Chapter 15
Lauren’s eyes hovered just slightly open; lethargic, and barely conscious. Rowan tried to coax her into talking, but she said nothing. Instead, she peered out from beneath the veil of her eyelashes, her gaze seemed distant, transfixed.
“You should try to eat something.” He looked over the tray of food. There was little more than broth, gelatin and some crackers, as well as a cup of iced tea and apple juice.
She seemed oblivious to his suggestion, still lost in the world halfway between awakening and sleep. He took her hand, sitting gingerly on the edge of the bed. “Lauren?” He said it more forcefully. Her gaze lifted up to his, but there was still that emptiness in her eyes.
“She won’t eat anything?” Bahati came in, looking refreshed. She now wore a pair of jeans and a form-fitting long-sleeved t-shirt, seeming at ease as she inspected the tray.
“Well, now, Lauren.” She clicked her tongue. “It’s not much, but you have to start somewhere.” She opened the wrapping around the plasticware and unfolded the napkin and lay it over Lauren’s chest. “My mother always said red Jell-O would cure anything. Green is for sore throats, and yellow is for upset stomachs.” She chattered as she spooned up a bite and held it to Lauren’s lips. Lauren didn’t turn away, but didn’t lean into the spoon either. Bahati was undaunted and pushed the spoon toward her. Instinctively or purposefully, whichever the case was, she opened her mouth and swallowed the Jell-O.
Bahati smiled brightly at Rowan. Rowan half-heartedly mirrored her expression, taking a seat. He watched as she repeated the feat until the bowl was empty. “There we go,” Bahati patted her leg. “How about some soup?”
Lauren managed a bit, finally turning her head away, yawning, her eyelids heavy as the morphine pump automatically fed her pain medication, and she drifted back to sleep. Bahati cleaned up, pulling the blanket up over Lauren’s arm.
“She’s been terribly quiet.” Bahati came over to the chair beside Rowan. She lowered her voice so Lauren could sleep.
“She hasn’t said anything since she first woke up,” he said. “And then it was only in Cherokee.”
“Cherokee?”
“I didn’t even know she spoke Cherokee.”
“Me neither.” Bahati shook her head. “But then again, I learn more about her with every assignment. She’s a bit of a mystery. She hasn’t ever really opened up to me.”
Rowan stared down into his hands. “It’s not just you.”
“It’s hard to get close to her,” she said. “She’s been hurt by someone close to her, I would guess.”
“She told me once that her whole family was like that. Her father left when she was little, and her mother wasn’t very affectionate. She speaks highly of her brothers, well, most of them ... but they aren’t close.”
“She once mentioned her older brother got a full football scholarship.”
“That’s Michael,” Rowan said. “He works as a contractor at NASA. I think she told me he was working on the spatial sensors and other monitoring systems for the newest generation of space shuttles.”
“Impressive. I’m surprised she never mentioned that.”
“She and Michael have some ... professional disagreements. They’ve always been competitive, and he keeps telling her he’s going to find aliens before she does.” Rowan rubbed his eyes. “He’s teasing, but I think it hurts her feelings. You know her, though. She’d never admit it.”
The conversation was interrupted when the orthopedic surgeon came in for rounds. “Good afternoon.” He introduced himself, and Rowan stood to shake his hand. He glanced over Lauren’s chart. “She came through surgery well. We were able to reset her shoulder and install some internal stabilizers on her arm. There’s a steel plate and four screws that are holding it together. Is she right-handed?”
“Yes,” Rowan said.
“Hmm. That will be a challenge, but I’m sure she’ll get through it just fine. Most people do.”
“How long will she have her arm like that?”
“We’ll re-evaluate in four weeks. If it is mending well, we’ll move her to a sling and start her on physical therapy. Within twelve to sixteen weeks, she should be mostly healed if all goes well.”
“So long?”
“It’s up to her. It could take less,” he said. “It was a pretty bad break, and we don’t want to rush it.” He glanced at the monitors that tracked her vitals, then examined the morphine pump. “Has she been awake much?”
“Just long enough to eat some Jell-O and some soup.”
“That’s encouraging. She needs to eat. We’ll back off a little bit on the medication and work towards some non-narcotics for pain management. If she does well, we can talk about sending her home in the next few days.”
“It’s a long flight back to San Diego,” Rowan said. “Will she be up to the trip?”
“We can keep her comfortable enough. I have a friend who’s an orthopedic surgeon in San Diego. I can make you a referral, if you like.”
“We’ll take you up on that.”
Before Rowan could even sit back down, two men in dark suits walked in. “Rowan Pierce?”
“Can I help you?”
“I’m Agent Andrew Miller, this is Agent Joshua Morrison. We’re with the FBI. We’ve been assigned to investigate the kidnapping and attack on Miss Grayson. Can we talk?”
Bahati furrowed her brow as she rose from her chair. “Why is the FBI investigating?”
“Miss Grayson’s attack occurred on Federal land. The National Park Service referred her case to us for follow up.”
“It’s Doctor Grayson, and she was kidnapped by a Bigfoot. Are you prepared to consider that option? Or are you going to tell me I’m a nut job too?” Rowan asked bluntly.
“A Bigfoot?” Morrison asked, stoically. “The Bigfoot?”
“You say it like there’s only one,” Rowan said.
“You say it like it’s real,” Morrison retorted.
Rowan pursed his lips and shook his head. “It’s still just a theory, but so far, it’s the only one we have. We’re paranormal researchers. We came to Washington to look into reports of recent Bigfoot sightings around Mount Saint Helens. Thirteen days ago, Lauren was attacked by something we couldn’t identify. She was slightly injured in that incident. Twenty-four hours later, she went missing. We didn’t find her for ten days. It was freezing out there. I don’t think a random hiker grabbed her.”
“Did she tell you she was abducted by a Bigfoot?”
“She hasn’t said anything that we could understand.” Rowan pulled the digital recorder out of his pocket. “Just this,” he played it for them.
“I’m told it’s Cherokee. A linguist here was able to translate a few words. Ancient ... evil ... witch ... tall man.”
“Tallman?” Bahati asked. “Native tribes have referred to the Bigfoot as Tallman.”
“That’s all we have,” Rowan said. “We’ve got video and audio data from our investigation that we’ll have to review to see if we have anything that’ll provide us any more information.”
“Provocative theory, Mr. Pierce,” Agent Miller said. “We’ll need copies.”
“Of course,” Rowan said. “I’ll contact my team and have them burn you a disc.”
Morrison handed him a business card. “Contact me here when it’s ready,” he said. “I’ll send a courier to pick it up.”
“You believe me?” Rowan stood, flabbergasted.
The two agents looked at one another briefly. “We don’t have enough evidence to believe anything at this point,” Morrison said.
“But you’re willing to consider that she might have been abducted by a Bigfoot?”
“Our job is to collect the evidence. Then we’ll consider all possibilities,” Miller said.
“Lauren is going to like you two.” Rowan grinned, feeling a bit relieved himself.
Chapter 16
The constant tattoo of the pulse monitor was hypnotizing. Rowan finally fell asleep. He was ex
hausted from pacing and worrying. He was comfortable enough in the recliner. Still, he was aware of the nurses’ comings and goings in the night. He was restless, sleeping in short spurts, stirring at any change in the ambient noise.
He awakened when the nurse came in to do the morning vitals before the shift change. She seemed oblivious to his presence. He watched her work and was surprised when he realized Lauren was staring at him. The head of her bed had been slightly elevated. Her thousand-mile stare aimed in his direction. He waited until the nurse was gone before he rose.
He felt his countenance lighten with relief, but she turned her head away. It was almost as if she still was not there. “Hey,” he leaned in and kissed her forehead. “It’s just me.” He brushed her hair back off her brow. She didn’t protest, but there was still no response. He sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand, gingerly. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”
Lauren’s hand wrapped itself in his. He found her eyes meeting his. The light came on and it was as if the morning sun had just broken over the Rocky Mountains. Rowan’s heart seemed to swell in his chest at the beauty of it. “How are you feeling?”
It took a moment for her to answer. “I have a headache.” She swallowed hard. Her voice cracked.
“I can have the nurse get you something for that.”
“Where am I?”
“You’re in a hospital,” he said, intentionally omitting details. “Do you remember what happened to you?”
“Did I fall down?”
“It was a little more than that,” he said. “Don’t you remember?”
“Tell me,” she said.
“We don’t know what happened, Lauren. We were hoping you could tell us.”
“Did I fall down?” She repeated. She gazed at him as if he had all the answers in the universe. Her eyes looked as innocent as a child. His heart broke.
He gazed at her swollen fingers. “Not that we know of,” he said. He decided there was no need to push her any farther. This was more than they’d gotten so far, and he was grateful that she was back with them...for the most part. “Can I get you something to drink? You must be hungry.”
“Bahati fed me,” Lauren said.
“That was yesterday,” he said. “It’s almost time for breakfast. You need to eat to get your strength back.”
“Can I have a cookie?” she asked. Rowan couldn’t help but smile.
“I’ll see if I can find you one. Want milk with that?”
“Sure,” she said, glancing down at her arm, wincing when she realized she couldn’t move it.
“What happened?” She glanced back up at Rowan.
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t you remember?”
“Did I fall down?”
She was obviously still very loopy. There was no point in going through this with her over and over again. “I’ll go find you a cookie.”
“I love cookies. Can I have some milk with it?” She let out a breath dreamily, her eyelids dropping as her head rolled to the side.
“Sure.”
* * *
Rowan returned a few minutes later with a carton of milk and a package of graham crackers. He’d hoped for Oreos, knowing they were her favorite, but they didn’t have any and one of the nurses suggested they might upset her stomach.
“I hope you like these,” he said, unwrapping the package.
She didn’t stir at first, and when she did, she gazed at him blankly. “Rowan?” Her voice was gruff, different than it had been just a few moments earlier. She winced, trying to move her shoulder, her face twisting in pain. “Where am I?”
He furrowed his brow, taking her hand. “Don’t you remember?”
“My head is killing me.” She pulled her hand away and put it to the side of her face. “I feel like I got hit broadside by a truck.”
“You were hurt very badly. But we don’t know what happened. We hoped you could tell us.”
“Where’s Bahati?”
“She went back to the hotel to sleep,” he said, glancing at his watch. “It’s just after six in the morning.”
“I have the feeling I’m supposed to be somewhere,” she said, putting her hand back in his. “What day is it?”
“It’s Friday,” he said. “You’ve missed a few days.”
“I have?” She arched her brow. “My shoulder.” A deep moan escaped her throat. “It hurts.”
“Your arm was nearly ripped out of the socket,” he said. “The bone was broken too. Doctors had to do surgery.”
“Oh wow,” she leaned her head back on the pillow, squeezing her eyes closed.
“Do you need something for pain?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “It really hurts.”
“Okay. Hold on. I’ll get help.” He rose and stepped out to the nurses’ station. He returned a moment later with the nurse in tow.
“Welcome back,” she said, watching her patient cautiously, as she checked the IV. “How’s your pain?”
“It’s bad,” Lauren said through clenched teeth.
“On a scale of one to ten?”
“Two-hundred-ninety-four,” she said. “Maybe three hundred.”
“That bad, huh?” The nurse mused. “I just switched the morphine pump to manual. You just press this button as you need it.” She tucked the control in Lauren’s hand. “You can have a small dose every fifteen minutes, but there’s a limit, so go easy. This should be more than enough to take the edge off.”
Rowan could tell the pain medicine was reaching her. She seemed to melt, her jaw relaxing. She inhaled deeply. “Mmm,” Lauren managed. “Are those for me?” She saw the graham crackers on the tray.
Rowan nodded at the nurse as she departed, returning to his spot on the foot of the bed. “Yeah. If you’re up to it.” He handed her one.
She nibbled on it, letting her hand fall back to her lap as she chewed the bite, then lay the cracker back down. “Maybe not yet.”
“How about some tea or maybe some ginger ale?” Rowan suggested.
She shook her head. “Maybe just some water,”
As if in answer, the nurse came in with a pitcher of ice water and a cup and straw. “How are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m kind of queasy,” Lauren said.
“I’ll get you some ice chips,” the nurse said. “It’ll help. I promise.”
* * *
Bahati arrived in time to help with breakfast. Rowan sat in the corner, feeling helpless. He resigned himself to the fact that he wasn’t needed and announced his intentions to go and get a cup of coffee.
The ice had helped. Lauren was actually able to keep down some toast and tea. Bahati coaxed her into eating some tapioca pudding but the eggs and oatmeal went untouched.
“I don’t think anyone’s done anything with your hair since you got here,” Bahati said, running a long hand over her raven tresses. “Want me to brush it?”
“No,” she said. “I’m just going to close my eyes for a little bit.” She yawned.
“You’ve earned it,” Bahati said.
* * *
Bahati and Rowan paced the halls the rest of the morning. Jean-René stopped by with the disc and stayed only long enough to talk logistics before the crew left on the next flight back to San Diego. They would start analyzing the evidence they had collected. After all, there wasn’t anything else they could do. There wasn’t much Bahati and Rowan could do either, but they needed each other, and when Lauren was feeling better, she would need them too.
“I can’t believe she doesn’t remember anything.” Bahati said.
“It might be more merciful this way.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t imagine what she’s been through.” He ran a weary hand over his scalp. “I just think it might be better that she doesn’t remember.”
“In the long run, she’ll need to know,” Bahati said. “It’ll drive her crazy. You know how she is.”
Rowan nodded. “I do.”
* * *
Lauren was sitting up and trying to get out of bed when Rowan returned from the cafeteria. “What are you doing?” he asked, rushing over to stop her.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” she said. She was groggy and moved slowly.
“No, you don’t,” he said. “Lie back down.”
“I do,” she insisted.
“Lauren, you’ve got a catheter and you’re hooked up to wires and an IV. You don’t need to go anywhere. You have to stay in bed. You’re going to hurt yourself.” He took her arm blocking her from getting up. She surrendered.
Lauren lay back, gazing at him. Her face was void of emotion. “Where’d you go? I missed you.”
“Pacing the halls,” he said.
“Why?” she asked, her brow furrowing.
“I’ve been worried. You were gone for 10 days,” he said. “I thought I’d lost you forever.”
“I was just sleeping,” she said, looking confused.
“Lauren?” he hesitated. “Do you remember anything that happened to you in the last, say ... two weeks?”
“I ate some Jell-O,” she said. “It was green ... or was it red?”
“That’s it?” He arched his brow.
“We went...” She hesitated. “We went camping.”
“Why?” he asked. He was testing her.
“Because. Because ...we like camping?” He shook his head. Lauren furrowed her brow. “We were looking for something,” she said. “But ... I don’t remember what it was.”
Rowan’s breath came out in a ragged gasp, his knees no longer holding him as he sat down hard. “It might be for the best,” he said, softly.
Lauren looked at him blankly. “What do you mean? What happened? Did I hit my head?”
“I wished to God I knew. But ... I’m glad you don’t. I just want to take you home and put this trip behind us.” He leaned on the rail and her hand came to rest on his head. He took it and pressed it to his lips, looking at her fiercely.
“You said I was going to be okay,” she managed to smile. “I will be. So will you.”
Chapter 17
The Veritas Codex Series, #1 Page 9
