The Creatures that History Forgot

by Ashley Douglass

incredulously.

  “Yes, my mother ill,” I explained hoping that it would seem acceptable for me to be here if my caregiver could not make it.

  “Oh so you came here to visit your mother?” the woman asked.

  “Um yes,” I agreed pleased that I had an alibi.

  “Well she is probable just around that corner but if you can’t find her I could show you which room she is in.” the woman said as I nodded then stared up at the directory.

  I found the word Pharmacy, though this was not due to my knowledge of the human language, for my reading ability was somewhat poor. I only knew what the word looked like because Terry showed me what it looked like by looking it up in the great book of words, I think he called it a dictionary. Anyway the directory said that the pharmacy was on the second floor so all I needed to do is find the stairs.

  “Thanks,” I added in a dismissing tone when the woman stooped down to my level forcing me to look away.

  “Where is your father, you surely didn’t come here alone?” she asked as I stared at the tile floor.

  “He dead,” I muttered.

  “Then someone must be looking for you. You must be lost then I will help you find your family.” She said taking my hand as I pulled away.

  “No,” I said forcefully

  “Why are you wearing gloves? It is much too hot for that. You will have a heat stroke in this weather.” she explained reaching for me as I backed away.

  “I no need your help,” I yelled temporarily forgetting myself, looking up to meet her eyes. My large hood failed to cover the lower portion of my masked face.

  “What are you wearing? Where are your parents and why are you speaking in broken English?” she asked confused.

  “Go away!’ I yelled then sprinted down the hall as the woman chased me.

  “There is a policy against wayward children. You are not allowed to wander down the halls without an adult or an authorized personal. Stop!” she yelled as I slipped around a corner then continued running down an empty hall. I did not slow until the woman’s voice faded as she raced pass the smaller hallway where I was currently hiding in.

  I pressed myself against a wall as a cart rushed out of a room with a mature human resting on top with a linen blanket draped over him. Those pushing the cart zipped by as the cart rattled along. The man aboard the wheeled bed glanced at me before a clear mask was pressed onto his face and his eyes slid shut.

  After they were gone I hurried down the hall then rounded a corner where I saw a woman pushing a smaller cart with flowers and bright cards toward a section of metal within the wall. She pushed a button with a triangle that glowed when the wall dinged and the metal parted to reveal a small room.

  “Wait I am going up too.” said a man stopping the doors with his hand as the doors rebounded then reopened all the way as he stepped inside. I raced toward the room then leaped into the woman’s cart as the two humans talked conversationally, unaware of my presence.

  “What floor?” the woman asked with her hand raised to a panel of buttons.

  “The second floor please,” the man responded

  “Oh that is the floor I am getting off on too.” the woman said when the door closed then something seemed to tug at my heart, as if an invisible force had invaded my chest cavity and was pulling at my organs.

  The doors opened as I rushed out of the cart after the woman and the man exited the horrible room of nausea. They must have been good friends because they continued their conversation, quickly leaving the subject of magical rooms far behind. They did not seem to notice me as I slipped around the corner where I leaned against the wall trying to master my stomach.

  Feeling somewhat better I looked up seeing a small plaque that read “Pharmacy”. I was nearly there I thought as I walked over to the high counter. I needed to get behind there but if I leap over it someone was sure to notice. I have to be sneakier than that I thought when I noticed there was a door that read “employees only“ That door may lead behind the counter I thought when I hurried to the door just as someone exited. I caught the door then slipped inside.

  I stopped as I looked up at the walls of clear containers filled with colorful pills and orange bottles with white caps neatly stacked in organized boxes. My mother’s cure could be anywhere. I hid when I saw a man and a woman enter the room. The woman squinted at a small slip of paper then turned to the man.

  “I can barely read this. Doctors truly do have the worst handwriting.” the woman finally stated.

  “Let me see,” the man asked as the woman handed him the slip.

  “I think it says his patient needs steroids to overcome his illness.” the man said slowly.

  “Oh well I guess he means these right?” the woman asked raising a pill as the man nodded then placed the slip onto the counter.

  “I suppose but he should be much more specific about his request. Our jobs are hard enough as it is.” The man said as the woman bottled a few of the pills then placed them on top of the slip.

  “I would just settle for legible.” the woman grumbled as the man smirked when a bell chimed.

  “I will get it,” the woman announced then headed toward the sound.

  “Sure I will give this to Doctor Harris,” the man said taking both the bottle of pills and the slip. I watched him go when I spotted a crumpled slip lying beside me as if by fate. The workers were simply filling orders that they receive from these slips so if I wrote what I needed on this slip then maybe they will simply give me my mother’s medication.

  I picked up the slip then began filling it out then placed it onto the counter. The man returned then picked it up. He scrunched up his eyes as he tried to make sense of my poor handwriting, which has never been scrutinized by human eyes.

  “Infection on hind leg? It looks like Doctor Harris handwriting but he failed to sign it. What could he mean by hind leg?” the man asked himself then opened a drawer.

  “Well I guess these antibiotics should treat a serious infection but I should talk to him about his patient. I swear doctors are becoming less and less coherent.” The man said bottling a few pills then set them beside the crumpled slip.

  “I should consult with Ann before I send this one out.” He said then hurried to search for her. I crept from my hiding place then snatched the bottle off the counter and snuck out of the pharmacy. I paused when I was safely in hall but soon I spotted a flight of stairs. I hurried down the stairs awkwardly stepping down each step with the bottle raised high over my head. All of my thoughts were on my feet which slid about inside the slippery cloth-lined shoes. I just need to focus of getting down these stairs then back to the safety of the car.

  When I got to the bottom of the stairs I released a sigh of relief then stuffed my mother’s cure into a flap of cloth that doubled onto itself to form a pocket in the front of my thick clothing. I stuck both of my forepaws into the pocket to assure that my mother cure did not fall out.

  My fingers curled around the bottle that I pulled close to my abdomen that I could feel through the fabric encasing the pocket. I can’t lose my mother’s cure after it has come into my possession. I must not let it out of my sight until I know it is under my people’s care. I must not fail after getting this close.

  I walked down the hall to the place where I entered. I passed the people seated on chairs of molded plastic. Many looked up as I past but none spoke as I walked out of the hospital to search for the car. I walked down the rows of stationary metallic machines just when I realized that all of them seemed similar to me. I stopped then tried to remember any defining details about the car I was searching for.

  Well I knew it was made of painted metal that gleamed in the light. It also had large sheets of glass on all sides that offered a view of the outside world. It sat on great wheels of rubber and had bulbous plastic domes that were backed with large light bulbs concealed in plastic casing of various colors positioned in the front and back. It had a metal plate in the back with random letters and numbers that formed wh
at I believe to be gibberish.

  Their car defiantly looked something like that but almost all of the cars meant this description so I needed to think harder. Well the cars are not all the same color and I remember the car that I looking for is black. Also on the car I was looking for the protective layer of paint seemed to have worn off leaving the discolored iron exposed along the bottom. I think I also remember a plastic sticker which was adhered to the back that read “Wisdom is knowing when to act,” I remember I thought that sounded like something Maya would say.

  I stopped for I saw a car that met my description. I hurried over to it then looked it over carefully. The kids’ scent seemed to be saturated around it and I knew the car was somewhere in this row. It had to be the car I thought then hurried inside after discovering that the door was unlocked. I slipped into the trunk then pulled the middle seat up to hide myself as I waited in the darkness.

  In a half hour I could hear the kids approaching the car with their mother. I think they were still quite some distance away but I could hear them very clearly, for they were very loud. Their mother seemed to be yelling and the kids sounded as if they were trying to explain themselves.

  “You have to understand Rita that the emergency room is for emergencies only. You can’t just lie about breaking your leg. It is very expensive to go to the hospital without an appointment.” their mother began loudly.

  “Well