CHAPTER 11: When Bambi ran away
Turk was running through the corridors and stopped at every single room he passed. He peeked inside, looked around, cursed loudly, and immediately started running again.
As he rounded a corner he suddenly slammed into Elliot and had to grab her to prevent them both from falling. She was panting as if she was in the middle of a marathon and looked up at Turk's face. "Did you find him?"
"No... Not yet," Turk wheezed.
"Have you checked every patient's room, every restroom, every cleaning cupboard..." Elliot started rambling. "Wait! Maybe he's just passed out in a supply closet like that intern with the snake bite-"
"Elliot, I've looked everywhere," Turk interrupted. "I'm telling you, he's not on this floor! I've checked every possible hiding place I could find. How about you?"
"Nothing. And trust me, I know some of the best ones," Elliot sighed.
Carla came running around the corner towards them. "He's not on the roof," she informed. "Or below it for that matter..."
"That's good news, I guess," Turk sighed.
"Yeah, but it also means that we have no clue where he is," Carla said worriedly, and then slapped Turk's arm angrily. "You were supposed to watch him!"
"It's not my fault!" Turk said defensively. "I told him to wait for me and that I would be back in a couple of minutes. And I swear, he was acting just like normal when I left."
"And were you back in 'a couple of minutes'?" Carla asked, with her hands on her hips.
Turk looked at his wife for a moment before answering. "Okay, Todd kept me a little longer than that, but I can't have been gone for more than fifteen minutes."
"Turk, you were supposed to take JD home. What could you and Todd possibly talk about for fifteen minutes that was so important?" Carla asked with a raised eye brow.
"Um..." Turk hesitated. "You know... Just... Guy stuff."
"I don't believe this," Carla sighed in frustration.
"Well," Elliot interfered, to keep the domestic violence at a minimum. "I checked the parking lot, and his scooter is still there. That means he's still somewhere in the hospital. Right?"
"And his backpack was still in the locker room. He's got his wallet and keys in there," Turk added. "He's gotta be around here somewhere. We just have to keep looking."
"Has anyone told Dr Cox about this yet...?" Elliot asked uncertainly.
"His shift ended half an hour ago," Carla said. "He's probably home already."
"Should we call him?" Turk asked.
"No... It's not like we can drag his butt back here just to help us look for JD," Carla said and shook his head.
"You're right," Turk admitted. "Besides, I can't imagine that hard-ass coming down here to help us look for him anyway."
"If JD's still here, we will find him," Carla said and rubbed her husband's shoulder in a comforting manner. "Come on, let's keep looking."
"If we only could have a look at the security tapes," Elliot sighed. "Some of the cameras here must have caught him, right?"
"I know but-" Carla began but jumped in surprise when the Janitor popped up behind her.
"I think that I can be at service," the Janitor stated with dignity.
"What do you mean?" Turk asked in disbelief.
To answer the question, the Janitor held up something that was suspiciously similar to a video tape. The others stared at it in a mix of confusion and curiosity.
"From the security room?" Carla asked suspiciously.
"Yep. I'm supposed to clean in there once in a while anyway, so..." the Janitor said with a shrug.
"And did you?" Carla asked with a smile.
"Nah," he answered and looked away indifferently.
"Why would you go there just to steal a video tape-" Turk started but was interrupted by his wife. "Thank you, Janitor," Carla said with warmth and took the tape. "Did you take it to help us find JD?"
"No! No, nothing like that," the Janitor cut her off, looking very uncomfortable. "I... just wanted to steal something. Taking a little souvenir, you know. And it happened to be that tape. Now if you would excuse me, I'm... Gonna go clean something."
The Janitor walked away from them and Turk looked at Carla as if he had just seen Santa Claus. "Did the Janitor just do something nice...?"
"Apparently..." Carla said as she watched him leave. "Or maybe he felt bad for locking JD in the morgue earlier..."
Turk and Elliot stared at her as if she just had stated that Elvis was alive and lived in her basement. Carla cleared her throat and held up the tape for the others to see. "Okay, let's put this thing in a VCR."
As they arrived at the doctors' lounge, Turk inserted the tape in the VHS player and pressed the fast forward button until they reached the time of JD's disappearance.
"This is the camera at the entrance. Do you really think he went out?" Elliot asked while concentrating on the moving pictures.
"Dunno," Turk shrugged. "Maybe the Janitor just nicked a random tape, like he said. JD might not be on this one at all-"
"Wait! Pause!" Carla yelled and pointed at the TV.
Everyone leaned a bit closer to the screen. JD was standing a few feet away from the doors. He seemed confused, and looked around nervously. Eventually, he walked out. Going straight into a bunch of people that was about to go inside. In the next second, he was gone.
The three friends watched the frozen picture in shock. "He went outside," Elliot said with a low voice. "He really went outside..."
"Carla, he passed the nurses station!" Turk said with a gesture to the TV. "Didn't you notice him!?"
"I've been busy the whole day, Turk!" Carla yelled back. "People are passing through those doors all day long. I got more important things to do than to check who they are!"
"Stop fighting you two!" Elliot screamed, making both Carla and Turk flinch at the shrieking voice. "The important thing here is that JD's not in this hospital anymore." Elliot pointed at the window with a worried face. "He's out there somewhere. Alone. And judging by that video, he's pretty darn scared."
Turk immediately got to his feet. "I'll check if he's at home!" He said and ran to the door.
"And what are we supposed to do!" Elliot yelled in panic.
"Your shifts aren't over yet," Turk yelled back. "I call you in half an hour, and if I haven't found him by then, you call the cops."
Turk left them both while Elliot and Carla shared a look of distress.
Next time:We'll only meet JD (and his crazy mind) in the next chapter. Where did he go? Is he alright? Is he even ALIVE...? Wherever he is, I don't think that those voices in his head makes a very good company... 0.0
