File 5.7 - Compounding Fortune

Ed didn’t care about control or attention to others. He plowed through several officers that screamed at him. One gave him chase for a hallway before giving up. When a corner came up, he slipped and slammed into the wall trying to turn on the polished floor. His hands pushed off from the wall not caring about any of it. ‘Who is it?!’ repeated as the only thought in his mind. The thought became deafeningly loud in his mind. A mad drummer pounded away hitting those annoying crash cymbals repeatedly in his head like someone told him they were going to sell it. The noise rose until he crashed into the wall holding his hands to his head.

He needed a breath, but he couldn’t stop. Someone sent him a message. It was important. Who was in the hospital? It was the bombing, he knew it. It had to be the bombing. It was the only thing that made sense. Were they killed? Injured? Dying? What was it? Who was it in that bed? Edgar yelled at himself. His legs couldn’t move fast enough for him.

Halls disappeared one after another. The training wing opened to the research to command until he reached the hospital. The elevator was too much of a wait for him. He bolted for the stairs when he found them. Approaching the second floor, he heard a mob of voices. Opening the door, he found the halls packed with doctors and nurses running everywhere. “Tha hell?” Before he could even enter, a gurney rushed past him nearly taking his arm off.

“213,” he repeated aloud. He pushed through craning his head around to get a look. The crowd made it difficult to move let alone see well. He was lost and panicked. Who was it? Who was in room 213? Edgar in his confusion bumped into a woman, she looked like a nurse, maybe a doctor. None of it mattered to him. He grabbed them before they had a chance to fall. “213! Room 213!” The poor woman was too confused and frightened by his yelling to know what to answer. “Damnit! Where tha hell’s room 213?!”

“Th-that way!” the woman uttered, managing to lift an arm to point it out.

He tossed them aside and pushed through the crowd. Gurneys passed through, but he ignored them. A bump or bruise didn’t matter to him. His head was too focused on the room numbers above the doors. “213!” He found it finally, but the door was closed. Through all of the crowd he couldn’t see the name plate.

Edgar paused.

Who was it? It was the only question he had. The message came to him. It knew he would know. Such thoughts worried him. Who was behind the door? ‘It’s someone I know. But who? Fin? Sheila? Are they e’en in port still? Who else?’ Their image came into his head. It was the only other person he knew. But why?

‘Can’t stand ‘round…’ Ed forced his way through the crowd to reach the other side. He thought about looking at the name, but couldn’t do it. Knowing might cause him to want to stay away. All he could do was open the door.

He pressed his hand to the open panel forcing it to slide open. There was a curtain up around one of the two beds in the room. He didn’t know which to check. Hesitation walked him around the curtain towards the second bed, hoping it was the wrong person and he could delay learning who it was just a little longer.

No such luck. He recognized them immediately. They were the reason for the message. ‘Why? What happen’d?’ His feet dragged him over to their bed when the rest of him wanted to stay. A constant beep from the bed let him know they were still alive, a relief. Ed dropped a hand down the bed near to their hand. “Why? Why?! Why… Su…”

He still didn’t know what was going on. Shizuka was hospitalized, but he didn’t know how severe. Searching around, he found the call button. Ed slammed his hand on it without a second thought. He wanted answers.

A nurse came running into the room. She pushed Ed aside to check her vitals. When she realized nothing was wrong, she turned back to him. “It’s supposed to be for emergency use only! Don’t—“

“Like I giv’a damn!” He stepped up to the woman staring at her. He made sure she understood. “What tha ‘ell’s wrong w’th ‘er?”

“I’m just the monitoring nurse. I don’t know the details.”

Edgar saw she carried around a computer at her side. He grabbed her wrist with the hand holding it. Lifting the computer up to her, he demanded answers. “Find out!”

The woman leaned back uneasy, but saw she wasn’t getting out of it without giving up answers. She reluctantly browsed through the history for Shizuka. A minute passed in silence before she looked away. “It looks like she’s not in any life threatening condition. Says she has significant bruising and lacerations from glass and debris, but no other injuries to note. She’s been unconscious since arriving. Probably from trauma related to the explosion.”

He could finally relax. A sigh came from his lips. Stepping away, he leaned against the bed a little. “Good.” He glanced over at Shizuka sleeping peacefully. “She’s be’n through ‘nuf.” The nurse was allowed to leave.