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Garden of Death
Part One - Sickness

Part One - Sickness

SFX/ Skreee squeee skrek

The sound of tired metal whining could be heard as a chair crawled forward. It was just another addition to the background noise that hummed through the halls.

A young boy slumped back in the chair, accepting the ride without eagerness or protest. His dark brown hair slightly unkept as it fell over his brows. From his appearance he looked to not even yet a teenager, but his face was sunken and tired like a man facing the end of a long life.

His eyes lightly closed to the scenery around him, while his other senses never halted in taking in those familiar sounds and smells.

The quiet hums of the machinery and sudden buzz as the innercom came to life. As the scent of medicine and chemicals assualted the nose. The steady atmostphere that could change in a moment in the case of an emergency.

These things had always been with the boy, since as long as he could remember. While a normal child probably spent their time idly passing by with school and friends, he was trapped within the confines of a hospital.

Through the years of tests and treatments. He grew up far from a life he could have had. The boy had grown tired of the curse he was born with.

As his family, friends and doctors, told him to live on and with hope. Day after day. He began to resent life, seeing those around him come and go while he is always confined to rot.

SFX/ Skreek skrek

As the boy held in his bitter thoughts the chair turned into his room. A two bed room devided by a curtain, on the far wall a large window. The chair crawled to the bed near the door and the nurse helped him into bed.

Although the bed beside the window is empty, he had been given the other. He had once asked to move, but they passed off his words. The chair is folded beside the bed while the boy covers his limp legs with a sheet.

She spoke with a smile about the upcoming results to the tests from today and of the upcoming meal. But the boy only turned away to stare blankly at the wall. A slight sadness could be seen in her eyes, but as the boy did not stray his view from the plaster white wall he did not see it.

She left not too long after. She like many other nurses tried to get close to the sickly boy, but it seemed to be of no avail. The boy has given up or to be more precise, he has grown tired.

As he laid back on the bed, he turned to see if he could catch a glimpse of the window past the dividing curtain. However it just doesn't seem he will. The curtain is drawn out completely, the view blocked from the boy's eyes.

He sighs and closes his eyes to rest. "...again..." He murmers as he dozes off.

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A dim light shines in the sky as a fog lays across the dark landscape. 

As if color is a foriegn entity in this land. The blackened and bare trees sparsely cover the grey dead soil. The air itself frozen with a deathly chill, air as stale and rotten as the land.

A single soul inhabits this place. With a familar face, his hair has been darkened black, the same unkept hair from his woken life. His sunken cheeks and sullen eyes are cast downward. His hospital robe rotted and falling apart in places, his skin grey to match the scenery.

He walks listlessly here. A dream he has seen since he was a child. In a place just as familiar as the hospitals he spent his life.

His feet drags as he lumbers forward. Once in the past he had felt elation at being able to walk in his dreams, but as the reoccuring dream came everytime he closed eyes, the feeling stagnanted into weariness.

Although no wind blew in this place the fog rolled over the ground in waves. Passing through without looking up the boy continued on. Knowing instinctively where the path lead, yet trudging on regardless.

In the distance the sight of an wrought iron fence could be seen, upon closer inspection it was as old and rotted as the land it was build on. The fog seemed to seep from beyond the gate, filling the surrounding forest.

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The boy made his way to the gate, his legs going heavier with every step. He looked up for the first time since he began walking, staring intensely at the gate. His arms reached out towards the latched gate, grasping the rough rusted bars. Putting all of his strength into his legs he pulled the gate willing it to budge.

SFX/ KRA KRAK

His jaw clenched as he struggled. The gate unmoving, only moving enough to let out a painful creak.

The boy fell to his knees, still grasping the gate. He rests his forehead on the bars and looks beyond the boundary. The sight of a graveyard fills his vision, the uneven landscape dotted with tombstones, monoliths and statues.

But such things didn't concern him, moving between the graves, with large scyths propped on their shoulders. Tall, in black cloaks, they floated just above the ground. Their appearance is that of the reapers in mythology.

The boy opened his mouth to yell, calling out to the entities beyond, but no noise could be heard. As if his voice denied. Yet he continued to yell, clenching the gate harder in his hands. Blood slowly slipped from his hands, sickly blackened color. But there was no pain, not that it mattered, the boy continued on unfazed.

Silently screaming to the ghosts of death. Crying for relief, crying for death, crying just to cry.

He began coughing up blood from his raw throat, struggling to continue. The ghosts of this land continues weaving through the graves, unfazed by the boy at the gate. Not even aware of his presence.

The boy knowing they would never hear him still tried, even when he came to resent them for not seeing him. An endless cycle, continuing on. Forsaken by life and by death. The boy cursed this rotten world, and those who refused him life as well as death.

He let go of the gate and laid back on the ground, it was cold. He looked as his bleeding hand, he would probably wake up soon. He turned his head back to the graveyard, a knot formed in his throat. Before he could open his mouth the fog began to envelop him. banishing him from this land of death.

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SFX/ beep beep beep...

The sounds of the hospital slowly began to fill his ears. His dream forgotten as he began to focus on the stir around him.

A stable monitoring system beeps somewhere nearby, it was probably his own. He could hear frantic noises about but he drowned them out. He did his best to keep his eyes unfocused as a nurse tested his dialation with a flashlight. He did not want to bother with anyone.

The worried voices calmed down after some time as the presences around him decreased. He recognised some of the voices, but didn't listen to what they spoke about. He was unconcerned about his own health and treatments.

While he had slept his heart had stopped and he had been pulled back by the technicians. That was the likely cause of this stir. A dense pain was throbbing through out the boys head and chest, it was probably caused by a defribulator. He was slightly disappointed.

as the voices decreased he became aware of the two people left in the room. Even if he didn't open his eyes, he knew who it likely was. A warm hand grasped hisown tightly, he almost flinched. the pain in his chest excited slightly.

Probably noticing him clenching his teeth, his mother spoke to him. Her voice cracking slightly, she had probably been crying.

"Mi-Michell? Michell? A-are you awake?"

The boy named Michell cursed himself slightly. He did not want to speak to his family, and did his best to fake sleep when he could. He opened his eyes and turned his sore neck towards his mother.

She looked to be only in her late 20s. Her wavy brown hair running past her shoulders stopping at her shoulder blades. Her green eyes red from crying looked to her son with hope and fear. Completely unaware of her son's hateful feelings.

Thus when she saw her son open his eyes, when not very long ago he was on the brink of death, she fell to his shoulders hugging him tightly.

Mitchell cringed at the sudden pain, his teeth clenching further. He brought his hand to comfort his crying mother, as he looked to the end of his bed where the second guest was standing. It was his elder brother, he had a pained look in his eyes.

Similar to Michell himself, his brother had dark brown hair cut short as to not fall over his eyes. Facial hair was showing signs of growing on his face, he had most likely not had time to shave. His suit appeared discheveled as well. Was he getting ready for work when he rushed here?

Visible bags can be seen under both of their eyes. Michell could feel a knot growing in his throat, he did not want to see his family. But he didn't seem to have a choice, as they stuck around for quite some time. Speaking of anything new, pointlessly draging on topics. 

Things like, his brother had gotten a shift change, mother had taken up an old hobby again and so on. Only speaking up when he had to Mitchell wished the time would pass quicker.

It didn't take long though, his brother took the lead and headed off first. Reluctently his mother soon followed leaving him in silence again as a nurse came to fix an IV drip to his arm.

SFX/ drip. drip.

"I...wonder if my heart...will stop again..." He said it louder then he meant, causing the nurse to give him a sad look. Checking his charts and IV drip, the nurse tried to start small talk hoping to cheer him up.

But as usual he took to looking at the wall, ignoring the nurses attempts at socializing.

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