Globe Trotting – Rajkot P2
Auggie did as he was told and stayed put for the moment, he desperately wanted to rush out of the safe house and scour the streets for Annie, but Rajkot was a city of over one and a quarter million people and congested on the best of days He could hear sirens and commotion outside the window as he put his headphones on to hack into the police scanner.
India was a cacophony of language, Hindi and English and a local dialect all mixed on the scanner, but he was fairly certain he established the closest hospital where the wounded were being transported. He decided if Annie did not contact him or arrive back in 30 more minutes he was going to the hospital no matter what Calder said.
He did not hear any mention fatalities, but it sounded like many people were injured and that there were at least 3 explosive devices detonated. He began detailing the information for Calder, trying to work through his panic.
Twenty-five minutes later he had not heard from Annie, his stomach clenched with the possibilities. He looked up the hospital he heard repeated on the police scanner over and over and found it was only a few blocks away, which explained the near constant sirens, and he transferred the address to his phone for assistance. He finished off the report to Calder and emailed it along with his intentions to go look for Annie, he could order him back to the safe house, but Auggie wasn't going to obey that particular order.
***555***
The hospital was so loud which really put Auggie at a disadvantage. The smells were overwhelming too, antiseptic and blood and sweat all masking any individual scents, turning people into a wall of humanity. He used his cane and found what seemed to be an admitting desk.
"Excuse me?" he asked in English.
No response as he felt people rushing by him, again the mix of languages disorienting.
"Excuse me?" he asked a little louder.
"Yes," a heavily accented female voice responded.
"I'm looking for my wife, she was near the explosion," he tried to speak calmly and clearly.
"Fill out this form," the woman shoved what Auggie felt to be a clipboard in his hands.
"I can't…" he began but he knew the woman wasn't there anymore.
Auggie tried to shake off the feeling of helplessness he felt. He was questioning his decision to come here, maybe he could be doing more from the safe house where he had contact and access, here he was just groping for information in a sea of others trying to get that same information.
He imagined what was on the form, the information they would need to identify her in a bed or a morgue. He swallowed the bile that rose up on the last thought, the thought of Annie cold and still on a metal table.
"Sir?" a young man this time.
"Yes," Auggie looked up hopefully.
"Do you need some help?"
"Thank you. My wife may be here, I can't fill out this form since I can't see it and I am desperate for some information."
"We have about 75 people here in the past half hour, mostly women," he explained and Auggie realized that made sense the market area was predominantly visited by women.
"My wife is white and blonde," Auggie hoped she might stand out.
"Several tourists, most are conscious though and have given their names. What is your wife's name?" Auggie heard him shuffling through sheets of paper.
"Grace Kendall," Auggie gave the name Annie would have given and was on her ID.
"I don't see her on the list. There are 4 women who are unconscious and unidentified, if I take you there could you help me identify her?" the young man was so sincere and Auggie knew he was probably needed elsewhere, but he needed his help.
"Thank you."
Auggie heard the young man move away, forgetting he couldn't follow so easily.
"Excuse me?" Auggie called again and the man returned embarrassed.
"I am so sorry," he fumbled and tried to take Auggie's hand, like you would lead a child.
"It's OK, I appreciate your help," Auggie said honestly and readjusted their position for a proper lead.
Even with the man's arm, Auggie used his cane in the crowded hallways and tried to count his steps and turns lest he have to find his own way out later.
"Can you describe your wife a little more?" the young man asked awkwardly, unsure how to get a good picture from a blind man.
"She is five foot six inches, approximately 120 pounds. Her hair is blonde and slightly longer than her shoulders although she had it in a ponytail earlier," Auggie pantomimed a ponytail in case that idiom was not common place in India.
"She has hazel eyes, which I suppose won't help if she is unconscious and she was wearing a sari, I am uncertain of the color," Auggie shrugged.
"She's beautiful," he finished wistfully.
Of the 4 unidentified women one was too big and one was dark haired, the other two both sounded like Annie at first description.
"Does she have any identifying marks or scars?" the man asked.
"Yes," Auggie said sadly, " she was shot a couple of years ago, she has 2 scars on her abdomen."
The young man called a female nurse into the room to examine the two women, explained in Hindi what he was looking for and turned away so the woman could undress the women enough to look for the scars.
"This one may be your wife," the young man returned and led Auggie to the gurney in question.
"May I?" he reached out a hand as if to touch her.
"Yes, she has a head wound and a cut on her leg, but other than that she seems OK."
"Well she is unconscious," Auggie frowned.
"Hopefully just temporary from the head wound, her vitals are good, go ahead."
Auggie reached out and found a shoulder, he trailed his fingers down her left arm and found Grace Kendall's rings on what was definitely Annie's hand, he would know her hands anywhere. To be certain he traced a hand over her face and down her delicate neck, the tears surprised him as he felt them fall onto his hands as he touched her.
"Is it her?" the young man asked hopefully.
"Yes," Auggie nodded.
The young man scribbled on his list, updated a chart on the bed and assured Auggie someone would be in to see them soon.
"Someday I am going to describe you to yourself, it's a hell of a party trick," he smiled and kissed her cheek.
TBC…