I woke up with the sound of the hospital operating, the rustling feet of tired new residents with nurses trailing behind, doctors making their runs around the hospital, patients walking around to get out of the room they’ve been locked up in, families rushing to get to their injured loved ones as soon as possible. I was awake with no one beside me and the emptiness started to grow almost instantly after waking up. 

“Jessica…Kara,” I murmured under my breath, their names feeling like a taboo tattoo etched onto my chest, like the A stitched onto Hester Prynne’s chest in Scarlet Letter 

I couldn’t seem to get rid of the feeling of discomfort and anxiousness but what would you expect, an 18 year old girl was on her way to finishing her first year of college to lose 2 of her best friends within 2 nights. It scared her to think there could be more around her to be in danger before she got killed herself.  

“…I guess I picked the right next target. Could possibly be my last,” 

His words started to come back to me and the uneasiness grew. I jumped out of bed and opened the window, quickly breathing in the fresh air. I felt a little bit more peaceful with the wind blowing through my hair. The wind grew stronger as it hit my face, letting some negative thoughts to blow away like the fallen flowers from the hospital’s trees. My eyes started to take in the flowers bringing out the trudged green color of the trees.

“How are you feeling?” I turned around and saw a doctor that looked the same age as my grandpa with glasses to compliment his age. 

“I’ll be fine, although the emotional pain is something I’m still trying to deal with,” 

“I understand,” seemed to be the only words of comfort he could provide and I wasn’t expecting anything more 

“These two nurses will check in on you periodically through