Forced To Wear A Cast

Forced To Wear A Cast

a Price of a Wish tale

by Abbacor

The original pic by Briwri01 can be found at 

https://www.deviantart.com/briwri01/art/Checkup-8-789327700

“Is this going to work? We’re not really going to break anything are we?”

“No, not if I’m careful. Look, I’ve got foam padding tied around the head on the hammer. As long as I don’t hit too hard then it should just make some painful bruises that will really hurt for two or three days. Just long enough for her to believe there are real broken bones under the cast once we get it on. By the time the pain goes away she’ll be stuck in the cast for the full duration.”

øøø                         øøø                         øøø

I groan as I wake up. My head is pounding with a headache that feels like someone is beating a tempo on a bass drum in my head.

‘Oh god, what did I do to deserve this?’ I wonder as I rub my temples.

Thinking back I try to remember what happened. There was the end of the day at work, then going out with a few co-workers to a bar-and-grill for a Wednesday night. I had all of one wine then switched to iced-tea afterwards.

‘What the heck? I don’t get like this from just one wine.’

Rubbing my eyes I remember leaving the grill and deciding to walk home since my apartment was only five blocks away. Then my hands stop rubbing.

‘Wait. I was half way home. I heard a noise behind me, but before I could turn I was grabbed and there was a smelly rag shoved in my face.’

My eyes flew open and I try to sit up but can’t. Something solid is holding me down around my waist. As I rise my head to look down I recognize my own bed and room. Looking lower I see a lot of bright pink around my body. It takes me a moment to recognize there is a neon pink fiberglass cast on me. I manage to lift my shoulders up just enough to get my shoulders and head propped up on my elbows.

What I see is a cast that encircles my waist up to my lower ribs and goes down over my right hip all the way down my leg to my toes. The edge of the cast at the top is lined with a thick looking black cloth. My leg is held up at the hip at an angle so my knee is pointing up at the ceiling where it bends a lot and goes back down again. Leaning my head to the side a little I can see my lower leg goes down almost to but does not quite let my heel touch the bed so my foot is actually floating in the air. The cast holds my foot pointed up again and actually goes all the way down under the bottom of my toes leaving the tops exposed and extends a little bit out past them. The cloth under and around my toes is also black.

Comparing it to my left leg which is lying straight I am certain that this cast is bent enough that it will keep my foot completely off the ground if I stand up.

I reach down and grab my right thigh and squeeze only to feel hard, rough, and rigid fiberglass in my right hand. I rub my left hand across the shell over my belly, again confirming that I really am seeing a cast on my body. I try to move my right leg, any part of it, and the only thing that I can do is get my toes to lift up slightly from the shelf they are sitting on, the edge of the cast above my toes is so close that I can’t even wiggle them properly. While trying to move my leg simply verifies that it is completely immobilized and not going to be moving, it also causes me a great deal of pain in a few spots. If I try to move my hip it hurts slightly below it. Trying to move my knee makes it hurt somewhere around half way down my shin, and if I push my knee too much it hurts up at my hip again and down around my ankle too. Moving my ankle in the cast causes pain around both my ankle and foot, and again up on my shin if I push too hard. It doesn’t take much of that pain to quickly get me to stop even trying to move my leg.

“Damn, that really hurts. A lot. What did they do to me? It feels like they broke my right leg in three or four places. I’m going to be stuck in this stupid cast for months if they did.”

I finally realize that I am lying on my bed with nothing on except the cast, otherwise I am completely nude. Looking around I find a pair of crutches leaning on the wall by the head of my bed. Stretching out my hand they are well out of reach from where I lie. I try to sit up again and can’t, the heel of my cast comes down and presses on the mattress before I can rise up more than a couple of inches. Pushing with my left arm and leg I find I can roll onto my right side fairly easily, but then the shape of my cast keeps me from rolling any further with my leg lying on its side.

I am able to roll to my left side with a bit more effort using both arms and keeping my left leg held straight. Balancing my right leg in the air like that is uncertain as the weight of the cast wants to shift and make me roll back or all the way forwards until my knee hits the mattress. I figure that I’ll need to use several pillows to stay on my side; either right or left, since the shape and weight of this cast seems to be balanced to keep me on my back. Rolling around also hurts some because I tense up muscles in my hip and leg each time.

“Crap, I’m going to have to get used to not moving my leg at all just to keep from hurting. Of course, if I can’t even manage to get out of bed that’s not going to be much of a problem.”

While figuring out how to turn on my sides I feel around the cast around my sides and back to see just what all it covers. The cast fully encases my right leg except for the tops of my toes all the way up to my butt. The edge of the cast on the inside of my thigh, which is also lined with the black cloth, is so high that it lightly brushes up against my crotch where it comes around, and practically all of my right butt cheek is fully covered. Feeling along the edge in back, I guess there is one or maybe one and a half inches of right butt cheek exposed up to the top of my crack where it angles over to go around just above my left hip forming the body portion of the cast. I try reaching as far as I can by bending the upper half of my torso to see just how far down I can bend and reach with this cast. The top edge of the cast is well padded but hard and stops me from getting far at all. I can just barely get the tip of my longest finger on my right hand to touch the cast over the closer end my knee while pressing the bottom of my breasts against the edge at the top. My left hand can’t get even that far as the cast stops me from twisting at the waist.

“Well there goes picking anything up off the floor on my own unless I’m laying down. Getting dressed is going to be a real challenge too, if not impossible without some help. I can’t reach far enough to be able to get anything down over my foot on my own.”

The next thing I try is sliding my left leg over to the edge of the bed then pulling my self around until my right foot is hanging past the edge as well with my left foot hanging down near the floor. Pushing up with my arms I manage to sit up about half way when my right thigh comes down on the mattress and stops me from going any higher. I carefully slide my body forwards until I feel the edge of the bed under me at the top of my left thigh and my foot is on the floor, then angle myself up further. My right foot hits the floor before I manage to get fully upright, but the difference is easy to maintain with one hand. Of course I find out the hard way that it’s just as easy to fall backwards flat again if I let go. Looking to my left at the crutches, I start to lean sideways reaching for them.

“I should be able to reach those things if I just lean over like this ... Almost ... A little more ... EEK!”

Just before I get my hand on the crutches I lean too far and lose my balance which causes me to tip sideways the final several inches and my hand hits on the grip of the crutches. Over balanced and leaning sideways I struggle to get up again while not letting go of the crutches. I grab the bed sheet with my right hand beside my right hip and pull, but it’s only enough to keep me from falling further when I stop holding myself up with my left arm. I quickly shift the crutches so the feet are in the corner between the floor and wall and angle them so I can push up against them with my left hand. That is enough to get me moving upright again and I manage to sit up with the crutches in my possession.

“That was fun, not.”

Tensing my belly and leaning forwards against the cast to stay up, I get one crutch up on either side of me and grab the top with both hand then pull up with my arms while using my left leg to push at the same time and manage to stand up. Taking a second to shift the crutches into their proper positions under my armpits, I find that they have obviously been correctly adjusted for my height. I look down and verify that my foot is hanging what looks from this angle to be a good six inches above the floor from my point of view.

‘No way I’m going to be able to put my foot down and stand on it, let alone even try to walk on it. That’s just too far to even bend my other knee to try.’

I carefully start trying to walk with the crutches by putting them in front of me a little bit and taking a step forwards. It’s awkward and more of a short hop than a step, but it is movement. I try a few more steps and move to the center of my room.

“Man that is strange. I want to move my right leg forward but it can’t move even though I tense up my muscles like normal. And it hurts. All I can do is lift up on the crutches and swing my good leg forward. This is so weird.”

I crutch around some more going out to the main room of my apartment and around into my kitchen to try and get used to moving like this. I slowly get a bit better at it, but all the crutching is also causing my leg to start throbbing too. Moving over to my recliner I turn around and try to line up so I will land squarely on the seat. I pull the pads of the crutches out from under my arms and use them to help support my weight as I bend my left knee and start to lower myself down. I get down to where my right foot hits the floor and it automatically pushes me backwards making me lose my balance and I fall back onto the chair. I let go of the crutches with my hands to catch myself and stop from sliding off the front of the seat, tuck my head forwards with my chin in my chest, and let the crutches fall. They come down across my chest and hit the top of my head then bounce off and end up crossed over my lap.

Using my arms I pull my immobilized body and leg as far up on the chair as I can go then I rub the top of my head with one hand where the crutches bashed me.

“Ouch.”

After a moment of rubbing the sore spot and glaring at the crutches I keep myself steady with the one hand and use the other to pick up and move the crutches to the side where they are in easy reach.

‘Well that was so not graceful of me. Guess I’m gonna be a wounded swan for a while with this thing.’

Reaching down to the side of the recliner I can’t quite get to the handle to lean it back.

“UGH,” I groan. ‘Of course, it’s on the right side. Can’t have it easy, now can I?’

Using my left hand I reach over and grab the right armrest and pull to roll to the right a bit which is enough so I can grab the handle. Pulling the handle up and back the foot rest of the recliner comes up and the back rest is released so I can lean it back. The foot rest fully extends up and out which catches my right foot and bring it along for the ride. This forces the cast to tilt back of course, and I am left pinned with my exposed body bent uncomfortably forwards even with the back rest getting pushed back. My recliner does not lie out completely flat, and I have to adjust the angle of the foot rest while at the same time trying to pull my butt all the way up to where it sits in the crease between the seat and backrest. After a couple tries and minutes go by I finally get into a comfortable position.

‘There, that’s good. Laying down some is making my leg feel a bit better. Getting up again is going to be a bother, but I’m good for the moment and I didn’t knock my crutches over either.

‘But what the hell is going on here? Why was I attacked and knocked out, and someone broke my leg is several places? Then of all things they put me in this cast and returned me to my own home where I woke up? This doesn’t make any sense.’

I look around my little apartment and don’t see anything that seems out of place. I’m pretty sure I even see my keys sitting next to my purse over on the side table I use next to the door. I continue to lie in the recliner quietly thinking about the situation, but for the life of me I can’t come up with any reasonable explanations. I semi zone out for a while thinking about this, and at least forty-five minute to an hour and a half goes by. I finally shake my head and notice my leg has stopped hurting, and I am getting thirsty. My big red water mug is sitting across the room on my computer desk. It’s less than twenty feet away in reality, but right now with how badly I’m moving around and feeling it may as well be a mile.

* sigh *

‘Already running into things that look too hard to deal with, and it’s only been a couple hours. This is going to get old quick.’

Steeling myself mentally I drop the footrest and slide to the edge of the seat so I can sit up more. I grab the crutches and get them set on either side of me and carefully stand up. The recliner rocks in fully upright mode which makes it harder to stand, but I push harder and manage it. Once I firm up my balance on the crutches by spreading them out and in front of me a little bit I make my way over to the desk and my water.

My office chair I use has a tall back and is not flexible between the seat and back, but it does have a tilt feature. I try to sit down on it and I can get a solid seat with my backside, but I’m only an inch or two from the edge at best. I unlock the seat to let it lean backwards which works and I feel like I won’t slide off the seat now. That does leave my right foot hanging up in the air well out in front of me though. Grabbing the edge of the desk I try to turn around and slide my casted leg up under the desk but my shin just below the knee hits the desk. I tilt forwards enough to get my knee to slide under and manage to pull forwards until the edge of the cast under my toes hits the back panel and I’m just barely close enough to reach the keyboard.

‘dang, this is going to be awkward and a bit uncomfortable. And I can’t reach the power buttons on my monitors from here either.’

I push back away from my desk to get my leg out from underneath, then turn sideways and pull up against the desk that way so I am able to reach the power buttons and turn on the monitors.

“Guess I’ll have to leave them on or swing around like this every time. I suppose enabling the blank screensaver without any password would work along with the power saver mode.”

As I pulled up the settings in question I noticed the clock in the corner of the screen showing it was well after three PM. All of a sudden it hit me.

“It’s Thursday! I’m supposed to be at work right now! Holy Crap!”

I frantically look around for my phone and can’t see it. Pushing up I grab my crutches and fumble with them trying to stand up again. It takes me a couple of tries and I almost fall face forwards before I get standing on my good leg. I turn around and visually search the room and no phone in sight. Hopping over to my purse I check and the phone is not on the table or in it. Getting worried I turn around and try to hurry back into the bedroom only to stumble and bang my right shoulder against the doorframe, but at least that keeps me from falling. Slowing down a bit I look around the bedroom and see my phone over on the headboard to my bed.

I move over and pull the phone down onto the mattress and let myself fall back to lie on my bed. Picking up the phone I locate my supervisor’s number and make the call.

“...”

“Hi, yea it’s me.”

“...”

“I know. I just saw the time and realized I missed coming in or calling.”

“...”

“No, I’m not okay.”

“...”

“I’m not entirely sure. You’re probably not going to believe this, heck I’m having a hard time with it right now as it is.”

“...”

“I’m laying here in a body cast right now.”

“...”

“Nope. I’m at home of all things. I woke up in my bed, not at a hospital, with this cast from my toes up to my ribs.”

“...”

“It’s just on my right leg, not the left one. It has my entire leg completely immobilized. I can’t move any part of my leg other than my toes and I can barely get them to wiggle the cast goes down that far.”

“...”

“No, I’m not kidding. Here, let me send you a pic of it.”

I try my best to get a good angle for a selfie and a moment later I hit send.

“There, did you get it?”

“...”

“I told you, it’s totally real.”

“...”

“That’s just it. I don’t remember what happened. Not exactly.”

“...”

“All I remember is walking home from the bar last night, then I’m pretty sure someone grabbed me from behind and the next thing I know I’m waking up at home in bed with this huge cast on me and nothing else.”

“...”

“No I didn’t see anyone. All I remember is hearing something then a smelly cloth getting shoved in my face and that’s it. Then I woke up here at home like I said.”

“...”

“Yea, I’ve got a lot of pain up and down my leg. It feels like they broke it in several places then put this cast on me and dumped me at home.”

“...”

“I have no idea why someone would want to hurt me like this. I’m completely baffled why this happened.”

“...”

“No I haven’t called the cops. I should have thought of that. Good point. I’ll call them as soon as I hang up with you.”

“...”

“I have no clue how long I’ll be stuck like this, or if it’s even real.”

“...”

“Well okay, yea. The cast is real. And it hurts, but I am not sure if my leg is really broken or not. I’m going to have to get checked out somehow. Maybe it’s all in my head and the cast can come off.”

“...”

“Yea, I know. That’s definitely possible and I’ll be stuck in this thing for the duration now that it’s on me. But who knows.”

“...”

“Alright. I’ll call the police and see how it goes. I’ll call you when I know more.”

“...”

“Bye.”

I call the non-emergency number for the local police department and spend several minutes talking to a detective. In short, they are going to send out an officer tomorrow some time to do a full interview and take pictures.

I look down at myself and wonder how I am going to cover up my crotch like this. It’s not like I can bend over and slip a pair of panties on. At least getting my top covered will be fairly easy. I find a t-shirt that is fairly thick and pull it on then I go through all of my skirts. I am looking for the ones that have a full side zip or button on them and are not super short. I have just a couple that meet my current needs and select the one that would normally hang to just below my knees. With the thick fiberglass shell surrounding my waist I can’t get it buttoned up all the way, but it does manage to stay up when I get standing again.

It is about this time that my body decides that it is in need of being relieved. I drop the skirt to the floor and hobble into the bathroom. Looking back and forth at the toilet and my cast I groan.

‘This is not going to be easy. I hope I don’t make a mess.’

I lift the seat to give me some more room figuring the size and angle of the cast will keep me from falling in and carefully lean the crutches against the wall. I turn around and use the bathroom counter on one side to hold me up and slowly lower myself down. There is just barely enough room between the front of the toilet and the wall to allow my leg to fit which turns out to be a good thing as now the cast itself is keeping me from sliding off due to the foot hitting the wall. My upper torso is bent awkwardly, and the angle I’m leaning back at is not good at all for what I need to do, but I am over the bowl for the most part. I carefully let my bladder go which manages to mostly make it down in and I take a moment to wipe up the mess. Thankfully I can still bend just enough to reach what I need for that. Then I try to let my bowels relax. It takes me ten minutes to convince my body to let go and in the end I have to really push to get the job done. Wiping that end off is a lot harder since I can’t twist or bend right but eventually I manage it.

Getting back up is a combination of pushing with just one leg and pulling up with my arms on the counter again. I take a double hit of generic pain pills with a full glass of water to combat the ache of probably broken bones that I’m feeling and hobble back out to the bedroom. Feeling nearly exhausted I go to bed and lie down.  Using the end of a crutch I manage to fish my skirt up off the floor and place it on the side of the bed where it is easy to reach.

‘Thank what ever powers there are I like my pillows.’

Tugging and pulling my immobile body around, then doing more tugging and pulling, I rearrange myself along with a couple of long body pillows up behind me so I can lie on my left side leaving my right leg hanging in the air. I close my eyes telling myself it’s for just a moment, and in no time I’m out like a light.

øøø                         øøø                         øøø

The next morning I am pulled out of my slumber by someone knocking on the front door. I open one eye to see that at some point I apparently rolled over forwards and my right knee is pressed down on the bed which has half of my face firmly planted into the pillow my head is laying on. Sighing I decide to try a new route out of bed. I slowly work around so that my casted leg slips over the edge of the bed and I finish rolling over onto my belly. I quickly find that the weight of the cast in this position is trying to pull me right off the bed and sit me up at the same time. I get my free leg under me to catch myself and push up so that I am partially standing while leaning forwards and holding myself up with my arms. I manage to grab one crutch and using that as a support I get fully upright.

The person at the door knocks again a little harder.

“Alright, alright, I’m coming,” I say quietly as I grab the other crutch.

I make my way out to the front door and look through the peephole. I see a woman standing there with a badge on her right chest and what looks like another woman dressed in a paramedic uniform behind her. I shift a little bit and crack the door open so that I am behind it and can lean forwards slightly to look out.

“Yes, who are you?”

“Hello. I am detective Angela Chase from the precinct and this is Susan, a paramedic. Her partner is out in the ambulance,” she informs me. “Are you Rebecca? The one who called about being attacked and put in a cast?” she asks while looking down.

I look and can see that my leg and foot is probably visible to her through the gap in the door.

“Um, yea, that’s me. Sorry it took me so long to answer. You woke me up. As you can imagine I’m having a hard time getting around in this thing, let alone trying to get dressed so I can be somewhat decent. Give me a few minutes to get covered up. I’ll leave the door open and you can come in.”

I turn and slowly make my way back to the bedroom again. Before I get half way to the bedroom door I hear them come in behind me.

“Damn, you weren’t kidding. That is one big cast. I’m amazed you can move around at all in it.”

I stop and turn sideways a little so I can look back at them.

“Yea, it’s a real pain. Literally.”

“Are you in pain right now?” Susan asks.

“A bit. Getting up is putting some stress on my leg and it hurts.”

“Let me go get Gwen, my partner, and we can help you.”

“That ... would be wonderful.”

Angela comes over and helps steady me while we wait. A couple minutes later I hear some rattling and my front door is opened wide to admit Susan and Gwen with a stretcher between them that they roll into the middle of the room.

“Oh. Um, I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Now that we have seen you, I’m going to have them take you to the hospital to be checked out, and we can conduct our interview there.”

“Uh, alright. What do you mean now that you’ve seen me?”

“Well, to be honest, what you told to the officer over the phone last night sounded a bit unusual and we couldn’t be sure it was ... accurate. We had to get a look at the situation first before making any decisions.”

“I see. So you thought I might be lying but had to check it out in any case on the chance it was true. At least you came prepared.”

Angela had the good graces to look sheepish as she nodded in confirmation.

“Do you want to put on anything specific? Some underclothes perhaps?” Gwen inquires.

“I have a skirt on my bed that should fit. I’m not too sure about a panty. I don’t think one will fit over this cast, and they’ll probably just take it off again at the hospital right?”

“Probably. Let me go get the skirt and we’ll help you get it on then get you on the stretcher here.”

Susan disappears into the bedroom and is back in a few seconds with the skirt in hand. With Gwen helping they get the skirt up and in place easily, then lift me up onto the stretcher as if I weigh nothing and strap me down for the ride.

“There. Anything you need?”

“Just my purse and keys over there,” I say pointing to the table.

Picking them up and handing them to me they wheel me out the door and lock my apartment for me. Loading me into the ambulance I am driven off to the hospital.

øøø                         øøø                         øøø

The examination by the doctors is thorough. My vital statistics are taken, blood is drawn, and I am subjected to a series of x-rays. A lot of questions about pain levels and how I am feeling are asked. The entire time Angela is always right there taking notes and overseeing everything. She tells me early on that at the moment this is being treated as a criminal investigation. Then a new nurse and a doctor come in carrying a sealed package of some kind.

“Rebecca, since you were attacked and apparently injured, we have to also go through the steps for a rape kit.”

“What? But I feel fine. At lest as far as that part of me goes.”

“I understand. This is procedure for a female who has been attacked and knocked unconscious. We have to be certain that there were no sexual violations, and if it appears there was then we can hopefully obtain some form of material evidence.”

The process is embarrassing, uncomfortable, and demeaning at best. The doctor, nurse, and even Angela do everything they can to treat me with the utmost respect through it all, but in the end I’m left feeling violated even though the tests indicate nothing of the type happened.

I am taken to a private area with Angela while we wait for the results of the blood work and x-rays to be completed and she can talk to me further. I tell her everything I can remember about the night I walked home, then the next morning when I woke up in the cast. She asks me a lot of questions about my love and personal life as well as my work relationships. I am open and answer all of her questions as honestly as I can.

“Well, this is definitely an odd one. You don’t seem to have anyone we might consider an enemy that would do this to you. That means this is possibly a random attack. Of course it could be something else entirely as well; we can’t rule anything out just yet.”

One of the doctors who have been examining me comes in with a nurse. The doctor is holding a file folder and the nurse is pushing what looks like a small circular saw hanging on a large barrel with a hose attached between them.

“We have the lab work and x-rays here. In short it looks pretty good I’d say. The x-rays do not show any signs of breaks or fractures in any bones. We are going to try and cut the cast off here in a moment since it does not appear to be necessary.”

“And the lab results Doctor, what do they indicate?” Angela wants to know.

“The lab results are not as clear. Understand it’s been more than twenty-four hours since we assume Rebecca was attacked and possibly drugged. With that being said, there are traces of drugs still in her system that can indicate the type that might be found from a strong sedative being used.”

“So, would you say she was drugged and incapacitated?”

“While I cannot guarantee it, the type and amounts detected are a good indication that an injectable sedative was used on the patient.”

“Wait a minute,” I butt in. “What do you mean? Do you think I’m making this up and I put myself in this damn cast?”

“I’m going to have to wait to answer that for now. Please do what you need to remove the cast. I need to witness the attempt and results.”

I sit back in shock at what Angela just said. The nurse plugs the saw into the wall and explains that it will not cut me. Turning it on the room echoes with how loud it is and they show me that it is safe by pressing it firmly down on their own palm. Starting at the top edge of the cast over my right hip the doctor presses down and saw digs in and begins to cut through the fiberglass. Watching it cut I am happy to see it coming off, but I am also nervous. They have not allowed me to have any pain medication and I am feeling a good bit of pain right now.

‘What if they’re wrong? What if I really do have a bunch of broken bones?’

I try to move again and I feel more pain in all the areas that I think were broken. Despite what the doctor says about the x-rays I am afraid.

The doctor continues to cut away, going on down the side of my leg. He gets to my knee and pauses to change the angle of the saw when Angela taps him on the shoulder. She simply points up at my hip. We all watch as the cast begins to repair the cut, sealing itself closed as if it had never been damaged. In just a couple minutes all the work the doctor had done cutting the cast open is gone. Like it had never happened the cast is whole and solid once more.

“Well, that is disappointing. I was hoping that once we proved that there were no broken bones we would be able to remove this cast. Unfortunately it looks like you may be stuck with it for a while.”

“So, that means I really am injured then? A cast won’t come off if there’s an injury right?”

“Not exactly,” Angela say to which the doctor nods.

“It is a mark in your favor,” he continues, “but we have had people who put a cast on for fun who end up stuck in them for as long as the imagined injury they were role-playing would normally take to heal. That was primarily at the beginning of when the living casts first appeared though. We hardly ever see any of those showing up any more now that things are better known and public.”

“I apologize Rebecca, but that was a possibility we had to consider here. I had to have them do those tests to verify your claims. And with the results they’ve gotten so far it lends credence to your story, but I am going to have to ask for one more now. Doctor I need you to do an MRI on Rebecca’s entire right side and leg. That will show us if there is any soft tissue damage or injury to the bones that the x-ray would have missed, correct?”

“Yes, it should most likely show what you are looking for. But it’s going to take until tomorrow for the results to be surveyed and verified.”

“Very well. Get her in and run the scans. Then we’ll have her admitted to a room here for the night until we get the results.”

“Great. So little liar Rebecca gets stuck in the hospital so she can be watched in case she tries to escape.”

The sarcasm and anger in my voice is not lost on the detective.

“I’m sorry Rebecca. I must inform you that you are a person of interest right now. This has to be done,” Detective Chase sternly reports. “We have to confirm or disprove every possibility. If everything turns out to be on the up and up just like you told us, then it will be covered by the city. If not, then you’ll be charged for falsifying a report and be held accountable for the cost to the hospital and the city.”

Her voice and tone softens as she says, “To be honest Rebecca, at this point I’m on your side here. I believe you, and this last test should give me and the department everything necessary to put this down as a violent attack on an unsuspecting and vulnerable young woman. With that done and officially recorded, you can get assistance with dealing with this mess for as long as you’re going to need it.

“But, I have to go through the steps first. This is all to protect you just as much as it is to catch out the ones who might try to game the system. I’m sorry.”

I look up at Angela for a moment, my lip trembling. I finally breakdown and the tears start to fall as I begin to sob.

“I- I- I get a- a- attacked an- and wake u- up in this hor- hor- horrible ca- ca- cast. A- And then I- I- have to be tre- tre- treated like a ra- rape vi- vi- victim which is ju-just awful. And n- now you- you- you’re treating m- me like I- I did this on pur-purpose!”

I cover my face with my hands and start bawling. I feel someone put their arms around me and pull my head to their shoulder then the nurse quietly speaks comforting words in my ear and gently rocks me the best she can with the now hated cast stopping much of the movement.

øøø                         øøø                         øøø

Waking up in a hospital is, different. The sounds are strange until you can identify them, and there is a subtle feeling of something is not right because you’re not in your own bed. Being confined in a large and awkward cast does not help.

After I had calmed down from my breakdown yesterday afternoon I was taken to have the MRI scan run while a bed was arranged for me to stay overnight. The MRI was loud and claustrophobically small, and they wanted me to remain perfectly still while the machine slowly fed me through the opening. Being stuck in a cast helped a lot to remain still, but apparently I moved at some point and they had to start over and do the scan a second time. By the time they were satisfied I was again crying and wanted out of there so badly. I was finally taken up to the orthopedic ward and put in a bed for the night, and with another apology Detective Chase left me to the care of the nurses on the floor.

Opening my eyes I just lie in bed and stare at the morning shadows on the ceiling. I try to move my leg again and immediately get rewarded with more pain.

‘If nothing is broken, then why does my leg hurt so much? There has to be something wrong. Broken or not my cast is doing its job and keeping my injured leg from moving.’

I play around with the bed controls moving the head up and foot down, until I can get my upper body in a comfortable position with my upper body raised up in a more reclined slant instead of down flat. The morning shift comes in and checks on everyone and brings breakfast around. The food is, well, hospital food. It’s bland on purpose so that it won’t irritate anyone’s tummy and makes it easier to digest. I suppose it’s not bad considering. I remain quiet through the morning and dejectedly stare out the window. The nurses stop by occasionally to see how I’m doing and I think they can tell I’m down as they try to engage me with small talk. I’m not good company and barely acknowledge them with single word responses or a grunt. Lunch gets served and it’s more of the same, bland but at least decent.

Detective Chase shows up in the early afternoon and a few minutes later the same doctor walks into my room with the folder in his hands.

“Well, am I faking it and you’re here to arrest me now?”

The tone of my voice is soft and defeated. Because I don’t look directly at either of them, instead keeping my eyes down and focused on my bright pink prison, I fail to see Angela wince with a hurt look in her eyes.

“Doctor, please give us the results of the MRI,” she requests softly.

“The scans were conclusive. Your insistence to run the MRI twice yesterday gave us plenty of data to work with.

“There is definite soft tissue damage to the patient’s upper thigh just below the hip, mid shin and calf in the lower leg, around the ankle and heel, and finally in the foot. The results indicate that there was trauma inflicted that would be consistent with being forcefully struck by a solid object.

“Also, while hard to be certain, there appears to be some minor damage to the skeletal structures as well. This appears to be either some very minor stress fractures or deep bone bruising. Putting together all of the test results indicate by a large margin in favor of the patient that they were indeed attacked as reported.”

‘Oh gods, I really do have broken bones.’

“S- So how long am I going to be stuck in this thing?”

“We can’t be certain. These new casts are still being studied and we can’t really tell just how long any one cast will remain in place. Early evidence though shows that they tend to retain their ability to repair any damage done to them and the ability to resize them selves smaller as the patient’s limb or body atrophies for as long as it would normally take for the injured limb to completely heal the underlying fracture. Once the bone is whole again the casts will start to show signs of normal wear and tear, and at that time we have been able to successfully cut them off.

“In your case, it could be as short as just two weeks while the bruising heals. Or, if instead the cast somehow assumes there were complete fractures in the areas indicated it could take as long as three or four months, possibly even six if you are a slow healer. Those are the best estimates I can give based on the type of injury sustained. I can’t do any better than that I’m afraid.”

“Thank you Doctor. A copy of all the test results and scans along with a detailed summary of the findings will be required for our investigation. We’ll be contacting the hospital for those records and to arrange any appropriate funding for Rebecca’s care in a few days. Now, if you will, please give us some privacy here.”

“I think I need to be alone right now, Detective. Would you please leave with the doctor?”

The doctor and Angela leave the room and I hear the privacy curtain pulled closed then the door shut as well. I look dejectedly down at the expanse of pink plastic that is my lower right body and sigh.

‘Hate it or not, I’m going to have to get used to it. This cast is going to be with me for the next few months at least.’

I turn to stare out the window while my hand absently rubs across the fiberglass over my belly and down my hip.

øøø                         øøø                         øøø

It’s been a couple of days since I was given my sentence. I did get help from the city with the financial side of things. In fact, they took care of paying for everything from some type of victim’s fund. The hospital staff taught me how to get around better on crutches, and showed me how to take care of my hygiene and toileting needs. I was given some dressing aids so I could put clothes on myself again, a raised and modified seat for my toilet, and they even rented a wheelchair out to me for when the crutches were too tiring.

Once I was released to go back home I contacted my work and explained everything to Nancy, my supervisor. I really didn’t have any reason to take sick leave as far as I was concerned, and the city had given me paperwork I could give to my employer to cover the days I had missed and any accommodations I might need. We had decided that I would return to work on Tuesday to give me an extra day to get used to my new situation. I used the day to go out and get some new clothing to fit over my semi-permanent neon accessory. Julie, a friend from work, took the day off to drive me around since I definitely am not able to drive with this cast on, and she is going to be my ride to and from work while I am stuck like this.

Yesterday I was still sore, but not nearly as much as I had been feeling the first three days. This morning as I have been moving around and getting ready for work has been almost pain free. I manage to get dressed and choose a long, ankle length, dark green peasant skirt to try and cover up the monstrosity that has enveloped my right leg. A simple dark beige blouse and a black ballet flat on my left foot finishes up my outfit. Standing in front of my mirror I can barely see the pink of the cast showing through the material of my blouse, with my entire right leg and foot hidden up under the skirt.

“That will suffice. If it weren’t for my knee sticking out and the crutches you almost can’t tell I have a cast on.”

Julie shows up a few minutes later and we manage to get me into the passenger seat again, and we’re off to the office. Arriving at work I pull out the Disabled Parking tag from my bag and hang it on Julie’s rear-view mirror.

“One perk for ferrying around a cripple at least,” I say with a grin.

Julie smiles and helps me out of the car once we claim a spot with the stripes on the passenger side.

I’m just using my crutches today, leaving the wheelchair at home. I had talked to Nancy and told her that I’d need a different style of chair to sit on and some way to adjust my desk too since I can’t sit upright normally. She said they’d have some options available for me when I got there and we could work out what was best.

Walking into the office I was nearly mobbed by everyone coming to greet me and wanting to know how I was doing. I had told Nancy the full story and let her know she could tell the rest of the people what happened, just to try and keep from having to repeat the story five million times.

“Rebecca! How are you doing?”

“Are you in any pain?”

“How bad is it?”

“How were you injured?”

“Have they caught the people who did this to you?”

“We heard you are in a huge cast. How big is it and can we see it?”

“How long are you going to be stuck in the cast?”

“Do you need any help getting to your desk?”

“Can I get you a coffee or drink?”

I giggle a little bit and smile, thankful for the concern they are showing.

“I’m doing as well as can be expected, all things considered.

“It’s been pretty painful the last few days, but today is a good day so far and it doesn’t hurt all that much.

“According to the doctors there is soft tissue damage to my hip, knee, leg, ankle, and foot. There may also be some deep bone bruising or even minor stress fractures to the bones in the same areas.

“They guess that I was hit pretty hard with something heavy several times.

“No, the police have not caught anyone. There is very little evidence that points to whoever it might have been, and they may never find them.

“The cast goes from all the way up here,” I grab the top edge of the cast through my blouse a short bit below my breast, “all the way down my right leg,” and I knock on the cast over my knee, “right on out to past the tips of my toes.” I pull the hem of my skirt up far enough to expose my foot where it hangs several inches above the floor in its pink fiberglass shell.

“And no, for obvious reasons you cannot see the whole thing.

“They are not sure how long I’ll have to wear this cast. If it’s just a bit of bruising, then it could be as short as two weeks. If it’s more then I could be looking at two to six months like this. I’ll be going back for my first check up in two weeks to see if the cast can be cut off then.

“I am still working at getting comfortable with these crutches, but I have the basics figured out and can get around somewhat alright already. I think I can make it to my desk without too much trouble. Julie is going to be my ride for the duration.

“I would love a hot tea if you want to grab one for me. Earl grey of course. I can’t carry much in my hands with these crutches.

“Has anyone seen Nancy yet this morning? We’re supposed to go over some options for my desk and chair to accommodate this mess.”

“As soon as we saw you coming in, I saw Nancy head over to the conference room. She said to send you there.”

“They pulled several different chairs and some desks into the conference room yesterday, I’m guessing so they could have you check them out all together.”

“Thanks. Guess I should go find her then.”

Everyone broke up and went back to their own desk or office and I made my way into the conference room. Swinging in Nancy greeted me.

“Hi Rebecca. How are you doing?”

“I’m here. It’s been difficult, but I’m starting to get used to it a little bit. It looks like you’ve got a bunch of furniture in here for me to look at.”

“That’s right. With your description and the picture you sent me I had HR pull some of the test furniture out that we looked at when we moved to this location last year. I think we should be able to find something that will work for you in here.”

We went through everything they gathered, and found a desk that I could use. The desk was wide and had pneumatic legs on it that could be raised or lowered with a couple of low profile buttons located on the underside of the table top. It included several light weight drawers that hung down on either side and a long narrow central drawer in the middle.

The chairs were a bit harder. Since I could not sit normally none of the ones that rested at the standard height would work. Nancy pulled out a binder and flipped through several pages, then made a call. About thirty minutes later a couple of maintenance workers came in with two more chairs. These were different than the usual ones.

“I remembered seeing these during the demonstration,” Nancy explained. “They are designed for people with trouble sitting down and getting back up again.”

Looking them over, the seats on the chairs were much higher than normal, and could still be adjusted up and down some. One had a full size backrest while the other had a half size one. The chair with a half-back had arm rests that were actually attached to the back instead of the seat. The arm rests on the full back chair were attached to the seat, but could be removed. Testing them both I selected the full back chair and removed the right side arm rest. That allowed me to lower the seat just enough so that I could let my left foot comfortably rest of the floor without putting undue pressure on my thigh while situating my right leg so it semi hung off the side of the seat and I could sit almost straight up. It also had a foot rest that I could put my left foot on while sitting back in the seat to use the back rest, again with my right leg hanging down off the side.

“These are great Nancy, thanks.”

“We’ll get your desk switched out and everything set in less than an hour, Rebecca,” the maintenance girl said.

“Sounds good. Be careful, there may be a hot cup of tea on my desk by now. Someone offered to grab me one and I accepted.”

An hour later and I was back to work.

Everyone seemed to find an excuse to stop by and see me during the day and I wound up answering many of the same questions over and over again.

øøø                         øøø                         øøø

After a couple of days most of the excitement died down and work got back to regular business for the most part. By the end of the day on Tuesday my left butt was aching a bit so I brought an extra pillow from home and the added cushioning made it more bearable if not entirely comfortable. At least the pain from my broken bones had become almost non-existent. I spent the weekend doing pretty much nothing and the next week settled into a routine. Julie got me to and from work, and several of my co-workers assisting me when I needed to get around and with drinks and food.

Things were still difficult and by Friday morning on the second week I was feeling beat and more than ready to just stay home and collapse in my recliner with take-out and a movie. But I had my first doctor appointment in the afternoon to go to and find out if my cast might be able to be removed. Julie was my official taxi as far as work was concerned and they were giving her any time off and the flexibility to come and go as needed to get me around.

“So, the appointment did not go so well,” Julie said as she was picking me up from the hospital, the crutches and cast still obviously present.

“No, it didn’t. They tried cutting the cast first thing and he didn’t even make it down to my hip before it started healing itself, and it repaired the cut even faster than last time. They ran me through taking new x-rays and although the pictures were not clearly obvious, he thinks there are probably some stress fractures,” I explained with a frown.

“Darn, that is too bad,” she commiserated with me. “So how long do they think you’re going to be in that cast now?”

“I’m probably looking at a minimum of two months at least, and the possibility of even longer is still there.”

“Oh no, how much longer?”

“They’re still saying it could potentially be up to six months.”

“Wow. Hopefully it will only be the two months. Got any plans for tonight or this weekend?”

“Not really Julie. This week has been pretty tough and I need to rest. Everyone has been super helping me out and that’s really helped, but I still find having to wear this huge cast leaves me worn out by the end of the day.”

“It’s probably all the crutching you have to do. You’re not used to it so your arms and one leg are doing all the work now.”

“Yea, and the enforced immobilization. I can’t really let my body relax like I am used to.”

“Do you want to get together? I can bring the wine.”

“I was just planning on ordering delivery and vegging with a movie, but if you’re up to it some company would be appreciated.”

“I have no plans and some wine that I got for Christmas I haven’t opened yet. Let’s get you home then I’ll go grab a change of clothes and the bottle and come back.”

“Bring something to sleep in and you can stay the night. We’ll figure out something for you to sleep on.”

“Alright. Here we are. Let get you inside and then I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

I made it inside and just before Julie left she told me to wait on ordering food until she was back. I got changed into something more comfortable and got into the spare bedroom closet to see if I could find the air mattress I remembered getting to go camping a few years ago. Not being able to move around any boxes, I couldn’t really dig through the things I had stored in there and eventually retreated to the living room where I collapsed into the recliner to wait for Julie to arrive.

It took about two hours before Julie knocked on the door and walked in. She was carrying several bags with the logo of my favorite Mediterranean restaurant on them.

“Julie, what did you do? I was going to order a simple pizza.”

“I figured as much so I stopped and got dinner. You’ve had a tough week and a big disappointment today so you need something nice. Let me set this down and go get the rest of my bags and we’ll have a girls night in.”

Dropping the food in the kitchen she left for a moment and came back with an overnight bag and a soft-side cooler. Setting the cooler down beside me she went into the bedroom to drop her night bag.

“Hey, since you’re back there, if you dig into the spare closet there should be an air mattress for you.”

“Great, I’ll pull it out.”

While I listened to the sounds of Julie moving things around I reach over and open the cooler to find two bottles of a nice wine being chilled along with the receipt. When Julie came back out I gave her the stink-eye for a moment.

“What?”

“Julie Martinez, you did not have this wine sitting around since last Christmas. Don’t you try to deny it; I found the receipt in the cooler.”

“Okay, fine,” she said with a laugh. “I said you needed something nice and I went and bought everything after I dropped you off. So sue me.”

“That’s too much Julie, but thank you. I really appreciate it.

“Now, what movies do we want to watch?”

“Ooo, I love digging through your movie collection! Let’s see ...”

Once Julie satisfied her need to browse my video library we settled down and had a very nice evening eating good food, watching several movies, and drinking a lot of wine. Between a couple of the movies Julie went and setup the mattress and changed into her sleep wear for the night. I had put on a long t-shirt and sweatpants when I changed earlier, but decided that I wanted to change again when we decided it was time for bed.

“Becca, let me help. You’ve had a lot of wine and I don’t think you can stand up straight even with the crutches.”

“Um, yea. Good idea,” I said as I stumbled trying to take a step. “Maybe you should go get the wheelchair.”

Julie got me seated and rolled me into my bedroom. Helping me to get undressed became a bit of a challenge as I really was drunk and swaying a good bit even standing still.

“Wow, that cast really is big,” she remarked after getting the sweatpants off. She ran a hand over the cast feeling it all the way from my foot up my leg to the top edge below my breast at the bottom of my ribs. “This is the first time I’ve gotten to really see it. It’s amazing.”

“That’s one word for it I suppose. Not my first choice though. I’d prob’ly pick something less nice.”

“I can understand. You’re stuck in it. But really, look at it. The cast perfectly conforms to your body and holds your leg completely immobile in its grasp. There’s not one single blemish or defect anywhere. It’s absolutely incredible. I’ve never gotten to take a close up look at one ever since they became self growing.”

“Have you never had a cast before?”

“Oh sure. I broke my arm in high school back before they became alive. Had a cast up past my elbow for a month and a half. How about you?”

“Never had one. This is my first.”

“Well be glad. That cast was itchy and rubbed a sore spot on my arm and thumb by the time they took it off. And it had wrinkles and folds because the nurse wasn’t careful while she put it on. It was ugly. Yours is so smooth and neat. And you won’t have to worry about getting a sore spot around the edges because it’s not properly padded or too short and causing pressure like mine was. This cast is, well, perfect.”

“Oh good, my pink plastic prison is perfect. I’m thrilled,” I say disgusted.

“Come on now, don’t be a downer. I know it sucks to have to wear that cast, but at least you get the benefit of the new abilities they have.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I guess all things being even it is better than they used to be from what you’re saying. But I didn’t choose this. Someone hurt me and put me into this cast and now it’s going to be months before I can get it off.”

“Yea, that part does suck. But still, it’s so neat what they can do these days.”

“Sure sure. Now give me my crutches so I can go brush my teeth and go to the bathroom. The wheelchair won’t fit in there.”

Grabbing the crutches I made my way into the bathroom and took care of business. I was really having trouble staying steady from all the wine, so I asked for and got some assistance from Julie with the toilet so I wouldn’t fall off.

Coming back out to the bedroom I stumbled over something I didn’t see and got the ends of the crutches crossed which tripped me and I went down hard. The crutch under my left arm jammed up into my armpit and I heard something in my shoulder pop with a sharp pain at the same time while also twisting my wrist. The right crutch went out in front of me before the end came down on the carpet and suddenly stopped in place which threw me back towards my left side as I was going down and my abused shoulder came down hard on the floor. The impact hurt, but at the same time there was a second pop and the pain actually diminished.

Unfortunately I was close enough to the wheelchair that the left side of my jaw and head hit the metal bar and footplate hard enough that I saw stars then I passed out.

øøø                         øøø                         øøø

I wake up and moan in pain. Opening my eyes I realize that I am lying in my bed. I try to say something but the pain of moving my jaw just makes me moan even louder.

“Shhh, don’t try to talk,” I hear Julie say while she gently cups my jaw with her hand.

“You had a nasty fall and you’ve already got a big bruise on the side of your face. I managed to get you up off the floor and in bed.”

“What ...” I manage to get out in a whisper.

“You went down so fast I couldn’t do anything, but it was like everything was in slow motion at the same time and I could see it all happening in detail. I watched your left shoulder suddenly get distorted like the bone had popped out of place, then when you twisted as you fell you landed right on your shoulder and it popped back. I’m guessing you at least dislocated your shoulder, if not broke it, and landing on the floor popped it back in again. The sounds of it coming out then going back were nasty.

“You also bounced your head hard on the leg rest of the wheelchair and twisted your neck around. I’m not sure, but I think I might have heard something crack. You looked up at me for just a second then your eyes rolled back so all I saw was white and you passed out.

“I rolled you over onto your back and made sure you were still breathing, then I worked you up onto your bed as carefully as I could. Your left wrist also looks a little bit swollen too.”

I groan both from the pain and the description of me falling and injuring myself.

‘Oh no, what if I reinjured my leg? Or worse, what if I’ve actually broken something else? That would mean I’d be even more disabled with another cast,’ I panicked.

I try to sit up but Julie holds me down.

“No, don’t try to move. I’m worried you’re really hurt. That bruise showed up really fast. I think your jaw could be broken and maybe your neck.”

I look up at her with frightened eyes and give a low whine while I bring my hands up to feel my neck. My left wrist gave me a sharp pain as I bend it and I squeak and put that hand back down.

“Called nine-one-one?” I whisper.

“Um, not yet. I wanted to make sure you were going to wake up first. You’ve been out for about thirty minutes.”

I turn my head to look for my phone and get another jolt of pain for the effort which made me gasp and stop moving.

“Oh, hey, what’s this?” Julie says while looking down lower on my chest.

I hadn’t noticed anything, but when she said that I began to feel something creeping up over my breasts. Reaching down with my right hand I feel the edge of the cast, only to find it is now higher up. Instead of being at the bottom of my ribs like it has been for the past two weeks the cast is now half way up my chest and half covering my breasts.

“Oh wow, your cast is growing. I never thought I’d get to see that.”

‘My cast is growing?!? Oh no! I must have broken something more!’

“Nooooo!” I yell out despite the pain it causes.

The pain is enough that a few tears manage to roll down the sides of my face.

“Hurts,” I mumble.

“Rebecca, honey, it’ll be alright. Here, let me get you something.”

She gets up from the side of the bed and returns a few minutes later with a small glass of the wine with a straw in the glass. She goes into the bathroom and I hear her open a bottle of pills then come back out.

“Here, drink this down with a couple of you pain medication pills.”

I open my mouth just enough so she can fit three pills between my teeth then slips the end of the straw in and I suck up the last of the wine to swallow the pills. It takes about fifteen minutes for the prescription medication combined with what I just drank, but mainly from what I had been drinking earlier, to start taking effect. After about thirty minutes I am at least not feeling any sharp pains any more. Not moving also helps keep the pain to a minimum.

By the time the pills and alcohol take effect the cast has grown up to completely cover my breasts and made it up over my shoulders. I am still scared about what might be broken, but the effect from the drugs has me not worrying about it as much.

‘Guess I’ll figure out what all I broke here from the cast. It was right about my leg, so it’ll be right about my neck shoulder and jaw too I bet.’

“Get better,” I whisper.

“Hush now. The cast is still growing to protect you. I’ll stay here with you.”

I feel the edge of the cast creeping up my neck and it begins to press up on my jaw. I start to get worried again and try to complain.

“No. Don’t want-”

Julie pinches my lips closed and cuts me off.

“Quiet. The cast is working up under and around your jaw. I’d guess you broke it and the cast is trying to stabilize it. It also looks like it’s growing down around your left shoulder. From what I saw you definitely injured it, and with the cast growing down around there it could be broken too.”

I just lay there scared of what is happening to me. A few more tears slowly trickled down my cheeks occasionally while we wait to see how big the cast will get.

‘I must be really hurt. The cast is forcing my jaw shut so I can’t move it, and it’s starting to claim my left shoulder. I probably have a broken jaw and shoulder like Julie said. My neck and wrist still hurt too.’

It takes another hour and the cast has completely forced my jaw closed so I can’t open it even a tiny bit and has continued to grow up the back and side of my head. It now covers the entire back of my head and reaches above my ears, and I can feel it growing around over my forehead. The cast has also continued to grow down my left arm and fully immobilized my shoulder. My left shoulder is immobilized out to the side with about a forty-five degree angle pointing down towards my hip. The cast has partially encased my elbow and appears that it is going to continue down my forearm as well.

Julie comes back into the room and inspects how far it has gotten.

“You have an almost complete Minerva cast around your head now, there’s just a couple inches left between the two arms on your forehead. I’m guessing it will be done in a few minutes. At least you have small openings over your ears so you can still hear clearly. Can you open your mouth?”

I grunt and barely wiggle my upper lip up some. The cast completely cups and covers my chin and the edge is pressing up against my lower lip so I can hardly even spread my lips.

“Wow, no movement in your jaw. It must be broken.

“How’s the arm doing?”

She looks down and I feel her rub my lower arm up to just below my elbow where I stop being able to feel her fingers. I try to flex my elbow some and it is restricted in how far I can bend it.

“Looks like it’s going on down your arm all the way. I bet you messed up your wrist too.”

“Mmm,” I grunt in agreement.

“Is your right leg okay? Does it hurt any?”

“Uh-uh,” I manage to grunt as a negative.

“The cast doesn’t look like it has changed any at all down there at least so I guess there was no more damage to it.”

I feel the cast come together across my forehead and try to turn my head a little. The cast is tight and firm, and I can’t wiggle in any direction at all. No up, down, or side to side movement is possible. The cast on my arm seems to pick up speed a little bit once the headband for the Minerva cast is finished. I feel it finish encasing my elbow at a ninety degree bend to hold my hand pointing out in front of me and it starts covering the thicker part of my lower arm.

I feel Julie grab my left forearm and push her fingers up under the edge of the cast while it continues to grow. I look up at her in confusion. She takes my left hand and gently bends my fingers around her forearm, then I hear tape being unwound. A second later I feel the tape wrap around the fingers of my hand and realize she is taping our arms together.

I grunt, confused, and try to pull my hand away but she has enough tape already around my hand and her arm along with the restrictions of the cast immobilizing the rest of my arm that I cannot let go of her arm. She stands there and watches for several minutes as the cast stops growing altogether. The look on her face is one of great concentration. Her eyebrows wrinkle up and she frowns. I feel her hand grip tighter on my arm as she seems to concentrate even harder.

Another few minutes go by then I feel the cast begin to grow again, this time including Julie’s fingers. Once the cast has fully included her hand Julie stops frowning and even smiles.

“It worked.”

Stuck flat in my bed in a cast from my right toes to my forehead that has my jaw forced shut and is growing to encase the rest of my left arm along with Julie’s left hand and arm, I can’t really question her or figure out what she is doing.

“Hmm?” I grunt to try and get her to explain.

“I wasn’t sure it would work.

“I’m sorry Rebecca, but I’ve been rather jealous of you these last couple weeks.”

I wrinkle my own eyebrows and try to tilt my head at her, but the cast stops me from bending my neck.

“I said that my cast in high school was ugly and caused sores. That probably sounded like I hated it. Well, that’s not true. I loved having that cast. The feeling of having my arm immobilized, not being able to bend my wrist, it was great. It would have been even better if the cast had kept my elbow from moving as well, but it was too short and in just a couple of weeks I could bend it a good bit. I also loved the attention I got while I had to wear it and all the signatures from friends and family and even strangers was super. I’ve always wanted to repeat that experience; especially now that casts are considered to be ‘living’ and can self grow and repair them selves so they remain perfect.

“Your cast is perfect. It’s been two weeks and there is no indication of wear or tear to it. By now in the old days you’d have a worn spot under your toes and probably one or two other spots where you lean on it a lot, or the stockinette around the edges somewhere would be starting to fray a tiny bit. But it’s not, and I am so jealous.

“When I saw you fall I was so scared you’d get hurt worse, but at the same time there was this little voice in the back of my head that made me think ‘What if I got hurt falling down with her too?’ It was small and quiet, but it was there.

“Then I saw and heard your shoulder get dislocated and knew you were really hurt. I grabbed my phone and almost dialed for nine-one-one; then I stopped. That little voice was there again. ‘What if?’ I shook it off and like I told you I checked to see if you were breathing then I got you up in bed.

“And I still did not call. I’m sorry. I started to think about how I could have gotten hurt and how I might get a cast out of it. I remembered how you told me that bit about how the detective thought you might be faking it, and the doctor mentioned how they had people who came in with fake injuries and casts they couldn’t take off. And I started to dream of how I could turn this into my own cast too.

“You probably think I’m nuts at this point, and maybe I am. It’s probably the wine in part, but I just had to take the chance. You woke up and I started telling you that you might have been hurt really badly. It was enough that your cast actually started to grow again. When I saw that I couldn’t stop. I gave you the rest of the wine and probably more prescription meds that I should have, but it did calm you down and maybe made you more suggestible. I kept it up so that your cast would continue to get bigger, whether or not you’ve really got broken bones. The cast grew up over the rest of your body and started to expand up your head. And also down your arm.

“I knew this was my chance. I watched as it flowed down your arm and around your elbow. When it got to your lower arm I forced my finger tips up under the edge of the cast and grabbed on tight while taping your hand to my forearm. Then I began to imagine that I had been caught in your fall too, and you fell on top of me. I imagined that I had also gotten hurt pretty badly in the fall.

“At first the cast stopped growing at all. I got worried that it wouldn’t include my hand or arm because, well, I’m not a part of you. But I didn’t give up and just concentrated even harder on my own supposed injuries. And it worked. The cast started growing again. It went right on over my fingers. I kept it up until my whole hand was included inside the cast on your arm.

“And look at it now. I’ve been talking to you this whole time and it has kept growing. The cast is all the way up to your wrist, over half way up my forearm, and it’s still going.”

Julie is right. I could feel the cast pressing against my wrist on the outside of my arm and it was continuing to grow up over the back of my hand. She is also right that I think she is crazy, but there wasn’t much I could do about that. We were now stuck together, with her entire hand and arm stuck up inside of my cast all the way down to my hand.

 The cast took about ten minutes to grow up to the edge of my knuckles then it stopped. Julie noticed it stop too and she frowns. I can feel her trying to wiggle her hand and even pull it out, but she is not going to get free. The cast holds her arm immobile right where it is. Then I began to feel something happening on the inside of the cast around our arms. It takes a few minutes to figure it out. The cast is starting to grow between our arms and separating them so we are no longer touching skin to skin. It took Julie a few moments longer to figure it out.

“Is it starting to separate us?”

“Mmm,” I agreed.

“That’s good. I didn’t want to be permanently stuck to you. That would have been awkward in so many ways.”

In about twenty minute our arms are fully separated into separate chambers, and in thirty minutes the cast around Julie’s arm splits off from mine so she is free from me. She holds up her hand and I can see the cast has fully enclosed her entire hand out past the tips of all five fingers.

“Guess I am going to completely lose the use of all of my fingers. Small price for the way I got my own cast. Now it just needs to keep going, my injuries are pretty bad and need to be immobilized,” she states with a small smile while staring at her cast.

A few minutes later and we both see that the cast on her arm is now growing up towards her elbow.

“There it goes, that’s it. Keep growing.”

Julie and I watch as the cast encompasses her elbow, holding it at a ninety degree angle, and continues working its way up her arm.

“I guess I can tell you what injuries my poor broken body has suffered from having you fall on top of me. Your cast came down hard on my arm and hand here, breaking several bones in my hand and both bones in the forearm. One of your crutches got tangled up between us and bent my arm out of place as I fell which caused a partial fracture at the mid humerus and dislocated my own shoulder and possibly cracked the bones of the socket too. Because of the bad position of how we fell down and where the wheelchair was at, I hit my head at a bad angle and broke my neck in several of the vertebrate. At least, that’s what I’ve imagined happened.

“From what I have so far it looks like I’ll have a complete hand immobilizing cast with a shoulder spica cast. I hope I’ll also get a Minerva cast like you have. Once it’s done I’ll probably have to wear the whole cast for however long it takes for my imagined neck fractures to heal which will be the longest. I’m guessing any where from three to six months at least.”

By this time the cast had risen up to just below her armpit and is still growing.

“Once I’m done and have my full cast I’ll call nine-one-one and say that we were knocked out and didn’t wake up until it was all over.”

There was little I could do about it other than lay there. I try to sit up or move anything in my new bigger cast and am frustrated by the lack of results. I no longer have any movement of my body. I can’t bend or twist in the slightest any more like I could before. My head is held rigid and I can only stare straight forwards or look around only as far as I can turn my eyes in their sockets. The cast covering my left arm goes all the way down to include the entire palm of my hand, but at least leaves my fingers free. Although, how useful having five fingers able to wiggle is questionable at best since I can not move my arm in any direction and my hand is held hanging out there in front of and to the side of my waist.

Added to this was the pain I caused when trying to move. My wrist really hurt if I tried to bend my hand around, and my shoulder hurt even worse trying to move it against the cast. My neck wasn’t too bad despite the fact that I got sharp stabs of pain trying to move my head; the level of pain was less than my shoulder. My jaw really hurts though, and aches constantly even when I don’t try to open my mouth. That pain is on the same level or maybe just a little bit less than my shoulder.

Julie has removed her nightgown and is standing there naked from the waist up while the cast continues to grow and encase her body. Interestingly, when it has her shoulder in its grip the cast grows down over her chest but not up her neck at all. Instead, it worked over to the right side of her body and joined up from front to back around the torso and even extended a band up over the top of her right shoulder. The edge of the cast was close to, and she could probably feel it rubbing against, her neck but it left her neck completely free. While the cast continues to extend down over her breasts and belly to where it finally stops just above her hips, Julie would frequently frown and reach up with her right hand to feel the edge of the cast around her neck.

When the cast stopped growing around her body it took us several minutes to see that a couple of protrusions were growing out of the cast. One was at her waist and the other started to extend out from her mid forearm.

“Oh, looks like I’ll have an abduction bar included in my cast,” she said happily. “You don’t have one though. It’ll be almost impossible to hide my cast under clothing with a bar in the way.”

In around thirty minutes the two ends reach each other and join into a single bar connecting her arm to her waist.

“Come on now, I have a broken neck too you dumb cast. A pretty badly broken one at that. You need to take care that injury too dang it.”

Despite her claims, the cast around her neck remained stable and unchanging.

Julie doesn’t see it when it starts, and I can’t say anything to tell her either. Julie had finally sat down on the edge of my bed next to me so she was actually closer to me now. I can see two bumps begin to form in her cast higher up on her chest. They continue to get bigger until they are maybe the size of half a golf ball or so. They’re not round though, but more rectangular and I could see corners showing up as if the cast tape had been wrapped over and around something either inside or under the cast.

After a couple minutes of nothing happening once the bumps formed they began to grow again, but this time just on the top or upper side where they started to grow upwards. A minute later the pink fiberglass seems to just open up and expose two black nubs that keep growing, one on each side. About the time that I notice two more black spots growing up from behind Julie, she notices the two in front.

“Huh? What are ... Oh. It couldn’t be.”

She reaches up with her right hand and feels the on one the right, then the one on the left. Reaching up over her shoulder the best she can she waves her hand around until it encounters the black rod that was growing up from behind on the right and she grabs it. After feeling that one for a moment she tries to reach around over her left shoulder too. It looks like she found the one on that side too as her arm stopped shifting for a moment. The look of panic that grew on her face as she found and felt all four of the rods was pretty obvious, although I had no idea what has her so spooked.

“No no no. Not this. I didn’t want one of these! Not a Halo Brace!”

‘Oh dang. I’ve heard of those, and even seen a picture or two. I’ve never seen one for real though. Don’t they include screws driven into your head? That is going to really suck for you Julie. I’m glad it’s not me.’

Julie is in a full blown panic at this point, but nothing she does seems to make a difference. The four rods continue to grow until they reach up to somewhere near the height of the top of her head. From there a type of connection grows on the end of the bars leaving maybe an inch of the rod exposed above the connector. Once the connection is done a new bar begins to grow going from the front bar to the back bar, one on either side of her head. All the bars and the connectors are black, with silver colored bolts screwing them together. Once the two horizontal bars finish growing Julie just seems to deflate and give up. She just hangs her head down and quietly cries.

With the support rods all formed two new and differently shaped connections begin to form in the middle portion of the horizontal bars, still in black with a couple of silver bolts securing them to the rods. The whole framework takes around an hour to grow.

I watch as the new piece starts to grow. First, a new silver colored bolt forms in single holes positioned just above the rod on each connector. From the ends of the bolts on the inside closer to Julie’s head another black frame begins to grow. It forms a sort of leg that extends down and backwards, and at the same time grows another extension upwards and back at a different angle. The two legs that went down include about two holes in them that appear to be threaded then stop growing. The ones that grew upwards curved around until they met and joined together.

With the large curved piece finished two new extensions, one on either side, begin to grow forwards for an inch or two then stop. Guessing what they are waiting for I reach up and put my fingers under the end of Julie’s chin. Pushing up gently, I made Julie raise her head and with my eyes I try to convey my apologies.

‘I know this probably seems harsh, but you might as well get this over with. The cast is going to get you eventually. I’m sorry.’

After staring at me for a second she nods.

“You’re right. I did this to myself and I need to just accept it.”

Straightening her head up Julie holds it between the partial frames that have grown. With her head up now I can see that the leg that extends a short way down came down just behind her ear, and the longer upper curve follows the curve of her head around the top back portion. The two forward extensions begin to grow again once Julie’s head is in the right area. It takes them about as long to grow and join up as it did for the forehead band on my Minerva cast to finish growing. When it is done there are nine holes total in the bar. One is centered exactly in the middle and on either side of that hole is a slightly larger solid section before the next hole shows up, and then they are evenly spaced apart with four to each side.

Julie tries to move her head around some and can partially turn her head within the confines of the halo ring, but tilting forwards she just bumps her forehead into the bar. When she tries to lean back I can see that her ear on the side I can see is getting folded forwards and pinched some before she stops and straightens up again. Finally, the screws for her head begin to grow.

I watch as one shows up behind her ear on the left in the lowest hole, a second appears in a hole above and towards the outer edge of her left eye, a third grows in above the right eye in the same general place as the one above her left eye, and I assume that a fourth one is growing in behind her right ear. Julie had been feeling along the bar in front of her head with her hand and whimpers when she finds the screws.

My angle of view is low enough that in a minute I can see the two screws growing in towards her forehead. The ends of them are actually smooth and rounded then jut out again like the tip of a dart and look really sharp. Julie covers up the screw over her right eye and whimpers louder as she feels it progress closer and closer to her skin. When it begins to make contact she can’t contain her fear.

“No. No. Stop. Please,” she begins to repeat quietly.

I can see the pin on the left side begin to enter her head. I am surprised to see her skin actually split open in a short vertical cut but I can’t see how deep it goes. The opening doesn’t seem to hurt as Julie doesn’t react. At this point the pins appear to be about the same length poking outwards away from the ring as they are pointing inwards to her head. I watch as the two pins on the left begin to turn, the rotations taking them down and penetrating the tips into Julie’s skin.

“NO. NO. Stop. Stop. Please. Please. PLEASE,” her protests increase ineffectively.

The pins continue to turn and go deeper into her flesh, pushing the sharp points in to where they apparently begin to make contact with her skull. I assume that is what happens anyways from Julie’s reaction.

“OH GOD! NO! NO NO NO!!! STOP!” she yells as tears begin to flow freely down her cheeks.

Despite her yelling and begging the pins continue to turn. I could actually hear what sounds like something rubbing on a hard surface while Julie’s pleas turn to incoherent screams of pain. The pins finally stop turning and small locking nuts on the outside portion spin and tighten down, firmly locking the pins in place that are now embedded into Julie’s skull. Her screaming dies down to somewhat more sedate sobs. Then I watch as her neck seems to stretch upwards a bit further and I realize the rods have just lengthened some more and applied a level of traction to Julie’s head and neck.

“OW! OW! OW!” she cries out as her head is pulled up, then everything stops moving.

Several minutes go by and nothing more occurs. Julie’s new Shoulder-Spica-Halo-Cast is apparently complete.

“Oh shit! That really hurts! The feeling and pressure of having all four pins screwed into my head was so much worse than I thought it would be. And it still hurts! The pins are really tight and putting constant pressure on my head now! Ow!”

‘Guess you over did it girl. You brought that on yourself by wishing for a severely broken neck.’

I reach up and take her right hand in mine and gently squeeze. Getting her attention I bring my hand up next to my head like I’m making a phone call.

“Yes, of course. Time to call for help. Let me set things up for that real quick.”

I see Julie’s neck muscles tense up and I guess she was trying to turn her head without thinking, but there is zero movement.

“Holy crap. That is so strange.”

I watch her muscles tense up a few more times.

“I can’t move my head. Like totally zero movement, but it’s not like how my arm feels. I can’t move my arm either, not really, but I can feel the cast all around my arm. When I try to move my arm hand or fingers I feel the resistance from the cast stopping me. If I try to move my head there’s nothing. My muscles tense up but nothing moves and I can’t feel anything resisting or pressing against my muscles. I don’t even feel any increase to the constant pressure from these damn pins in my head. This is so weird.”

Julie awkwardly manages to stand up then turns her whole body around to face me. She can’t look down and has to bend at her hips to see. Grabbing my immobile casted left arm she pulls me over to the edge of the bed. Turning a bit and reaching further she grabs my casted right knee and pulls me around even more until my left leg falls off the bed.

“HMMMM!” I squeal.

“I have to get you back on the floor again, then I am going to lie down too so that it looks like we suffered a fall and got knocked unconscious.”

I’m in a cast that immobilizes over half of my body from the right leg to my left arm and head, so there is not a lot I can do to stop her. I don’t really fight against Julie, but I do make her do all the work to get me down where she wants me. All I do is make sure my good leg and arm don’t get bent wrong or pinched too badly. She manages to drop me a couple of times, and the jarring impact each time sends a wave of pain through my newly injured neck and shoulder.

‘Crap, that hurt. A lot. Twice. I’m definitely beginning to think I have a few more broken bones in here.’

Finally getting me positioned how she wants Julie turns over the wheelchair as well and lays down beside me. Finally to my relief she calls nine-one-one and gets help on the way here.

øøø                         øøø                         øøø

Julie is apparently a good enough actor that her explanation to the paramedics and then the doctors about what happened was enough to satisfy everyone for the most part. I went through more examinations and scans once again, but at least it wasn’t for a police investigation and they treated me just as a victim of a bad accident. I assume Julie went through a bunch of exams on her own with however many scans of her body, and eventually we wound up neighbors in the same room. The doctors came around the next day with test results for both of us. They told us that nothing appears to be broken on either of us. I doubt their claims due to the pain I was still feeling but I couldn’t particularly vocalize my concerns. Julie on the other hand could still talk, and she did a good enough job of raising her doubts and including me along with them. The doctors didn’t insist that she was wrong, even leaving the possibility that they could have missed something, but still said the likelihood is minimal. They did attempt to cut through both of our casts, and in Julie’s case they tried to loosen a couple of the screws in her head, but the screws wouldn’t budge and the casts repaired and remained whole.

That’s the way it has been now for two months. I’ve been transferred to a nursing facility due to my extreme immobility and care needs. They had to shove a tube up my nose and down the back of my throat to feed me since I am unable to open my mouth even the slightest. I started to have problems with peeing after a couple of weeks. I either couldn’t go one day or the next couldn’t stop it and having accidents. After a few days of going back and forth like this they gave me a choice of a diaper to catch it when I couldn’t stop it, or an indwelling catheter. Since they had to use an intermittent catheter already for the times I couldn’t make myself go I chose the indwelling one. It just made things easier and less of a mess that way to be peeing into a bag all the time. I still got stuck with a diaper on top of that though. Partly for general decency, and partly because the all liquid diet I’m on makes me have diarrhea more often.

I did have one unexpected and unwanted change happen to my cast. They told me that people who have their jaws wired shut can learn how to talk again most of the time. I tried and had a hard time with it. Seems that you still need to move your lips a good bit for it to work. But I kept at it and would usually end up with a really sore jaw by the end of the day. After doing this for a week I woke up one morning to find the cast had grown just a little bit bigger again. It had covered my mouth entirely right up to the bottom of my nose and around the sides in line with my ears. Apparently the attempt to move my jaw to talk was too much and the cast made sure to immobilize it just that much more. I can’t even get my lips to twitch any more like this.

Julie on the other hand is still in the hospital. A few days after we were admitted she started having trouble with breathing and saying her cast was too tight. It got bad enough that they wound up shoving a tube down her throat and putting her on a machine to help her breathe. I’ve been told that she is still on the machine and they cut a hole in her neck for the tube as a more permanent long term solution. I asked about that and was told that as long as she’s been on it now she will probably remain vent dependent until after she finally gets out of her Halo and cast. She is supposed to be moved to this facility in a few days and we will be roomies again when she gets here.