Embedded Files
Doris presses down hard on the pillow that is covering Nicole’s face and can’t believe that she is actually going through with killing Nicole. Nicole begins to gasp for air and Doris finds that she herself is also struggling to breathe as though someone were holding the pillow over her own face too.
Doris pulls the pillow away and her breathing returns to normal as does Nicole’s. Just like when Doris had the vision of the pillow, she doesn’t understand what happened to cause her not to be able to breathe. She decides to try again but as she presses down on the pillow the same thing happens again and she herself struggles for air. It’s as though something is trying to protect Nicole; Doris removes the pillow and sighs.
Doris: “This is ridiculous, I can’t do this!”
Doris wonders if it’s something in her own self conscious that physically won’t let her take someone’s life and it manifests into her not being able to breathe. Doris decides to leaves but as she goes Nicole starts to wake up.
Nicole: “Hello, Is there someone there?”
Doris thinks quickly and pretends to be a nurse.
Doris: “Yes, I was just going off duty and thought I’d check on you first. We’re all glad that you seem to be doing better.”
Nicole feeling groggy: “I was having the strangest dream. I couldn’t breathe! It was like someone was trying to suffocate me”.
Doris feels guilty and hurriedly places the pillow behind her back, while moving to the corner of the room so she can replace it on the pile.
Doris: “How strange! We’ll you’re okay now so that’s all that matters. I guess I better be going.”
As Doris reaches the door, Nicole calls after her.
Nicole: “Do you know if my Mother is here?”
Doris shakes her head “No!”
Nicole: “It’s just the other nurse told me that my Mother would tell me how my friends are doing. You don’t know how they are, do you?”
Doris pauses for a moment, remembering that she told Sally that she would tell Nicole about Danny. Eventually Doris finds the words to speak.
Doris: “Well, the boy driving the car, Mickey just had cuts and bruises and he has been able to go home.”
Nicole breathes a sigh of relief.
Doris continues: “I’m afraid your other friend, Danny, wasn’t so lucky and his injuries were very severe. I’m sorry to say that he has passed away.”
Nicole sits in a dazed silence and Doris wonders what to do.
Nicole: “Thank you for telling me. Could I be alone now, please?”
Doris nods and is relieved to leave the room. As the door closes, she can hear that Nicole is crying. Doris rubs her forehead and gives a big sigh. She feels drained from all this high emotion and doesn’t know what to do next. She doesn’t know when she’ll get another opportunity to kill Nicole or if she’ll actually be able to go through with it. She turns and at the end of the corridor she sees Coco talking to a red haired nurse pleading to be allowed to see her grandmother.
Coco: “I just wanted to look at her, see her. I won’t wake her. Ten seconds... Please”
Then the announcement sounds out over the speaker system again: “Dr Philips to Maternity please, Dr Philips to Maternity, Urgently please!”
Doris sees a team of Doctors and nurses running along the corridor to Maternity and instinctively follows. When they arrive they crowd round baby Jenny’s incubator, with concerned looks on their faces as they feverishly work on the baby. Angela Schwartz and Doris’ younger self stand in the corner clutching each other for comfort and support as they nervously watch the medical team work.
Angela cries out: “Please don’t let my granddaughter die!”
Doris is concerned that the baby is in danger. Mrs Berg had told her that Jenny lived but would be disabled but Doris ponders: “What if she’s wrong?”
Doris sighs as she realises to save the baby that she has to find a way to kill Nicole before it’s too late. She wonders what on earth she could do, when she sees Sally hand a syringe and a bottle to another nurse.
Sally: “Be sure you only give 5 millilitres as anything else could be fatal.”
The nurse nods when Mrs Berg suddenly is standing next to Doris.
Mrs Berg: “Now is your chance!”
Doris is confused: “What? What can I do?”
Mrs Berg: “Leave it to me. I maybe a little rusty but I used to be an actress!”
Doris is surprised by the statement: “You did? I never knew that.”
Mrs Berg smiles and winks at her as she moves to the middle of the corridor where she knows the nurses can see and over hear her.
Mrs Berg: “Oh dear....Oh My...”
She then pretends to faint and falls to the floor. The two nurses stop what they are doing and rush to help her. Mrs Berg looks at Doris and motions over to a desk the nurses had been standing by where the second nurse had put down the syringe and drugs. Doris sees them, rushes over and puts them into her pocket while the nurses are preoccupied with Mrs Berg. She then quickly rushes back to Nicole’s room determined that this time she wouldn’t fail.
She quickly enters the room but again finds Sherwood lying in the bed.
Doris: “Sorry!”
Sherwood: “Again?”
Standing outside the room Doris takes a deep breath as she notices the number changes back to 422 again. She places her hand in her pocket and pulls out the syringe; she place her other hand on the door and as she starts to open it she sees her teenage self pushing Danny in a wheel chair out of the room opposite and down the corridor. As the door shuts Doris notices the room number change back to 421. At the other end of the corridor she sees Lydia following Leroy, who is walking on crutches, with his knee all strapped up.
Approaching them are Coco and Bruno and as they all meet up Doris realises they are all from different time periods and gets a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Doris: “Oh No, this can’t be good!”
Lydia: “Coco, Bruno, what are you doing here it’s so nice to see you?”
Danny: “Coco, I knew it! I knew you’d come back when you found out I was ill!”
Coco is confused by Danny’s comment about coming back and being ill.
Coco: “I’m here visiting my grandmother.” Danny what do you mean about coming back, I haven’t been anywhere. I didn’t know you were ill. I’m mean you were just at school for the dress rehearsal. What’s wrong with you?”
Danny: “Coco you left school to go on the road a few months ago don’t you remember?”
Coco shakes her head: “I don’t know what you’re talking about but what’s wrong with your health?
Danny: “Oh yeah, I have leukaemia!”
Leroy and Lydia exchange confused glances.
Coco becomes concerned: “Oh Danny, I’m really sorry I had no idea you were ill. Maybe it’s your medication or something confusing you but I haven’t left school, we just had rehearsals for a show a couple of hours ago and you were stage managing, tell him Miss Grant.”
Lydia takes a deep breath: “Danny you had cancer over 2 years ago. Oh and Coco your grandmother died over 3 years ago!”
Now it’s Doris, Danny, Coco and Bruno who have the confused looks on their faces.
Teenage Doris: “Coco she’s right your grandmother died but that was only about a year ago.”
Coco is shocked and confused: “I.. I don’t understand any of this. What are you all talking about?”
Teenage Doris continues: “Miss Grant, you know Danny is ill and has been fighting the cancer for a few weeks now. We had that big emotional group hug in your dance class just last week, don’t you remember? Danny thought we were all afraid to get close to him, which, I guess we were but.....”
Lydia becomes concerned and interrupts: “I remember that very well Doris dear but that wasn’t last week, that was over 2 years ago!”
Danny laughs: “Miss Grant, you’re kidding right?”
Lydia meets Danny with a stern look: “Danny I would never kid about something like this!”
At that moment Holly, dressed in a hospital gown turns the corner, sees the group and rushes over.
Holly: “Hi, what’s everyone doing here? You’re not checking up on me are you? Miss Grant I swear I’m eating!”
Bruno and Coco look at each other wondering who this young woman is.
Lydia: “Holly? Are you anorexic again?”
Holly is now confused: “Again? What do you mean?”
Lydia: “Well dear, last year you had a problem and had to be hospitalised for a few weeks, just before the end of year prom.”
Teenage Doris: “Miss Grant, what are you talking about Holly only joined the School this year and we haven’t had the prom yet so that couldn’t have happened!”
Holly: “Yes Miss Grant, that’s what happening now, it wasn’t last year. Are you feeling okay?”
Lydia: “Something very strange is happening here!”
For a few seconds there is silence as each of the group looks at the others wondering what is happening.
Danny: “Miss Grant, you said I had leukaemia 2 years ago. Did I beat it, or did it beat me?”
Everyone turns to look at Danny.
Lydia smiles warmly: “I’m pleased to tell you that you made a remarkable recovery and have been cancer free for 2 years!”
Danny smiles choking back tears: “Thanks, that’s such a relief, as I really thought this was going to be the last of me and I would never graduate and get the chance to be a star!”
Lydia smiles: “Well, I said you made a recovery; I didn’t say anything about you graduating!”
Danny looks at her puzzled by the remark. Then Bruno interrupts.
Bruno: “Is this a dream? If so can I wake up from this nightmare? Or am I just going completely mad?”
The group all turn to look at him.
Teenage Doris: “Are you okay Bruno?”
Bruno shakes his head: “Well I’ve just been told My Father has died from having a heart attack and now my friends and people I don’t even know are all acting very strangely and talking about crazy things that make no sense.”
Teenage Doris puts her arms around him to give him a comforting hug.
Coco: “What? Mr Martelli is dead?
Lydia: “Bruno dear as terrible as that is for you for us it happened 2½ years ago.”
Coco: “Well not for me it didn’t”
Teenage Doris: “For me and Danny it was 6 months ago.”
Holly: “And for me it was 18 months ago. How can we all be experiencing things differently? It doesn’t make sense?”
Bruno: “Well, it’s very real for me, right now!”
Lydia reaches out takes his hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.
Behind them the door to room 422 opens and Nicole appears in the corridor; she smiles at the older Doris and then sees the group of friends standing a few feet away. She sees Danny and excitedly runs to the group and gives him a big hug.
Nicole: “Danny, it’s so good to see you, they told me you were dead!”
Danny: “Well I may be down at the moment but I’m certainly not out yet.”
Excitedly Nicole squeezes him tight.
Danny: “Now I’m not one to turn down the attentions of a beautiful girl but who are you?”
Teenage Doris, Bruno and Coco are all thinking the same thing.
Nicole: “Danny don’t be silly; do you have amnesia or something, it’s me Nicole. We were at Mickey Garth’s party and we got into a car accident. I was injured and they told me you’d been killed. Miss Grant help me out here!”
Lydia sighs: “Well this is new to me!”
Doris watches as the whole group all start talking at once, confused by the situation.
Lydia yells: “Now wait just a minute! Everybody, just calm down. Let’s do this one at a time and try to make some sense of this. Coco what year do you think it is?”
Coco: “Miss Grant it’s 1982 of course!”
Lydia: “Well Bruno dear your father died in 1983 and Danny your fight with cancer was in 1984. Then Holly it must have been 1985 when you got ill with anorexia. For me and Leroy it’s now 1986.”
Coco interrupts excitedly: “Miss Grant, Am I a Star in 1986?”
Lydia gives Coco a stern look of disapproval as she turns to Nicole.
Coco: “I was only asking!”
Lydia: “Nicole honey, what year is it for you?”
Nicole: “It’s 1987! But this is impossible; we can’t all be in the same place in different years!”
Danny: “So wait a minute I have no idea what is happening here but you said I’m dead in 1987?”
Nicole looks at him and nods.
Danny: “Man that sucks; I beat cancer only to die in a car accident.”
Teenage Doris: “We can’t give up hope as we don’t know for sure that’s what’s going to happen. I mean surely none of us should have ever met like this, should we?”
Everyone starts talking all at the same again until Leroy who has been quiet until now begins to speak.
Leroy: “Stop Everyone stop! We’ve all been experiencing strange things for awhile now, haven’t we?
Some of the group start to nod in agreement.
Leroy continues: “Well for me, when I fell and hurt my knee, I could see into another dance class, where I saw myself teaching my first class which had happened at the start of this school year.”
Coco interrupts: “You’re a teacher now? My, things really have changed; the Leroy I know is flunking out of all his classes.”
Lydia: “He’s a dance assistant, my assistant!”
Leroy ignoring the interruption continues: “Well, there have been lots of other strange things happen over the last few years and every time there’s something strange that woman behind us, watching, is always there.”
They all turn around to see Doris standing behind them in the corridor.
Leroy: “We all remember the President’s visit a few years back, well those of us who were there do and this woman was there claiming to be Doris but none of us could explain it. Miss Grant you saw something strange then didn’t you?
Lydia is a little reluctant to admit what she saw: “Well...”
Leroy interrupts: “Come on you know you saw something. I saw something too and then she disappeared so we all carried on as though nothing had happened. We blocked it from our memories because we couldn’t explain it and just carried on. But I’ve been watching and waiting and now I think we should be given some explanation. Oh and none of your hocus pocus disappearing acts, this time!”
The whole group, except teenage Doris stand looking accusingly at Doris awaiting an explanation.
Teenage Doris: “Oh no not this again! There’s no one there!”
Suddenly Doris feels something brush past her and the door to room 421 opens, she stands looking into the room and see Mrs Berg, Crandall and Shorofsky standing around the bed. There is also someone else, who has just walked into the room. They are wearing a long black hooded cloak and have their back to Doris so she can’t see who it is.
Mrs Berg: “You certainly took your time getting here; we’ve been waiting for you!”
There is no sound from the hooded figure but Doris’ attention is caught by a young girl sitting at the bedside. Doris is jubilant to see it’s her grown up daughter Jenny. She whispers her daughter’s name.
Jenny looks up: “Mom?”
Then Doris is shocked to see in the bed is herself lying unconscious, with Jenny holding her hand. It’s not her teenage self or her as a young woman but as she is now. Doris doesn’t understand.
Her attention is caught by a shout from the group of people in the corridor.
Leroy: “Well? We’re waiting!”
Suddenly Doris struggles to breathe she looks back at herself lying in the bed and the hooded figure is now crouched over her with a pillow pressed down over her face.
She tries to call out for help but can’t manage the words. She then hears a familiar sound.
Voice over the speaker system: “Dr Reid Code Blue, Room 421. Dr Reid code blue, Room 421”.
As she struggles for air Doris realises that all this time she had kept hearing the message, she’d thought it was for Danny, but it is actually for herself! She was the one dying.
Doris gasping for air looks helplessly at her daughter, then to the group of friends standing in the corridor looking back at her, then back to herself lying motionless in the hospital bed....
To be continued next year in season 3.....
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