Chapter 5 Two Vials

Chapter 5

Two Vials

Nurse Summers stepped out of the car and onto the warm asphalt. She could feel the heat through the thin flat’s she wore, but she wouldn't be caught dead wearing heels on a date, wearing heels sent the wrong message.

“Thanks for dropping me at the hospital Daniel,” she said. “It was a good time and maybe we can do it again.”

The words sounded hollow coming from her lips but for once she actually meant it. Sure she had lied to him a little, telling him that she had to be at the hospital by ten thirty, but he was nice enough that the date might not have ended otherwise. She didn’t believe that a first date should last more than a few hours, the longer the date, the more likely the person was going to try to kiss her.

“Yeah, I really enjoyed myself,” he said. He even smiled as he leaned over the console to look out the passenger door. “But next time I think we should go somewhere where the food is more…”

“Not finger food,” she offered.

“Yeah, I don’t get why everyone raves about it,” he said. He followed this with a chuckle and looked down at the empty seat next to him. “It really seemed to me like cold cuts and fried food.”

“Maybe your friends were drinking more,” she said. “Next time go with them and have a few beers. I need to get inside.”

“Pleasure meeting you Nancy,” he called back before she closed the car door.

She turned and walked up the wheelchair ramp to the door. Once she was inside she found herself wanting to look back to see if he was lingering.

“Stupid Cheryl,” she said under her breath. “Why does she insist I go out and meet people.”

She walked up to the desk of the emergency room and placed her purse on the counter leaning it against the bullet proof glass. She recognized the woman staffing the desk, and nodded to her as she began to look for the work med info.

“May I help you?” Stacy asked. “I thought you were on leave?”

She seemed snippy and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. They’d butted heads a few times and worked in very different circles in the hospital. In the end though Nancy respected her work ethic and her job manning one of the hospital entrances.

“I have to get a blood test after twelve hours but not before twenty four after the incident last night. Work-med says so. Here is the paperwork,” she placed the papers in the sliding tray and waited for them to be pulled through.

Stacy retrieved the tray and started going through the paperwork. She didn’t say a word as she began typing the information into the computer. Nancy knew that she didn’t have to, she was doing her job and Nancy didn’t need to be reassured of anything.

“Nurse Summers,” she began. “Why didn’t you come in during work-med hours?”

Nancy paused at this. She knew that work med employees left at seven and she’d been on the bus at the time. Did she really want to mention her date?

“I had turned my alarm off this morning when I was angry. I didn’t wake up until after eight,” she said.

Stacy turned back to the screen and continued typing, biting her lip as though it would keep her thoughts from spilling out.

Nancy turned and looked at the television sitting on a stand in the corner of the room. The news was playing, a reporter stood in front of City hall while people picketed in the background. Signs were carried by the protesters behind the reporter which read things like: vampires are people too, we all bleed the same, health for all, and its not their fault.

“Why?” She found herself mouthing silently. Had these people ever seen the damage caused by a vampire when they snapped? She could think of at least five different events in the last two years which had resulted in a massacre. The worst of which came when a vampire walked into a school in broad daylight, killed a kindergarten teacher, and then her entire class. Twenty seven students had died that day and it would have been more if a mother hadn’t come to pickup her child for a doctors appointment.

“Nurse Summers, your paper work is all taken care of,” Stacy announced through the little microphone on the other side of the glass. “Take a seat and someone will be with you shortly.”

Nancy nodded to her and moved towards an empty seat nearer to the television. There was something annoying about watching people who didn’t have a clue what they were doing. She knew that other people probably felt that way all the time. This time she knew that they were wrong and that they were playing with fire. A part of her felt like the entire mass of protesters were on the verge of becoming rioters, as though the chaos of the situation was being contained by only the smallest of restraints.

She remembered the panic that had ensued around the year 2000. People gathered together in parties New Years Eve all but certain that things would be fine. Yet none of them would admit that they’d pulled a few extra dollars out of the bank, or stockpiled extra groceries. One of her co-workers had bought enough wheat to start a flour mill, but she hadn’t bought anything bigger than a hand mill. They joked about how difficult that hand mill was to work until she had moved away several years later. She had made some delicious bread with it though.

The woman on the screen, a reporter named Julia Brown, was speaking to the news camera. “The news of the vampire trials at Detroit River Medical Center, has brought a new round of protests,” Julia began. “The Vampire Rights Now coalition, or VRN, has insisted that this treatment is no better than animal experiments.”

The camera cut to a larger woman who gripped the microphone as though she wanted to choke it to death. “This is inhumane. Do we have new drug trials where any random Joe off the street is held against his will and tortured? This is what they’re doing. They take anyone who they can claim is a vampire and lock them in chains. This is straight up Nazi stuff. We are just one step away from the gas chambers.”

The camera cut back to Julia, “Some strong feelings down here at the VRN protest. We want to hear from our viewers. Please log on to our website and vote on today's poll. The question is: Are these tests inhumane? We’ll have answers for you on tomorrow night’s segment. Back to you Brad.”

Nancy stood up and walked away from the TV. If she’d had her hammer the TV set would be on the floor sparking. There was a reason she didn’t watch the news. There was only so much stupidity that she could handle on a daily basis and her co-workers usually pushed her right to the brink, these people on TV were asinine.

She looked to the window but Stacy didn’t look up, instead it looked like she was playing Solitaire and waiting for the next patient to come into the ER. After pacing back and forth for a few minutes she went to sit back down. As she listened to the weather for the next day, partly sunny with highs in the 90s, she heard her name called from the door.

“Nancy Summers,” Star said from the door.

Nancy almost jumped up and ran to the door. She wanted this to be done so she could head home. Something in the news story had upset her, perhaps it was when the woman equated this hospital, her hospital, with Auschwitz.

“Star, I’m glad they sent me someone awesome,” she began. Star didn’t respond, instead she turned and almost let the door close behind her. Nancy’s quick reflexes managed to catch the handle and pull it open. “Star, is everything okay?”

Star didn’t say a word, instead she led her down the hallway and stood in front of the door to one of the rooms. “Come in here please.”

Nancy felt her annoyance refocus towards the woman in front of her. Even though the words from the TV were still fresh in her mind, Star had earned her ire.

“Star, knock it off and talk to me,” Nancy said. She didn’t bother stepping into the room, instead she stood in the doorway and looked Star directly in the eyes. Star tried to look away but Nancy held her gaze. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you how many times I’ve been attacked. I know that most people don’t survive their first encounter.”

She rolled her eyes, hearing the word encounter coming from her own mouth made her want to spit.

“Please step inside Miss Summers,” Star said.

Taking the hint she turned to go inside, “It’s Mrs. Summers actually.”

Star followed her into the room. Once Nancy was seated on the bed. Neither of them spoke a word as Star pulled up the computer and began to take vitals. When Star had finished with the blood pressure cuff she looked at Nancy, “I didn’t know you were married. I always thought you were more of an old spinster.”

“Who are you calling old?” she snapped. Both of them grinned at their running joke, Star was a hippie and she’d be called a spinster in return. “So I didn’t scare you too badly then?”

Star shrugged and draped the stethoscope around her neck. “It was frightening to hear the number, especially since I was expecting less than twenty. But that wasn’t the scary part.”

Nancy watched as Star entered her vitals into the computer. Finally her curiosity got the better of her. “If that wasn’t scary then what was?”

“Getting called up to Administrator Daniel’s office. He seemed really upset about all the stuff that you told me,” Star said. She then turned from the computer to face Nancy. “He said that if the number of attacks got out that it would cost me my job.”

“He is touchy about that,” Nancy said.

Star stood up and walked to the door. “I need to go get the vial for the test. I’ll be right back.”

As Star left the room Nancy felt her annoyance rekindled towards Steve Daniels all over again. She didn’t feel that the number of attacks she had survived should be counted against anyone, least of all the hospital. That was, in a weird way, a number that she found herself proud of. There hadn’t been a vampire yet that could beat her, and she didn’t see that changing anytime soon.

She walked over to the computer and began to look over her vitals. Her blood pressure looked a little high, which was to be expected with her current annoyance level. The pulse looked good too, and since none of the vitals were out of spec, it meant she wouldn’t need a gastric tissue biopsy. Out of boredom she found herself trying to access the duty roster of her ward. It was locked. Even her password and login didn’t seem to work.

“That bas…” she started before letting the word trail off. She wasn’t on her ward, but she was still at work. Cussing like a sailor wouldn’t fly down here. The last thing she wanted was an extended leave, it would be hard enough to find things to do for the next month.

The image of Daniel came to her mind unbidden. She had only met him tonight, she shouldn’t be thinking of him that way. He was a police officer and had been on the street during vampire attacks. He seemed interested with what she did instead of immediately repulsed like so many other guys she had dated. They had some common ground for once.

She couldn’t like him though, that was stupid. She hadn’t liked her husband, really liked him, until the third date. Before that he had been only tolerable. She was also still married, kinda. She still had the ring, it hung about a chain on her neck, the other dates had felt like she was cheating on his memory. All of these felt like hollow justifications though, she didn’t want to admit what she was really worried about.

“The Doc on duty asked me to get two samples. He said there was a new test they’d heard about and wanted to try,” Star said. She came in shaking two tubes between her thumb and forefinger.

“They want to experiment on me?” Nancy asked. “Did they say what it was?”

“They just said to take two samples,” Star said. “They've been talking a lot about Vitamin D though and I'm wondering if that's what they're looking at.”

Shrugging Star sat down on the doctors stool and moved the tray table into place. Bracing Nancy’s arm against the wooden veneer she prepared the draw.

“I hope you don’t flinch at the sight of the needle,” Star said as she removed it from the protective cover.

“Star, just do the stick and let’s get on with our evening,” Nancy said. She felt a poke, followed by the room shaking and the tray table trying to move out from under her arm. The lights then flickered and the room was plunged into darkness.