Choke: 2 (Pillage Trilogy (Pillogy)) Read Online Free PDF Page B

head.
    “I’m here for you,” he said.
    “I don’t want you to be,” I told him.
    “You’ll feel better with some rest,” he said smiling.
    He was telling me how I felt again.
    “Enjoy Mr. Binkers,” he added.
    “As soon as you leave I’m going to hug him,” I said.
    Van turned, oblivious to the sarcasm. He walked down the hospital hall and out the double doors. I looked at the koala and wondered why Van couldn’t have brought me a PSP or a laptop instead. I also wondered why most of my visitors were older people.
    I fell asleep thinking about dragons, eucalyptus trees, and Kate.

    Illustration from page 6 of The Grim Knot

CHAPTER 4

I’m Going Slightly Mad
    The next day came and went with no sign of anyone I really cared about. Nurse Agatha came in a couple of times, but she was little comfort seeing how all she did was berate me. She called me a ruffian the first time and a ne’er-do-well the second time. I kind of liked the odd words she used. I told her I liked her hat. She told me to hold my tongue. When I literally did as she asked, she pinched my cheek and called me a twit.
    She looked at me until I was self-conscious and then sniffed, “Once a Pillage, always a Pillage.”
    “If you and I ever get married, I’ll go by Agatha,” I suggested.
    “Disrespect,” she snipped. “Your wit will burn you someday.”
    I wanted to tell her about all the times my wit had already burned me or caused me problems, but she walked off and left me alone again.
    It had been almost six days since the plant had jumped me. A number of my scratches had healed leaving only the deeper ones visible. They too were beginning to fade. My brain was going numb from being kept locked up in the stupid hospital. Wyatt had called me once and we had talked on the phone for about an hour. I thought back to our first bad encounter and how he had turned into a great friend. He claimed he wanted to come visit me but that his parents would never bring him. When I reminded him that he had a driver’s license and his own car, he confessed to being scared to death of hospitals and since I was going to live, he would just wait to visit me when I wasn’t in one. I couldn’t totally blame him. I wasn’t that fond of hospitals either.
    It rained all day again and just as afternoon was beginning to make an appearance, Wane entered the hospital hall pushing an empty wheelchair.
    I was so happy I almost jumped out of my bed.
    Wane’s dark hair was really short, showing off her long, thin neck and small ears. She was smiling as if it were something she was supposed to do and not as if she were enjoying it. She was pretty and one of the few adults I had ever met that I thought had any style.
    “Ready to go home?” she asked.
    “Yes,” I said quickly. “I mean I’ll miss all the activity here.”
    Wane looked around at the empty hall and tried to laugh. “You have to leave by wheelchair,” she said. “‘Insurance reasons.’”
    “I don’t mind being pushed around,” I said, while throwing my legs over the side of my bed.
    “I brought you some clothes,” she said, handing me a bag. She turned around to give me some privacy. Inside the bag was a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, some unmentionables that I won’t mention, a pair of shoes, and a silk vest.
    “Let me guess,” I guessed. “Thomas packed these clothes.”
    “Just hurry,” was all she said.
    As soon as I was dressed, Nurse Agatha came in and had Wane sign some papers. I told Agatha that I’d miss her, and she said something about youth being seen and not heard. Once she left, Wane just stood there staring off into the distance.
    “Are you okay?” I asked.
    “Fine,” she replied with a sigh. “You’re the one who’s been hurt. Come on.”
    I plopped myself down in the wheelchair. Wane grabbed my pillow and the small bag someone had packed for me. She set them both in my lap, and without turning the wheelchair around, she began to pull me backward. I looked at the