nurse whispered as they turned a corner into the main corridor. “Some of these poor children are very sick. It’s so sad.”
Yeah, I’m lucky,
he thought. There was no way to explain to her that his own problems were just as bad. Maybe his heart was fine and his kidneys weren’t failing. Maybe his bones weren’t broken and his flesh wasn’t burned. But there were other ways to suffer. The stuff nobody else could see—that was probably the worst kind of suffering to bear. Even if he told them, they wouldn’t understand. But he couldn’t tell them. If they knew about his hidden talent, they’d do terrible things to him.
He stopped dead as he glanced into one of the rooms. A quiz show was playing on a TV in the far corner. There was a kid in the first bed who looked familiar. The kid kept shouting out answers, even though nobody was in the room. After each answer, he’d moan and grab his face, which was all bruised and puffed up. Lucky was sure he knew him.
He thought about calling out, but the nurse gave him a gentle tap on the shoulder. “Give him his privacy. He’s had a rough time. Let’s go, Dominic.”
Lucky moved on. He knew he could remember who the kid was if he tried hard enough, but he was happy to stop thinking and just drift back into the haze. The real world was far too harsh to visit for any length of time.
haunting the hallways
WE STOPPED AT the information desk and found out what room Cheater was in, then took the elevator to the fourth floor.
“You’d better let me go in first,” Martin said.
“Why?”
“You want him to think he’s seeing ghosts, dead boy?”
“Good point.”
I followed Martin down the hall to Cheater’s room, but waited out of sight while he went inside. A moment later, I heard Cheater shout, “He’s alive!” I couldn’t help smiling. It sounded like a line from one of those old horror movies he loved.
That shout was immediately followed by a howl of pain, which also could have come from a horror movie. I guess Cheater’s face was sore. I stepped into the room. One bed was empty. The other had a kid who resembled a badly sculpted version of my friend.
“You look good for a ghost,” he said through puffed lips.
“You look awful for a living person.” I could see why it would hurt him to shout. He was so bruised, he could havepassed for the twin brother of an eggplant. “Though you don’t look bad for a corpse.”
Cheater nodded. “Exquisite corpse.”
“What?” Martin asked.
That was one piece of trivia I knew, since it involved some of my favorite artists. But I didn’t want to spoil Cheater’s fun, so I let him explain.
“Exquisite corpse is the name of a word game the surrealist painters played,” he said. “They’d write a phrase on a piece of paper and then—” He stopped and scrunched up his face in pain.
“Hurts to talk?” I asked.
He nodded again.
“Maybe you should let us do the talking.”
“Like Cyrano de Bergerac?” he asked.
He had me with that one. I was clueless. But I didn’t wait for an explanation. “So, you’re okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. I have a new understanding of some of the finer aspects of physics. Astronomy, too. I saw a lot more than stars. Constellations, at the very least. I think I might have also witnessed the big bang. Ouch.” He grabbed his face and groaned.
“You keep talking, I’m going to have to smack you,” Martin said.
Cheater grinned at him, which also seemed to hurt. “I miss the way you always kidded me. It reminds me—”
“I’m not kidding,” Martin said. “Give your face a rest. Trash has a lot to tell you.”
I described how I’d been abducted, and Martin told himabout running away. Cheater tried to keep his mouth shut, but he couldn’t help interrupting us every minute or two to toss in some essential facts.
“Now what?” he asked when we were done.
“Not sure,” I said. “Hide out, think up a plan.”
“It better be a good plan. This disrupter is
Yeah, I’m lucky,
he thought. There was no way to explain to her that his own problems were just as bad. Maybe his heart was fine and his kidneys weren’t failing. Maybe his bones weren’t broken and his flesh wasn’t burned. But there were other ways to suffer. The stuff nobody else could see—that was probably the worst kind of suffering to bear. Even if he told them, they wouldn’t understand. But he couldn’t tell them. If they knew about his hidden talent, they’d do terrible things to him.
He stopped dead as he glanced into one of the rooms. A quiz show was playing on a TV in the far corner. There was a kid in the first bed who looked familiar. The kid kept shouting out answers, even though nobody was in the room. After each answer, he’d moan and grab his face, which was all bruised and puffed up. Lucky was sure he knew him.
He thought about calling out, but the nurse gave him a gentle tap on the shoulder. “Give him his privacy. He’s had a rough time. Let’s go, Dominic.”
Lucky moved on. He knew he could remember who the kid was if he tried hard enough, but he was happy to stop thinking and just drift back into the haze. The real world was far too harsh to visit for any length of time.
haunting the hallways
WE STOPPED AT the information desk and found out what room Cheater was in, then took the elevator to the fourth floor.
“You’d better let me go in first,” Martin said.
“Why?”
“You want him to think he’s seeing ghosts, dead boy?”
“Good point.”
I followed Martin down the hall to Cheater’s room, but waited out of sight while he went inside. A moment later, I heard Cheater shout, “He’s alive!” I couldn’t help smiling. It sounded like a line from one of those old horror movies he loved.
That shout was immediately followed by a howl of pain, which also could have come from a horror movie. I guess Cheater’s face was sore. I stepped into the room. One bed was empty. The other had a kid who resembled a badly sculpted version of my friend.
“You look good for a ghost,” he said through puffed lips.
“You look awful for a living person.” I could see why it would hurt him to shout. He was so bruised, he could havepassed for the twin brother of an eggplant. “Though you don’t look bad for a corpse.”
Cheater nodded. “Exquisite corpse.”
“What?” Martin asked.
That was one piece of trivia I knew, since it involved some of my favorite artists. But I didn’t want to spoil Cheater’s fun, so I let him explain.
“Exquisite corpse is the name of a word game the surrealist painters played,” he said. “They’d write a phrase on a piece of paper and then—” He stopped and scrunched up his face in pain.
“Hurts to talk?” I asked.
He nodded again.
“Maybe you should let us do the talking.”
“Like Cyrano de Bergerac?” he asked.
He had me with that one. I was clueless. But I didn’t wait for an explanation. “So, you’re okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. I have a new understanding of some of the finer aspects of physics. Astronomy, too. I saw a lot more than stars. Constellations, at the very least. I think I might have also witnessed the big bang. Ouch.” He grabbed his face and groaned.
“You keep talking, I’m going to have to smack you,” Martin said.
Cheater grinned at him, which also seemed to hurt. “I miss the way you always kidded me. It reminds me—”
“I’m not kidding,” Martin said. “Give your face a rest. Trash has a lot to tell you.”
I described how I’d been abducted, and Martin told himabout running away. Cheater tried to keep his mouth shut, but he couldn’t help interrupting us every minute or two to toss in some essential facts.
“Now what?” he asked when we were done.
“Not sure,” I said. “Hide out, think up a plan.”
“It better be a good plan. This disrupter is
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