The sun outlined one of the clouds it was hiding behind. She sat up in her bed and the scent of maple and bacon began to replace the wonders of the dream she just had. She smiled, jumped out of bed, and ran downstairs.

She plopped into a seat at the table. In front of her was served two fluffy chocolate chip pancakes topped with whipped cream and river of maple syrup; surrounded by two pieces of bacon, cooked to Sam’s idea of perfection. Once, she was finished she rinsed her plate and then ran up to her room to get ready for school.

When she was finished, she came downstairs and waited at the table, backpack in hand, reading Peter Pan until her mother came into the room and let out a hefty sigh.

“Sometimes, I don’t know what I’m going to do with that boy,” She huffed and threw her arms in the air. “Your father will have to take him on his way to work. C’mon honey, there’s no reason why you should be late.”

The two packed up in the car and drove to the school. Sam was dropped off and wished a happy day by her mother. She waved goodbye and made her way through the crowd of kids, looking for her new friend Bella.

Sam made her way through the crowd of kids. The crowd seemed lighter than usual, but Sam pushed that thought out of her head when she spotted Belland her bother sitting on a pair of swings.

“Hi, Bella. Hi, Geoffrey.” She greeted the siblings.

Geoffrey was looking at the ground and didn't reply, but Bella spoke.

“Hi, Sam. Did you have a fun birthday party?” Bella asked.

“I did! I had a small party with my family. How was yours?”

“Mine was fun. My friend Mattie came over for a sleepover. Do you know Mattie?”

Sam shook her head.

“Oh, well anyway, she was supposed to meet me here at the swings, but she hasn't shown up. I even got up and looked around for her, but couldn't find her.”

The school bell rang and the children scuttled into the building. Sam and Bella waved goodbye to each other as they left for their separate classrooms.

In class, Sam noticed that the Johnson twins were still absent along with two other children. At lunch, she poked and prodded at her lunch. Something bothered her, looking around the cafeteria, like an itch that she couldn’t relieve. She sat in silence the rest of the day, trying hard to focus on lessons but finding her mind drifting off with the mystery.

When the school day had finally finished another odd thing occurred. Usually, only her mother picked her up because her father was still at work, but today both of her parents were in the car waiting outside of the school. Sam climbed in and the pair drove off without a word.

“Mom? Dad? Is everything alright?” She asked, breaking the silence.

“I’m sure it will be in time, honey.” Mrs. Wilde choked. It was obvious she was fighting back tears.

Her lip quivered. Goosebumps covered her arms and neck.

“Mom, what is it?”

“It's your brother, dear.” She released a hefty sigh. “Your father went to wake him up to take him to school, and we thought he was just being lazy...” She waved her hands around enthusiastically. “We-we've been trying to wake him all day, but he still hasn't come to.”

Mrs. Wilde couldn’t hold it in any longer. Her body convulsed with each sob. Her husband reached over with one hand and tried to comfort her.

“He's breathing; we have to be thankful for that.” Mr. Wilde noted, always the optimist. “We are not alone in this either. The Johnsons and the Thorpes are going through the same thing.”

Mrs. Wilde wiped her tears and calmed herself.

“That’s true. Thank you, honey.” She wiped her eyes. “Sam, I know things look bad, I don’t want you to be afraid, okay?”

Sam nodded and stared out the window. She held her lips shut with her teeth, doing otherwise would have opened the floodgates of tears welling up in her eyes.

Time passed slowly as rain fell and hammered the windows. The world looked as sad as Sam felt. The Wildes pulled into the hospital parking lot and made their way into a set of sliding double doors.

There was a light wooden desk that sat in the middle of a pink carpeted room. At the desk sat a plump woman in a yellow cardigan with a kind, but distraught face. Her greying brown hair was wildly out of place and she was furiously going through paperwork.

She looked up from her paperwork as the Wildes approached.

“How can I help you?” she asked. Her tone was direct but kind.

“We are here for our son Isaac Wilde.”

The receptionist sighed and went to work looking up the patient’s information on her computer. She rubbed her eyes and said, “He is upstairs. Room 113.” She pointed to an elevator on their left.

The receptionists’ eyes went wide as paramedics rushed in through the double doors with a child on a stretcher.

“Oh, no. Not another one.”

Sam gasped as she turned and recognized Bella laying on the stretcher. She was now the second person close to her that had been taken to this hospital today.

“Wha-what happened to Bella?” She choked. “Is she going to be okay?”

Sam felt like some of the strings inside her started to break. She shook a little to fight back the tears welling in her eyes.

“We were heading home from school and she ended up falling asleep. She usually got tired after school so we didn’t question it. When she didn’t wake up at home, we called the ambulance and they told us about other kids and brought her here.”

Bella’s mother broke into a sob and fell into her husband’s chest. Sam’s parents called her to the elevator and they rode up to the first floor.

The Wildes found room 113 and Sam ran straight to her brother and held his hand. The dam had broke and tears gushed from her eyes. Isaac looked peaceful as he slept, so Sam had at least one thing to be thankful for. The family stayed until an hour after sunset, barely speaking a word to each other; there wasn’t much to be said.

Sam’s dad took her home while her mother stayed behind at the hospital for the night. Sam’s mind buzzed like a hive of hornets. Her dad went straight to bed, but Sam was determined not to sleep at all. Her fear covered her like an uncomfortable blanket. As much as she wanted to visit the castle, a much-needed distraction from the day, she was afraid that if she fell asleep that she wouldn’t be able to wake up, like her brother.

She paced back and forth. She read a little, but it made her more tired. She did jumping jacks and stretched her eyes with her fingers all in the name of staying awake. Although many times she almost lost the battle, she made it to the first light of dawn without falling asleep.

The next few days passed the same. She went to school drowsy from sleeplessness. She did her best to pay attention, but thoughts of Isaac swam rampantly in her head. She made sure to keep her head close to her desk in case she started to doze, then her chin would hit and jolt her back awake.

After school were the trips to the hospital and those were harder than any other part of her day. Her parents would sit on one side of the hospital bed, her mother holding Isaac’s hand. When her father would doze off, her mother would scold Sam for staying awake, despite her attempts at hiding it. Sam smiled even though she called her a hypocrite in her head; the dark rings under her mother’s eyes quite noticeable.

They would sit smiling at each other, saying silent prayers, listening to father and son breathing heavily in their sleep until visiting times were over. Mr. Wilde would take Sam home and another restless night would pass.

After a few days passed, there were too many children absent and the school had shut down. Sam would stay at the hospital with her mother while her father bravely went to work. Doctors would run wildly in the halls, all frantically searching for a solution to the problem. Although, there was one kindly nurse that would stop in the Wilde’s room to check on them. Mrs. Wilde would kindly say they are fine and the nurse would leave with a smile and head to someone else’s room.

One of the days they were sitting at the hospital, both mother and daughter were reading and silently praying for Isaac to wake up. Sam heard the sound of something hitting the floor which made her jump. She lowered her book only to find her mother’s book on the floor and her head leaning to one side; eyes closed. Mrs. Wilde had lost the battle and fallen asleep.

Now that she was alone she no longer had the will to stay awake and moments later she too fell asleep.