The Exam Room (The Search – Part 3)

“I could just kill you,” she places the lantern on the floor. He nods and leans his head back against the wall. “Don’t really want to. Too messy, and I don’t get no information that way.” She reaches into her pack and rolls a plastic bottle of water across the room. It stops against his leg.

Can’t remember the last time I saw bottled water. He reaches for it, but the pain in his shoulder is too much. He leans back, breath coming in ragged gasps. He looks at her pleadingly. She shakes her head.

“That breathin’ sounds pretty bad.” She rolls another bottle. It hits the wall on his right, the good arm. “Might have some broken ribs.” He lets go of his shoulder and picks up the bottle, twisting the top off with his teeth. He gulps hungrily and begins to choke. The coughs rip through his chest. The bottle falls to the floor, and he grabs at his left side. Spots dance in front of his eyes. They hear what must be gunshots, and now voices from the floor above.

“Don’t have much time. What’s your name?” He shakes his head, teeth clenched against the flashes of pain. “OK, where you from? Out there?” He leans back and closes his eyes. “Have it your way. You should be asleep soon anyway. I think you drank enough of it.” She pulls a radio from the pack, “Hey Jonas, I’m in the offices. Second level. Found someone, but we got company up top. Send help to clear this mess and get us out.”

“Will do,” the radio crackled. “Sit tight.”

He is asleep. She drags him away from the hole overhead and into the shadows. She can hear more gunfire and yelling. It won’t be long now. She shakes her head and sits on the floor to wait, “Why can’t it just be easy for once?”

*****

“How’d you find him?” a deep voice asked.

“Didn’t have to do much findin’. He fell right through the ceiling and practically sat in my lap,” she laughed. “Gore’s boys were chasin’ him.”

“What do you know about him?”

“Only that he’s injured. Won’t say a thing. They saw him, but ran off. The Hunters were close. I think he lives out in the sand. Can’t find nothin’ on him that says who he is.”

“The sand? No one can live out there.”

“Seems like he can.”

He hears them, but cannot see. He tries to reach out, stretching to feel anything. There is pressure on his chest and ribs – a strap. He is secured to a bed. Struggling only adds to the pain, so he relaxes and lets out a sigh. Hands touch the sides of his head. He jerks away.

“It’s OK,” she says in a soothing tone. “Just gonna make it so you can see.” She touches him again and pushes up, sliding the fabric over his head. The light assaults his eyes. He squints to shut it out. “Probably ain’t seen a light bulb in years. You’ll adjust.” He turns his head and tries to focus. A tall man with a gun stands near the door. He struggles against the strap again, wincing as the sharp stab in his ribs returns. “It’s all right. He’s here to keep us safe, that’s all.” There is a knock at the door. A woman in a lab coat enters and stops at the edge of the bed.

“What do you have, Amber?”

“Not sure,” she wipes his face with a damp towel. “Found him in the offices. He was pretty close to gettin’ himself killed. Can’t get a word out of him.” She points to his face. “Left side has radiation burn scars. He had to be out there a long time.”

The woman in the white coat leans in. “What’s your name? Can you tell me where you are from?”

“Been down that road already, Doc.” Amber places a wet towel on his forehead and points to his arm, “See that? Looks like an animal attack. Not sure what could do that, though. Nothin’ bigger than a rat lives out there since most of the water dried up. Tried to clean him up, but I think it’s infected.”

“How did you get injured?” the doctor asks. She points to a bottle of alcohol. Amber opens it and pours some on his arm. He tenses and sucks in a gasp of air. “Sorry, no easy way around that. We could help you more if you’d answer some questions.” He shakes his head. The doctor shrugs her shoulders, “OK. I’m going to give you a sedative.” He strains against the strap again, shaking the bed as he fights to be free.

Amber holds him down, “Look tough guy, you need rest and we need to get those wounds fixed up.” She nods to the doctor, “Go ahead, Doc. I got him.” He feels the bite of a needle and his vision blurs. He relaxes against the pressure on his shoulders. His eyes shut and his breathing slows.

“OK, we have about thirty minutes.” The doctor opens a cabinet and removes a medical kit with NAS printed on it in large, blue letters. “Get blood, hair, saliva, and fingerprints. Also, check for any tattoos or scars that might help us identify him.” She looks at him as he sleeps, “Who the hell are you and how are you alive after all this time?”

She hands the kit to Amber, and walks to the door. The man with the gun steps aside. She turns, “Amber.”

“Yea, Doc?”

“This one’s important. If he is from out there, he’s the first one in six years. Eve will want to know how he could survive for so long after the meltdown.”

“Got it.”

The man with the gun closes the door as the doctor leaves. Amber opens the kit, laying out the contents on a metal tray. “Well buddy, you sure got valuable all of a sudden. I shoulda’ asked for a finder’s fee.” She picks up the scissors and begins cutting his shirt off. “Hey, Darryl.” The man with the gun comes closer. “Grab the camera so we can document this.” He opens a metal cabinet, finds the camera, and leans in to take close up shots of the torso. “You got enough?”

“Yea, I got it,” he nods.

“Roll that table over here so we can flip him.” Darryl pushes a metal table against the bed and locks the wheels in place. “OK, here we go,” Amber rolls him up on his side. Darryl grabs him and finishes positioning his body on the table. “Where’s the camera?” Darryl points to the metal tray beside her. “Right. You cut the rest of his shirt off and I’ll shoot the pics.” She turns to reach for the camera.

“Amber, step away!” There is a sliding noise, metal on metal. She faces Darryl. He has the gun trained on her. She raises her hands. “No joke, Amber. Now!” She moves back a few steps until she feels the metal cabinets behind her. “On your knees, turn, and face the cabinet. Keep your hands high.” She does as he says.

“Darryl, what’s goin’ on?” She tries to turn her head to see him.

“Move backwards toward me until I say stop.” She shuffles on her knees back toward him. “Stop! Lie flat, hands behind your back.” He sits on the back of her thighs and pulls a zip-tie from his pocket.

“Darryl, come on.” She winces as he tightens the strap. “We been workin’ together for three years!” He turns her over and pulls her to a sitting position. “What the hell man!” He rummages through the cabinets and finds a roll of tape. “Really?” He tapes her mouth. She struggles and kicks at him.

Darryl moves to the door and locks it. Sighing, he pulls another zip-tie. “Sorry, Amber. I got no choice.” He kneels on her shins and straps her ankles together. He grabs the radio on the counter. “Jonas, it’s Darryl. You got any sunscreen?”

The radio crackles. “You going outside?”

“Got patrol later.”

“It’s really bad out there today. I got some SPF 60 here. Want me to bring it to you?”

“Yea, thanks.” He switches the radio to channel 6. “Jonas, you copy.”

“Copy. What’s up?

“I got a situation in exam room three. Need you here pronto.”

“On my way. Over.”

The man on the table moans and begins to turn over. Darryl slides to his left with the gun pointed at him. “Just relax. It’s all good as long as we don’t get crazy.” The man swings his legs over the side and sits up, rubbing his head.

The lock turns in the door. Jonas enters and locks the door behind him. He sees Amber and looks to Darryl. “What’s the situation?”

Darryl points to the man. “That’s the situation.” He motions for Jonas to follow him to the other side of the bed. They are behind him now. “Look at the ink on his shoulder.” Jonas leans forward, then looks back at Darryl and nods. They walk around the bed and in front of the man. He looks up, still hazy from the earlier drugs.

Jonas smiles. “Good to see you, Commander. We thought you were dead.”