Plague

Chapter 13 Day 2 4:25 AM

Chapter 13
Day 2
4:25 AM

Jacob had finally drifted off to sleep, as the pain made his concentrating on what had happened difficult.
Jacob was having a nightmare: people were all around him, with brown things coming out of their ears and even their nostrils, waving at Jake; there were broad smiles on the miniature faces on each arrow-shaped thing. He was flailing out, blindly, but not able to hit anything. There was a high pitched wail in the room that kept getting higher. There was an anguished scream that Jacob assumed had come from him. Someone was calling his name over and over again. The wailing got shriller and faded out of earshot while whoever was calling his name was yelling louder and louder. He felt blows landing on his shoulders and got his breath long enough to yell, “No, no, no….”
“Jesus Christ, Jacob, snap out of it!”
Jacob opened his eyes, slowly, afraid the nightmare was continuing. There was Stephan, his arms around Jake’s shoulders, pushing him back onto the exam table. Stephan had untied the leather straps which had confined Jacob.
An IV set up was still connected to Jacob’s left forearm.
They were alone.
Jacob tried to say something, but nothing intelligible came out of his raw and constricted throat. Stephan brought him a cup of water from a sink across the room. He gratefully drank it down.
“Jacob, what the hell happened in that elevator? Some nurse was standing there when the door opened and she found you unconscious and that cop lying on top of you. Dead.
“She started screaming her head off and brought half of the staff. I came just before Michaels got there, and found Hudson lying on top of you with his hands wrapped around your throat. We brought you both here to the emergency room. His body is next door.
“I don’t have to tell you the trouble you’re in. Michaels’ says you murdered his friend the Lieutenant. The cops have been called and they’re on their way. You better have a good story, buddy. You’re going to need it.”
Jacob motioned for some more water and drank it slowly, thinking.
Was his perception of what happened accurate? If it wasn’t, what really happened? If it was, God help us all, he thought.
“Stephan, did you get a chance to look at Hudson’s body?”
“No, Jake, not yet. Why?”
“Please go look at his right ear. See if the tympanic membrane is intact. Then come back and I’ll tell you what happened. I need some time to think.”
“Why should I look at his ear? What are you…?”
Jacob saw comprehension begin to dawn on Stephan’s face.
“Are you trying to tell me he’s like the others? Come on, Jake, I don’t buy that. I mean, he looked like he had been in a fight”
After another several seconds, Stephan said, “You can’t mean it!”
“Go look, Stephan, then come back and we’ll talk, Okay?” Jacob said.
He tried to settle back comfortably and think. Before he could begin to relax, Stephan came back, his face ashen.
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. After a drink of water, Stephan turned to Jacob and with a sweep of his hand motioned for him to talk.
Jacob did, He told him everything that he could remember of the fight in the elevator. When he got to the part about the Thing hanging out of Hudson’s ear Stephan just stared at him. He loosened his tie and again motioned for Jacob to continue. When Jacob had finished, he kept staring at him.
“Stephan, what did you find when you looked at Hudson’s body?” Jacob asked.
“There was blood in the external auditory canal- in his ear. The membrane was gone, just like the two boys. I couldn’t do much, but I struck a probe into Hudson’s ear. It just kept going.
“Jacob, what the fuck is going on? You had a nice bump on the back of your head. Maybe even a slight concussion. Are you sure what you told me really happened? I mean, with what happened earlier tonight you may have been dreaming.”
“Yeah,” he said, “I know, but I wasn’t. What’s going on outside?”
“There’s a guard outside the door to make sure you don’t split before the cops get here.”
“Look, Stephan, go out and tell them I’m still unconscious and that no one is to disturb you while you’re in here with me. Then, you and I are going upstairs to the Pediatrics floor. I’m sure we can find something.
“It might even clear me! I mean, I didn’t kill Hudson. But whatever that thing was, I’ll bet it did. Also, well, never mind now. You’ll see for yourself. Get this IV out of my arm and let’s get going.”
“Jacob, just what do you expect to find upstairs?”
“It could be one of several things. Come on,” Jacob said.
Stephan took the butterfly needle out of Jacob’s arm and helped him to get up off the bed. He took a few steps and almost passed out. He was nauseated and felt faint. There was a cannon in his head that kept firing about once every three or four seconds. The noise was deafening. Stephan gave him three aspirin and some more water. After a few minutes he felt almost well enough to die.
“Jacob, are you sure you can do this?” Stephan asked. “Can’t it wait?”
“No way, Stephan. Once the cops get to me, it’s all over unless I can talk my way out of this thing. I need more proof. Let’s go, I’m feeling better,” he lied.
They left through a back door to the examining room that connected to other rooms. For once in his life, Jacob was glad to feel like a rat in a maze. As long as he was lost, he felt, no one else could find him.
He hoped.