the hallway, and heaved a sigh of relief when I couldn't see the unicorn. I had no idea where the exit would be and hoped that I'd be able to follow some signage out, but the coast was clear for now. I really didn't have anything to worry about for the mom-

"Hey! You're awake! I'm glad; we were worried that you might not make it."

My heart skipped a beat and I spun to see the unicorn walking towards us, head held high and deadly horn glinting in the fluorescent lights. I had suddenly lost all control of my body as if my will was being sapped away by the horse's magic. "It's so pretty!"

Elizabeth's voice shocked me out of my stupor, reminding me that it wasn't just my own life on the line, and I took that moment to launch into a sprint down the opposite hall. "I know it's pretty, but that unicorn is dangerous!"

"Where are you going!? You shouldn't be running in your condition. Come back!"

I listened as the unicorn gave chase, her hooves clacking loudly against the tiled floor. I chanced a glance behind me, looking over my right shoulder as my own fear left Elizabeth screaming over my left, and immediately regretted the decision. The horse was galloping towards us, slowly gaining ground despite my longer legs, with her head down and sharpened horn aimed right at my back. I caught a glimmer of light from the appendage and felt that needling sensation from before run up my spine, but, before she could close in on us and unleash whatever hell she was planning on, I turned abruptly down a conjoining hall.

Ahead stood a pair of swinging wooden doors with bright, hopefully natural light shining through the tall, thin windows. My lungs burned, arms ached from running with Elizabeth's not insubstantial weight, and I was certain that whatever other unreal creatures resided in this hospital were certainly aware of us with her screaming in my ear, but we were almost to safety. We just had to make it through these next two doors and we'd find somebody to help us figure out just what was going on, but, just as I was got ready to plow open the swinging doors, another unicorn, this one a light pink, pushed it inwards.

"What is all that ruck-?"

I didn't have the time, nor the care, to slow down and rushed past it only to cut my arm open on its horn. I hissed in pain and hoped that I'd stunned it, but kept running towards the gradually warming light streaming in through the lobby windows. I braced myself, holding one hand out to twist the handle and supporting the still screeching Elizabeth with the other, and burst through the door into the blinding daylight sun. "Please! Somebody, help..." I froze in my tracks and squinted out across the small group of horses gathered outside the front door. There were more horns among them, wings, too, and I could just make out an entire town full of them in the background. I swallowed the lump that in my throat and glanced back to see the two unicorns, dressed in their mockingly cliche nursing caps. "...us?"