The Newton Prophecies

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"The lights," he cried, attempting to raise his hands over his head. But he couldn't. His hands were bound at his sides. His mind was groggy. When the room finally came into focus he knew with a sinking heart that it had not been a dream.
         A tall, fit blond in flowery pink scrubs stuck a long needle into his left arm, then attached a glass vile at the end of the tube. The vile swiftly filled with blood. She wasted no time and replaced the vile with another, it too filling with haste.
         At the same time a short stub of a man, with salt and pepper hair sporting a grey and white stripped shirt, hosting a bright red Windsor-knotted necktie, held a cold stethoscope to his chest and counted seconds on his diamond-studded Rolex.
         "Good to see you finally awake, Mr. DiBianco." The man's voice was gentle, with just a touch of an English accent. He had a name badge clipped to his shirt pocket:
         Cliff Byron, MD.
         "Where am I?" The restraints on his wrists fell loose and immediately he shook feeling back into his hands and crossed his arms over his chest, shivering.
         "You're at Saint Mary's," Dr. Byron said.
         "What happened? What's going on?"
         "Why don't you tell me, Mr. DiBianco?" Dr. Byron said, slinging the stethoscope around his neck and sitting on a rolling chair beside the gurney.
         "I don't understand."
         "Two young men were kind enough to bring you here. They thought you had passed out from heat exhaustion, but they hadn't known for sure." He paused. "How do you feel, Mr. DiBianco?"
         "Are they still here?" DiBianco said nervously, fighting hard to avoid another panic attack. "What about Crystal?"
         "Crystal?"
         "She's one of my students. She's hurt. She was with me in the car when they took--" The light sent stabbing pains through his throbbing head.
         "I'm sorry Mr. DiBianco, there's no one by that name at this hospital." He frowned. "We really need to talk about you for a moment, okay?" Dr. Byron's face was serious. "We found large amounts of Methaqualone in your system."
         "What?" DiBianco said, squinting into the light.
         "It's one of the reasons why the light's bothering you so badly. Methaqualone is quite dangerous. Popular in the 60s as a recreational drug--at the time many medical experts thought it was safe, many even used it. Today, however, it's often used for far more devious purposes. You may have heard it called by one of its many common street names: Quaalude? ... Sopor? ... Parest?"
         "Are you kidding? I've never taken drugs in my life."
         "I'm compelled to believe you," he said, slapping his hands on his knees and rising to his feet. Dr. Byron grabbed a sheet of paper from the counter, pointed at a series of pills and capsules, and continued. "This drug is taken in one of these forms, giving its user a peaceful, often surreal feeling." Dr. Byron returned the paper to the counter and took DiBianco's right arm, a huge black and blue welt stood tall on his biceps. "Somebody injected the bloody stuff into your arm. To put it bluntly, you shouldn't be here. You ought to be dead."
         "But I feel fine." DiBianco was lying, but he couldn't stay in a hospital bed, he had to find who stole the Newton Papers and clear his name. "I have to go."
         "I don't believe you understand. You're in no condition to go anywhere. You must rest."
         "But I must find my--"
         "Mr. DiBianco!" Dr. Byron raised his voice for the first time since DiBianco's awakening. "You've been in a bloody coma for a week. You can't go anywhere!"
         DiBianco couldn't believe his ears. This can't be. Sudden horror ransacked his thoughts. "I must get back to Boston!"
         Dr. Byron's face was perplexed. "Boston?" He cocked his head. "Boston Massachusetts?"
         "You don't understand. It's urgent. I must get my laptop."
         "Mr. DiBianco." The doctor's face was sympathetic, yet very matter of fact. "Do you have any idea where you are?"
         All of a sudden it occurred to him. Saint Mary's? He'd never been to a Saint Mary's Hospital. Never heard of one. DiBianco looked baffled at the doctor who gazed back with concern.
         "You're in London, my friend. London England."

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