by B.V. Bayly
Chapter Five
Gabriel panicked, looking around for somewhere he could go. He needed to leave. Who knew what they would do once they found the shard in his chest.
Before he could run, Brett barreled through the plastic doorway. “Good! The medical team is here.” Brett pointed to the ambulance. “Now they can have a good look at you. Also, I got a little something for you. Sit.”
Gabriel sat on the cot and opened the small duffel bag Brett handed him. Inside were shiny silver envelopes that had “Financial Relief Aid Packages” stamped on them in bold red letters. “What are these?”
“It’s a little against procedure, but I gave you three. These have food cards and vouchers for free hotel stays. Also, some government cash cards for buying new clothes and things. Typically, you only get one per person, but I figured you could use a little bit of extra help.” Brett smiled so widely Gabriel could see a couple of molars missing in his giant yellowish grin. “They're easy to set up.”
“Set up?” Gabriel was confused.
“Um, they're tied to you. Like to your person.” Gabriel could see Brett had a hard time explaining it. “Look.” The big man peeled open the packets. “Each one gets coded to you. Here.” Brett took out a small three inch plastic strip. “Give me your arm.”
Gabriel held out his forearm. Brett pressed the strip down into his skin and scanned the back of the device with a small red pen. The strip pinched, causing Gabriel to flinch.
“It's alright, the strips are just encoding.” Brett smiled.
Gabriel stared at the grey plastic strip as Brett lifted it up off his skin. The bottom of it was covered with hundreds of hair like spikes. “What's that for?”
Brett struggled with his words. “It codes to your blood, or DNA. Anyhow, you just need to be scanned at any store or hotel and you're good – you don't have to worry about trying to prove anything. Makes it easier. Everything will be all set up for you in the system. Just two more times.” He chuckled and pressed the next two strips into Gabriel’s forearm. “That should do it.”
Gabriel rubbed his skin after Brett lifted the last plastic strip. “Thanks, Brett.”
“No problem.” Brett cleared his throat. “I got one last thing for ya.” He pulled out a gold locket. It looked so small in his large hand. “I figured you'd want it.”
Gabriel’s chest quivered as he picked it up out of Brett’s hand. The smooth golden locket was flecked with blood. It was his mother's. Tears filled his eyes as Gabriel spoke. “You got her out?”
“Yeah.” Brett's voice was soft.
“Can I see her?” Gabriel bit down on his lip as tears slid down his face.
“Not yet – let the paramedic guys clean her up, you don't want to see her like this.” Brett took a deep breath, and his voice trembled. "I'm sorry."
Gabriel couldn't speak. His insides twisted as heat spread across his chest. He nodded at Brett and let out a jagged breath.
“I was happy as a pig in mud to find you breathing!” Brett gave Gabriel a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Things will get better.” His smile was forced. “Take care of yourself.”
Gabriel didn't say a thing. He couldn't. He just nodded and watched Brett leave the tent. Gabriel kept his eyes on Brett and his partner as they stripped off their gear and climbed into their truck. He gave them a final wave as they drove down the lane, and suddenly he felt very alone. The heavy equipment was quick to follow, headed for the next site. He returned to his cot and cocooned himself in the blanket once again.
“Hello.” A friendly voice interrupted his thoughts. The female paramedic placed a medical bag on the ground in front of him and sat down on the other cot. She wore a pair of thin glasses that matched her round face and the small bun on the top of her head. “My name is Rita. And you are?”
“Gabriel.” He shifted on the cot, uneasy about the new guest. He closed his hand around the locket.
“Hi, Gabriel. I just want to check some of your vitals. Is that okay?”
A male paramedic joined them, standing silently in the corner of the tent.
“Alright.” He tried to remain calm.
She smiled and reached for his right arm. He carefully slid his arm from beneath his protective blanket, and watched as she wrapped a metallic band midway up his forearm. She then pulled a small set of goggles out of her kit. They looked a bit like binoculars.
“Alright, I want you to just look into these.” She held the goggles up to his eyes. “And try not to blink.”
Maybe they wouldn't see anything. Gabriel took a deep breath and pressed his face into the goggles. A surge of red light flooded his eyes, blinding him. The burst of light vanished and she removed the goggles. He rubbed at his eyes until his vision returned to normal.
Rita looked at a small LCD screen attached to her forearm. “Well, your retina scan looks good – vitals all really strong,” she reported. “I see you’ve had some trauma to your chest though.”
Gabriel swallowed hard and tightened the blanket around himself.
“Let’s see now.” She smiled at him. “Here comes your medical history … alright, that looks to be fine. You appear to be in good condition, but I want to take a look at your chest before we let you go. Can you tell me about what happened?” Her eyebrows rose.
He cleared his throat. “I don’t remember,” he lied. “I feel fine though.”
She stood up and started to ease the blanket off his shoulders. “Let's just have a quick look. Lie down, please.” She patted the cot.
"No." Gabriel shook his head and made a point of staring her in the eyes. “I feel fine, thank you.”
She frowned and tilted her head at him. “I just want to take a look. Sometimes we feel fine, but our bodies are in trouble.”
“Your computer says I am fine, and I really don’t feel like being poked at!” His hand tightened around the locket.
“Sir, I need to look at your chest!” She used a stern tone.
The male medical officer stirred beside her, pushing his sleeves up to his elbows.
“I don’t care what you want. I don’t want to be looked at! Get it?” His voice rose as his fear quickly changed to anger.
The woman reached out and grabbed his arm. "Just lie down."
The man put a hand firmly on his shoulder.
Gabriel jerked his arm back from her and stood up from the cot. “I said no!” His chest burned. “Get the hell out!” He pointed to the door as the blanket slid down from his shoulder.
Her eyes fixed on his chest. “What’s that in his chest?” She pointed.
The male paramedic shouted. “That’s ore!”
Gabriel glanced down and realized that the ore was visible. He readjusted the blanket to cover it. “No!” It was too late.
The male paramedic lunged at him and wrapped his arms around him, pinning Gabriel's arms to his side. “Sedate him!”
What? A flash of heat spread across his chest as Gabriel struggled under the hold. They fell back onto the small cot. “Hurry up!” The paramedic grunted as he twisted to stay on top of him.
“I’m trying!” Rita fumbled with her bag as Gabriel struggled to roll over. He fought to get his hands free from the blanket and shoved the paramedic back. The paramedic leaned down on him, his knee pressed painfully into Gabriel’s chest. "Hold him down!" Rita shouted, a syringe in her hand.
"Get off me!" Gabriel roared. His arms flashed with light as he shredded through the blanket and hurled the male paramedic straight up into the air. He bounced off the roof of the tent and tumbled to the ground, but he recovered immediately and charged Gabriel again. Gabriel slammed his fist into the center of the paramedic's chest. The blow spun the paramedic back through the air and into Rita. The two of them crashed into the corner of the tent. They stared at him, terrified, their mouths open and eyes wide.
“Leave me alone!” Gabriel screamed at them. He could barely breathe. His hands shook, bathed in a blinding light. His feet were frozen to
the ground. His whole being was on fire. Pain. Suffering. His vision flooded with light as an immense torment rattled through his bones. He cried out, and a powerful shockwave tore his chest apart.
