Instinct (28 page)

“I’ll put us down,” he said. “Easier said than done.”
 

Tim looked for a good place. The highway near the hospital was wide enough, but he would have to go right down the center to avoid the light poles that projected out from the sides of the road. It would have been much easier if he’d still had his old plane. This one seemed fine until you tried to actually maneuver it. Then, it bobbed and weaved for no apparent reason. Tim didn’t like the idea of trying to bring it down between the light poles and before an abandoned car got in their way. He didn’t have much choice. He’d bypassed Buffalo—there was no obvious hospital near a good place to land—but by Rochester, she was starting to come out from her drug stupor. She was getting feisty.

She had another outburst just as Tim brought the plane down. This time, she went for Tim’s eyes.
 

Tim slapped her with the back of his hand.

“Amy Lynne! You will kill us both if you don’t settle down RIGHT NOW!”

She lowered her head and folded her hands in her lap. Her good behavior didn’t last long. As soon as the wheels touched down, she was out of her seatbelt and pawing at the door. Tim got the plane stopped and got his fingers on the back of her dress before she could fall through the open door. She screamed and cursed as she banged her bad ankle on the door.

“Just give me a second,” Tim said.

He exited through his door and Cedric bounded over the seat right behind him. The dog didn’t like being in there with Amy Lynne any more than Tim did.

“I’ll go get you a wheelchair if you’d just stay put,” he yelled at the plane. She was already trying to get out again. Tim ran across the road to the parking lot with Cedric at his side. “Maybe she’ll disappear before we get back.”

The doors to the hospital were wide open. They were glass—the kind that slid to the sides like Star Trek doors—but someone had pried them apart and left them that way. Tim found what he was looking for. There was a heavy, clunky wheelchair in triage, right next to the nurse’s window. Tim pushed it through the door and got it going faster as he crossed through the lot. It had a very subtle pull to the left. It reminded Tim of a bad shopping cart. He strained to keep it headed for the plane and increased his speed.

Amy Lynne was already sitting on the wing. She was trying to find a way to slide to the ground.

“Here,” he said, breathing hard. He held out his arm and waited for her assault.

“Where have you been?” she asked. “I need help, for fuck’s sake.”

Tim helped her slide a little farther and then let her wrap her arm around his neck as he grabbed her around her shoulders and under her knees. He put her in the chair and propped her bad foot up on the rest.

“Ow,” she moaned. She kicked him with her good foot.
 

Tim got behind the chair and pushed. He aimed her for the Star Trek doors and tried to form a plan. His knowledge of first aid was limited, and this was not a simple case. He didn’t even want to look at her ankle, let along try to treat it.

He spun her around to back up the ramp to the door. The lobby had plenty of light from the glass wall, but as he banged through the double doors to the treatment area, Tim blinked until he could see just enough to navigate. The hospital had little glass rooms for each patient. A few windows across the hall gave him a dim view of his surroundings.

“I’m going to look for supplies,” he said. What would he need? Tim figured he would want antiseptic, some bandages, and maybe one of those inflatable casts. Perhaps he could find a drug cabinet and get her some more painkillers for when her current batch ran out. He didn’t know where to start. There were machines here and there, but he didn’t see any kind of medical supplies.

“Shit,” he whispered to himself.

He remembered Cedric. They’d been separated at some point while he wheeled Amy in. Tim ran for the double doors. Cedric was waiting there.

“Come in here,” Tim said.

He turned around as the oxygen tank swung through the air. Amy Lynne had turned on him again. She was balanced on her good foot and had managed to limp within a couple feet of Tim without him noticing. Now, she was trying to bash his brains in with an oxygen tank.

She missed. The weight of the thing pulled her to the side and she came down on her bad foot. Amy Lynne screamed collapsed to the floor.

“Stay there,” Tim said. He stepped over her and went back to searching.

He found a cart with gauze, tape, bandages, and antiseptic. The casts and splints ended up being in a tall cabinet behind the nurses station. He dumped an armload of stuff next to Amy and looked around. It would be easier to work on her on one of the tables, but the light was better in the hall. It was even better out in the lobby.
 

“What are you doing?” Amy asked.

“I’m trying to figure out how to help you,” Tim said. “We have to clean up your leg and maybe figure if we can get the bone going in the right direction before we put the cast on you. I don’t think you want it knitting back together at an angle.”

“Not you,” she said. “Him.”

Tim turned and saw the man.

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Tim had never thought of himself as tall or short. He was just normal height. Some people were taller, some shorter, but Tim was average. He reassessed this idea as he looked up at the hulking figure. With men like this around, Tim was an elf.

In the low light, Tim couldn’t see the man’s features very well. His face was all shadow. He saw the crooked smile, though. The man’s lips were parted on the side, revealing a triangle of white teeth.

Tim took a step back. Cedric held his ground and gave his tail a half-wag. It was the dog’s way of saying, “I don’t know you. Are you a friend?”

Tim saw a dark hand move forward towards Cedric as the man bent his knees to lower himself.

“Dog,” the voice said. It was deep and rumbling.
 

“What are you doing?” Amy Lynne asked again.

“Hello?” Tim asked. The word started with a pop. Tim’s mouth was so dry that his tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth.

“I haven’t seen a dog in a long time,” the man said. His words came out slow and careful, like he was relearning to speak as the sentence formed.

Tim finally noticed the man’s clothes. He was dressed in hospital garb. They were like light-colored pajamas. Probably blue, but it was difficult to tell in the minimal light.

“Are you a doctor?” Tim asked. “She needs help. Her leg is badly broken.”

The crooked smile pointed towards Tim as the man considered the question and statements. His smile turned down as he considered himself. Finally, the man replied. “No. These clothes were here.” He pointed vaguely, off into the darkness.

“Can you help?” Tim asked. He moved to behind Amy Lynne’s shoulders and grabbed her under her armpits. Her eyes were still locked on the giant man.
 

“What are you doing?” she asked him. This time the question sounded more amused and thoughtful, than accusatory.

The big man lowered himself to one knee. Cedric sniffed at him as the man moved his hands carefully under Amy Lynne’s legs.
 

“Cedric, get out of the way,” Tim said.
 

They lifted the girl and moved her to the wheelchair. The man set her feet down on the footrests. He must have done it better than Tim had. Amy Lynne didn’t scream at all.

Tim crouched and picked up all the supplies he had collected. He pressed them to his chest as he stood. The big man had already moved behind the wheelchair. He stooped to grasp the handles.

“I figure there’s more light in the lobby,” Tim said. He backed towards the doors and pushed them open. He held one to the side with his foot as the man wheeled Amy Lynne out into the lobby. “I’m Tim and this is Cedric and Amy Lynne. What’s your name?”

“Call me Ty,” the man said. He rolled the chair right over to the window, next to a set of chairs.

The man looked even bigger in the light. He arranged the chair parallel to the glass and glanced frequently out at the sky. When Ty crouched in front of the wheelchair, he moved with a fluid ease.
 

“What’s she on?” Ty asked Tim.

“I don’t know. Some kind of pills? She was on them when I met up with her. I haven’t seen her take any since.”

“I can’t give her anything unless I know what she’s on,” Ty said.

Tim shrugged.
 

“Darling? Can you tell me what you’re on?”

“What are you doing?” Amy Lynne asked. She had a curious smile on her face now, like she was waiting for the punchline of a joke.

Ty’s fingers moved gently over her ankle. He pushed back the dirty hem of her dress and revealed her ankle. Tim had seen glimpses of it, but he forced himself to really look at it now. He saw bruising, torn skin, and a jagged piece of bone before he looked away.

“Okay, darling,” Ty said. “Let me get some supplies.” He stood with that same fluid ease and laid a giant hand on Amy Lynne’s shoulder as he walked by. The hand moved to Tim’s shoulder and he led Tim away from the girl before he spoke in his low, rumbling voice. “She’s in tough shape.”

Tim nodded. “I know.”

“We might be able to get the bone lined up, and we might be able to get that cast on. Then she’ll likely die of a terrible infection.”

“I understand. We have to do what we can.”

“It’s going to be bad. Maybe not even humane.”

“What are you saying?” Tim asked. He glanced around the mountainous man and saw that Cedric had put his head on the girl’s lap. She was stroking the long fur around his ears.

“I’ve got some pills,” Ty said with a big exhale. “It would be easier than suffering for a week while a fever makes her crazy and the pain steals her sanity.”

“Easier for who? Her or us?”

“Us? I’m not adopting her.”

“I don’t even know her. I’m just trying to help.”

“If it’s up to me, she’s going to eat a big handful of pills. If you’re going to take care of her, then I’ll do my best to set her leg and close up that wound.”

Tim thought about it and glanced at the girl again. He figured it was likely that the girl wouldn’t make it. If she died in a week, he wouldn’t have to worry about her anymore, and he would have a clear conscience. If she lived, then so much the better.
 

“Yeah, okay. I’ll take care of her.”

Ty nodded and turned to walk back over to Amy Lynne.

“Wait. What are the odds that she makes it?”

“Probably none.”

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Ty worked on Amy Lynne’s leg for an hour. Tim’s job was to distract her, and when that didn’t work, hold her down. She screamed, cried, cursed, and bit Tim’s arm before Ty inflated the cast and called the job done.

“She can’t put any weight on it for a while. The cast will help keep everything in line, but it won’t be able to bear weight.”

Amy Lynne had been moaning for several minutes.

“What about the pain. You said there were pills?”

“Yes, but you’d better wait another hour or two before you give her anything. Let her sober up a bit.” Ty reached into the pockets of his scrubs and produced a couple of bottles of pills. “These you have to give her every eight hours for the next twelve days. Don’t miss a dose. The last thing this world needs is a super bug.”

“I can’t believe they make scrubs in your size,” Tim said. He couldn’t help himself.

“We had to order them.”

“Wait. I thought you didn’t work here.”

“You didn’t ask that. You asked if I am a doctor.”

“Oh,” Tim said. “Listen… Is there any way we can just stay here with you for a few days? I won’t ask you to do anything. It would make me a lot more comfortable if I knew you were around.”

Cedric approached and sat at Ty’s side, pressing against his leg. It was as if he was helping to make the plea. Ty had to bend his knees and lower himself towards the ground to pet the dog. The crooked triangle of a smile appeared again on Ty’s face as the dog smiled up at him.

“It’s going to be hard, watching her suffer.”

“But the pills will help, right?”

“If they don’t, nothing will.”

“You’re living here at the hospital?”

Ty nodded in response. He lowered his massive frame down to one knee, so he could pet the dog with both hands. Cedric loved the attention.

“It’s a big place. I’ll take her to some corner so we won’t bother you. We’ll stay until her antibiotics are done.”

“Then what?”

“What do you mean?”

“When her course of pills is done, how do I know you’ll move along?”

“Oh. I’m headed east of here, but I’ll be dropping her off a little south. She has a boyfriend or something down there.”

“Where are you going?”

“It’s a long story,” Tim said. He tried to think if there was a reason he might regret revealing his plans to Ty. He couldn’t think of one, but still, he wanted to be cautious. “There seems to be a circle of these murals. Actually, the murals are everywhere, but the farther out from the center, the bigger they get. I used to have a map of the whole thing. Anyway, I’m going towards the center of the circle to see what’s there.”

Ty considered this for a minute while Cedric lowered the ground. The dog rolled over, inviting Ty to rub his chest.

“Why on Earth would you curious about what’s at the center? Don’t you think it might be something dangerous?”

“Maybe,” Tim said. “Everything is dangerous though. Have you see the tornadoes? Have you seen the burned zone? The danger is everywhere.”

That crooked smile took over Ty’s face again. Tim didn’t know if it was a response to something he’d said, or maybe the way Cedric’s leg bounced as Ty scratched him.

“I like your dog,” Ty said.

“Maybe you should come with us.”

“I saw that little airplane you left out on the highway. I don’t think I would fit inside that thing. And I have everything I need right here. I’m not a curious man.”

Tim nodded. Amy Lynne began to moan louder and she squirmed in the wheelchair. Tim moved to her side and considered the bottles of pills that Ty had given him.