AM Chapter 6: Mercy Hospital
As the ramp of the white aircab went down on the gunmetal roof of Mercy Hospital, Isaac jogged alongside the gurney being carried by the EMTs.
“I.. Isaac?” Lily let out, waking up, her tiny hand immediately snatched by Isaac.
“I’m here Lils, I’m here. Your big brotha is with you,” Isaac assured, raising his voice over the sound of the aircab engines to be heard.
In response Lily gripped Isaac’s hand harder, a surefire sign that she had some strength still left in her.
Entering the elevator, two medical attendants immediately went to work injecting Lily with meds and placing her leg in a metal contraption that clasped around her appendage in a whirl of mechanics.
Before long, Isaac was led into the hospital proper, brought to a spotless corridor that smelled heavily of antiseptic and scented cleaner.
Racing through the hall, Isaac passed automaton helpers, drones, and other doctors until finally, Lily was brought to a door labeled Surgery with Isaac asked to wait outside in a luxurious room with the soldier he'd brought along.
“Do you have a mobile phone? I need to call my CO,” Samantha asked an attendant who nodded and left to find a phone.
In the interim, Isaac couldn't help but pace back and forth, walking through the suite equipped with a king-size bed, mini-bar, bathroom, and even a full entertainment system with a 60inch holo screen.
On any other day the amenities of such a place would have astounded Isaac, but with his sister in surgery, the status of his mother unknown, this system thing popping in and out of his vision, and his apartment gone, Isaac was having a hard time focusing.
“Thank you for bringing me with you,” Samantha said, holding her bandaged arm that was taken care of on the EMT Aircab.
“What? Oh. Don't mention it,” Isaac replied, going back to his system screen that was overlapping with his cyber HUD and giving him a headache.
Name: Isaac Carter
Level: 1
HP: 37/100
MP: 0/50
CLASS: [Black Shield]
Free Points: 0
STRENGTH: 15
VITALITY: 10
SENSE: 13
DEXTERITY: 12
ARCANA: 5
EGO: 15
[Traits: Blessing of The Black King, Sturdy LvL 1, Mana Control LvL 1]]
[Skills: Summon Black Shield LvL 1(50MP), Recall Black Shield (10MP)]
[Black Shield Options: Energy Shield (50HP), Repulse(10HP)]
Despite using so much HP, there wasn't an injury on Isaac's body. On the contrary, he seemed fit and fine but only tired, even the EMTs had done a check-up on him and reported he was ok.
So then what was the HP pool then?
Another question on Isaac's mind as he paced in front of a closed window.
“Maybe you should take a seat?” Samantha coaxed, guiding Isaac to sit on the velvety soft bed.
Unaware of the woman, he allowed her touch to guide him to the bed, completely absent-minded to his surroundings.
Samatha pursed her lips, unsure of what to do. Consoling another wasn’t exactly her strong suite, and she had just met the guy. So she opted for the tried and true of a pat on the back and a “It’ll be ok.”
A knock at the door sounded, taking Samantha’s attention while Isaac sat near catatonic on the bed seeming to be staring absent-mindedly.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Yes?” Sam said, opening the sliding metal door where she was greeted by a brunette woman in a suit with a name tag that read Dr. Fern and an attendant.
“May I speak with Mr. Carter please?” The suit asked with Sam calling out for Isaac. After repeating his name twice, Isaac finally looked up.
“There's a hospital staff here to speak to you,” Sam said, backing away from the door as the attendant handed her a circular satellite phone.
“Is Lily ok?!” Isaac shot up, rushing to the door and almost shoving Sam out of the way who went wide-eyed with surprise.
At 5”11 and capable of benching 120 pounds, Sam was no pushover but the ease at which the man moved her caused the soldier to do a double take of the skinny man.
“Your sister is fine and is currently sleeping due to the anesthesia but she is expected to make a swift recovery.”
“How swift?” Isaac asked, feeling his anxiety on the rise.
“She can be check out by end of day should you so desire.”
“S-so soon?” Isaac said incredulously.
“The facilities at Mercy Hospital are top of the line Mr. Carter. We offer only the best, quickest, and safest remedies for all our VIPs with the top staff in the country,” The woman boasted.
VIP…
Another question plagued Isaac’s mind. He had no idea how or why they were calling him a VIP. At most, he only had platinum insurance, not diamond or whatever tier that they said they had him at. Was this a case of mistaken identity? An error in their system? Or…
Isaac’s hands seemed to become wet all of a sudden, a chill running along his spine.
The work of the Black-
“Now, let’s discuss, your mother Aleigh Carter,” Dr. Fern said, drawing Isaac out from his introspection. “Per your instructions, we've taken her from the Delgado administration and have her here. We're monitoring her condition and have her on Ferveoral for her cough, isodesmoriphine for her rustlung, and a constant IV of a vitamin infusion supplement for her strength.”
“I… I see,” Isaac replied, blinking several times as he tried to process what the woman had said.
Who the fuck is this Black King?
The question plagued Isaac’s mind.
What did he want? Why was he chosen? What was this system? But more importantly-
“Can I see my mother?” Isaac asked, causing the doctor to smile.
“Of course Mr. Carter,” The woman replied, shining a bright smile before an attendant handed Isaac a package. “Clothes for you sir, we wouldn't want you meeting your mother in your current attire.”
****
In a new black suit worth probably more than Isaac made in a year, Isaac stood at the doorway of a room scented with lilacs.
Ahead of him was his mother, laughing as she sat on her bed talking with a male nurse.
In contrast, the expression on Isaac’s face was one of slack amazement.
Since last he saw her, her complexion had visibly improved, a light pinkish replacing the deathly pale skin Isaac had become so used to.
"Ma..."
“Isaac?” Aleigh said, shaking from her conversation upon realizing her son was standing there at the door.
Immediately he was beside his mother's bed, taking her frail hand.
“Hey ma, you doing ok?” Isaac said, eyeing the food tray nearby that was filled with a half-eaten steak, mash potatoes, and quality food he could only dream of eating.
“I'm so good honey. Better than I've been in years,” Alleigh said, smiling as she suddenly pulled Isaac in. “You got that job after all, I'm so proud of you baby! My son, a Barrington employee! You look so good in your suit!”
Isaac froze, accepting the woman's touch as he struggled to tell her he'd actually been rejected.
However… pulling away and seeing his mother's tearful expression, he didn't have the words to correct her.
“Are you ok Isaac?” Aleigh asked with all the weight of a mother who sensed something was wrong.
“I'm ok Ma, you just focus on getting better,” Isaac said, holding back tears as he eyed his energetic mother.
“Ok,” Aleigh said skeptically, “I want you to know I appreciate you coming out here so late. Especially since you have to bring Lily to school in four hours. You're a good son.”
“It's not a problem,” Isaac replied, somehow managing to maintain his expression despite realizing his mother didn't know what was transpiring outside or that Lily had been hurt.
“You get better mom,” Isaac said, planting a kiss on his mother's head before going to talk with her doctor outside.
“Mr. Carter, I'm Doctor Nguyen,” The man said, his left cyber eye shifting repeatedly as he shook Isaac’s hand.
“Give it to me straight doc, what's her prognosis?” Isaac asked, pulling the doctor to the side while under the watchful eye of armed EMTs.
“Well, with Rustlung, her prognosis is the same as Doctor Liam’s diagnosis but with our facility and care, her life expectancy will improve by at least two years,” The doctor reported, “With our techs, there is a real possibility she can go home and live normally with daily check ups from our staff.”
“So…” Isaac dried swallowed, “Still terminal?”
He didn't know why he was hoping.
The man pursed his lips, his eyes downcast. “I'm sorry sir. The cure is still not within our grasp. With therapy and treatment however, we can give her a much better life than most with her condition can ever dream of. I understand its not something you want to hear, but everyday we are working on new medical breakthroughs and technology.”
Isaac fell silent and nodded his head, “Thanks doc. You haven't told her about Lily or what's going on out there?”
“Of course not, sir. We didn't want to stress her,” The doctor replied, swiping his intellipad screen to review data. “And you don't need to worry about the aftershocks, Mercy Hospital was built with redundancies in mind, the foundation is built to counter vibrations.”
Isaac sighed, a weight off his mind. “But… she should know… right?”
“That's entirely up to you Mr. Carter. But professionally, I would wait until tomorrow. Give her more time to settle in.”
“Yeah, I'll probably do that. Thanks doc, Isaac said, feeling eyes on him that almost seemed to question why he was here, like they knew he was an imposter.
“At Mercy we strive to give our best for our patients. If you wish, you are free to use our in house suite until you're ready to leave. But given the chaos outside, I suggest you remain here under our hospital’s protection.”
Isaac’s eyes flickered.
Was that a threat? A hint? Isaac didn't know. All he knew was that he had this inexplicable feeling that he was being played like a puppet on a string.
Suddenly, the lights flickered, replacing the white glow to an alarming red.