pain without a little help. Trust me, babe, I should know. Get yourself doped up to the friggin' eyeballs.”
Suddenly I realize I can hear a beeping sound, followed a moment later by a series of faint creaks. My vision is still fuzzy, and there's an aching pain behind my eyes, as if someone is twisting the nerves tighter. I still have a sense of a bright light, however, as if something is lowering itself down all around me, filling the air with a kind of static charge. A moment later, I'm overwhelmed by the realization that I seem to be flat on my back in some kind of bed.
I blink, and my vision starts to clear.
A figure leans over me and shines a smaller light into my eyes, and after blinking a couple more times I realize that the man is a doctor.
“Mrs. Latimer, can you hear me?” he asks. “Penny, my name is Doctor Malone, and you're at St. Stephen's Hospital in Ashford, in Kent. If you can hear me, I need you to give me a sign.”
I blink again, and now I can see perfectly clearly. For a moment I feel as if I'm drifting slightly, as if my thoughts are a little hazy, but there's a kind of urgency pulsing through my body, as if some deeper part of my mind is trying to tell me that something's wrong.
I'm empty.
“Mrs. Latimer,” the doctor continues, shining the light into my other eye, “do you remember how you got here?”
Reaching down, I finally manage to place my hands on my belly, only to find that the pregnant bulge is gone. Filled with a sudden sense of panic, I pull my hospital gown up until I'm able to see the saggy, stretched flesh. Finally, even as more voices as if I'm okay, I start to scream.
Penny
“Do you understand? Penny, I need you to tell me that you understand everything I just said to you. It's important.”
I blink, and for a fraction of a second I see the face again. Scarred, torn down the middle, with two dark eyes staring back at me.
“Penny, can you look at me? I understand this must be a shock right now, but it's very important that you look at me.”
I blink again, and this time I see the cold, muddy yard outside the farmhouse. There's a sharp pain in my left hand, too, and when I look down I see a thick bandage running all the way up to my elbow.
“Where's my son?” I whisper, before turning to the man who's sitting next to my hospital bed. “Where are my husband and my son?”
He glances down at his notebook for a moment, before turning back to me.
“Mrs. Latimer -”
“Where are they?” I shout, suddenly filled with a wave of panic as I sit up in the bed. “What did you do to them? Where are they?”
Penny
“What the hell do you mean?” I ask, snatching the map from his hands and taking a look. “I've told you this a million times already, it's right there ! It's somewhere in that area, it has to be! We'd taken a couple of wrong turns near Wexham, but we can't have driven far, so it has to be in this area!”
“Mrs. Latimer...”
“You have to find that farmhouse,” I continue, turning to him. “My son is there! He's been kidnapped, he might -”
Before I can finish, I feel a sudden sharp, throbbing pain in my back. Letting out a faint gasp, I let the map fall onto the table, and it takes a few seconds before I can breathe again. These little bursts keep coming, as if my body is worried that my mind might forget all my injuries. The truth, though, is that I'm in danger of forgetting anything. I just don't have time to worry about my body right now. All that matters is finding Pete and Hugh.
“Paging Doctor Cano,” a voice announces over the hospital's speaker system. “Doctor Cano to post eight, please.”
I've been in this goddamn hospital for five days now, and I feel as if the search for my husband and my son is just spinning its wheels. I need to get out of here and join the others, and make them do whatever it takes. God knows how they keep missing the farmhouse, but the goddamn place is out there and if they haven't found it yet,
Suddenly I realize I can hear a beeping sound, followed a moment later by a series of faint creaks. My vision is still fuzzy, and there's an aching pain behind my eyes, as if someone is twisting the nerves tighter. I still have a sense of a bright light, however, as if something is lowering itself down all around me, filling the air with a kind of static charge. A moment later, I'm overwhelmed by the realization that I seem to be flat on my back in some kind of bed.
I blink, and my vision starts to clear.
A figure leans over me and shines a smaller light into my eyes, and after blinking a couple more times I realize that the man is a doctor.
“Mrs. Latimer, can you hear me?” he asks. “Penny, my name is Doctor Malone, and you're at St. Stephen's Hospital in Ashford, in Kent. If you can hear me, I need you to give me a sign.”
I blink again, and now I can see perfectly clearly. For a moment I feel as if I'm drifting slightly, as if my thoughts are a little hazy, but there's a kind of urgency pulsing through my body, as if some deeper part of my mind is trying to tell me that something's wrong.
I'm empty.
“Mrs. Latimer,” the doctor continues, shining the light into my other eye, “do you remember how you got here?”
Reaching down, I finally manage to place my hands on my belly, only to find that the pregnant bulge is gone. Filled with a sudden sense of panic, I pull my hospital gown up until I'm able to see the saggy, stretched flesh. Finally, even as more voices as if I'm okay, I start to scream.
Penny
“Do you understand? Penny, I need you to tell me that you understand everything I just said to you. It's important.”
I blink, and for a fraction of a second I see the face again. Scarred, torn down the middle, with two dark eyes staring back at me.
“Penny, can you look at me? I understand this must be a shock right now, but it's very important that you look at me.”
I blink again, and this time I see the cold, muddy yard outside the farmhouse. There's a sharp pain in my left hand, too, and when I look down I see a thick bandage running all the way up to my elbow.
“Where's my son?” I whisper, before turning to the man who's sitting next to my hospital bed. “Where are my husband and my son?”
He glances down at his notebook for a moment, before turning back to me.
“Mrs. Latimer -”
“Where are they?” I shout, suddenly filled with a wave of panic as I sit up in the bed. “What did you do to them? Where are they?”
Penny
“What the hell do you mean?” I ask, snatching the map from his hands and taking a look. “I've told you this a million times already, it's right there ! It's somewhere in that area, it has to be! We'd taken a couple of wrong turns near Wexham, but we can't have driven far, so it has to be in this area!”
“Mrs. Latimer...”
“You have to find that farmhouse,” I continue, turning to him. “My son is there! He's been kidnapped, he might -”
Before I can finish, I feel a sudden sharp, throbbing pain in my back. Letting out a faint gasp, I let the map fall onto the table, and it takes a few seconds before I can breathe again. These little bursts keep coming, as if my body is worried that my mind might forget all my injuries. The truth, though, is that I'm in danger of forgetting anything. I just don't have time to worry about my body right now. All that matters is finding Pete and Hugh.
“Paging Doctor Cano,” a voice announces over the hospital's speaker system. “Doctor Cano to post eight, please.”
I've been in this goddamn hospital for five days now, and I feel as if the search for my husband and my son is just spinning its wheels. I need to get out of here and join the others, and make them do whatever it takes. God knows how they keep missing the farmhouse, but the goddamn place is out there and if they haven't found it yet,
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