Twinkle's Story: Chapter 12

DUKE

Twinkle's parents and I talked in the car for a bit afterwards. From what they said, I've learned that Twinkle has a misinterpretation about her parents. Twinkle thinks that her parents locked her in their house because they hate her- or something like that anyways. Now I know the truth. Her parents locked her in the house because they wanted to protect her. So she wouldn't end up like her sister, and due to the fact that she's the 'ice'. To protect her from the prophecy being known to everyone. Twinkle's parents knew about the prophecy before, ever since she was born, so that's why they gave her a heart locket. That news was very intriguing when they told me it. I didn't expect Twinkle's parents to know about this whole prophecy thing. I knew about the prophecy before they informed me about it. This mysterious, faint voice. Saying words like messages and omens. That voice freaked me out, to be honest. I wonder if Twinkle ever got the news of the prophecy from the mysterious voice yet. That I'm the 'fire', and she's the 'ice'. I don't yet fully understand how/why I'm the 'fire'. I would expect Twinkle's father to be more 'fire' than I am because he has bright orange colored fur- the color of flames. However, my own fur is brown. I conclude that I'm a 'dead fire' since brown is the color of a fire that has burned out. Or maybe it's because twigs and tree branches, which are also brown, can create a fire. I suddenly lose my train of thought about the prophecy and what it means.                    

Twinkle's dad parks the car in the hospital's parking lot. Then I remember that the ambulance that Twinkle's in went to the back of the hospital where we couldn't follow it anymore. We step out of the car and walk to the hospital entrance. This hospital makes the one we went to before seem like child's-play. Like a complete joke. The other one had a wooden-like feel to it with its green and brown theme. However, this hospital on the other side of fox territory is larger, white in color. I think sadly about why Twinkle went to this more professional-looking hospital instead. Twinkle's probably in more serious and critical condition than last time. That she's even more sick than before. Twinkle's parents and I walk up to the hospital's sign-in desk, which is right in front of us when we walked through the hospital doors. On the oak colored sign-in desk, there's a sign that reads, "WELCOME. PLEASE SIGN-IN HERE." Next to that is a stack of papers on a clipboard with a pen attached to it. On the papers there are columns for patient name, parent/guardian signature, time in/time out, telephone number, etc. Off to the side, a much smaller sign reads, "HELLO. HOW MAY I ASSIST YOU TODAY?" Behind the desk sits a light orange colored fox with the nametag, "BLOSSOM" attached to her hospital shirt. Blossom spins the chair she is sitting in around, so she's now actually facing us. She adjusts her reading glasses on her face and says, "Hello. How may I help you folks today?"  As Twinkle's dad is about to sign-in, Blossom turns her chair around some more. She looks right at me. Blossom speaks so that I can only hear her. "This is gonna be a long wait, kid. How about instead of waiting in this waiting room, I'll get someone to escort you to a more fun room. Better than being bored in here. Okay?" I look around the waiting room and notice that no young foxes are here. The youngest in their early 20s or something. I allow them to take me to this 'more fun room' reluctantly. How could anyone have fun in this place? One of the only foxes I actually care about just arrived here in an ambulance, and I'm supposed to have fun.? I sigh, annoyed. Blossom introduces me to another fox with a nametag that reads, "JUNIPER" and tells Twinkle's dad to sign in and fill in some paperwork. I walk down a few hallways with Juniper escorting and leading me. Then Juniper says at a door, "Okay. Here's the room Blossom's talking about. Seriously, I recommend you being in here than having to wait out there. Also, some of the more healthy hospital patients may be playing in here as well. So that's pretty much it. Call me if you need anything." I nod and enter the room.

I see chairs surrounding the room. I look around and don't see anyone else here. I shrug as I pick up a box of darts on a table that's right by the door. I then walk towards the part of the room where the targets are located against the wall. I keep a distance from the target and pull out a dart from the box. I toss the small box onto the floor next to my feet. I'm decent at throwing darts at targets because I would do this in my room at Sparkle's house. I like to think that a target is a body of someone I hate, despise. The body being my mother's. The center of the target being the 'bulls-eye' symbolizing the body's heart. As I would throw darts at the target that hangs from my bedroom's door, I imagine that instead of darts they're arrows from a bow or swords/knives. This includes today, especially. I take another step back from the target in front of me, and I focus on the 'bulls-eye' of it. I aim, take a breath, step forward, and throw the dart.  I growl to myself as I see that the dart has ended up just above the 'bulls-eye'. I stomp my foot, annoyed. Suddenly a young fox says happily, "Whoa. You're really good at throwing darts. Cool! I'll never be as good as you are. Oh yeah. My name's Junior. What's yours?" As I bend down to take out another dart from the box, I reply. "The name's Duke. Look... Junior. I'm not really here to make new friends or anything, so will you stop talking to me and leave me alone.? Thanks." Junior gives me a disappointed look but speaks with me again the next second. "Can you teach me how to be a good dart thrower? Please, please, please!" I sigh, get up, and look at him. I obviously wasn't going to tell him my 'secret' to being such a good dart thrower: Imagining it's my mother; aiming for her heart, the 'bulls-eye'. Instead of it being a dart I'm throwing, I imagine I'm throwing an arrow from a bow igniting the arrow tip, so that the arrow tip is on fire. The fire spreading through the entire arrow until the arrowhead is on fire as well, just as it reaches the target. I say, "Watch and learn." as I hold the dart in the right position, aim for the 'bulls-eye', and throw. I take a breath and look at the target. I stomp my foot, aggravated again at my result. This time the dart ended up just below the 'bulls-eye'. Junior loudly (to me anyways) says, "Ooh! So close, Duke. Let me try this time, please." I sigh and reluctantly give the 6-year-old looking fox a dart. He just blinks at the target, takes a step forward, and throws. The dart ends up in the 2nd outermost section of the target. Junior stomps his foot as well. He gives a disappointed look and complains. "Oh come on! I was this close! So close. Come on! Darn it!" I roll my eyes away from Junior having a fit to another fox I haven't noticed before sitting in a chair.

 The fox in the chair is an older fox, in his late teens I guess. I don't really like the look he gives me. It's as if he's glaring at me with jealousy perhaps. Being annoyed, I take out another dart from the box. I trace one of my claws along a side of the dart, take a step back, aim, take a breath, and throw. I imagine the dart turning into an arrow lit on fire as it flies to the target. I have a small smile and sigh triumphantly as I see where the dart is located on the target. In the center of the 'bulls-eye' section; my mother's heart. I look at an open-mouthed Junior then to the quiet, glaring fox. I give him a mocking look; he still has the same expression. Then I realize he might be sad, as well as mad and jealous. He has that look because he can never throw darts or anything like that. I remember Juniper saying that hospital patients may come here too. I look at the fox again. He doesn't have a paw, I realize. I just made a patient feel even more bad and embarrassed by his disability. Wide-eyed, I look around the room seeing if any more foxes are here. No others, thankfully. I take the darts off of the target, place them back in the box, give Junior the box, and say, "I'll better go now. Bye." I slowly back away from them, heading towards the door. Then I open the door, take a look back, and close the door behind me.

TWINKLE

I don't know if I'm conscious or not anymore. For the past few hours ever since encountering the phantoms in the town square, I've been constantly getting in and out of consciousness. Changing so constantly and quickly, that I now think being conscious and unconscious are mixed together. The light of being conscious; the dark of being unconscious. Black, white, black... the pattern seems to never end. I conclude that it's not a good sign. I'm finally conscious for a full three minutes, since the phantoms attacked me. I still feel the pain of phantom bolts hitting me with such great force. I put a paw on my back, the place where the bolts hit me the most. I expected my back to hurt at my paw's touch, but instead my back feels nothing. I see my paw tapping on my back, but I feel nothing from my back. My back is numb. I remember that I'm in a hospital room now. I get an idea. I pray to Mira and Zios that it's true. That doctors put some antiseptic on my body, or whatever it's called that you don't feel pain anymore. "Please be true. Please be true." I whisper to myself. Suddenly the mysterious voice speaks in my mind again. It says, "He has suffered some things that most of us will never experience in our lifetimes. Traumatic things. Fearful things. Many, many, many bad things. 'Bad' isn't even a good enough word for it. This means that he'll do things we'll think as 'unbelievable' or 'absurd'. Take this as a suggestion, Twinkle. A warning, perhaps. So you'll be prepared for future consequences." Consequences? Wait, what? I know that it's referring to Duke. I get a sick feeling throughout my body, and drift away from consciousness yet again. Just before I become unconscious again, I remember what Duke told me. 'not careful about it... you'll maybe die'. Oh no. Had I not been careful enough? Is this how I'll die? More questions. As I begin to panic, I feel the dark pushing out the light; I'm unconscious yet again. Now all I see is endless darkness. Somehow, this darkness makes me think that it symbolizes something more. That something involving Duke.