Page 7 of Lost and Found

What the hell was going on? Why would someone poison him, then try to kill him with a knife? He lowered his head, trying to push through the fog of his brain. Unfortunately, it was only getting worse. The nausea was also intensifying. With every turn, his stomach felt as if it might empty itself at any moment.

It was a struggle, but he finally got his brain to send the correct messages to the rest of his body. “Take me to the hospital!” he ordered.

The driver’s startled eyes looked at Kasim in the rearview mirror. “Your Highness?”

“Hospital! And no radios!” he ordered succinctly. “Don’t warn them ahead of time!”

The driver nodded, but Kasim knew it was only a matter of time before the driver followed protocols and called in that he was taking the Crown Prince of Alistar to a hospital. Kasim would have to move quickly. He’d have to be stealthy and smart. Something was definitely wrong and he wasn’t sure even how to discover who had poisoned him. Was it the same person who had arranged for someone to throw the knife?

Kasim wasn’t sure. But he was going to find out.

The driver pulled up outside of the emergency room of the nearest hospital. It wasn’t in a good part of town, but Kasim didn’t mind that. He figured that this place could clean up the wound and stitch the torn parts of his arm back together. And they could do a blood test to tell him what type of poison he’d been given.

As soon as the driver pulled up to the curb in front of the emergency room entrance, Kasim stumbled out of the limousine even before his driver could come around to open the door. There wasn’t time, he thought. He had to get help. The thought kept running through his mind, “Someone’s trying to kill me!” he thought silently as his brain frantically tried to send signals to his feet.

“I need a doctor,” Kasim informed the man sitting behind the reception desk.

The man looked up, obviously not overly impressed by Kasim’s order. “Are you having chest pains?”

Yes, Kasim thought. He hadn’t realized that his chest was hurting. The nausea and the burning pain in his arm overrode that issue. But now that the question brought the problem to mind, he realized that his chest was burning almost as badly as his arm. And yet, he couldn’t admit that to this person. He didn’t know why, but those instincts, the same instincts that had urged him to shift on his feet moments before the knife flew through the air towards him, kicked in and he shook his head. “No.”

“Any abdominal pain?” he asked next, his tone bored, indicating that he’d asked these questions several times already during his shift.

Sweat was now forming on his brow. He ignored the sensation, blinking to try and focus on the man’s expression. “No. I need a knife wound stitched up and a blood test done.”

The man’s eyes didn’t even blink. He reached for a clipboard and several papers. “Fill out these forms with your insurance information. If you don’t have insurance, then list the name of the responsible party who will pay for your medical care.”

Kasim snarled at the man. “I cannot wait!”

The man was not impressed! “Sir,” he snapped, “look around you! Everyone here has problems. And you have a piddly little cut on your arm! That’s not going to get you ahead of everyone else!”

Kasim turned, surveying the large crowd of people huddled in uncomfortable chairs in what he suspected was the emergency room waiting area. There were people coughing, groaning, mothers cradling their sobbing children and babies, another man clutching at his chest, one man with a rag pressed against his face, the cloth already covered in blood.

Kasim looked down at the cut on his arm and recognized that it wasn’t nearly as serious as the other people waiting for medical help. The realization made him ashamed and he turned back to the man. “You’re absolutely correct,” he said to the receptionist. “My apologies.” Finally, Kasim had managed to startle the man, but at that same moment, Kasim saw several of his body guards coming through the emergency room doors.

Once again, his instincts began to buzz, and he knew that he had to get away. He wasn’t sure why, but something warned him that one or all of his bodyguards were in on this attack.

Moving towards the crowd instead of away from his guards, he walked carefully over and through the outstretched feet, stepping over bodies that were prone on the tile floor and headed towards the long hallway. Away from medical care.

His arm still burned from the knife wound, but he would worry about that later. Right now, he needed to get away. That warning in his head was now screaming to get away from his guards. Until he knew better what was going on, he was going with his gut.

So instead of heading towards the waiting line of vehicles and his bodyguards, he walked towards the back exit. Stepping out into the cold, autumn afternoon, he looked around to try and assess his situation. Someone was trying to kill him. Someone had tried to poison him. He wasn’t sure if the nausea and chest pains were caused by the poison or if something more was happening. He didn’t know why except for the obvious reason – succession to the throne. But that seemed too obvious.

He almost laughed at that last thought, feeling hysteria threaten. “Too obvious”? What did that even mean?

The poison was muddling his mind. All he could fully understand was the need to get away from his guards. Was that the poison talking again? Were their toxins that caused paranoia? Or perhaps it was the nausea making him weak. He was no longer sure of anything other than the need to hide until he could figure out what the hell is going on.

As he walked away from the hospital, his mind kept teasing at the knot, trying to unwind all of the details and come up with a picture that made sense. Someone trying to kill him in order to take over succession didn’t make sense. His father was Sheik at the moment, and his rule was strong and compassionate, providing stability not just for the people of Alistar, but for the whole region. If Kasim was killed, his father would still be ruler of Alistar.

So if this assassination attempt wasn’t succession-related, then who was trying to kill him? Who would want him dead and for what purpose? Walking down the street, it was an odd feeling to be completely alone. All his life, he’d been surrounded by people. His guards never left his side except when he was sleeping. Even as an infant, he’d had nannies and governesses around to watch over him, tutors to teach him the myriad subjects that he was required to understand, and servants who waited on him, constantly hovering in anticipation of his next request.

Even while he slept, his bodyguards stood outside of his private apartment and there were servants waiting to provide anything he might want or need. Besides employees, his father and mother were attentive and he had one sister and about a half dozen cousins, all of whom either lived at the palace or came to the palace on a regular basis. Then there were the other world leaders, his father’s advisory counsel, the diplomats, the business leaders…hundreds of people every year showed up to the capital of Alistar to request an audience with his father. And because Kasim was the crown prince, he stood beside his father during all of these conversations, learning and growing in order to become the next leader if…no, when…something happened to Kasim’s father.

So being alone now, it was…? Looking around, he tried to figure out what he was feeling. The late autumn sunshine warmed his face and he looked around. An ambulance was heading this way, the sirens screaming, lights flashing. A couple argued to his left. The parking lot was full but cars drove in and out, vying for the closest space. It was a chaotic and fascinating world.

And he was absolutely, completely alone.

It was…liberating to be free of all of that nonsense!

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