Chapter
1
One Week Earlier
"Hey, Lemon! Wait up!"
From halfway down the corridor Lemon Mint turned to see a huge cloud of silver balloons drifting toward her. Bobbing along under them was a short, cute, dark-haired mare, clutching the balloon strings as if the helium could lift her to the ceiling. Sky, lemon's best friend, rushed up, panting.
"Where's the party?" Lemon asked.
"These are for the foal in Room 901," Sky said. "He's got so many toys and flowers in there already, there's no room for him. What are you doing on the Foals Floor?"
"I just got assigned here this morning," Lemon said. "Some change from the Orthopedic Floor! You wouldn't believe how many ways ponies find to break their bones!"
Sky rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it," she said dryly.
"Come on," Laurie said. "I have to deliver these X-rays to the Nurse's Station."
The mares fell into step as they walked down the gleaming corridor and Lemon dropped her X-rays off. They were both wearing the drab tan tunics all student volunteers wore. But on Lemon's willowy figure, it didn't look bad.
"Meet me in the cafeteria for lunch?" Sky asked.
"Sure. Maybe today's the day you'll find that handsome med student you've been dying to meet. Then you can retire for the rest of the summer and concentrate on your social life."
"Get real! In this?" Sky stopped and gave a vengeful tug on her tunic in disgust. "I don't know how you manage to look so put together wearing it. It's not fair!" Sky shook her dark, curly mane with envy and despair. "Anyhow, I wouldn't quit now. It's not the worst summer job I've ever had. I've stopped hating you for talking me into it."
A pegasus nurse in starched white cap and uniform bustled up the hall, carrying a tray of medicines in her mouth. She glowered at Lemon and Sky as she came up to them. Taking the tray out of her mouth with a hoof she said, "Okay, girls. Get on with your work. You can't just stand here chatting all day." She carefully put the tray back in her mouth and she was off with a swish of her tail.
"Uh-oh!" Sky warned. "That's Nurse Willow, Ember Willow. Stay out of her way. They say she actually smiled once, but that was probably before you and I were born. Here's 901. See you at lunch."
Sky pushed open the patient's door and shepherded her balloons inside. Lemon continued down the hall a few steps. The noise of construction grew louder as she approached the new wing that would soon become part of the hospital. Outside the heavy door that blocked off the view of the new wing and partly muffled the din, Lemon saw the bright warning signs: DANGER! KEEP OUT!
Inside, the brand-new Flash Fear Wing was being built with ten million dollars that that Flash Fear, son of Flash Sentry and Princess Twilight Sparkle, had recently donated to Stalliongates Hospital. As a descendant of the Sparkle family, Fear shared a family trait with his grandfather Night Light--he liked to help out communities.
The Fear Wing. Not exactly the greatest name for a hospital wing, Lemon thought with a shiver. She stopped to listen to the construction ponies work, hammers banging and saws...well...sawing. In a sudden lull, she heard a very different sound: A foal was sobbing nearby.
She looked around. The quiet sound was coming from Room 903, just across the hall. Lemon crossed to the door and listened to the soft, pitiful, weary weeping that sounded as if it had been going on for a long time. She knocked on the door to Room 903 softly and quietly tiptoed inside. A small colt was lying in the high white hospital bed. His head was turned away front the door.
"Hello, there," Lemon greeted. The foal did not turn toward her. He just continued crying, more softly now, his voice hoarse. Lemon looked around the room. It was bare of flowers, toys, cards. There was nothing to cheer up a sick, frightened foal. "I came to visit you," Lemon said.
The crying stopped with a small gasp, but the little colt kept his face turned away. He stared out the window opposite the door, ignoring her. Lemon stepped to the end of his bed to read the medical chart hanging there: "Tick Yearling...three years old...pneumonia." His temperature had been normal for several days, so he should be going home soon. Why was he so unhappy? She approached the far side of the bed.
"Hi, Tick. My name's Lemon. I work here." She looked down at the small, pale face. His sandy mane was tousled on the pillow, and his muzzle was sprinkled sandy freckles. "I'm a student volunteer," Lemon continued in a quiet voice. "I run errands--like, I deliver things, and sometimes I visit ponies who feel sad and lonely away from home. Is that how you feel?"
Tick hiccuped once and sniffles. Lemon pulled a tissue out of the box on the side table and dabbed at Tick's wet cheeks. He sniffles again and turned away. Lemon took his small hoof in hers.
"I don't blame you. I'd cry, too, if I were stuck in here. But you're almost better. I bet you'll be going home soon." A tiny sob escaped from the colt, and he squeezed his eyes tightly shut. "Don't feel like talking? That's okay. I'll just keep you company for a while." Lemon stroked his soft hoof, trying to sooth him. "Would you like me to read to you? I could get a book and read you a really nice story. Would you like that?"
The door opened abruptly, and Nurse Willow marched in.
"What are you doing in here?" she demanded.
"I-I was just talking to Tick, to cheer him up," Lemon explained.
"Don't waste your time," Nurse Willow said brusquely. "He won't talk to you. He won't talk to anyone. You're only bothering him. And you're I the way here, anyhow. Will you please leave."
Lemon was stung by the nurse's harsh tone. But she reminded herself that most nurses were terribly overworked and could get pretty grouchy. One of her friends at Stalliongates High, Melody Burns, said that her mother, who was also a nurse, was always tired and cranky.
As Lemon left the room, she glanced back once more at Tick. He was watching her now, his tear-filled eyes staring at her from behind Nurse Willow's broad back.
Lemon felt a sudden jolt. She was sure that, silently, the colt was pleading with her.
Author's Note
Tell me what you think in the comments bellow and don't forget to like and fav on the way! :3
"What kind of lettuce is blue?" Sky asked as she plunked her tray down across the table from Lemon.
"Today's salad, apparently," Lemon answered. "Why didn't you just get an apple or something?"
"Ech, too fruity. And I didn't see this up close until I got in the light. Yuck!" Sky settled herself at the table and stared at her plate. Around them, the noise of the cafeteria was deafening. Doctors and technicians in white lab coats bumped and jostled for seats at the long tables. The surgical teams in soft green caps, booties, and coverings moved in groups searching for places together. Weary relatives of patients sat in hushed isolation as the hectic parade of tray-bearing hospital workers swirled around them.
"Could I borrow a couple of those balloons you had this morning?" Lemon almost had to shout as she leaned across the table and explained to Sky about Tick Yearling. "Maybe they'd cheer him up--if the kid in 901 WOULDNT mind."
"He wouldn't even miss them," Sky said. "Just open his door, and the toys fall out. I'll get you a few gallons this afternoon."
A stethoscope dangled above Sky's plate as a nurse leaned over her shoulder to grab a packet of sugar from the center of the table. Sky pushed her salad away and stole a potato chip from Lemon's salad plate. "How many raffle tickets did you buy so far?" Sky asked, crunching the chip and reaching for another.
"Just one," Lemon answered, sliding her plate away. "I'm selling them, though, if you want more."
"I've already got the winning one. I'm sure of it! I'm going to put that statue in a case as soon as I win!"
Hundreds of Stalliongrad residents were competing for the gold statue on display in the hospital lobby. It was the prize in a raffle to raise money for the Flash Fear Wing. It was a statue of a filly in an upright position, leaning over slightly with her right hind leg up and sticking out. The right foreleg was sticking out but angled to point behind her while the left foreleg pointed forward. In short, the statue looked like a pure gold filly ice-scating on one hoof like a pro.
Lemon had already sold four books of tickets to neighbors and people in town who found her hard to refuse, even if they had already bought a hoof full.
"Don't buy the case until they hand you the actual statue," Lemon warned. "What are you doing this Saturday? You got a date?"
"Two dates. Falcon Cry and Pin Drop."
"Not again!" Lemon exclaimed. "No fair." She disapproved of Sky's habit of accepting two dates for the same night, then deciding which one to break.
"I know," Sky shrugged. "I'd trade them both for Art Price, whenever you get tired of him."
Lemon sighed. "Like, how about now? I'm seein him Saturday night. I wish I knew how to break up with him."
Sky slurped her drink and nodded. "Yeah, I can really see why you'd want to dump him. He's just too good-looking, and too much fun, and his dad is only Dr. Rebound Price, just about the most prominent stallion in Stalliongates."
"Dr. Price is his strpfather," Lemon reminded her.
"Gimme a break!" Sky narrowed her eyes. "He's also the administrator of this hospital, so you'd better not rock the boat with Art while you're working here. What's so wrong with Art?"
"He's just so aimless, such a goof," Lemon said, jabbing her hoof at her salad.
"Not EVERYPONY wants to be a doctor like you." Sky really admired Lemon, but sometimes she thought Lemon ought to lighten up a little.
"I don't think Art is serious about anything," Lemon stated, chewing thoughtfully.
"He's serious about you," Sky offered.
"That's part of the problem. He's, well, clutchy. I don't like him trying to tie me down all the time. I have lots of interests, and sometimes I'd like to spend time with other guys."
The white-coated orderly sitting next to Sky gathered up his dirty dishes and left the table. Sky was reaching for another of Lemon's potato chips, when she stopped, hoof in midair, and sat up straight in her chair. "Oh, wow! Speaking of other guys, guess who just walked in."
"Who?" Lemon refused to turn and stare.
"Would you believe Prince Blueblood!" Sky whispered ecstatically. "It isn't! It couldn't be!"
Lemon had to look. "Right on both counts. It isn't and it couldn't be.Prince Blueblood is older, and he doesn't have red hair."
"It's not red."
"well, reddish. Sky, stop staring at him!" Lemon exclaimed. "He may not be as old as Prince Blueblood, but he's too old for you. I bet he's in college. He wouldn't be interested in us."
"You make it seem like we're freshmen or something! I turn eighteen next year so it wouldn't even be that much of an age difference if he's in college," Sky hissed and turned to look at Mister Handsome again. "He's coming this way!" she said breathlessly.
"Is this seat taken?" a deep, pleasant voice asked.
Sky smiled. Up close, the guy was every bit as good-looking as the Prince, maybe even cuter. He was tall, with dark blue eyes, and he had on a tight T-shirt that showed he probably was an athlete or somepony who worked out with weights. The T-shirt was comical--white with black letters that said: Wrong Way. Go Back." Over one shoulder he had slung the telltale tan tunic that marked him as a fellow student volunteer.
"Be my guest," Sky said, making room. "We were saving it for any student volunteer who wants to join us in taking over the hospital."
"Count me in," he said, laughing as he set down his hayburger and coffee. He was taking to Sky but looking at Lemon. He sat down and leaned across the table to be closer to her. "I'm Racer Subaru, a three-day veteran on the surgical floor."
"I'm Lemon Mint, on the Children's Floor this week." She blinked her blue eyes and realized she was suddenly very warm. The source of heat was definitely Racer Subaru and his smile.
"Me too," Sky said. "Ninth Floor--Kids and Construction. I'm Sunny Skies, but call me Sky. Hey, I really like your T-shirt!"
Rick turned to her. "You do? I've got the world's largest collection of T-shirts. It's my only claim to fame." He took a bite of his burger and turned back to Lemon. "How do you like it here?"
"It's great!" Lemon chirped, responding to Racer's interest. "It's what I've wanted to do all my life; work in a hospital. My aunt warned me I might get bored, but I love every minute here!"
"Lemon's going to be a doctor," Sky explained. "If we ever graduate from Stalliongates High."
"No kidding!" Racer said, his eyes fixed on Lemon as he sipped his coffee. "I'm going into my second year at Saddlebank College, and I'm thinking about going to medical school."
"I thought I'd better get some hospital experience before I made any heavy plans," Racer said to Lemon. "Why did your aunt think you'd be bored? Is she a doctor here?"
"No," Lemon answered. "A financial consultant. She raised me after my parents died, and she always worries about me." Above the cafeteria, a sudden, urgent announcement blared out over the paging system: "Code Blue, Room 903. Code Team to 903, stat." Several doctors jumped up and ran out.
"Uh-oh," Sky frowned. "Code Blue. They just called a code."
"Huh?" Racer raised a brow and looked to Lemon in confusion.
Lemon explained. "That's when a patient goes into cardiac arrest, like the heart stops, or there's some other terrible emergency. There's a special medical team responsible. They can save a life if they get there fast enough. You just saw some of them running out."
"I guess I have a lot to learn. I didn't hear or see anything." Racer's expression suggested that he hadn't heard or seen anything except Lemon. The announcement repeated: "Code Blue, Room 903, stat!"
"You'll get used to it--" Lemon told him. Her mouth fell open in shock. Room 903 was little Tick Yearling's room. The Code Blue Team had been called for him! She pushed her chair and ran out of the cafeteria.
Prologue
Gasping in panic, Lemon slipped past the yellow and black signs warning DANGER! KEEP OUT! and pushed open the forbidden door.
She shouldn't be in here. She didn't want to be here. But where else could she hide?
The light was dim, the shadows deep and frightening in the deserted new hospital wing. The workmen had all gon home, and Lemon was alone, stumbling in he gloom through construction debris.
Maybe he didn't see me.
Maybe he won't follow me.
Maybe I'm safe!
Her long honey blonde mane, usually so sleek, had escaped from its pins, and was whipped in tangles around her shoulders. Her pretty face, usually so calm, was a mask of terror.
Desperately, she moved deeper inside the new construction. Wires snaked along the floor and dangled from the ceiling. Twisted cables bulged from holes in the wall, reaching out to clutch at her.
There was a sudden flash of light as the door was opened.
Trapped!
Trying not to make a sound, Lemon hugged the wall on the far side of the huge room. A wire snagged her sleeve. She uttered a little gasp as she twisted herself free.
Then she heard the familiar voice: "Lemon? I know you're in there. You can't hide from me."
Tears of terror started in her eyes.
"Come out, Lemon," the voice urged. "I just want to talk to you. Won't you let me explain?"
Inching along the wall, Lemon felt the blood pounding in her throat. She couldn't see him but she could feel his terrible presence.
"I won't hurt you," the voice said softly.
Did he say that to her too-just before he stabbed her?
Lemon's whole body trembled. Suddenly, in one great burst of motion, he was upon her. His hooves seized her shoulders and pulled her back roughly.
Lemon tried to scream, but he clapped a hoof over her mouth. She felt his hot breath on her cheek.
Now her only thought was, Where is the knife?
