Mysterious Hunting Ground

Chapter 154 154. Coma
Before the sun completely set, Dean and Paqui rushed to Hawkins Town Center Hospital.

It's a one-story building that's also just a wall away from the adjacent primary care clinic, making it inconspicuous at all.

But it is one of the pillars of a small town.

Dean once heard a saying that in this land, hospitals, churches, and schools are like three legs of a stool. If one of them falls down, a town will be destroyed.

But Hawkins' leg was obviously not very secure.

After the two explained the situation to the nurse at the front desk of the hospital, they followed her to the single ward where Jane Seymour was.

A brown-haired boy was lying upright on the hospital bed, with an infusion tube inserted into one arm, many wires and instruments connected to his chest, and a large number of needle holes left by the hospital's blood draw on his body.

In addition, he was put on a ventilator, and under the oxygen mask, his face was so thin that it was so pale that it was about to disappear.

And a red-haired middle-aged woman in a knitted sweater accompanied the hospital bed, resting her face on her hands, dozing off softly.

She has deep nasolabial folds and looks older than her actual age.

"Bang bang!" The nurse knocked on the door frame,

"Lucia, two gentlemen are looking for you."

"Ah?" The woman woke up startled, and glanced sleepily at the two of them, her eyes full of bloodshot eyes, "Who are you?"

"I'm sorry to disturb your rest. I'm Paque, and this is Dean. I've met your sister Jane Seymour a few times, and I have a little friendship." Paque put a bouquet of carnations in front of the bedside table, and walked over to talk to the woman. They shook hands, "Since Jane passed away, we haven't been back to Hawkins Town for many years, and we didn't expect to hear such bad news..."

Paque exchanged polite greetings with the woman for a while, and got straight to the point,

"So how is Peter doing now?"

"Thank you for your concern." Lucia looked at the boy on the hospital bed distressedly, "but he is not well, he has been in a coma, and the doctor can't help."

"How long ago did this situation start?" Dean handed the woman a glass of water. "I know a few friends who work in large hospitals. Maybe they can help, but I need more detailed information."

"Really?" The woman pleasantly grabbed Dean to reach the water glass and succeeded, "I can say anything, please save Peter!"

"Then start?"

"About half a month ago, Peter passed out suddenly without warning on the street."

"The well-meaning people sent him to the hospital. Blood tests, laboratory tests, X-rays... a lot of examinations failed to find any obvious symptoms, and the fact is the same. He woke up on his own shortly after he fell into a coma."

"What did Peter say to you when he woke up?" Dean asked.

"He was very calm. He said that he felt like he had slept comfortably. He didn't feel anything wrong or uncomfortable. Before he fell into a coma, he walked around the mall normally without encountering any accidents."

"At first, the doctors thought that he hadn't slept well, and he had somatic symptoms caused by excessive study pressure in the past, so they temporarily stayed in the hospital for observation for a period of time."

"And then fell into a coma again?" Paqui tapped the bedside table with his index finger upside down, looked at the patient on the bed,

The woman nodded heavily, looking sadly at the sunset outside the blinds, and pulled the boy's bony feet covered by the corner of the quilt,

"Early the next morning, Peter lost consciousness again, and then regained consciousness shortly after..."

"His symptoms increased day by day, and he fell into a coma and woke up repeatedly every day. He was in a coma for [-] hours on the first day, more than [-] hours on the second day, and [-] hours on the third day... He has not woken up since the seventh day. "

Lucia clutched her chest, recalling with unbearable grief,

"I swear on Jane's coffin, take good care of Peter for her, and love Peter as a son for the rest of my life."

"But Peter had an accident under my care, I can't do anything, I can only pray to God to bless, God to bless... Maybe I'm not religious enough... Huh..."

"It's not your fault, ma'am." Dean comforted,
Lucia touched her tears, and held Peter's hand that was as thin as chicken feet with a full face,

"What a sensible child. He didn't cry or make trouble when he woke up. Instead, he comforted me and told me not to worry. He said that it would be a big deal to go to heaven and reunite with his mother Jane Seymour."

"He's very strong," Dean imagined. If he died soon, he would probably do something uncontrollable.

After all, in the face of death, all living beings are equal.

And he was far from alive.

But this Peter, who was still in school, was so calm in the face of approaching death.

"That's right, Peter...Peter has always been a strong, quiet, sensible kid who never worried me."

the woman cried,

"But this damn disease chose him!"

"The doctor said that his respiratory system and blood circulation system are constantly failing, and the ventilator can't keep him going for long. He may leave at any time."

There was an unbearable silence in the ward, and the air was filled with sadness.

"Aside from coma and heart and lung failure, does Peter have any other symptoms?" Dean's mind flashed the plots in later film and television works, and he thought of dangerous radioactive elements such as radon and uranium-235. Killing invisible. "Such as bleeding, loss of skin and hair, nausea and diarrhea, fever, etc."

Lucia choked up and denied any symptoms of radiation exposure, and then went on to explain, "This is the strange thing, the doctor didn't find any obvious external or internal injuries on his body."

Dean changed his mind, "Is it possible that he was poisoned by some kind of poison?"

"Yes, this is the most likely possibility. After Peter became unconscious, the doctor tested an unknown substance from his blood, which may be a toxin." Lucia explained with a sigh, "Hawkins Central Hospital equipment Lao Jiu couldn’t find out what the specific substance was, so he took more than a dozen tubes of blood from Peter and sent them to hospitals in Indianapolis, Chicago and other big cities for testing, but there were no definite results.”

"It's very troublesome if you are in a coma due to poisoning," Paque said in a dignified voice. "Infectious toxins, neurotoxins...there are at least a few thousand kinds of toxins in total. If you can't find out which one you've got, you can't prescribe the right medicine."

"Obviously, this toxicity is rare and time will tell."

……

The woman was even more sad when she heard the words. She lay down beside the bed, grabbed Peter's skinny hand and held it close to her mouth and kissed, "Woooo...my poor Peter...it's because my aunt is useless, because my aunt neglected you. You are subjected to such inhuman torture."

Dean raised his eyebrows, this gesture of intimacy was a bit weird.

"Ma'am, calm down. My doctor friend and I can try to help you find out the toxins in Peter's body." Dean reached into his arms comfortingly, and took out the private detective license.

Paque folded his arms around his chest, and the corners of his mouth twitched. When did this guy go to take an exam to pretend to be a license.

"What do I need to do?"

Lucia wiped her tears when she heard the words, raised her swollen and red face,
"Is there anyone else in your family?" Dean asked.

"It's gone, Peter and I are dependent on each other." Lucia raised her dazed eyes and said dully, "I work at the gas station in the town, and Peter is studying at Hawkins Middle School... Life has been very peaceful."

"Then I have an idea about Peter's condition," Dean mused. "Since the hospital has never been able to find out what kind of poison he was poisoned with, why don't we try to start from the source? Find out who poisoned Peter." People, and then ask the answer from his mouth."

"Someone poisoned him?" Lucia's expression came alive, as if he hadn't thought of this possibility at all, "Peter is an honest and kind child, and he never provoked or offended anyone... who would be so cruel? Poison him?"

"So did he have any snake or insect bites?" asked Dean.

"No, the doctors have checked it dozens of times, and there is no abnormal scar."

"Then there is a high probability that it is artificial poisoning." Dean's tone was a little more certain,
"You didn't buy your license, did you? You dare to say that without evidence." Paqui looked at Dean, narrowed his eyes, and shot a sharp light from the slits in his eyes, "You are bringing an ordinary accident By referring to the criminal case, you are making trouble for Hope, listen to me, don't be so arbitrary."

"Who is Hope?" Dean asked.

"Sheriff of Hawkins, my old buddy and 'Informant'."

"Well, it's my fault that I'm not rigorous enough. It's not necessarily because someone took the initiative to poison you." Dean glanced at the two of them. "It may also be that Peter accidentally contracted the toxin after passing through a special place and ate it into his stomach." , So, Ms. Lucia, think about it carefully, where did Peter go a few days before he was poisoned?"

The woman pondered for a moment,
"Peter has been on summer vacation for more than a month, and the poisoning was half a month ago. During that time...he should have been to shopping malls, cinemas, libraries..." Lucia said sadly, "Peter likes watching movies, reading, buying Some fun little things."

Dean nodded, keeping these places in mind.

But he felt that the probability was not high.

They are all public places with a lot of people. If toxins are infected in these places, Peter should not be the only victim.

"Who are Peter's friends at school?"

Lucia was even more sad,
"Peter is not very gregarious and likes to stay at home alone and read. As for friends, I once saw him chatting and laughing with a boy with short bangs and short hair, but I don't know the name of the other party."

"Okay, my friend, you don't know, so who were Peter's peers bullied at school?" Dean was thinking. People who don't fit in have always been the first choice for school bullies.

"Several bad-tempered basketball players have bullied him and beat him black and blue, but it wouldn't be such a terrible crime as poisoning, right? With all due respect, boy, your statement is a bit alarmist."

"I didn't find them guilty, I just learned a little bit about where Peter went during the summer from their mouths. Sometimes enemies know a person better than friends."

Dean explained this in his mouth, but he had another thought in his heart.

He has had personal experience before, and he deeply understands how terrible bullying is and how bad the impact is.

The place where children study is a miniature jungle. Those who are weak and introverted will always be used as objects of fun and anger by those with strong personalities.Because they are young and favored by the law, these perpetrators do not know how to strike, and sometimes they are even more vicious and terrifying than adult criminals.

"Ms. Lucia, if you want to save Peter, please tell me the answer."

After struggling for less than half a minute, Lucia told Dean the names and home addresses of the three basketball players in detail.

Dean wrote it down with a pen.

"They are all boys who are about to enter the 12th grade. They live on Maple Street, not far away."

"Help Peter," Lucia looked at Dean's calm face and steady movements, felt a little more trust in his heart, and a glimmer of hope lit up in his eyes, "He is so young, his life has not yet begun, he shouldn't leave early. go."

The woman's voice fell.

A reminder flashed in front of Dean,
You triggered the event - coma.

Jane Seymour may know the whereabouts of your parents Lena and Bright, but she died five years ago in a car accident.

She also has a son, Peter Seymour, who may hold a clue and be your only hope.

But misfortunes never come singly, Peter fell into a deep coma due to unknown reasons, and died soon.

Now, investigate the cause and effect of his coma, find a way to bring him back to life, and ask for clues.

……

Event Difficulty: Unknown

Progress (5/100)

Duration: one week

Reward: At least 30 experience points (depending on difficulty.)
Failure penalty: none
……

To appease the crying Lucia, Dean asked her for another photo of Peter.

Then asked her about the whereabouts of Lena and Guangming, and as expected, she didn't know them at all.

Then Dean and Paque asked Peter's attending doctor and confirmed Lucia's statement.

"In the next few days, I will go out to investigate..." Dean stuffed the shackle into the rough palm of the big man, and at the same time let the shadow of the past living in the shackle return to his body, "You take it and stay in the ward. Ask more clues and information from Lucia, by the way, don't leave Peter too far, call me in case of emergency, and keep in touch."

Peter's physical condition is unknown, and no one knows how long he will live.

So Dean made two-handed preparations. If the incident failed and Peter died, the plank held by Paque would suck his soul.

At that time, Dean can ask Lena and the light from Peter's soul through the psychic ceremony.

Of course, only a trustworthy person like my uncle can trust me with confidence.

"There's no room for bargaining in this matter," Dean said before the big man could refute. "I followed your arrangement and worked as a babysitter for two teenagers for a while. This time, you will listen to my arrangement."

"I have no objection, why are you excited?" The big man rubbed his teardrop-shaped nail plate, observed the tattoo with pale pupils on it, and said with emotion, "You have grown up and matured, and I can't understand many behaviors."

"I also know that you have a secret hidden in you, but I don't force you to tell me."

"After all, as your uncle, if I don't help you, whoever will help you."

"So you agreed?" Dean was surprised, when did Paque become so reasonable,
"What kind of eyes do you have, show me some respect! By the way, what is your board and what is its function?"

"Amulet, hold it, don't lose it!"

"OK, but I have to make a call and ask the owner of the outfitter store for a few days off."

(End of this chapter)