I went into the kitchen to get some iced tea and debated if I wanted to test toast. I went to the freezer to get some ice. I felt a strong twinge in my stomach that made me bend over. The pain shot through my body, constricting my breathing just like the time a soccer ball collided into my stomach, but in my throat this time as I crashed onto the floor. I landed on my hand and ankle and I yelled out at the new twinge, I prayed that I didn't break anything. I wouldn't know what to do with injures since our phones didn't really work. I ached all over now as needles tingled through me. A sharp pain took over my chest than the rest of my body not able to hold back any longer I let out a small scream as my lungs fought to get air. I couldn't breathe without screaming and I wasn't sure how long that would last until I passed out.
I tried to crawl to the phone as I was unable to get to my feet. It took so long and I had to take breaks on my way to get there. When I got to the phone I knew it wouldn't dial 911, but I had to try. I dialed and nothing happened at first. Each dial ring seemed to be dragging out, to be debating whether it wanted to help me or not. Then someone picked up.
"Hello, my name's Rachel March," I practically cried into the phone as a sharp ache attacked my body with full force.
I cringed into a ball on the floor with the phone pressed against my ear, only to hear a male laughing. I blinked back the tears that wouldn't stop rolling down my cheeks. I couldn't wipe them away because my other hand was throbbing, but it was numbing pain compared to the rest of me.
"It's about time, Rachel, that I'm hearing this phone call. I was beginning to doubt the arsenic that I was given was ever going to work. Or that you had figured out we put it in your iced tea bucket. I really thought it would have taken less time to work though."
"What?" I bit my lips as another stab went through me. I could taste the copper on my tongue.
"I didn't want you to ruin our work. Do you know what's at stake for us on this? I couldn't have you ruining it. I wouldn't allow it. So much is riding on this experiment. The Governor and I had this all planned out, we were going to prove major breakthroughs. Some of you are actually working well together as a couple, proving our hypothesis and you're one of those couples. When we asked the teachers to guess future relationships Ms. Dixon was adamant about you and Nick having potential of if you were given the right chance you two could really blossom. When that was brought up, a few other teachers agreed, but they didn’t know what they were making suggestions for, they just thought it was gossip in the teacher’s lounge. We have cameras throughout the community; I can't have you forming plans together to get rid of these marriages. We're too far into this experiment and there is so much at stake."
"You know, Principal O'Doherty, if I die people will wonder why a girl that has no pervious history of bad health suddenly dies. Now tell me that wouldn't make it on the front page," I yelled, but that made me cry out so much.
"It'll all be worth it to see you dead." He gave a deep throated laugh. "The Governor does not know about what I did with you, but I'm sure he would approve for the cause."
I hung up the phone, still screaming from the pain I was in, I didn't think someone could be in this much pain. Starting to weep even harder I got into a little ball on the floor feeling the carpet getting wet from the tears as I lay down on the carpet. I decided to call a friend to help me. I had to leave Nick alone to hang around with his friends, he hasn't done that in awhile, and I owed him that. Picking up the phone I dialed Bridget's number as my hands shook. I had to start dialing over a few times because I kept messing up with my shaky hands.
"Bridget."
"Rachel, you're crying what's wrong? I have never heard you cry before."
"Please come over. I called 911 and that's one of the phone numbers we can't get here in our little neighborhood."
I won’t burden Bridget with the news of the arsenic. At least not yet.
I crawled into a corner of the room with the phone still pressed to my ear while cradling my other hand. I brought my knees into my chest and the tears kept rolling onto my knees. My hair turned into a curtain around my head, shielding me from the rest of the world.
"I'll be right there, Rachel."
I sat there crying in so much agony that I knew I was almost at the end of the line. I had to be dying because I didn't know how they could treat poison. I was going to die, but not alone like I had feared. I was going to die before my seventeenth birthday so I could never get my license. I was going to die without really living with Nick when we were older. Nick was the one I loved and I had wasted a lot of our time being stupid with pointless arguments or not
