She took a breath to steady the nerves that made her hands tremble involuntarily, “You prefer to maintain some privacy for your patients.”
“Is there a question here?…” he said
“What I’m trying to ask is, what kind of tests did you do on Colleen today?” Marisha stared at him, clasping her hands together to stop the shaking, and waited for him to respond.
“You just jumped right in there, didn’t you? I like that.” He tapped his index finger to his lips and ran it down his chin. “I’d like to say I respect the privacy of everyone I treat, but I’d be fooling myself in this situation. You two are thick as thieves, you saving her life and all, and you should know if she’s okay. I assume you wouldn’t be in here if you weren’t concerned or didn’t already have an idea of what I found.”
“How did you—”
“You aren’t the first person I’ve seen worried about someone they love. As far as Colleen goes, she’s mostly healthy. I ran a CBC to look at blood counts, and other than her white blood cells being slightly elevated, nothing stood out. Being sick will do that to you. Then, I ran a urinalysis to look for any other abnormalities in her ketones, glucose, and to see if she’s dehydrated. The kidneys excrete wastes, and if anything looks off, we can get a good idea of where to look next. It’s usually the first place we see signs of disease as well.”
She stayed silent, hoping that he would continue. Dr. Vasquez removed his glasses, setting them on the desk, and drug a hand over his face, squishing the bridge of his nose. “A few different levels were elevated, showing that she was dehydrated. Which is why I started her on fluids. We should see a pretty significant improvement and quickly,” he said.
Marisha’s features softened, and her shoulders slumped. He stood and walked toward her, and placed a comforting hand on her forearm, “Don’t panic. It’s nothing we can’t readily address here. I tried to run a basic metabolic panel, but the results were all over the place. I ran one more test. It tests for a hormone called hCG. This is usually present in women who are in Colleen’s… condition. Depending on how much is in her system, we can determine how far along it has progressed.”
Marisha began digging a thumb into her palm, quietly counting to herself, “Meaning?”
He held his hands up, palms facing her, “As you know, most of my testing materials are well past their use-by date. So, nothing is going to be one hundred percent accurate.”
She exhaled, but he quickly pressed his lips together, “We should hold off coming to any conclusions until I know more.”
She faintly nodded but kept quiet. Marisha rocked back and forth just a bit at first, ever-increasing. Back, back, forward. Dr. Vasquez got up and placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her, “If you know something I need to know—or more importantly, Colleen needs to know, you should tell me.”
She started fidgeting with her hands and pacing around. She tried to start several times, but she was unable to come up with the right words, “If I tell you something, could you promise to keep it between you and me?”
“If it’s about you, then yes, but if it involves someone else, you know I have to do what’s in the best interest of everyone here.”
She nodded, “It’s nothing. I’m just tired and a bit on edge from today’s events. It’s not every day you have to dodge bullets and see someone bleed out right in front of you. I’m sorry if I got you all worried.”
Vasquez hesitated but faintly nodded, staying silent. They stared at each other for what felt like hours, but he was the one to finally broke the silence, “What went on out there today? It sounds like things fell apart pretty quickly.”
“What did you hear?” Marisha’s voice cracked on the last word.
“Enough to believe it was more organized than it appears. From how Cooper described it, I’m willing to bet this was a two-man job that went south—Joel and whoever was shooting at you all. Joel was supposed to rob us, but our hospitality changed his mind. He walked into that ambush, thinking no one would be there. Once his former partner saw Joel, he became persona non grata and BOOM.”
She flinched at the sound, “How did you get all that from… I mean, yeah, I guess it makes sense. I just can’t ditch this feeling that there is something we missed.”
There was a rapid knock at the door to the room. The two cut their eyes over to the doorway. “Yes,” said the doctor hesitantly.
“Y’all need to come quick. There’s someone here asking for Colleen. He’s a slimy-looking fella, but he also looks hurt.”
Marisha opened the door to find Cooper waiting, breathless. “Well, tell him to bug off. She’s not seeing visitors right now,” she snapped.
“He said he’s not going away until he sees her. He looks like he’s been to hell and back, and he’s pretty persistent. Smells something ripe. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chenoa is hosing him down when we get back.”
“Okay, okay.” Marisha said, “Tell him I’ll be down.”
“I don’t think he’s going to be satisfied with that,” Cooper said, holding his hands up defensively.
“Aren’t you head of security? Make him fine with it,” Marisha said, “And take Jackson. Maybe he’ll recognize him.”
He looked further into the room at Dr. Vasquez, who nodded, silently agreeing with Marisha’s command. Cooper pursed his lips and did an about-face before walking out the door; Marisha tailing behind. As they approached the front exit, she could see someone waiting outside. Flailing hand movements were visible through the frosted glass double doors. Even if she couldn’t see his face, it was blatantly evident that whoever he was, was worked up about something. He paced back and forth, his movements heavy and yet almost frail. The two of them slowed as they got closer.
“You sure you want to take care of this? He doesn’t seem to have taken my advice to calm down,” Cooper asked.
Marisha softly patted his shoulder, “Maybe he needs to be killed with some kindness. I’m going to take a swing at it.”
“I don’t know about that. I think he’s just a jerk,” he said.
“Didn’t your mom ever tell you that you’d catch more flies with honey than vinegar?”
He squished his eyebrows together and rubbed his chin, “I don’t know about that one, but she said if you don’t stop fighting so much, this next one is going to sting like a whole nest full of hornets.”
“Why am I not shocked,” Marisha rolled her eyes and sidestepped Cooper, heading out the doors. The boy outside—he had a boy's body alright—couldn’t have weighed more than 120 pounds soaking wet. His face was another story, though—a slight frame, with drawn-in features and a disheveled mane of hair. A babyface was still visible under all that patchy pubescent facial hair.
He saw her and tried to approach, but the guard easily held him back. He lost his balance and toppled to the ground. “I just want to see her,” he said, pushing himself up with shaky arms, “I have something she needs to hear.”
“Hold on there, little buddy,” the guard scowled. There was a desperation in his voice she hadn’t heard in quite some time. It felt like life and death, and even if it wasn’t, it obviously felt like it to him. “I can’t let you see her, but you can tell me whatever information you have, and I’ll pass it on.”
The young man, still trying to push himself up, collapsed again. Jackson ran to him and licked his wounds. He lifted a hand to stroke his soft coat. Jackson stayed by his side and tried to nudge his chin up with his snout. Marisha walked forward as the guards tried to stop her, but she waved them off, putting out a hand to help him up.
"She’s not taking visitors, and that won't change no matter who you are or how much Jackson likes you,” he grabbed her hand and she pulled him to his feet.
“I think it will,” his words soft and weak.
She wiped her hand on her pants and scrunched her nose at the odor that wafted her way as he stood. “Well, I’ll be the judge of that. So, out with it, then.”
“I’m an old friend, Lito—”
he said, but Marisha cut him off.
“No… you’re…” Marisha’s head drew back slowly as a thick tongue stifled the words in her mouth. Time felt like it was slowing down.
Seven
Marisha
“Lito? Yeah, I think it might be best for you to turn around and return to whatever rock crawled out from under,” Marisha snapped.
She did an about-face, leaving him to fend for himself. His face was gaunt, and his movements slow, appearing to be sleep deprived and not have eaten in days. He finally pushed himself up and grabbed onto the pillar outside. Leaning against the door frame, he was able to stay upright. Before she was back through the double doors, he called out.
“You don’t understand how important it is that I see her. It’s a matter of—”
“What? Life and death?” Marisha interrupted, “I think you two have already had one of those, and from what I heard, it didn’t end very well for you and your friends.”
“They weren’t my friends—” he coughed and staggered back, trying to stay upright. He reached a hand out towards the guard, but Marisha waved them off. She stared ahead, anger building inside. “You don’t even know the whole story. I didn't have a choice.”
“You always have a choice whether or not to sell your friends out to cannibals. Honestly, I have to say that’s one of the easier decisions to make. Friends, not food, right?”
“I can explain,” he said, sliding down the pillar and onto his knees. He coughed again and grabbed his side as tears rolled down his dusty cheek. “If you aren’t going to let me see her. Can you at least let me have something to eat, and I’ll be on my way?”
“Fine, but then you’re leaving.”
Cooper and Marisha each put an arm around Lito and carried him down the long corridor that dead-ended into the cafeteria. The toes of his shoes squeaked as his feet skid down the hallway. An old dark red stain had begun to grow on his frayed t-shirt. They put him down on the collapsible cafeteria table. Lito twisted to turn and face them, faintly crying out in pain. He lifted his shirt, and she could see dried blood crusted around an old wound, still trying to heal.
“Looks like someone got you good,” Marisha said, a faint smile forming on her face.
“You could say that,” he chuckled, but his face contorted into a pain-filled grimace and was painted with regret for doing so.
“I won’t let you see her. Your presence will only upset her, and she doesn’t need to relive her mistake of trusting you. So, say what you have to say, get a bite to eat, and be on your way.”
Lito took a deep breath, pinched the bridge of his nose, and exhaled, “He’s coming.” His eyes lazily shifted between Cooper and Marisha. An icy chill fell over the air as a nervous smile grew across his haggard face. He pointed and shook his index finger, and soon the whole arm was under a complete tremor, “HE is coming!”
“What? Who is coming?” Marisha said, “Could you be any vaguer.”
“Truthmore,” came a voice behind Marisha. She twisted her neck around to see Colleen, who had propped herself up on the table behind them. The thick, branching veins in her hands growing as she dug her palms into the laminate surface. Colleen wiped the corners of her mouth with the back of her hand. Her face still ill, “I had a feeling I hadn’t seen the last of him.”
Eight
Colleen
The sight of such cowardice and helplessness only served to make her sicker. Here he was, the person whose friendship had burned bright for only a short period; before it fizzled into him selling her out to a sociopathic, cannibalistic dictator.
Lito looked like he had just crawled out of a six-foot-deep hole, and at any moment, the grim reaper could put him back. His bloodshot eyes cowered down toward the ground, and his shoulders slumped. If he were a dog, his tail would be between his legs, flinching at every movement, hoping he wouldn’t get beat again.
“Colleen, I never thought I’d—” his words slurred out.
“Save it. Say what you have to say and move on. You are lucky I don’t shoot you where you stand,” she spat, trying to push the urge for vengeance down deep. But as hard as she tried to keep it at bay, it taunted her and crept back up her throat, much like the bile in her stomach.
Lito swallowed, then involuntarily coughed into his elbow, “I came here… to warn you.”
"Warn me about what? You show up the same day that we almost get killed on a supply run, and you expect us to trust a word you say? You’ve got a habit of surrounding yourself in coincidences.”
Cooper walked up and glared at Lito, then dropped a plate of something that looked like food in front of him. The plate hit the solid surface of the table with a thunk, sticky rice flying up and into his hair.
Lito put up his hands and shook his head, “I had nothing to do with that. I promise we were only supposed to scout you out and report back to Truthmore.”
“Some guy came into camp, made friends, and no more than a few hours later had us on a supply run that turned into a shooting gallery, where we were the targets. You really want us to believe that two groups want us dead? That you aren’t responsible for that?” Cooper said, pointing a finger in his face.
“That wasn’t me. That was Joel,” Lito’s demeanor had changed as he picked up a fork and started shoveling food into his mouth. Suddenly, he didn’t appear as sickly as he had moments earlier. Getting in here and acting the part of a wounded animal was a game to him.
Cooper reached forward and grabbed Lito by his long hair, whipping his head back, “You knew what was going to happen? Worthless piece of—I outta kill you right now,” his voice a primitive growl.
“They made me… leave Estes as soon as I could walk. He and I… got paired up once we made camp… in Eugene,” Lito said, his hand holding on to Cooper’s arm in a desperate attempt to reduce the pain. “All Truthmore could think about was revenge. It’s all he talked about.”
“Poor you,” Marisha said, scowling, “You deserve worse."
Colleen waved her off and put her hand on her shoulder. Lito started coughing again, and Cooper released him. He cleared his throat, but this time he turned his head and spit out a disgusting mixture of blood and phlegm into his napkin. Jackson squeezed in between his legs and rubbed his ears against Lito’s calf.
“Even though it’s probably against my better judgment, once we are done, I’ll see if we have something around here to temporarily delay your imminent death. Unlike you, and the rest of your people, we’re not monsters,” Colleen said before massaging her her sinues, her fingers digging in deeper by the second, “Alright, let's get back to it. Where do you and Joel fit into all this? I assume you two were supposed to report back, but now he’s dead. Seems like some idiotic recognizance if you ask me. I don’t even remember seeing this Joel guy back in Estes.”
“You wouldn’t have. Joel rolled into camp a few weeks after you escaped. He took quickly to weaseling into the good graces of Truthmore. A real natural-born sycophant. Once we got to Eugene, I knew Truthmore would send out spies, so I volunteered. I ended up being a guide for Joel since he couldn’t find his way out of a paper bag,” the sadistic smile that played on Lito’s lips was unsettling, but they had nothing else to go on. At this rate, any information was helpful.
“Spies? Aren’t they supposed to at least maintain a semblance of being covert? The guy showed up, made friends, then walked into his own death. Why shoot your own spies? Who do you think you’re fooling,” Cooper said, clearly not buying his story.
Colleen swallowed as she felt like something was stirring in her stomach. The taste of bile rising up in the back of her throat.
"Who’s the shooter?” Marisha demanded.
"I’m getting there,” Lito said, “I don’t know his name, but If I know Truthmore, they sent this guy to toy with you, not kill you. There’s no way he’s not killing you himself. I’m not here to hurt you. Even if I wasn’t on your side, I had to promise to keep you alive, no matter what.”
Lito bent ov
er and grabbed his stomach, sweat poured down his face. He hurled everything he had eaten minutes before, painting the tiled floor. Jackson snaked through his legs, burrowed his head into Lito’s lap, and whined. Colleen hated him, but part of her believed him. Thinking he just might try to do the right thing—or at least she hoped.
“One more thing before you possibly die,” she tightened her features, “He’s closer than Eugene, isn’t he? How long do we have to prepare before he’s looming down on us?”
Lito looked away, saying nothing. The sensation of hopelessness poured all over Colleen, making each breath harder to take than the last, “That close, huh? Well, we better get started. Let’s get you fixed up before you become a liability.”
Nine
Colleen
Contrary to the requests of Marisha and Cooper, there wouldn’t be a public hanging. As a matter of fact, Lito was too weak to undergo any further interrogation.
Dr. Vasquez stepped in shortly after the serpent was brought upstairs for medical attention. He used coercion and kindness to keep the group from aiding in the hastened death of their visitor. There would be no quick fix, but Colleen knew Truthmore wouldn’t give up until he had ended her.
“That’s quite the injury you have there. How long ago was this?” the doctor asked.
“I don’t know, June? Ask Colleen, she did it.” Lito ran his hand over the infected area, grimacing at the slightest touch, “The days after it went down all seemed to run together.”
Dr. Vasquez looked to a glaring Colleen who stood in the corner of the hospital room, toying with the necker knife dangling outside of her button-up shirt, “The middle of June seems about right.”
Lito pointed at her affirmatively. Dr. Vasquez opened a dark bottle, pouring a yellowish-brown liquid onto a towel to clean his wound. He wrapped it tightly, eliciting an audible gasp from Lito.
The Maddening: Book 2 in the Terror Saga Page 5
