When we reached the hospital, I paused by the front entrance.
“What’s wrong?” Martin asked.
“You sure you want to be with me? This isn’t some game, like sneaking out of Edgeview or taking on a couple bullies. The bad guys have guns. They seem to make up their own laws, too.”
“I’m sure,” Martin said. “You know me—the bigger they act, the more stubborn I get. At least, that’s what nine out of ten psychologists say. Come on, we’ve got a friend to see.”
A PHONE CONVERSATION BETWEEN
MAJOR BOWDLER AND AN UNNAMED
TECHNICIAN AT A COUNTER-
INTELLIGENCE FACILITY IN FORT
MEADE, MARYLAND
BOWDLER: This is Bowdler.
TECHNICIAN: Yes. Go ahead.
BOWDLER: I need a filter for the following name …
TECHNICIAN: Ready.
BOWDLER: Eddie Thalmayer. All variations—Ed Edward.
TECHNICIAN: National?
BOWDLER: East Coast for now. Priority ten. Land lines and cellular.
TECHNICIAN: It’s in place.
BOWDLER: I’m also uploading frontal and profile facial images for real-time recognition.
TECHNICIAN: Noted. We’ll alert you to any hits. Be advised the system is currently running at a backlog.
while trash and martin are heading for the hospital, lucky stands on his own two feet …
“IT’S TIME FOR a walk.”
Lucky stared at the smiling nurse, wishing she’d go away. She smelled like rubbing alcohol and mouthwash. Back in the other place, one of the nurses dragged him out of his room and made him do stuff once or twice a day. Sometimes it was a jigsaw puzzle, sometimes it was stupid crafts. Mostly, it was walks. This place was no different. He felt like someone’s German shepherd. Besides, he’d just gotten here this morning, and wasn’t even used to his new room.
“Come on, Dominic,” the nurse said. “Exercise is important. You’ll feel better. Trust me.”
No way. He didn’t trust anyone. And he didn’t want to get out of bed. But he knew she’d nag him until he did what she asked. He stood up and followed her down the corridor and out through the locked doors that separated his ward from the rest of the hospital. His slippers scuffed against the floor with each step. Her cushioned heels tapped the floor with the rhythm of a pendulum.
At least there weren’t any lost objects in the hallways crying out for his attention. Hospitals were constantly swept clean of everything—dirt, germs, hopes. Though the voices wouldn’t have been much of a problem. The medicine kept them from bothering him.
“You’re so lucky,” the nurse whispered as they turned a corner into the main corridor. “Some of these poor children are very sick. It’s so sad.”
Yeah, I’m lucky, he thought. There was no way to explain to her that his own problems were just as bad. Maybe his heart was fine and his kidneys weren’t failing. Maybe his bones weren’t broken and his flesh wasn’t burned. But there were other ways to suffer. The stuff nobody else could see—that was probably the worst kind of suffering to bear. Even if he told them, they wouldn’t understand. But he couldn’t tell them. If they knew about his hidden talent, they’d do terrible things to him.
He stopped dead as he glanced into one of the rooms. A quiz show was playing on a TV in the far corner. There was a kid in the first bed who looked familiar. The kid kept shouting out answers, even though nobody was in the room. After each answer, he’d moan and grab his face, which was all bruised and puffed up. Lucky was sure he knew him.
He thought about calling out, but the nurse gave him a gentle tap on the shoulder. “Give him his privacy. He’s had a rough time. Let’s go, Dominic.”
Lucky moved on. He knew he could remember who the kid was if he tried hard enough, but he was happy to stop thinking and just drift back into the haze. The real world was far too harsh to visit for any length of time.
haunting the hallways
WE STOPPED AT the information desk and found out what room Cheater was in, then took the elevator to the fourth floor.
“You’d better let me go in first,” Martin said.
“Why?”
“You want him to think he’s seeing ghosts, dead boy?”
“Good point.”
I followed Martin down the hall to Cheater’s room, but waited out of sight while he went inside. A moment later, I heard Cheater shout, “He’s alive!” I couldn’t help smiling. It sounded like a line from one of those old horror movies he loved.
That shout was immediately followed by a howl of pain, which also could have come from a horror movie. I guess Cheater’s face was sore. I stepped into the room. One bed was empty. The other had a kid who resembled a badly sculpted version of my friend.