“What happened next?” Victor asked.
“Well…” Quinn said, scrambling to create a believable story Blake could build upon. “We just kept going. I kept looking behind us to make sure we wouldn’t lose sight of the fallen trees. It was cool being up in the woods like that, just us in nature.”
“Uh-huh,” Victor said. “I bet that was special for you two.”
Blake laughed.
“Are you boyfriends?” Victor asked.
“What?” Quinn sputtered, trying to sit up. “No, I’m not gay. We’re best friends, not boyfriends,” he spat out quickly. He relaxed in the bed since the restraints wouldn't let him sit up.
Victor smirked, his face showing his amusement. “Some of that I believe.” He sat back in the chair and crossed his leg. “So, two best friends wandered far into the woods to explore what nature has in store for them. Did you see the museum Dr. Madison mentioned?”
Quinn looked at Blake, who shrugged. Victor’s eyes bounced between the two boys.
“I don’t remember a museum,” Blake said, shaking his head.
“Why would there be a museum in the middle of the woods of Maine?” Quinn asked.
Victor smiled. “It’s a home, really. It belonged to a scientist named Wilhelm Reich.”
“And it’s near the campground?”
“Sort of. It’s closer to Dodge Pond than Quimby Pond. You'd find it if you hiked due east from the Woods Lake Campground where you were staying.”
“Oh.”
“Let me piece this back together. You went hiking, discovered the fallen trees, and went exploring on your own in the woods.”
“Yup,” Blake answered.
“How did you get here?”
“We don’t know, Victor,” Blake said, glaring at the man. “We were out in the woods and had almost made it back to the trailhead when Quinn complained of nausea and couldn’t walk any more. Then I was overcome with nausea, too, and we thought it might be food poisoning from the night before. So, why don’t you tell us how we got here?”
“Is that true?” Victor asked, looking at Quinn.
“I guess so, I remember not feeling well and then…I don’t know how we got here.”
“Okay,” Victor said, taking a deep breath. “You were found by a family of hikers. A twelve-year-old girl screamed when she thought she saw two dead bodies lying across the trail. Her mother, who happened to be a nurse, checked your vitals and realized you were alive. After checking you out for any obvious injuries or broken bones, they carried you back—the mom you, Quinn, and the dad you, Blake—to the campground where people struggled to figure out which camping family you belonged to. Medical help was called, and you were transported by ambulance to this medical facility. Blake, your iPhone’s emergency medical ID feature told the attending medical staff you were minors and we needed to find your parents. Thank you for making sure that was filled out.”
“You’re welcome,” Blake said.
“The campground organized a small brigade of volunteers that fanned out across the campground with cellphone pictures of your unconscious faces. When someone showed the picture to your dads, they gave verbal consent for basic and emergency treatment until they could get to the hospital.”
“Were we treated for anything?” Quinn asked.
“No,” Victor answered flatly. “Other than a few bug bites, you have no new scrapes or bruises…which means you didn’t fall…”
Quinn nodded, playing at remembering something. “You're right, we didn’t fall. I remember getting on the ground because I didn’t want to fall down,” Quinn clarified.
“And I knelt down next to him to help, but when I got dizzy, I laid down.”
Victor swirled his tongue around his mouth and took a deep breath. “You were found close to each other, and Blake you had your hand on Quinn’s arm. So, that story makes sense to me.”
Thank goodness.
“However,” Victor continued, “Quinn, your parents did not report any symptoms of food poisoning such as nausea, dizziness, diarrhea, or syncope.”
“Or what?” Quinn asked, unfamiliar with the last term.
“Passing out.”
“Oh.”
“I don’t know what else to tell you,” Blake said. “I do want to know why we’re both restrained and why we can’t see our parents. That seems a bit…extreme to me.”
“You’re lying,” Quinn said sharply.
“I am?” Victor said, astonished.
“Yeah. The doctor told us they had to defibrillate us, twice. They also had to innovate us so we could breathe.”
“I think you mean intubate,” Victor interjected.
Quinn nodded. “Yeah, that. We’ve also been here three or four days which means something happened to us.”
“Ah, yes, apologies. It’s all a matter of perspective, I suppose. You weren’t treated for anything because you were resuscitated after you both went into cardiac arrest shortly after arriving in the E.R. The defibrillators reacted strangely, which is why I was called in.”
“And you were called in because…” Blake asked.
“I’m a local scientist and technical expert of sorts. I also love strange phenomena. When something strange or unusual happens, I get called in as the resident paranormal expert.”
“With the armed guards outside the room, too?” Blake said, challenging the obvious lie Victor was feeding them.
“A precaution, to be sure. When the defibrillators fired, a bright blast of energy exploded between the two of you.” Victor put his feet down and leaned forward. “I don’t know about you, but I find that very strange and unusual.”
“You’re not going to tell us you see dead people and this is really the plot of The Sixth Sense, right?” Quinn asked.
Victor burst out laughing and slapped his right hand on his thigh. “No, of course not.” He clapped his hands and regained his composure. “Wow, I’ve never heard that one before. That was great. You’re funny, Quinn.”
“Thanks.”
“Speaking of strange and unusual, it’s time for another test.”
Quinn and Blake looked at each other and shrugged. He walked over to the counter space across from their beds and picked up a metal box with several silver rods sticking out from—the way Victor held it—the top of it. Quinn was about to ask him what it was, but Victor cut him off.
“So, you boys don’t remember the thunderstorm Sunday morning?”
Quinn and Blake looked at each other again, then shook their heads.
“What?” Quinn asked.
“There was a crazy storm Saturday night that knocked down all those trees we were following,” Blake stated.
“There were several storms that night,” Victor said. “You don’t remember?”
“There was one,” Blake said.
Victor shook his head. “There were three. Only one tracked over the campground.”
“Wouldn’t we have heard the other thunderstorms?”
“Do you sleep through thunderstorms at home?” Victor asked. He aimed the silver rods of the device at Blake, then swung it toward Quinn, who furled his eyebrows with concern and confusion.
“Yeah, I do. What is that thing?” Blake asked.
“Maybe you slept through the other storms, then. Sunday morning, a non-threatening thunderhead rolled through as the humidity increased. It was mainly heat-lightning, which is of course difficult to see in the bright morning sunlight. Still, you should have noticed the lack of sun in the woods, you know, with the cloud-cover and the natural darkness from tree shadows.” Victor stepped between their beds and pointed the device at Blake, who made a face at it.
“I asked you what that was,” Blake said, irritated.
“Oh, this little thing?” Victor asked, raising it a little. “This detects electrical currents in organic tissue.”
“So, I’m electrical now?” Blake asked.
Victor chuckled. “Of course. You were electrical before and you are electrical now. Human b
eings—and all animals, for that matter—are fascinating electrical organisms. Your brain sends and receives thousands of electrical signals every day. If we weren’t electrical, a Taser would be ineffective.”
He has a point.
Victor swung the device over to Quinn. “I think, filling in the gaps of your story and corroborating it with the unusual atmospheric conditions, you might have been close to a lightning strike that adversely affected you.”
“We got struck by lightning?” Quinn exclaimed, trying to sit up again. The restraints held him back. Dammit, these are annoying.
“No, not struck by, but it’s possible you were very close to one that obviously affected you.”
Victor lowered the device and smiled. “All right, boys. I’m going to give you a little time to relax. You’ve been through a lot, so try to rest. I’m sure I won’t be the first person to tell you that today.”
“But…” Quinn said.
“I’ll be back, I promise,” Victor said, raising an open palm to silence Quinn. “I need to check-in right now. Rest up.” Then he set the device on the counter and headed out of the room.
Quinn watched the door shut behind him, then he turned to his best friend. “He’s lying to us,” Quinn said.
“We’re lying to him,” Blake countered.
Quinn looked at his shackled wrists and the leather cuff restraints that held him them place. A similar set of cuffs held his ankles in place; each were connected by a strap that ran under his body. Any attempt to pull himself up used his own body weight against him. “We shouldn’t be restrained like this. Something doesn’t add up.”
“No kidding,” Blake answered. “I can’t even scratch my nose.”
“You think we’re being watched?” Quinn whispered.
Blake nodded. “Camera over the door and another in the corner near the window.”
Quinn looked in both spots and saw the familiar black bubble indicated a security camera was present.
“I just assume the room is bugged, too.”
Quinn smiled and looked at his friend. “Yup, we watch too much T.V. Still, I noticed how uptight Victor seemed when he first walked into the room. Then he relaxed and sorta had fun with us as we told him the story.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, but he was too relaxed with us, like he was trying really hard to be cool. I don’t trust him.”
“I don’t think he’s that bad.”
Quinn shook his wrists in frustration. “Call me crazy but I want to go back home and go back to school. Our friends must be wondering what the heck is going on with us.”
“If they even know we’re here. Seems pretty hush-hush to me,” Blake commended. Then he smirked at Quinn. “You just want to see Keegan again.”
“Maybe,” Quinn said, blushing a little.
The door popped open and Dr. Madison entered the room with Nurse Nadia, who shut the door behind them.
“Seriously, Doc,” Quinn snapped, “where the hell are my dads?”
Dr. Madison smiled and raised her hands in surrender. “They’re on their way. Your parents, too, Blake. We’ve just told them you’re both awake. They’ve been staying at a local hotel.”
“You mean they haven’t been to see us yet?”
“No, remember, I told you they weren’t allowed to see you.”
“But we have rights. My dad’s a lawyer. How did you keep him out?”
Dr. Madison looked at the closed door and grabbed the chart from the foot of Quinn’s bed. Then she stepped in between the boy’s beds and casually flipped through the chart and spoke with a low voice. “There are two cameras watching us. I don’t think they record audio, but I’m not sure. Remember what I told you before Victor walked in; strange things happened while you were unconscious. Quinn, things around you moved all by themselves. Blake, the temperature on your side of the room inexplicably fluctuated between cold and hot. A few things levitated around both of you.”
“Okay,” Quinn whispered. “So, what is this Wilhelm Reich Museum?” he works at then.
“It’s an old orgone energy observatory. It’s named after the famous Austrian psychoanalyst who lived there. To be honest, I’m not sure what they do, but they get involved whenever something unusual or paranormal happens around here. They have some kind of federal authority and autonomy which is how they keep your parents out.”
Blake sighed. “I’m surprised my parents are even here.”
“And we’re tied up because…?”
“Because we didn’t have enough information about what happened to you. Remember, you both died and we took some serious steps to bring you back and keep you alive. When the unusual phenomena started happening…there were too many unknowns.”
“Right,” Quinn said. “I guess that thunderstorm on Sunday morning really messed us up.”
“Sunday morning?” Dr. Madison said, returning the medical chart to its holster on the food of Quinn’s bed. “There was no storm Sunday morning. Just that big one that came through late Saturday night.”
“Oh, right,” Quinn said. “I thought there was another storm.”
“Nope. Okay, I’m going to go speak with Victor again. I believe the restraints can come off, but given the situation I need to double-check with him.”
“Thanks.”
“Doctor?” Blake asked.
“Yes, Blake?”
“I need to pee.”
1-7 | Organized Chaos
Blake
TWO MALE NURSING ASSISTANTS, IDENTIFIED as Arik and Miguel on their name tags, unshackled Blake’s wrist and ankle restraints. They lowered the bed rails and stepped aside as Blake swung his legs over the side of the bed, pulling his hospital gown down over his crotch.
“Sorry, buddy, but you ain’t gonna like this part,” Arik said. “We have to watch you pee,” He was about five-and-a-half feet tall and spent most of his time in the gym lifting weights. He sported a buzz cut and a few tattoos.
“What?” Blake exclaimed. You’ve got to be kidding me.
“Trust me, it's not my choice, but orders are orders.”
Quinn giggled in the bed next to him.
“What are you laughing at, Sunshine?” Miguel said, the taller, bearded man with glasses and styled messy hair asked, a wide grin on his face. “You’re next.”
“Oh,” Quinn said, his face dropping.
Blake stood and winked at Quinn. He slipped his feet into some hospital slippers and tried to hold his gown closed behind him with his left hand as he crossed the room. When he entered the bathroom, he didn’t care about his nakedness. He fumbled with the gown because it awkwardly draped across his front and he didn’t know how to pee standing up with it in the way.
“Just hike it up and tuck it between your left side and arm. There’s no fancy way to do this, believe me,” Arik offered.
“You want me to stand in front of you almost naked and pee?” Blake asked, glaring at the nurse’s aide. Okay, maybe I do care about being naked now.
“No, not at all, but my boss does, and I’d rather not get fired today. Besides, it’s not like you’re the first naked dude I’ve seen, not that I’m bragging. It just comes with the territory.” He nodded toward the toilet and pointed at it with his finger. “Just aim it well and pretend I’m not even here.” Then he stepped back and leaned against the sink, folding his arms across his chest.
Blake sighed and closed his eyes. Running streams, babbling brooks, flowing fountains, ocean waves, dripping water… When the urge finally came, he opened his eyes and aimed.
A minute later, he finished up and let the gown fall. Arik checked the toilet before Blake flushed it and then stepped aside so he could use the sink. “Well, at least it's the right color.”
“Did you expect my pee to be neon pink or something? Blake asked, washing his hands.
“Not at all, just had to make sure there was no blood in your urine.”
“Oh. Well, I hope that was all that and more for you,” Blake quipped, glad the exper
ience was over.
“I can die in peace now,” Arik joked back. “Next!”
“Wait, he doesn’t get a turn, too?” Blake asked, pointing to Miguel.
“Nah, not today. I won Rock, Paper, Scissors before we came in.”
“That’s how you decided who gets to watch the golden stream?” Quinn asked.
Miguel shrugged. “I never said it was a thrilling decision.”
Quinn, holding his gown closed behind him and shuffling along in his hospital slippers, made his way into the bathroom to do his business as Blake walked over to the window, his gown flapping open behind him, not wanting to crawl back in bed and get tied down again. Outside, trees swayed in a gentle breeze as the sun shone brightly in the sky.
The door to their room popped open and Blake grabbed his gown and spun around, unsure of who he was mooning. Oh, it’s you.
Victor poked his head in and stepped into the room and surveyed the situation. He winced when he saw Arik standing near Quinn in the bathroom. He looked over at Miguel, who patiently waited for Blake to lay down again so he could restrain him. He raised his hand and spoke to the Miguel and Arik. “Just spoke with Dr. Madison. Please remove the restraints from their beds.”
“Sure thing,” Miguel said.
“Boys, your parents are signing in downstairs. They’ll be up momentarily.”
“Oh sure,” Quinn called out from the bathroom, “Remove the restraint things before our parents get here, right?”
Victor smirked. “Something like that.” Then he looked at Arik. “Is he peeing green?”
Arik frowned and shook his head. “No, of course not.”
“He’s fine then, thank you for following orders.”
“You’re good, champ,” Arik said, clapping Quinn on the shoulder and leaving him to do his business. He walked over to Quinn’s bed and unfastened the restraints.
“Here’s a tip,” Miguel said, reaching into one of the closets. He tossed Blake a second hospital gown and set one on Quinn’s bed. “Put a second gown on like a bathrobe so your backside is covered. This way here you won’t give any old ladies a thrill or a heart attack if you step out of your room.”
The Guardians Omnibus Page 7
