I woke feeling comfy and for a moment I couldn't think about anything than wanting to stay in bed. However, I still remembered everything Bans had told me and I had to be ready, because today was the day I was meeting some Wardens.
Oh my glob!
I was somewhere between nauseous, nervous and anxious at the same time with the idea bouncing in my head.
Keeping a strong face was the plan though, for my sake and mom's sake, so she wouldn't know what I was planning on doing. Lying to her hurt but it was necessary, to keep me here and out of the mental hospital. So I spent the morning being my bubbly self, eating breakfast and whining about cleaning my room when I was still so thin and weary.
I still had to clean my room though, seriously? Moms!
Eventually she left for work and when she did, I raced back upstairs and looked in my mirror.
I saw myself wearing pink pajamas, Barbie slippers and a string tying my hair into a pony tail. Taking a deep breath, I did something I had been dreading and also been excited about too.
"Bans? Are... you there?" I asked outloud.
Silence.
"Bans? Hello? Can you hear me?"
Silence again.
"Oh come on, Bans. Hello?" I moved to the bed and called out again, moving to the door next.
However, after a moment, I felt a slight tingling on my head and I raised my hands and felt something on my forehead. Looking at the mirror I saw a grey satin sash wrapped around my head like a headress had appeared from seemingly nowhere. As if that was not strange enough, my pajamas and slippers began to fade away like a mirage.
I now wore a satin tattered dress, with black healed grey shoes and a grey sash on my head. The dress had the feeling of a bride's outfit or something, and I twirled around with a chuckle.
This was kinda really cool, I thought wistfully.
"Bans, this looks incredible. Like a Halloween bride, oh I know, I look like that dead girl from that brides movie." I said excitedly.
"Focus." A voice whispered in my head and I stopped the funny business (I did one more twirl though).
"Okay, I am hundred percent focused. Now, where should I go?" I asked her and received silence," Yeah, I know I'm supposed to go to the cemetery but... I thought you'd be more involved. This feels like a solo mission."
"Go." Her soft voice said," I'm here."
"Okay. I'm going." I said and left my room with purpose, but I quickly came back and put on a trench coat," If people see me wearing this dress, they'll think I'm definitely taking drugs."
"Go."
"I'm going, I'm going." I told her as I rushed to leave.
Don't worry Lucas, I thought, today I'm going to help you and nothing will stop me.
...
"Doctor!" A nurse raced down the corridor as she tried to locate a doctor.
"Yes?" She eventually found one, a middle aged man with a small tummy.
"The patient in the coma has disappeared." She said quietly so as not to cause panic,"I checked up with the nurse on shift before me and she said he was there half an hour ago but now he's gone. No trace."
"Did you check surveillance?" He asked her," Maybe he woke up and raced to the toilet?"
"I wanted to inform you first," She said softly," I'm not as experienced in cases like these."
"Losing a patient is serious but you didn't run screaming, so that's good. Go inform the other nurses to keep an eye out and I'll go check on the surveillance. What does the patient look like and which room was he in?"
"Room 2A. He is tall, thin framed, Caucasian, blonde hair, blue eyes... he's the Quincy son." She said conspicuously and the doctor frowned.
The Quincy family was part of the investors who funded nearly a quarter of the hospital revenue. He'd heard that their son was going to be taken off life support today, he didn't give a moralistic opinion on it but now that their son was gone, this would be trouble.
"We need to find that boy, fast. Go." He grew anxious after hearing who was missing.
The nurse nodded her head and went off to inform the other nurses to look for him. The doctor went to surveillance, a station by the first floor with a CCTV camera system linked across the whole hospital.
"Hey, Erwin." The doctor opened the door, finding a tubby man wearing a security guard uniform with a room full of screens of the hospital corridors and rooms.
"Hello doctor Michael, how can I help?" Erwin asked with a slight accent.
"A patient got up and left his room without our noticing. Nothing serious, just want to make sure he's still in the building." Doctor Michael said softly and Erwin gave a thumbs up.
"Sure, sure, and which floor and room am I checking? I'm guessing he left not too long ago?"
"Room 2A. He's tall, thin like, blonde hair and -"
"Oh, sorry doctor. We gotta problem." Erwin said suddenly as he pointed to a screen," That's the camera by that room, it's dead though. I called technical to fix it but they're taking there sweet time as usual."
"When did it die? Nevermind. Alright what about the elevator or staircase, has anyone used them in the last thirty minutes?" Michael continued," You know what, show me both of them, he had to take either if he left. If he's not there then he's somewhere in the building."
"Sure." Erwin and the doctor went through the thirty minutes of both the elevator and stairs, but nobody fitting the patient's description appeared," Nothing. Maybe extend the time to an hour before?"
"No, he was still in his room , unconscious by then. Try outside the hospital." Doctor Michael suggested and Erwin complied.
They watched multiple people passing by, or going in but few matched the Quincy boy's description. Doctor Michael almost gave up, ready to call the police but then he caught something on the video feed.
"Stop! Right there." Doctor Michael pointed at the corner of the screen," That man he's wearing a hospital gown reserved for patients after surgery."
"Did he have surgery recently?" Erwin asked him.
"A few days ago, his family did bring him clothes but when they found out he might be brain dead they took them back." Doctor Michael nodded his head," But how come the security at the door didn't notice anything? He practically walked past them and they did nothing."
"Should I call it in?" Erwin reached for the nearby phone and Doctor Michael nodded his head," Hopefully we'll catch him before he gets hurt."
"A brain dead patient just woke up and walked out of a hospital full of people without anybody stopping him... who knows what he's thinking." Doctor Michael sighed as he got ready to talk to the police and report a runaway patient.