“You’re fortunate you were able to sleep through all the madness, Dr. Gould,” Nurse Marx told Nina as she came to check on her in the evening.
“I don’t even know what happened, really. There were security men killed by an intruder?” Nina frowned. “That’s what I was able to make out by the drips and drabs of what was discussed. Nobody could tell me what the hell is really going on.”
Marlene looked around to make sure nobody saw her telling Nina the details.
“We’re not supposed to alarm the patients with too much information, Dr. Gould,” she said under her breath, pretending to check Nina’s vitals. “But last night, one of our janitors saw someone kill one of the security men. Of course, he did not stick around to see who it was.”
“Did they catch the intruder?” Nina asked seriously.
The nurse shook her head. “That is why the place is in lockdown. They are searching the hospital for anyone who isn’tt authorized to be here, but so far no luck.”
“How is that possible? He must have slipped out before the cops came,” Nina speculated.
“That’s what we think too. I just don’t understand what he was looking for that was worth the lives of two men,” Marlene said. She gave a deep sigh and decided to change the subject. “How is your sight today? Better?”
“Same,” Nina replied indifferently. Clearly other things were on her mind.
“With the interference now, it will take a bit longer to get your results. But as soon as we know, we can start treatment.”
“I hate feeling like this. I’m drowsy all the time and now I can hardly see more than a fuzzy rendition of the people I encounter,” Nina moaned. “You know, I need to get in touch with my friends and family so that they will know I’m okay. I cannot stay here forever.”
“I understand, Dr. Gould,” Marlene sympathized, glancing back at her other patient opposite Nina who was stirring in his bed. “Let me go check on Sam over there.”
As Nurse Marx approached the burn victim, Nina watched him open his eyes and look at the ceiling as if he could see something they could not. Then a sorrowful nostalgia came over her and she whispered to herself.
“Sam.”
Nina’s fading sight catered to her curiosity as she watched Sam the patient lift his hand and clutch Nurse Marx’s wrist, but she could not discern the expression on his face. Nina’s own reddened skin, damaged by the toxic air of Chernobyl, was virtually completely healed. But still she felt as if she were dying. Nausea and dizziness prevailed, while her vitals showed only improvement. For someone as adventurous and fiery as the Scottish historian, such perceived weaknesses were unacceptable and dealt her a considerable amount of frustration.
She could hear whispering before Nurse Marx shook her head, negating whatever he had requested. Then nurse pulled free of the patient and briskly left without looking at Nina. The patient, however, was looking at Nina. That much she could see. But she had no idea why. Characteristically, she confronted him.
“What is it, Sam?”
He did not look away, yet he remained quiet, as if he hoped she would forget that she had addressed him. Trying to sit up, he groaned in pain and fell back on his pillow again. He sighed wearily. Nina decided to leave him be, but then his hoarse words broke the silence between them, demanding her attention.
“Y-you know…know…the man they’re looking for?” he stammered. “You know? The intruder?”
“Aye,” she replied.
“He is after m-me. It’s me he is looking for, Nina. A-and tonight…he is coming to kill me,” he said in a quivering mumble of mispronounced words. It ran Nina’s blood cold, what he said, because she had not expected the culprit to be searching for anything in her vicinity. “Nina?” he urged for a response.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“I am,” he affirmed, to her dread.
“Look, how do you know who it is? Did you see him here? Did you see him with your own eyes? Because if you didn’t, chances are you’re just being paranoid, my friend,” she stated, hoping to help him think over his assessment to bring him some clarity. She also hoped that he was mistaken, as she was in no condition to be evading a killer. She saw his wheels turn as he considered her words. “Another thing,” she added, “if you cannot even remember who you are or what happened to you, how do you know that some faceless assailant is after you?”
Nina was not aware of it, but her choice of words reversed all of the effects the young man was suffering from — memories now flooded back in. His eyes grew wide in terror as she spoke, piercing her with their black gaze so strongly that she could see it even through her dwindling sight.
“Sam?” she asked. “What is it?”
“Mein Gott, Nina!” he wheezed. It was actually a scream, but the damage to his voice box smothered it into a mere hysterical whisper. “Faceless, you say! F-face-faceless! He was…Nina, the man who set me on fire…!”
“Aye? What about him?” she pushed, although she knew what he was revealing. She just wanted more details, if she could get them.
“The man who tried to kill me…h-he had…no face!” the horrified patient wailed. If he could cry, he would have sobbed at the memory of the monstrous man who’d pursued him after the game that night. “He caught up with me and he set me on fire!”
“Nurse!” Nina hollered. “Nurse! Somebody! Please help!”
Two nurses came running with quizzical expressions. Nina pointed to the upset patient and exclaimed, “He just remembered his attack. Please give him something for the shock!”
They raced to his aid and pulled the curtains, administering a sedative to calm him. Nina felt her own lethargy threaten, but she tried to unravel the strange puzzle by herself. Was he serious? Was he coherent enough to make such an accurate call or was he making it up? She doubted that he was insincere. After all, the man could hardly move on his own or utter a sentence without struggle. He certainly would not be so frantic if he were not convinced that his incapacitated state would cost him his life.
“God, I wish Sam was here to help me think,” she murmured as her mind begged to sleep. “Even Purdue would do, if he could refrain from trying to kill me this time.” It was coming on dinner time already and, since neither of them expected visitors, Nina was free to sleep if she wished. Or so she thought.
Dr. Fritz smiled as he walked in. “Dr. Gould, I’m just coming to give you something for the eye problem.”
“Shit,” she muttered. “Hello doctor. What are you giving me?”
“Just a treatment to alleviate the tightening of the capillaries in your eyes. I have reason to believe that your sight is being impaired by constricted circulation in your ocular area. If you have any trouble throughout the night you can just call on Dr. Hilt. He’ll be on duty again tonight and I’ll check in with you in the morning, okay?”
“Alright, doctor,” she agreed, watching him inject the unknown substance into her arm. “Do you have the test results yet?”
Dr. Fritz pretended not to hear her at first, but Nina repeated her question. He did not look up at her, apparently concentrating on what he was doing. “We’ll discuss that tomorrow, Dr. Gould. I should have the lab results back by then.” He finally looked up at her with failed reassurance, but she was in no mood to pursue the matter any further. By now her roommate had calmed down and grown silent. “Good night, dear Nina.” He smiled kindly and pressed Nina’s hand before closing her file and replacing it at the foot of her bed.
“Good night,” she hummed, as the drug took course and lulled her mind away.
Chapter 10 — Escape from Safety
A boney finger poked Nina’s arm, starting her into a frightful awakening. Reflexively she clamped her hand down onto the touched area, unexpectedly catching a hand under her palm that scared her half to death. Her inadequate eyes sprang wide open to see what was accosting her, but apart from the piercing dark spots under the brow of the plastic mask, she could not discern the face.