Chapter 2: The Room The Room With The White Walls (Nurse Koko)

Poor thing, to be trapped here, a blank room; nothing but the white walls to keep her company…

The woman sighed as she plucked the small black recorder for the fifth time today, shuffling slightly as she stepped towards the single bed in the dome-like structure. Looking down at the golden eyes staring blankly back. “How are you, feel like telling me your name?” She asked softly. Receiving no reply she nods pointing the mic of the recorder to her pale pink lips.

“It’s been two hours since the last check-in with patient no signs of physical injury despite the unusual report we received.” Approaching the bed the woman fishes out a small cylindrical object pointing at each golden orb with a small focused light. As before, the eyes squint looking away.

“She perceives what’s happening around her, response to stimulation is small but reasonably normal.” Shoving the light back in her pocket she holds up a single long finger slowly moving it along the girls line of sight. “Focus is good, honestly I can’t find an actual sign of mental- ow!”

The woman recoils as she’s suddenly caught off guard by a palm swat to her wrist.

“Okay, okay, do you don’t like that huh, yea, I guess I would get pretty annoyed too if someone came and bothered me every two hours or so waving lights and hands in my face.” She lets out a strained chuckle throwing her head back letting her long wavy chestnut hair flow over her shoulders. “Your a mystery alright but, at least your not a motionless radiator anymore.”

Squaring her shoulders the woman plucks a clipboard off the wall by the bed and begins shuffling through the papers as her eyes flock to the monitors on the other side. “Nearly 409 degrees. If we didn’t ready this quarantine unit patients and my colleagues probably would have been in serious trouble.”

“Still so fascinated with this one?”

Hearing the voice the woman jolted in place until she noticed the form at the door. Rolling her truffle coloured eyes she straightens up pulling her coat closer as her features softened.

“I’m doing my job, what are you doing?”

The lean young man at the door slumped his shoulders. “I’m doing my job too, I’m not the one who has visited the same patient six times in the past ten hours.”

Sauntering closer to the man the young woman let a smirk cross her features. “Maybe you should, she’s doing much better.”

“I’m well aware Koko, you dropped the need for hazmats but that’s not the point, your paying so much attention to this one girl, your other patients are dropping by the wayside.”

Suddenly Kako’s expression twisted in frustration.

“Your wrong Kei, I’m doing my work, I’ve followed through on am the charts on my schedule and every patient has been accounted for.” Stepping to the side she stabs her index finger into the man’s chest puffing her cheeks. “Don’t you dare accuse me of neglecting my patience EVER again do you understand me?! In case you’ve forgotten, I’m YOUR boss!”

Despite her sudden aggressive outburst the man known as Kei didn’t even batt an eye, he simply grasped her pointed finger looking her right in the eye.

“Alright Koko, calm down, I didn’t mean it like that. But, she’s okay now isn’t she, Sure her temperature and pulse are still extremely high but she’s out of nuclear concern right?”

“But it’s not just her condition that’s the mystery here, no one can tell us where she came from, other than some ridiculous story about a whirlpool. She has no ID, and despite not looking like she has any physical or psychological trauma she hasn’t said a word! She’s alert, she passes the alertness tests, earlier, right before you came in she swatted my hand away when I was testing her.

Shaking his head the young man stuffed his hands in the pockets of his med coat. “It’s our job to make her well, it’s the police’s job to solve any other mystery. That’s why I called a local detective to come in and talk to her.”

Suddenly, Ako’s eyes shot up as she spun around to face her colleague and friend.. “You did WHAT?!”