"Aftereffects"

The afternoon sun cast a warm glow through the hospital window, illuminating the room where Harry and Lloyd lay in their beds. Harry, who had been quiet for most of the morning, suddenly sat up, his eyes wide with disorientation. He looked around the room, taking a few deep breaths as if trying to calm himself down. Lloyd, who had been reading a book, looked up from his activity and noticed Harry's distress. "Hey, man, you okay?" he asked, concern etched on his face. Harry nodded, still looking around the room. "Yeah, I...I think so. I just feel a little...lightheaded." Lloyd set his book aside and reached out to grab Harry's arm. "Maybe you should lie back down, dude. You don't want to pass out or anything." Harry nodded, and Lloyd helped him back onto the pillow. As Harry lay back down, he closed his eyes, taking slow, deep breaths. Meanwhile, Lloyd was starting to feel a moderate earache. He winced in discomfort, rubbing his ear gently. He had thought it was just a side effect of the food poisoning, but as the pain persisted, he began to worry. The nurse came in to check on them, and Lloyd mentioned his earache. She smiled sympathetically and said, "I'll make sure the doctor knows about it. In the meantime, let's try to get you some pain medication." As the nurse left, Harry opened his eyes, looking at Lloyd with a mixture of fear and confusion. "Lloyd, what's going on with us?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Lloyd shook his head. "I don't know, man. I thought it was just the food poisoning, but...I don't know." The doctor came in later, and after examining both Harry and Lloyd, he ordered more tests. "It's possible that the beef jerky had some kind of...unusual properties," he said, his expression thoughtful. "We'll need to run some more tests to determine the cause of your symptoms." As the doctor left, Lloyd turned to Harry, who was staring blankly ahead. "Hey, man, I'm here. We're going to figure this out." Harry blinked slowly, his eyes glazing over, and mumbled something incoherent. Lloyd's expression turned worried, and he reached out to grab Harry's hand. "Hey, man, stay with me."