They Walk Among Us

They Walk Among Us copyright c. 2011 T.A. Chase

Part One-

The general chaos of the emergency room no longer registered to me as I went from room to room, checking on patients. I glanced at each file before I went in and I tried hard to be personable, focusing on each individual, though I’d rather be in my bed sleeping. I’d worked a sixteen-hour shift already and it didn’t look like I’d be going home any time soon.

Leaning on the nurse’s station, I sighed as I scrubbed my hands through my hair.

“Long day, huh, Doc?”

I glanced up to see Jackson, one of the nurses, grinning at me from where he sat, filling out forms.

“You could say that. I sure hope this flu or whatever it is goes through quickly. Covering for people is all well and good, but when I’m asleep on my feet, I don’t think that’s good for the patients.”

“True.” He pushed a cup towards me. “Have some coffee.”

I grimaced. “No thanks. I drank my full of coffee during my residency. Can’t stand the stuff now.”

He looked surprised. “A doctor who doesn’t mainline caffeine. You’re a rare find.”

“So I’ve been told.”

A commotion down the hall outside one of the rooms caught my attention. I shoved away from the counter and headed in that direction. Sally, the head nurse, raced from the room.

“Sally, what’s wrong?”

“The EMTs just brought a guy in. I’m not sure what’s going on with him, except he’s been beaten pretty badly. He’s panicking and doesn’t seem able to talk.”

“Let me check him out.”

I walked into the room and froze just inside the doorway. The man on the bed was dirty and bloody, but he was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. Shoulder-length black hair, so dark, it gleamed almost blue under the glaring fluorescent lights. His skin was pale, but that might have been because of the trauma he’d suffered. His eyes were wide and dark.

He whipped his head from side to side, trying to keep his gaze on everyone moving around him. People were touching him and asking him questions without letting him answer. One of the interns reached out to take his arm and try to put in an IV. He jerked away from her, almost falling out of the bed.

“Sir, you have to stay still or we’ll have to restrain you.”

His eyes widened even more and fear grew in them. I saw him tense and knew he was going to make a break for it.

“Okay, everyone. Is our patient stable for the moment?”

They all looked at me, even the injured man.

“Yes, sir.”

“Then I need you all to give me the room for a second.”

“But sir,” the intern spoke up. “He needs fluids and we need to clean out his wounds. He has to be assessed to see where else he might be injured.”

“There’s no internal bleeding that we know of, right?” I moved closer.

“Not that we know of, sir.”

“Good, then leave. I’ll call you when it’s all right to come back in.”

They all filed out of the room. The patient studied me as I stepped to the side of the bed. I tried not to crowd him. Something told me he wasn’t used to a lot of people and wasn’t used to having his space invaded by them. I smiled and he relaxed slightly.

“I’m Doctor Gordon Monroe.” I held out my hand.

He offered his hesitantly and I shook it, firmly but softly enough not to hurt him.

“Can you tell me your name?”

Shaking his head, the man gestured to his throat. I frowned.

“This isn’t caused by whoever beat you, is it?”

He shook his head again.

“Okay. Can you write?”

He nodded and I pulled a small notebook out of my pocket, handing it to him along with a pen.

“What’s your name?”

Slowly, he wrote out something on the paper before holding it out to me.

“Raven Sanderson. That’s a nice name.”

It fit him in many ways. Of course, the color of his hair made the name obvious, but also, he seemed fragile like a bird. Yet I never really thought of ravens as delicate birds. I did see them as wild and Raven gave off that same vibe. If I made the wrong move, he would fly away, injured or not.

He ducked his head and a little bit of pink tinged his cheeks.

“Do you have any family I can call?”

The notebook was drawn close again, and he scratched something down while I inventoried his injuries. Someone had attacked him brutally. Raven must have been a great deal of pain.

“Do you want medicine for the pain?”

Glancing up at me, he frowned like he didn’t understand what I meant. I reached out, stopping inches away from the bruise on his right cheek. He didn’t flinch away from me, which gave me an inordinate sense of accomplishment. For some reason, he didn’t find my presence upsetting. I snorted to myself. More than likely, it was simply because we were the only two in the room, not because of any special power on my part.

“All those bruises have to hurt.” I gestured toward his multiple contusions, scrapes, and cuts.

He lifted his arm, staring at them in fascination.

“Your family,” I prompted him.

Not taking his gaze off the various marks upon his pale skin, he gave me his note.

“There is only my sister, but I don’t know where she is. That’s why I came to the city. I need to find her.” I read the note and sighed.

It would figure he wouldn’t have anyone I could call to come and sit with him. I glanced up in time to see Raven laid his hand over the worse cut on his arm.

“No.” I reached out to stop him, but didn’t make it on time. “You shouldn’t be touching the wounds. Your hands are dirty, and you could get infected.”

Raven tilted his head, listening to me, but I wasn’t sure he understood what I said. He allowed me to peel his hand away, and my mouth dropped open. Where there had been a gapping wound, deep enough for me to see the white gleam of the bone, now there wasn’t anything. Not even a pink scar hinting at a wound.