Day 8
Skipper couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned until he couldn’t take it much longer. He let out a long, silent, sigh, and sat up on the side of his bunk. For a moment he stared at the ukuta across him and thought long and hard. Who would be trying to kill him? He kept thinking about Alastair, but knew he’d have to get someone on the inside to do the job. He jumped at the sound of Hans snorting in mid-snore. He put his face in his flippers and shook his head. He’d gone from a bad case of paranoia to just being plain edgy.
He couldn’t blame himself; knowing wewe could die at any moment would make anyone jump out of their skin at the sound of a butterflies’ wings beat. But this feeling was kind of new for Skipper. It wasn’t that he was afraid to die, but it was still the fact that if he died, Alastair would win. That’s what bothered him. Unfortunately for Alastair, Skipper was a hard man to kill. If Skipper was going down, he was going to go down fighting; and if he was lucky, he was going to take Alastair down with him.
The inayofuata morning was as it was every morning. It was always the same boring routine; the buzzer sounded for wake up, and the inmates filed out of the cell block to mess hall. Skipper and Hans had just gotten their ‘breakfast’ and were finding a place to sit. Just as they’d set their trays down, right in the middle of mess hall, one of the inmates stumbled and dropped their chakula all over another inmate. Unfortunately for him, it was Snake whom he’d dropped his chakula on. His beak fell open and he began stuttering in fear. “Snake…I…it was an accident…I-”
Snake slammed his tray on the meza, jedwali and turned on him, his gangbangers backing him up. “You got some kind of problem, Goldie!?”
“No! Snake! I…it was an accident!”
“I’ll onyesha wewe what a damn accident is! Maybe my fist ‘accidentally’ broke your face!”
The one he called ‘Goldie’ started backing away as Snake, Gator, and Piranha ganged up on him. kwa now the other inmates had formed somewhat of a mduara, duara around them in anticipation of the fight that had started. Voices resounded in the air, saying things like, “Kick his punda Snake!” au just, “Fight! Fight!”
Skipper began to step closer, but Hans grabbed his shoulder. “What are wewe doing?”
“It’s time someone taught Snake a lesson.”
“Are wewe crazy!? He’ll beat wewe to a pulp!”
“And wewe care?! Let go!” Skipper shook free of Hans’s grasp and pushed through the inmates. Now Gator and Piranha had a hold of Goldie, who was struggling to break free. Snake was about to land a ngumi, punch when Skipper grabbed his flipper and pulled him back. “Just back off Snake! It was an accident!”
“Oh! Isn’t that sweet! New guy wants to play hero! This doesn’t concern you, Fish. wewe best keep your distance before wewe make me really mad.”
Snake took a couple of steps closer to Goldie, but stopped abruptly when Skipper said, “You know Snake, if wewe want a challenge, try someone who will fight back.”
Snake scoffed. “And who would be stupid enough to take me on? You? Ha! There isn’t a fight I haven’t lost. I’d cream a little hatchling like you!”
The inmates snickered around them. “Then how about wewe prove it? It seems like wewe only have enough guts to fight when your girlfriends hold down the victim. au are wewe just too chicken?” The inmates around them reacted in a round of ‘Ooh’s’.
Snake marched closer to Skipper and said, “I ain’t afraid of nothin’!” Snake was about to push Skipper, but Skipper ducked and punched him in the stomach with all of his strength. Snake doubled over for a moment, grunted in frustration, then barreled into Skipper. The two of them tumbled over a meza, jedwali and onto the cold, concrete floor. kwa now guards were fighting their way through the inmates.
Skipper kicked Snake off of himself and got to his feet, getting himself ready to block another attack. Snake was about to ngumi, punch Skipper in the jaw when Skipper ducked, turned 360 swiftly on his heel, tripping snake. Skipper pushed himself upright and grabbed Snake’s flipper just before he hit the ground, pulled him up, turned him around, and pushed him slightly, sending him stumbling mbele a couple of feet.
Snake stood there a moment, still not sure what had just happened. He snapped out of it just when the guards had made it through the crowd of inmates. Luckily Manor wasn’t with them this time.
It took three guards to hold Snake back. He was infuriated. No one stood up to Snake. And the ones who did, did not come out of it well. Snake struggled to break free from the guards grasp, shouting a number of insults and threats at Skipper, being sure to throw in every cuss word in the book while he was at it.
Skipper remained planted in his position, his flippers in his pockets. The guards pulled Snake back, though with difficulty, and managed to pull Snake out of mess hall. wewe could still hear his voice raging on, echoing through the hallways. A guard stepped up to Skipper and asked, “What the hell happened here!?”
Skipper was about to answer him when Goldie spoke up. “He was defending me. Snake was ganging up on me.”
“Really?” The guard looked Skipper up and down. “I suppose I can let wewe off this one time then. But I have my eye on you.” With that, he and the guards left. The inmates went back to their places at the tables, but not after looking Skipper up and down first. Goldie smiled at Skipper gratefully. Skipper could now see why his nickname was Goldie; he had bright dhahabu eyes that twinkled in the light. “Thanks for helping me back there.”
“Don’t mention it.” Skipper and Goldie shared a flippershake and went their separate ways. Skipper returned to his kiti, kiti cha and sat down. Hans sat across from him. “I have to admit, I’m impressed. But wewe do realize that Snake isn’t gonna rest until he serves wewe your own punda on a silver platter, right?”
“Yeah, but I don’t care. It felt good giving him what was coming to him.”
“Well, if I were you, I’d watch my back.”
“Hans, if I didn’t know wewe any better, I’d say wewe were worried about me.”
“Hey, if anybody kills wewe I want it to be me.”
“Oh, ha-ha, very funny. Now eat your breakfast, your brains are getting cold.” Skipper alisema pointing to the mush on Hans’s plate with his spoon.
“Oh, now who’s being funny?”
“What? It’s the only amusement I can get around here.”
“The feeling is mutual.” With that, the two of them ate in silence. After about seven spoonful’s, Skipper started to feel…weird. His vision started to go a little fuzzy; the light coming from the fluorescent light bulbs and through the windows seemed ten times brighter. He got up out of his kiti, kiti cha and steadied himself on the table. The room began to sway and he was seeing doubles.
“What’s the matter with you?” Hans asked coming around the table.
Hans’s voice was distant and it echoed through his head. “What the hell did wewe do to me?” Skipper asked, trying to catch his breath.
“I didn’t do anything! What’s wrong?”
Skipper grabbed Hans’s collar, stumbling forward. “What the hell did wewe do to me!?” He asked again. Now some of the inmates had taken notice of what Hans and Skipper were doing. The room began to spin in Skipper’s mind. It swayed back and forth. He clutched tighter at Hans’s collar, trying to keep his balance, but his strength was gradually draining out of him. His grip on Hans’s collar, alama finally loosened, no matter how hard he tried. The room around him became a blur, fading in and out. He breathed harder, trying not to lose consciousness, but fell to the floor. He rolled onto his back and watched the distorted figures standing over him fade away as he slipped under. He could hear voices but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Finally everything went black.
(Infirmary)
Eve was just about to go on break when Daniel and Briana trotted up to her. “Hi, Susan!” Daniel alisema in an oddly cheery tone.
“Um…hello, ladies. Is something wrong?” Eve asked suspiciously.
“Now why would anything have to be wrong to want to hang out with our bestest friend?” Briana asked happily.
“Speaking of; how would wewe like to jiunge us for coffee? There’s this wonderful place just fifteen dakika down the road.” Daniel asked.
“Oh, I don’t know ladies, I-”
“Please Susan!? My treat!” Briana pleaded.
Eve sighed. “Alright, just let me get my sweater-”
“Who needs sweaters?! Come on!” Daniel alisema tugging at Eve’s flipper.
“Ladies! What’s the rush? It’s freezing out! I’ll only be a minute!” Eve alisema pulling back. She turned around just as the elevator doors opened. Her moyo seemed to stop beating as she watched Skipper, unconscious, being rolled in on a gurney. She could barely move, let alone breathe.
She put her flippers over her beak, tears forming in her eyes. She took a step forward, but Briana and Daniel pulled her back until they were alone in the supply room. “Wh-what happened?” Eve asked in a hushed whisper.
“Now, Susan, I know what wewe may be feeling right now. But wewe can’t go in that emergency room. If anything happens and wewe break down, they’ll know wewe feel for him.” Daniel whispered back.
“But what happened?” Eve asked choking back tears.
“We don’t know. We just heard he collapsed.” Daniel explained.
“I can’t just leave him…” Eve alisema looking down.
Briana sympathetically wrapped her flipper around Eve’s shoulders. “I know you’re upset, but…we don’t know what’s wrong with him. What would happen if he started crashing? I don’t think you’d be able to handle it. Look, how about we go for that coffee? You’ll have time to calm down and pull yourself together without anybody noticing.” Eve considered for a moment. If she started breaking down, her cover would be blown. She nodded slowly. Briana and Daniel smiled sympathetically.
“Come on then. If anybody asks, wewe just got a little alcohol in your eye.” Daniel told her. The three of them then left the supply room and out of the infirmary.
Meanwhile, emergency paramedics were scrambling to figure out what happened to Skipper. According to the monitors, Skipper’s blood pressure was through the roof and his breathing had slowed drastically. “Pupils are dilated.” One of the paramedics reported after shining a light into Skipper’s eyes.
“We need to intubate!” Another announced. A paramedic opened up Skipper’s beak and put a tube down his throat to help him breathe.
While the paramedics were working to stabilize Skipper, a guard was busy asking Hans some questions. “Can wewe tell me what happened?”
“I don’t know exactly…he was eating when all of the sudden he started stumbling around as if he were drunk au something. I think someone drugged him.”
“How would anyone get drugs into him? This is a secure prison.”
“Well, I know that…but Skipper was away from his plate for a short period of time. Perhaps someone took the opportunity to slip it into his food.”
“Do wewe know of anyone that would want to bring harm to Skipper?”
Hans answered without hesitating. “Yes. But most of them are probably on the other side of the world, and he was fighting Snake when it happened.”
“Uh…mm-hm. So…you didn’t see him?”
“No, afraid not.”
“Alright. I need a sample of his food. Can wewe onyesha me to his plate?”
“Yeah.” Hans led him to where Skipper was sitting; the guard put a sample in a napkin, and left.
“He’s crashing!” The screen monitoring Skipper’s heartbeat flat-lined. Paramedics scrambled to bring him back. “Charge to 15!” Another charged the AED to 15 as instructed. “Clear!” They then shocked Skipper. Still flat-lined.
“Charge to 25! Clear!” Another shock, still flat-lined.
“Charge to 40! Clear!” Flat-lined.
“Charge to 60! Clear!” A final shock and the screen indicated that Skipper’s moyo had started beating again. A moment later a nurse entered.
“I just got a call! He ingested something! wewe need to pampu his stomach!” The paramedics immediately set to work, creating a line to his stomach. After about five dakika of pumping, they weren’t able to pampu any zaidi without putting Skipper at risk. They removed the line and waited a moment for Skipper to respond.
Slowly Skipper’s moyo rate slowly regulated itself. It didn’t get back down to where it was supposed to be, but it was definitely better than where it was. “Alright, he’s stabilized. We’ll keep him under observation for the inayofuata five days. If all goes well, we’ll send him back to the cells. Check on him hourly. Track his moyo rate.” The head paramedic instructed. “Good job, team. He’s one lucky penguin.”
“Are wewe okay, now, Susan?”
The place for coffee was really just a small hut with small tables. Eve nodded in response to Briana’s question. Eve had gotten herself to stop crying on the way there, and calmed herself down after about four cups of coffee. Although, her moyo was still pounding with worry.
“I think we should go back now.” Eve stated.
“Are wewe sure you’re ready? wewe need to be strong for whatever shape Skipper may be in.” Daniel asked.
“I’ll be fine.” Eve assured them. “I need to know how he’s doing.”
“Alright, if you’re sure.” Daniel said, though still doubting whether Eve was really ‘fine’.
When they returned to the prison, Eve took a deep breath and pushed the doors open to the infirmary. Everything was as it was when she’d left. Nurses were tending to the minor wounds of inmates, others were chatting amongst themselves. Eve went to the counter and asked, “Where’s that inmate that was brought in earlier? The one on the gurney?”
“In that room over there.” The receptionist pointed to the room on the far side of the infirmary.
“Thank you.” Eve walked across the infirmary in into the room. A nurse was in there checking his vitals. She couldn’t believe what she saw. Skipper laid unconscious in the hospital kitanda with a tube down his throat. But she still held herself together.
“So what happened to him?” She asked casually.
The nurse turned to look at her, then answered as she took zaidi notes. “Turns out he ingested something. Whatever it was stopped his moyo for four minutes.”
Eve swallowed hard. Someone had attempted to kill Skipper, and damn near succeeded. “Do they know what it was yet?”
“No, they’re doing tests. We’re trying to calm his moyo rate. We got most of it out of his system, but we’re still trying to flush it out.”
Eve took a moment to let what she was hearing sink in. Skipper was unconscious. A tube was down his throat to help him breathe. His moyo rate was above normal. He was dead for four minutes. “Are wewe alright?” Eve turned to look at the nurse; she was eyeing her worriedly.
“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just so…unexpected; someone trying to drug him and all.”
“Yeah, well, get used to it honey. This ain’t the first time.”
Eve nodded. “I should probably get back to work now.” Eve then left and set to work.
As soon as she stepped outside, a nurse who goes kwa Jeanette handed her a chart. “Curtain 3.” She instructed.
Once she got to Curtain 3, there laid Snake. He was handcuffed to the bed; there was a bruise in the middle of his stomach, his elbows were scraped as if he’d fallen to the floor. Two guards were standing on either side of the bed.
“So what happened here?” Eve asked.
“He got in a fight with an inmate. I believe this is the first time he didn’t cream his opponent. Rumor has it that he actually Lost the fight completely for the first time.” One of the guards explained.
“I didn’t lose to that damn guppy! I ain’t finished with him yet!” Snake yelled.
Eve rolled her eyes and got some alcohol and some gauze to clean up his wounds. Unfortunately for her, Snake took the opportunity to flirt with her again. He smiled smoothly. “I’ll onyesha you, baby. I’m zaidi of a penguin, auk than that good-for-nothin’ hatchling.” Eve—not responding to Snake’s remark—soaked the gauze in alcohol and began swabbing at his elbows. “Take your time, baby. I could watch wewe all siku long.
Eve abruptly stopped and glanced up at Snake, who was smiling like the fool he was. She then leaned into his face and said: “Did wewe smoke something this morning that I don’t know about? Because your brain seems to have a hard time comprehending that I’m not interested in you. So how about wewe shut your trap and let me do my job.”
The guards suppressed a laugh as Eve set back to work. “Oh, come on, baby, don’t be like that-”
“And if wewe call me ‘baby’ one zaidi time, you’ll regret wewe ever laid eyes on me.” Eve snapped, cutting Snake off. The guards exchanged a glance, amused kwa Snake being ‘told like it is’ kwa a female.
Snake smiled down at himself for a moment, then said: “Now, I don’t think that’s possible bab-” Eve shot a look at him, as if saying, ‘Try me.’ Snake closed his beak and remained silent as Eve continued treating him.
The only thing running through Eve’s mind now was the echoing of what the nurse told her. “Turns out he ingested something. Whatever it was stopped his moyo for four minutes…”
Skipper couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned until he couldn’t take it much longer. He let out a long, silent, sigh, and sat up on the side of his bunk. For a moment he stared at the ukuta across him and thought long and hard. Who would be trying to kill him? He kept thinking about Alastair, but knew he’d have to get someone on the inside to do the job. He jumped at the sound of Hans snorting in mid-snore. He put his face in his flippers and shook his head. He’d gone from a bad case of paranoia to just being plain edgy.
He couldn’t blame himself; knowing wewe could die at any moment would make anyone jump out of their skin at the sound of a butterflies’ wings beat. But this feeling was kind of new for Skipper. It wasn’t that he was afraid to die, but it was still the fact that if he died, Alastair would win. That’s what bothered him. Unfortunately for Alastair, Skipper was a hard man to kill. If Skipper was going down, he was going to go down fighting; and if he was lucky, he was going to take Alastair down with him.
The inayofuata morning was as it was every morning. It was always the same boring routine; the buzzer sounded for wake up, and the inmates filed out of the cell block to mess hall. Skipper and Hans had just gotten their ‘breakfast’ and were finding a place to sit. Just as they’d set their trays down, right in the middle of mess hall, one of the inmates stumbled and dropped their chakula all over another inmate. Unfortunately for him, it was Snake whom he’d dropped his chakula on. His beak fell open and he began stuttering in fear. “Snake…I…it was an accident…I-”
Snake slammed his tray on the meza, jedwali and turned on him, his gangbangers backing him up. “You got some kind of problem, Goldie!?”
“No! Snake! I…it was an accident!”
“I’ll onyesha wewe what a damn accident is! Maybe my fist ‘accidentally’ broke your face!”
The one he called ‘Goldie’ started backing away as Snake, Gator, and Piranha ganged up on him. kwa now the other inmates had formed somewhat of a mduara, duara around them in anticipation of the fight that had started. Voices resounded in the air, saying things like, “Kick his punda Snake!” au just, “Fight! Fight!”
Skipper began to step closer, but Hans grabbed his shoulder. “What are wewe doing?”
“It’s time someone taught Snake a lesson.”
“Are wewe crazy!? He’ll beat wewe to a pulp!”
“And wewe care?! Let go!” Skipper shook free of Hans’s grasp and pushed through the inmates. Now Gator and Piranha had a hold of Goldie, who was struggling to break free. Snake was about to land a ngumi, punch when Skipper grabbed his flipper and pulled him back. “Just back off Snake! It was an accident!”
“Oh! Isn’t that sweet! New guy wants to play hero! This doesn’t concern you, Fish. wewe best keep your distance before wewe make me really mad.”
Snake took a couple of steps closer to Goldie, but stopped abruptly when Skipper said, “You know Snake, if wewe want a challenge, try someone who will fight back.”
Snake scoffed. “And who would be stupid enough to take me on? You? Ha! There isn’t a fight I haven’t lost. I’d cream a little hatchling like you!”
The inmates snickered around them. “Then how about wewe prove it? It seems like wewe only have enough guts to fight when your girlfriends hold down the victim. au are wewe just too chicken?” The inmates around them reacted in a round of ‘Ooh’s’.
Snake marched closer to Skipper and said, “I ain’t afraid of nothin’!” Snake was about to push Skipper, but Skipper ducked and punched him in the stomach with all of his strength. Snake doubled over for a moment, grunted in frustration, then barreled into Skipper. The two of them tumbled over a meza, jedwali and onto the cold, concrete floor. kwa now guards were fighting their way through the inmates.
Skipper kicked Snake off of himself and got to his feet, getting himself ready to block another attack. Snake was about to ngumi, punch Skipper in the jaw when Skipper ducked, turned 360 swiftly on his heel, tripping snake. Skipper pushed himself upright and grabbed Snake’s flipper just before he hit the ground, pulled him up, turned him around, and pushed him slightly, sending him stumbling mbele a couple of feet.
Snake stood there a moment, still not sure what had just happened. He snapped out of it just when the guards had made it through the crowd of inmates. Luckily Manor wasn’t with them this time.
It took three guards to hold Snake back. He was infuriated. No one stood up to Snake. And the ones who did, did not come out of it well. Snake struggled to break free from the guards grasp, shouting a number of insults and threats at Skipper, being sure to throw in every cuss word in the book while he was at it.
Skipper remained planted in his position, his flippers in his pockets. The guards pulled Snake back, though with difficulty, and managed to pull Snake out of mess hall. wewe could still hear his voice raging on, echoing through the hallways. A guard stepped up to Skipper and asked, “What the hell happened here!?”
Skipper was about to answer him when Goldie spoke up. “He was defending me. Snake was ganging up on me.”
“Really?” The guard looked Skipper up and down. “I suppose I can let wewe off this one time then. But I have my eye on you.” With that, he and the guards left. The inmates went back to their places at the tables, but not after looking Skipper up and down first. Goldie smiled at Skipper gratefully. Skipper could now see why his nickname was Goldie; he had bright dhahabu eyes that twinkled in the light. “Thanks for helping me back there.”
“Don’t mention it.” Skipper and Goldie shared a flippershake and went their separate ways. Skipper returned to his kiti, kiti cha and sat down. Hans sat across from him. “I have to admit, I’m impressed. But wewe do realize that Snake isn’t gonna rest until he serves wewe your own punda on a silver platter, right?”
“Yeah, but I don’t care. It felt good giving him what was coming to him.”
“Well, if I were you, I’d watch my back.”
“Hans, if I didn’t know wewe any better, I’d say wewe were worried about me.”
“Hey, if anybody kills wewe I want it to be me.”
“Oh, ha-ha, very funny. Now eat your breakfast, your brains are getting cold.” Skipper alisema pointing to the mush on Hans’s plate with his spoon.
“Oh, now who’s being funny?”
“What? It’s the only amusement I can get around here.”
“The feeling is mutual.” With that, the two of them ate in silence. After about seven spoonful’s, Skipper started to feel…weird. His vision started to go a little fuzzy; the light coming from the fluorescent light bulbs and through the windows seemed ten times brighter. He got up out of his kiti, kiti cha and steadied himself on the table. The room began to sway and he was seeing doubles.
“What’s the matter with you?” Hans asked coming around the table.
Hans’s voice was distant and it echoed through his head. “What the hell did wewe do to me?” Skipper asked, trying to catch his breath.
“I didn’t do anything! What’s wrong?”
Skipper grabbed Hans’s collar, stumbling forward. “What the hell did wewe do to me!?” He asked again. Now some of the inmates had taken notice of what Hans and Skipper were doing. The room began to spin in Skipper’s mind. It swayed back and forth. He clutched tighter at Hans’s collar, trying to keep his balance, but his strength was gradually draining out of him. His grip on Hans’s collar, alama finally loosened, no matter how hard he tried. The room around him became a blur, fading in and out. He breathed harder, trying not to lose consciousness, but fell to the floor. He rolled onto his back and watched the distorted figures standing over him fade away as he slipped under. He could hear voices but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Finally everything went black.
(Infirmary)
Eve was just about to go on break when Daniel and Briana trotted up to her. “Hi, Susan!” Daniel alisema in an oddly cheery tone.
“Um…hello, ladies. Is something wrong?” Eve asked suspiciously.
“Now why would anything have to be wrong to want to hang out with our bestest friend?” Briana asked happily.
“Speaking of; how would wewe like to jiunge us for coffee? There’s this wonderful place just fifteen dakika down the road.” Daniel asked.
“Oh, I don’t know ladies, I-”
“Please Susan!? My treat!” Briana pleaded.
Eve sighed. “Alright, just let me get my sweater-”
“Who needs sweaters?! Come on!” Daniel alisema tugging at Eve’s flipper.
“Ladies! What’s the rush? It’s freezing out! I’ll only be a minute!” Eve alisema pulling back. She turned around just as the elevator doors opened. Her moyo seemed to stop beating as she watched Skipper, unconscious, being rolled in on a gurney. She could barely move, let alone breathe.
She put her flippers over her beak, tears forming in her eyes. She took a step forward, but Briana and Daniel pulled her back until they were alone in the supply room. “Wh-what happened?” Eve asked in a hushed whisper.
“Now, Susan, I know what wewe may be feeling right now. But wewe can’t go in that emergency room. If anything happens and wewe break down, they’ll know wewe feel for him.” Daniel whispered back.
“But what happened?” Eve asked choking back tears.
“We don’t know. We just heard he collapsed.” Daniel explained.
“I can’t just leave him…” Eve alisema looking down.
Briana sympathetically wrapped her flipper around Eve’s shoulders. “I know you’re upset, but…we don’t know what’s wrong with him. What would happen if he started crashing? I don’t think you’d be able to handle it. Look, how about we go for that coffee? You’ll have time to calm down and pull yourself together without anybody noticing.” Eve considered for a moment. If she started breaking down, her cover would be blown. She nodded slowly. Briana and Daniel smiled sympathetically.
“Come on then. If anybody asks, wewe just got a little alcohol in your eye.” Daniel told her. The three of them then left the supply room and out of the infirmary.
Meanwhile, emergency paramedics were scrambling to figure out what happened to Skipper. According to the monitors, Skipper’s blood pressure was through the roof and his breathing had slowed drastically. “Pupils are dilated.” One of the paramedics reported after shining a light into Skipper’s eyes.
“We need to intubate!” Another announced. A paramedic opened up Skipper’s beak and put a tube down his throat to help him breathe.
While the paramedics were working to stabilize Skipper, a guard was busy asking Hans some questions. “Can wewe tell me what happened?”
“I don’t know exactly…he was eating when all of the sudden he started stumbling around as if he were drunk au something. I think someone drugged him.”
“How would anyone get drugs into him? This is a secure prison.”
“Well, I know that…but Skipper was away from his plate for a short period of time. Perhaps someone took the opportunity to slip it into his food.”
“Do wewe know of anyone that would want to bring harm to Skipper?”
Hans answered without hesitating. “Yes. But most of them are probably on the other side of the world, and he was fighting Snake when it happened.”
“Uh…mm-hm. So…you didn’t see him?”
“No, afraid not.”
“Alright. I need a sample of his food. Can wewe onyesha me to his plate?”
“Yeah.” Hans led him to where Skipper was sitting; the guard put a sample in a napkin, and left.
“He’s crashing!” The screen monitoring Skipper’s heartbeat flat-lined. Paramedics scrambled to bring him back. “Charge to 15!” Another charged the AED to 15 as instructed. “Clear!” They then shocked Skipper. Still flat-lined.
“Charge to 25! Clear!” Another shock, still flat-lined.
“Charge to 40! Clear!” Flat-lined.
“Charge to 60! Clear!” A final shock and the screen indicated that Skipper’s moyo had started beating again. A moment later a nurse entered.
“I just got a call! He ingested something! wewe need to pampu his stomach!” The paramedics immediately set to work, creating a line to his stomach. After about five dakika of pumping, they weren’t able to pampu any zaidi without putting Skipper at risk. They removed the line and waited a moment for Skipper to respond.
Slowly Skipper’s moyo rate slowly regulated itself. It didn’t get back down to where it was supposed to be, but it was definitely better than where it was. “Alright, he’s stabilized. We’ll keep him under observation for the inayofuata five days. If all goes well, we’ll send him back to the cells. Check on him hourly. Track his moyo rate.” The head paramedic instructed. “Good job, team. He’s one lucky penguin.”
“Are wewe okay, now, Susan?”
The place for coffee was really just a small hut with small tables. Eve nodded in response to Briana’s question. Eve had gotten herself to stop crying on the way there, and calmed herself down after about four cups of coffee. Although, her moyo was still pounding with worry.
“I think we should go back now.” Eve stated.
“Are wewe sure you’re ready? wewe need to be strong for whatever shape Skipper may be in.” Daniel asked.
“I’ll be fine.” Eve assured them. “I need to know how he’s doing.”
“Alright, if you’re sure.” Daniel said, though still doubting whether Eve was really ‘fine’.
When they returned to the prison, Eve took a deep breath and pushed the doors open to the infirmary. Everything was as it was when she’d left. Nurses were tending to the minor wounds of inmates, others were chatting amongst themselves. Eve went to the counter and asked, “Where’s that inmate that was brought in earlier? The one on the gurney?”
“In that room over there.” The receptionist pointed to the room on the far side of the infirmary.
“Thank you.” Eve walked across the infirmary in into the room. A nurse was in there checking his vitals. She couldn’t believe what she saw. Skipper laid unconscious in the hospital kitanda with a tube down his throat. But she still held herself together.
“So what happened to him?” She asked casually.
The nurse turned to look at her, then answered as she took zaidi notes. “Turns out he ingested something. Whatever it was stopped his moyo for four minutes.”
Eve swallowed hard. Someone had attempted to kill Skipper, and damn near succeeded. “Do they know what it was yet?”
“No, they’re doing tests. We’re trying to calm his moyo rate. We got most of it out of his system, but we’re still trying to flush it out.”
Eve took a moment to let what she was hearing sink in. Skipper was unconscious. A tube was down his throat to help him breathe. His moyo rate was above normal. He was dead for four minutes. “Are wewe alright?” Eve turned to look at the nurse; she was eyeing her worriedly.
“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just so…unexpected; someone trying to drug him and all.”
“Yeah, well, get used to it honey. This ain’t the first time.”
Eve nodded. “I should probably get back to work now.” Eve then left and set to work.
As soon as she stepped outside, a nurse who goes kwa Jeanette handed her a chart. “Curtain 3.” She instructed.
Once she got to Curtain 3, there laid Snake. He was handcuffed to the bed; there was a bruise in the middle of his stomach, his elbows were scraped as if he’d fallen to the floor. Two guards were standing on either side of the bed.
“So what happened here?” Eve asked.
“He got in a fight with an inmate. I believe this is the first time he didn’t cream his opponent. Rumor has it that he actually Lost the fight completely for the first time.” One of the guards explained.
“I didn’t lose to that damn guppy! I ain’t finished with him yet!” Snake yelled.
Eve rolled her eyes and got some alcohol and some gauze to clean up his wounds. Unfortunately for her, Snake took the opportunity to flirt with her again. He smiled smoothly. “I’ll onyesha you, baby. I’m zaidi of a penguin, auk than that good-for-nothin’ hatchling.” Eve—not responding to Snake’s remark—soaked the gauze in alcohol and began swabbing at his elbows. “Take your time, baby. I could watch wewe all siku long.
Eve abruptly stopped and glanced up at Snake, who was smiling like the fool he was. She then leaned into his face and said: “Did wewe smoke something this morning that I don’t know about? Because your brain seems to have a hard time comprehending that I’m not interested in you. So how about wewe shut your trap and let me do my job.”
The guards suppressed a laugh as Eve set back to work. “Oh, come on, baby, don’t be like that-”
“And if wewe call me ‘baby’ one zaidi time, you’ll regret wewe ever laid eyes on me.” Eve snapped, cutting Snake off. The guards exchanged a glance, amused kwa Snake being ‘told like it is’ kwa a female.
Snake smiled down at himself for a moment, then said: “Now, I don’t think that’s possible bab-” Eve shot a look at him, as if saying, ‘Try me.’ Snake closed his beak and remained silent as Eve continued treating him.
The only thing running through Eve’s mind now was the echoing of what the nurse told her. “Turns out he ingested something. Whatever it was stopped his moyo for four minutes…”
