Over Easy

The world suckles at
Our hearts like a newborn's tongue -
White curious teeth.

We beat our chopped meat
Fists, sometimes fast oftener slow;
Collapsed ventricles.

Gnawing, racing, creeping
Mosaics of motions, and emotion;
Drops, smears and sprays adorning
Grey ridged canvases
Encased inside strangely shaped eggs.

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Putting down her clipboard, nurse Lamb took a fresh sample of blood from Jane while she slept. After she'd finished she quietly left the room to deposit the vials. As she was walking to the lab she'd realized she absentmindedly left the clipboard in Jane's room and headed back to retrieve it. On her way, the head nurse at the desk called out to her: "Lamb, check the patient in 3; I'm getting a disconnect alert." On da way dearie, left me clipboard in da room, she replied. Upon entering, nurse Lamb discovered the man from earlier had returned to the room and disconnected Jane's respirator. He stood facing the door as if waiting for her arrival. Smiling, he revealed a gun.

Shut the door.

She complied and said, God help you if you hurt Miss Jane.

--

Thanks, I appreciate you helping me out with my phone; one less thing for me to worry about, Sarah said to Peter as they turned the corner back to her sister's corridor. Smirking, Peter said: No problem at all; it's the least I could do after all the trouble I've caused, right?

Madeline stood at the nurses' desk waiting for Peter. She had asked if she could come by and pick up the necklace she'd left at his apartment the last time she was there, before they decided they should no longer speak. He wouldn't be home in time to meet her so he'd told her to stop by the hospital. The desk stood a few doors down from Jane's room, and spotting Madeline, Peter asked Sarah to excuse him. A gunshot rang out, followed by screams and loud silence. With his head ringing and his hands clasped tightly against his ears, his eyes moved frantically as he searched for a gunman. Sarah, running toward Jane's room began screaming when she found the door locked. Oh my God - it came from inside her room! The door is locked! Sarah pounded on the door calling her sister's name. Jane! Jane! Peter grabbed the keys from the nurses' desk and started toward the door. Madeline grabbed his arm and asked, what are you doing? Trying to get yourself killed? Madeline, there's someone with a weapon inside that room who may have shot someone and who probably intends to hurt someone else; Im trying to prevent another person from getting killed.

Peter ran toward the door and opened it. Nurse Lamb lie dead on the floor, her white shirt stained red with blood. The room stank of sulphur. The old man stood beside Jane, her respirator unplugged and knocked over. She struggled to breathe, lying in the bed red and sweating, unaware of the calamity around her. The man held the gun on Peter, then on Sarah before deciding on Madeline, who'd followed them in thinking she'd be able to stop them from entering. For Madeline, time seemed to thicken and become sticky. Peter slowly put his hands in the air signifying he was unarmed, as he tried to talk the man down. Sarah's body contorted and bent with emotional exhaustion as tears streamed from her eyes, and pleading with the man she sobbed: please don't hurt my sister. The man, still smiling, locked his eyes on Madeline and pointed the gun at her decidedly. She put her hands out in front of her to shield herself from the bullet. She heard Peter scream in slow motion and then there was the sound of thunder. The shot fired - the bullet ripped through her palms and then into her chest as she was knocked backwards onto the floor next to nurse Lamb.

Her mind bled out like a yolk, yellow and running.