Jayhaven Chronicles

They arrived at the silver Healer building and padded in, and saw that no one was in the cozily yet elaborately decorated lobby. Sedge suddenly noticed that Peak was right, his foot was extremely loud as it slammed the tile floor. “Don’t worry, everything’s ear splitting here.” Peak reassured her. “I’ll blend right in. And besides, I know a secret passage to get to the hospital wing. No one will know I’m here.” He paused. “I’m not ready for people to know I’m back. I don’t want to cause a ruckus.”

Sedge gestured teasingly at his paw. “I think that ship has already sailed.”

Behind an ornate red satin curtain hanging on a wall, Peak revealed a corridor running deep into the wall of the building before morphing into a spiral staircase. “Who the heck built this?”

Peak shrugged. “I dunno. Thank the stars they did, though. Morning traffic here is murder, and this is my way out.”

They emerged from the tunnel to a hall somewhere between bustling and quiet. Cats rushed from room to room, carrying rags soaked with vomit and holding mouthfuls of herbs. The smell was horrendous.

Peak frowned. “Keep your head down. I look a lot like the annoying guy, Branch. Everyone stays clear of him.”

Sedge followed his lead and looked at her feet, trying to ignore the fact that these cats were probably carrying roughly ten million germs on them. Peak finally stopped them at room 903, which, Sedge noticed solemnly, was only a few doors down from where Claw’s room used to be.

Peak nudged open the door and took her inside.

Sedge stopped breathing for a moment. This brought back too many bad memories. The cold gray walls of the room, desperately having tried to be brightened by a small painting of a sun. The silence of ominous death.

It all came flooding back. All Sedge could see were the flashbacks, clouding her mind and senses. Sedge and her parents racing their premature second litter to this place, only to find two out of the three kittens dead when they arrived. Splash struggling to cling to life. The nurse telling them to spend whatever time they had left with their newborn daughter.

“Get me out of here!” Sedge wailed before she knew what she was doing, her eyes swimming in a river of tears. She thought of her two dead brothers, Snail and Meadow. How they had been lain to rest, not in their old age, not having died peacefully, but in a tiny casket, together, in this very hospital. What had she been thinking, agreeing to come here? She hated this place.

“Hey, wait!” Peak whipped around. “Don’t go! I don’t want to be alone either!” Suddenly, he looked panicked too. “I don’t want to be alone!” He repeated. “Not in here with him!”

Sedge tried to take a deep breath. “I-I’m s-sorry. A lot of crummy stuff has happened to me here, th-that’s all.” She looked past Peak to the little nest that all the rooms had. Hawk was sleeping soundly, though Sedge could see his chest shuddering with every breath. “Is… he okay?” She whispered.

Peak’s ears drooped. “I don’t know.” He turned back to his brother and crouched down next to him. “Look, his eyes are all swollen. And there’s a lump on his head, a fourth degree severeness bruise. He didn’t look this bad the last I saw him.”

“He didn’t want to go on without you.” Came a sudden voice. Peak and Sedge turned around, and there was Needle, Head Healer, standing in the doorway, shadowed by the lightless room.

Peak backed away. “Needle, I can explain.”

Needle chortled softly, closing her pine green eyes. “No need. I think I have it figured out.”

“Does anyone else know Peak’s back?” Sedge said.

Needle shook her head. “No, I covered for him once I heard his voice. But Hawk needs you, Peak.” Needle took a step towards her student. “He didn’t know what to do with you being gone. He said he wanted to go with you. We tried to explain you weren’t dead, but he was distraught.”

Peak’s eyes grew puffy, though it was hard to see in the gloom. “But I’m here now. He doesn’t have to worry anymore.”

Sedge stepped back and let the two Healers talk. She had no place in the conversation anymore, it was clear.

“It’s not that simple.” Needle continued, running her ragged, reddish-brown paw down Hawk’s head. “He will no doubt have a form of PTSD. After being hurt physically, and then mentally, that badly. But you’ll be the best medicine.” She walked closer to Peak and reached out her paw, wiping away tears. “It’s alright. You’re the best student we’ve got, Peak. You’ll know what to do.”

Peak sniffed. “Okay.” He acknowledged Sedge, lips still quivering. “Guess we’ll both have bad memories from this place, huh?”