My leg went numb at one point and I struggled up to a standing posture with much cursing and falling down and a little bit of crying. I kept hoping to shake the numbness off. I fully expected the pins-and-needles feeling you get when your circulation comes back.
Just to have something to do I found a yellow legal pad and a pen and started writing this down. Everything that has happened, as it happened, since I left you behind, Sarah. It took me hours. My leg is still numb. The lights flickered every once in a while and I worried I would be cast into darkness for my last hours. So far I’m good, but, ugh, hold on—
I threw up blood just now. My body is breaking down.
Please, doctor. Just one more hour. Just one more minute.
Just…
Okay, I’m back, Sarah. I needed to black out there for a while. Now I’m back and I’m feeling a lot better, a little light-headed and forgetful, perhaps. Kind of hungry. Better enough that I can finish this letter even though I’m having a lot of trouble holding the pen now. I have Gary’s head on the table in front of me, watching me as I write. It doesn’t move or anything but it doesn’t need to. He’s in there hating me, hating Ayaan, hating Mael. Blaming everybody for his downfall except himself. He’s just like me, Sarah. Both of us looked death in the face, comforting, appropriate, timely death and both of us said no because we were scared.
You’re probably wondering something, or you would be if you were actually reading this. You’re probably wondering how I can know what he’s thinking. How I could write all those passages from his point of view, describing things I never saw or experienced.
Maybe you think I made it all up.
Or maybe you already know. Maybe you know that the room next door to the dispensary is a critical care ward. A room full of hospital beds and all the emergency medical equipment necessary to keep someone alive until they can be moved to a real hospital.
Equipment like respirators and dialysis machines.
Just one more minute.
END OF PART THREE OF MONSTER ISLAND
Table of Contents
PART ONE
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
PART TWO
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
PART THREE
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty