Fallout - Life Goes On
#2 of Fallout
I sat up in bed, fur damp from sweat, the covers ...
I sat up in bed, fur damp from sweat, the covers torn off me. I panted, focusing on slowing my breathing, taking deep breaths, and trying to calm my body. I clenched my eyes shut, closing out my night vision, but the dream was gone. Jaimie rolled over in bed. I must have woken her.
"Another dream?"
"Yes," I replied quietly, not wanting to meet her gaze.
"Can you remember it?"
"Just like the others, just pain."
She sat up and tenderly ran a finger down my ear and across the side of my face. Her fur tickled a whisker. I twitched and grinned. Jaimie could always make me feel better. I leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek.
"Go back to sleep," I said, "sorry for waking you."
"Okay, are you..."
"I'm just going to clear my head, and then I'll be back."
Jaimie settled back down and pulled the sheets over herself. I straitened them absentmindedly, still distracted, before pulling the wheelchair up beside the bed and lowering myself into it. I rolled quietly out of the room and onto the balcony, eyes cutting through the dark as if it were daylight. Outside, the cold mountain air brought me fully awake. The sky was clear and moonlight reflected off my white fur but a light breeze blew a few loose snowflakes across my vision. .
It had been close to two months since I had woken up in a bed at Raven Fire Hospital and Trauma Center. Woken up to find a gaping hole in my life. I had returned from a world of black unconsciousness to find that I had no memory of who I was, or who I had been. On top of that, both of my legs were paralyzed. The only things I knew were that I had a drivers license claiming my name was Xavier Snow, because I sure couldn't remember what it was, and a bank card accessing an account which was much healthier than I was.
I hadn't been abandoned though, as I had feared. Two individuals had been there to help me through my difficulties. First was Dr. Hall. The doctor had been extremely helpful after I first came to and began to fully grasp my situation. She would sit next to my bed for hours, just talking about whatever. Whatever came to my mind to talk about, be it my condition or an update on current events, she obligingly would continue the conversation until I had exhausted myself, or she absolutely had to go. I believe this time spent helped me keep my sanity.
The other had been Jaimie. Once Dr. Hall decided it was okay for me to have visitors, Jaimie had been to see me the very next day. Apparently she had connections within the hospital and made a personal trip to visit every patient she either picked up for, or delivered to, the ER. Somehow though, we developed a personal connection during that first visit. After that she came and saw me often, and we quickly became friends. Once I got out and we could properly interact, we became more. I'm not sure if it's love, but we defiantly both need each other on some deeper level which I still don't entirely understand. It was Jaimie who helped restore my determination and will to move forward.
Over the past months though, I had been prone to strange dreams where I all could remember afterward was an emotion or feeling, usually pain. Dr. Hall wanted to keep an eye on my condition and do further research, and had asked me to keep a journal of these incidents. I decided to go back inside and fulfill that task before going to bed. I picked the small book off of the kitchen counter and wrote down the most recent event, not that there was much to write.
I heard the soft sound of a paw depressing carpet and turned to see Jaimie standing in the bedroom door, framed by the moonlight from a window. She was beautiful. I smiled warmly.
"You coming back to bed? It's a little cold."
"Of course."
I wheeled myself back into the room and slid into the bed. Jaimie curled up next to me, pressing herself into my body. I placed one arm around her, running my finger through her smooth fur and soon we were both asleep. This time soundly and dream free.
The next morning we had breakfast at a local bakery. I was still thinking about last night among other things. I looked up from my pancakes.
"I was thinking a bit last night. I don't think my memory was the only thing affected by the accident."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, from my talks with Dr. Hall and my own personal observations, I think I sense things differently than others. I pick up details that other people don't."
"Like what?"
"Like, without looking around I know there are currently 17 people in the dining room, two behind the counter and three in the kitchen and of those 13 are female and 9 are male. I know the license plate number of every car in the parking lot. I noticed that the quilt on the wall over there," I gestured behind me, "has a block out of place in the lower right corner. I know that at this altitude I could ski cross country for 12 miles flat out before needing to slow down. I could tell you how the current atmospheric conditions would affect the velocity and flight of a bullet and that the best place to find a gun is under the apron of the bus boy. I also know if he were to pull that gun the three fastest routs of egress and the two best ways to disarm him. Those can't be normal facts."
This had been bugging me for more than a week and I had been waiting for a chance to tell someone about it. I said this all in a flash and I wasn't sure if Jaimie had picked up on any of it. I looked at her for support though. I had worried about this for a while and was hoping for some consolation.
Her expression changed from one of mild shock to that of reassurance. She took my hand in hers and looked me in the eyes, her gaze seaming to wipe away all my worries.
"Xavier, I'm sure you're fine. You're still a little shook up. Look, if you're really worried, go talk to Dr. Hall. You know she'll be more than willing to help you. And you can always talk to me."
I calmed down a little. I didn't know why I had been on the edge so much lately. I hoped Jaimie didn't notice. I just needed to relax a bit. All of my time recently had been spent either working or trying to find out anything about my past.
"Okay, you're right."
We finished breakfast and I said goodbye to Jaimie as she left for work. I was off today and decided to take her advice and go see Dr. Hall. I called and made an appointment before making my way to the bus stop. Jaimie's condo was in Fairchild but Raven Fire, where the hospital was, was only a twenty minute trip away. I waived my tail lazily as I waited. Thank god I hadn't lost control of it along with my legs. The embarrassment would be unbearable.
As the bus pulled up I looked into the front window to see that Reynolds was the driver today. He was an older terrier with a funny accent who I knew rather well now. He pulled the bus close to the curb and opened the side door for me. I rolled onto the lift, bumping as I crossed the small gap between curb and bus, and grabbed the hand rail to stabilize myself as I was slowly raised onto the passenger deck. Once I was secure the doors shut and the buss rumbled onto the main street.
The hospital was one of the stops on this rout and I exited in a similar fashion when we arrived. Soon I was inside the building I knew so well. I should after living here for three weeks. Nothing had changed; I signed in and sat in the waiting room reading three month old magazines. There was a fascinating article in one about some general who had gotten out of a trial on a technicality. Some suspected money had changed hands to work it out. I was only mildly interested though as I waited for thirty minutes after my appointment had been scheduled.
A large, tabby, nurse clad in pale pink scrubs, which clashed horribly with her fur, walked through a set of double doors holding a clipboard.
"Xavier Snou?"
How the hell do you mispronounce Snow when you live in a ski town? I ignored this though and wheeled my way over to her, maneuvering through people in casts and screaming children. I followed her to an examination room off the main hall where I was told to 'please wait'. What had I been doing?
I passed the time by playing a game on my smart phone. Finally the door opened. I looked up eagerly but was disappointed to see another nurse. This one was a male mouse who wore blue scrubs. He sat down at the computer, completely ignoring me and typed for half a minute before turning in my direction.
"Alright, what are you here for today?" he asked cheerily.
"To se Dr. Hall," I said, exasperated.
"Yes, but what for?"
I glared for a few seconds before answering, "Because she asked me to come in and see her."
This was technically true. She had asked me to see her if anything came up.
"Oh, well I'll go get her then."
"You do that."
I waited another five minutes before Dr. Hall stepped in.
"Sorry about that Xavier. The system works great for the usual patients and checkups but..."
Her voice trailed off and she pulled out the data pad I had always seen with her. I was about to speak when she cut me off.
"I'm glad you came in today. I was going to call you until I saw your name on the appointment list. This is much better. You're not going to believe this but, I think I found a way to fix your legs."