Chapter Thirty-Four
Daniel stared at the ceiling, mostly because that's all he could do. The technician was puttering around him collecting instruments, moving tables. Then he was being rolled, first the gurney was rolled and then he was rolled on to the table. The cold autopsy table, where at some point Daniel hoped he would lose consciousness, or, at least, lose feeling. The technician muttered as he worked, the patch on his uniform said Smith, and Daniel remembered hearing something about him not being well liked, because of all the time he spent with dead bodies, knowing the military as he did, Daniel knew that the poor man had not had much choice in the assignment and didn't take much stock in the rumors that floated around the base. For his part Smith was being absolutely professional, throughout the preparations of Daniel's body his touch was cold, clinical and utterly without shame or discomfort. Daniel was washed and cleaned and combed and pricked and if he could blush he'd have been beet-red, but Smith continued on, drawing the instruments nearer. Daniel saw his head raise and look at the wall.
"Looks like you'll be dancing with me today." he said and reached for a tray of instruments. Daniel saw the scalpel it sparkled in the over head lights, he wanted to scream, he wanted to close his eyes again and wish himself into an afterlife that didn't include being cut open, but nothing happened, he couldn't move, he couldn't speak and then the blade sliced through his skin, at first there was nothing and then there was pain, burning stinging, painful pain, Daniel's mind cried out, as he felt the blood well and drip down his chest and then he saw it, the shock on Smith's face, the fear and then the panic. "Oh, my god! Oh, my god!" The blade clattered as it fell from boneless fingers on to the table, and then the technician sprung into action, pressing pads to the wound, holding it down. "Oh, my god!" he cried again.
Dr. Childs hurried to the morgue, she knew that Larry would begin the autopsy if she was late, but she really needed to be present for this one. General Hammond had just given her a long brief on the nature of the death and she knew how important it was that she determine the cause of death, so that the persons responsible could be identified and detained as soon a possible.
Dr Jackson was a very important member of this facility, she'd been told, several times, and whoever did this, needs to be brought to justice so that his team can find closure. There was fear in Hammond's eyes, she noticed, it wasn't closure Jackson's team was looking for, it was vengeance, and Hammond was dead set on stopping them from ruining their lives over their friend's horrible and senseless-his words- murder. Dr Childs entered the morgue at a fast pace.
"Larry, if you've started already just hold on-"she stopped and stared. Her technician was stood pressing on a heavily bleeding wound of a man she assumed was Jackson, and yet she paused. "He's bleeding." she said dumbly.
"He's alive help me!" cried Larry. The pathologist blinked for a second and then hurried to the phone, meaning to call in a medical team, but as she picked up the receiver she felt herself shoved head first into the wall, and then she notice dizzily that the floor was suddenly getting closer and closer, before she blacked out entirely.
Daniel didn't know what was going on, one minute he was dead and being autopsied and the next his would be carver was crying out, he was alive! The pain was making him, dizzy and his focus blurred a little, but he gathered someone else and had come to help, and perhaps confirm that he was alive.
Daniel could have laughed, only he would need a second opinion on whether on or not he was in fact dead. It was a point that he'd have thought would be easily made and yet here he was apparently undead and then things got even more confused, the pressure on his chest disappeared the figure above him rushed from view, a decidedly more blurry view thanks to blood loss-which if he thought about it was yet more evidence that he was still alive- and the next person to look down on him was a woman, he thought, a blonde, but he couldn't discern much more than that. The pressure was back on his chest and he felt a prick in his arm.
"Sssh," she said her voice was low, distorted. "I'll take care of you now." Daniel had blinked three times before realizing this was the first time in several hours he'd been able to blink. It was such a relief, and he blinked a few more times just for the novelty of it. He looked up at the person who was helping him, she was now dressing the incision covering it with gauze and taping it down like a pro. Daniel tried to focus on her face tried to see who it was, and then it clicked, who else would have figured it out? There was another prick on his arm, and he was fading fast.
"ThhhanksssSam." he whispered and surrendered to the darkness.