Albert walked back into the room with Doctor Greenly close behind.
Kyle wiped away tears with his hands as he stepped away from the medical table.
The doctor looked at Kyle and asked, “What happened?”
Kyle composed himself as best as he could. “He slipped in the shower and hit his head.”
Greenly turned and began opening cabinets. He grabbed a few things and then turned to Victor.
“I didn’t want to say anything,” Albert began, “but what happened to his face?”
Doctor Greenly began to check the boy’s injuries.
“He didn’t want his mother to know, but a day or so ago, before we made it to his house, we were held up at the post office. We met a man there. His name was Chet.”
Doctor Greenly dropped the instrument he was using to check the head injury. “Did you say Chet? What did this man look like?”
“Let’s see, he was white, scruffy beard, talked with a British accent.”
“Was he wearing a trench coat?” Albert chimed in.
“Yes.”
Albert and Doctor Greenly shared a look.
“We have an idea of what happened to him,” Albert said as Greenly went back to examining Victor’s head wound. “There was a man here who called himself Chet. He did things, terrible things. We thought killing him would make us barbaric, so we exiled him. You must have run into him.”
Kyle didn’t know what to think. The man he killed was once a resident here, but from the sounds of it, it didn’t seem as though these people cared.
“Did he …?” Albert asked as he shrugged forward.
“Yeah.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. That piece of shit got what he deserved.”
Doctor Greenly snapped a smelling salt and began waving it under Victor’s nose. The boy didn’t respond. He waved it again a few more times, but still, nothing. Greenly checked his blood pressure and heart rate. The diagnosis was something they weren’t prepared for.
“What’s wrong?” Kyle asked.
“He’s not responding. Is this the boy’s first concussion?” Greenly asked, again looking at the boy’s face.
“No.” Kyle began to reel through his memories. “There was the time with the dynamite.”
“Dynamite?” Albert interrupted. “What the hell were you two doing out there?”
“Surviving.” Kyle quickly answered. “That was the first time. Then after he was raped. That’s two, so this makes three.” Kyle reflected on the fact that Victor had sustained more injuries than he.
“Oh, no,” Greenly said throwing the salt into a waste basket. He opened Victor’s left eye lid and reached for the light in his coat pocket. Victor did not respond to the beam of light being flashed in his eyes. He put the light away and pitched Victor on the forearm. Victor flinched and his right eye half opened, then closed. “Victor, can you hear me?” Greenly said. “Victor, if you can hear me, try to say hello.” Victor’s lips did not move. Greenly grabbed his arm again and was about to give Victor another pinch, hoping that the boy would recoiled, he did not. Greenly sighed and said, “I’m afraid that Victor might have lapsed into a coma.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The room fell silent. Kyle didn’t know what to say, or even think about the situation. He was in shock and felt guilty that it was his fault.
“Will he wake?” Albert asked.
“That’s something I cannot answer. Without the proper monitoring equipment, I can’t offer any more information. All I can say is that he is mostly unresponsive. If he does not awake in the next few hours, I can confirm he is in a comatose state. Only thing we can do is hope he makes it through the night and wakes soon. His breathing is steady, which is the only good news.”
Kyle remained in shock. All he could do was stare at Victor’s body. The boy looked as though he was taking a nap and nothing more.
Greenly began to put his medical supplies away and found a blanket and pillow. He placed the pillow under the boy’s head and covered him with the blankets. “There’s nothing we can do but wait.”
All of the good memories with Victor played in Kyle’s head like a movie. From the moment they first met at the gas station to where they were now. But then, he remembered something, something that he had been distracted from. The reason why he was in this mess in the first place. Jasmine.
“I’m in the middle of a new breakthrough,” Doctor Greenly mentioned before walking out the door. “I didn’t forget about our question and answer session, Kyle. Give me two hours. By then I may have even more useful information.”
Kyle nodded.
“Albert, find something for Kyle to do. Boredom is something we cannot risk in times like this.”
Before Doctor Greenly closed the door behind him, Kyle said, “I need a vehicle.” Greenly doubled back into the room. “Your men,” he turned to Albert, “and woman, shot up my truck. I need a replacement.” His voice carried through the room with authority. He was back to his normal self. Jasmine was back in his mind. He couldn’t afford any more time lost.
Doctor Greenly clapped his hands together and said, “Ah, yes. That won’t be a problem. Albert, take him to the parking lot to check what we have. He is free to take anything he needs.”
That was easy, Kyle thought. No more than an hour ago, Albert had told him that he would leave with whatever he came with and nothing more. Why was Greenly so easily swayed? Kyle nodded as Greenly left the room.
“You heard the man,” Kyle said.
Albert snickered and opened the door. Kyle left the items he had with him next to Victor and followed Albert. He led him down the hall and through another set of gates. Not a single word was uttered as they walked. There was a tension between them, but Kyle didn’t know why.
They walked through gates that were between the cafeteria and gym. There was an open space where to his left were portable classrooms and to his right was the back of the gym. More mustard plants were planted in almost every open spot of dirt.
The men continued walking passed the classroom until they reached another set of gates. Beyond the gates was a large parking lot about two acres wide full of vehicles. When the plague hit, most of the students here didn’t have enough time to get to their cars.
“Take your pick,” Albert said.
Kyle walked in front of Albert as he strolled up and down the aisles, looking at all the cars. He saw a truck that was similar to his; it was no surprise that this was the vehicle he wanted. “I want that one.”
“The black one?”
“Yeah, it’s stick shift, lightweight and has room to carry supplies.”
Albert took something out of his pocket. It looked like a car antenna after he grabbed it by the ends and extended it. He examined the modified curve with a hook at one end, checking it was in order. He then pulled out a small flat-head screwdriver from his pocket and used it to pop the plastic where the glass and door met. He stuck the antenna down the open gap in the drive side door. It didn’t take long for him to lift the locks.
“Done this a lot?”
Albert ignored Kyle and opened the door. Closing his instrument, he sat and began work on the starter. Using the screwdriver, he jammed it into the ignition keyhole and twisted. The truck started without a problem. The fuel gauge rose a little above half a tank. Kyle stood by the door watching Albert as he worked.
“Do you know how to siphon gas?” Albert asked.
Kyle grinned. “I’ve done it a few times.”
“Good. Then you’ll have no trouble getting gas when you leave tomorrow.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Albert took the screwdriver out of the starter and handed it to Kyle. “Here’s your key.”
“Don’t you need to hold on to this?”
“No, we have enough screwdrivers.”