"Hey, John!" Abby came running up to him.
"Abby? What are you doing here?" Carter asked.
"I decided to come to work early. You know, the most amazing thing happened with Dr. Corday a few hours ago!"
"Really? Explain," Carter said, throwing on his lab coat.
"Well, there was this girl, right? And we all knew she was too badly injured and-"
"How did she get injured?" Carter asked, scanning the board.
"A car accident, but that's not important! So her heart rate flattened and we all knew there was nothing anyone could do. But Elizabeth! What a brave and persistent human being! She took up those paddles and ordered me to charge them. I tried to tell her there was nothing we could do, but she told me to try anyway. So I charged the paddles and Corday shocked the patient. Once, twice, three times. Just as she was about to give up and call it, a miracle happened! The girl's heart started up again!"
"That happens sometimes..." Carter said, taking a chart and looking it over.
"No, Carter, you don't understand. This girl was really bad off! And do you know what she was saying when she woke up?"
"What?" asked Carter, knowing Abby would tell him anyway.
"She said two angels brought her back. She claimed one was Corday. Never said who the other was..." Abby trailed off thinking. She laughed, "Now, every time Julie sees Corday, she says she's her angel!" Abby got Carter's full attention now as his head snapped up from the chart.
"What was her name?" he asked her.
"Julie," Abby answered, "Why?"
"What was her last name?"
"Julie... Manson, yeah," Abby said, remembering the girl's name. Carter was reminded of the dream he had had a few hours before, "John, is something wrong?"
"No, actually, for once I think something is going right," Carter smiled at Abby and scooped her up in his arms.
"Wow, well, whatever just happened, it must me something good!" Abby giggled, happily surprised by his sudden need to hug her. He gave her a warm kiss and smiled.
"It must be," he said, "It must be."
When Carter's shift ended, around eight o'clock, he went down to Doc Magoo's to get a drink of coffee. While there, he found Dave Malucci, entertaining one of his new girlfriends.
"So the girl stops the elevator, completely unaware that her boyfriend is claustrophobic and- Hey, Carter! What's up, man?" Dave asked as Carter walked in. The woman he was with, a blond, turned her head to see who Dave was speaking to.
"Hey, Dave," Carter gave a forced smile, "Fancy seeing you here when I could have sworn Weaver told you to see to that little boy with the broken leg not fifteen minutes ago. Surely that couldn't have taken fifteen minutes!"
"Oh, it's OK," Dave said, taking a sip of his coffee, "I told Abby she could take it."
"Abby?"
"Davie, who is this?" the blond asked, before Dave could say anything.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Carter, this is Brenda. Brenda, this is Dr. John Carter."
"Hi!" she was perky. Too perky for Carter's liking, and by the way she spoke to Dave, Carter knew she must have been the blond in all of those dumb blond jokes.
"Hello. Dave... Abby?"
"Well... She had nothing to do!" Dave protested. Carter rolled his eyes, shook his head, and walked to an empty table.
"So anyway, the guy's claustrophobic, right? So when the elevator stopped, he was hysterical and the girlfriend had no idea why! So she just..." Dave's story went on, but Carter became engrossed in a newspaper article at the mention of a familiar name.
Paul Sobriki, a patient at Chester Mental Care Center in Illinois surprisingly escaped the other night. Two years ago, on Valentine's Day, Sobriki showed up at Cook County General Hospital in Chicago complaining of a headache. The doctor and medical student who treated him and found nothing wrong with him were later stabbed by their own patient. According to Dr. Dave Malucci, the medical student, Lucy Knight, suspected Sobriki to be mentally ill but Dr. John Carter, stabbed alongside Knight, dismissed the concerns of his med. student.
Sobriki ran out of the hospital naked, only later to be hit by a car and brought back in. The police arrested him for murder of the first degree (Knight died of her wounds) without knowing of his mental instability. When later proven his insanity, Sobriki was taken off to Chester in order to recover. But now, a day before Valentine's Day, he has somehow found a way out.
Sobriki's nurse, a Miss Calendar, said that last night, Sobriki kept muttering something about people trying to hurt him and steal his internal organs. This was the first time he had mentioned this for a while, and Miss Calendar was concerned. She asked him if he had taken his pills, which he replied that he had and left him. The next morning, Sobriki was nowhere to be found.
Dr. Weaver, a doctor who worked on Knight, was unavailable for comment on the subject, but Dr. Malucci was delighted to give us an interview. When asked if he considered Sobriki a threat to the community, he replied simply, "Only to those in Chester. I doubt he would make it back to Chicago without being caught." For Carter's sake, we hope he is correct. But in the meantime for the citizens of Chester, be on the lookout for the escaped schizophrenic.
Carter stared at the article and growled in anger and frustration. He stood up and stomped over to Dave's table, interrupting his undoubtedly interesting conversation with his more than dense companion.
"Malucci!" Carter shouted.
"What? What'd I do now?" Dave asked, guiltily.
"What is this?" Carter demanded, referring to the paper grasped tightly in Carter's hand.
"Murderer escapes from Chester Mental Care Center..." Dave read. Then, realizing what was happening, took on an expression of fear, "Uh oh."
"What the hell did you tell them?" Carter screamed so loud that it made people stare.
"Um..."
"Hey, are you Dr. Carter?" one staring man asked, a paper in his left hand. Carter closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Brenda, being the dumb blond that she was, answered for him.
"Yeah! And my boyfriend here is Dave Malucci! And I'm Brenda!" she said, cheerily. Dave hit his head on the table.
"Nice going, Brenda," he muttered, "Now Carter's gonna be mad at me for a month!"
"Is this true?" the man asked, pointing at the paper.
"No, thank you, goodnight!" Carter said, quickly and turned to the door. When he was in the doorframe, he turned around and said:
"And Lucy wasn't this big hero, you know! Whatever Malucci said it was just to get attention! Do you know how long it took for me to get over her goddamned death? More time than it would take Brenda over there to read a Magic School Bus picture book and that's saying something! So next time you see a reporter, tell them to stay the Hell out of my personal life!" and he slammed the door behind him.
"Abby? What are you doing here?" Carter asked.
"I decided to come to work early. You know, the most amazing thing happened with Dr. Corday a few hours ago!"
"Really? Explain," Carter said, throwing on his lab coat.
"Well, there was this girl, right? And we all knew she was too badly injured and-"
"How did she get injured?" Carter asked, scanning the board.
"A car accident, but that's not important! So her heart rate flattened and we all knew there was nothing anyone could do. But Elizabeth! What a brave and persistent human being! She took up those paddles and ordered me to charge them. I tried to tell her there was nothing we could do, but she told me to try anyway. So I charged the paddles and Corday shocked the patient. Once, twice, three times. Just as she was about to give up and call it, a miracle happened! The girl's heart started up again!"
"That happens sometimes..." Carter said, taking a chart and looking it over.
"No, Carter, you don't understand. This girl was really bad off! And do you know what she was saying when she woke up?"
"What?" asked Carter, knowing Abby would tell him anyway.
"She said two angels brought her back. She claimed one was Corday. Never said who the other was..." Abby trailed off thinking. She laughed, "Now, every time Julie sees Corday, she says she's her angel!" Abby got Carter's full attention now as his head snapped up from the chart.
"What was her name?" he asked her.
"Julie," Abby answered, "Why?"
"What was her last name?"
"Julie... Manson, yeah," Abby said, remembering the girl's name. Carter was reminded of the dream he had had a few hours before, "John, is something wrong?"
"No, actually, for once I think something is going right," Carter smiled at Abby and scooped her up in his arms.
"Wow, well, whatever just happened, it must me something good!" Abby giggled, happily surprised by his sudden need to hug her. He gave her a warm kiss and smiled.
"It must be," he said, "It must be."
When Carter's shift ended, around eight o'clock, he went down to Doc Magoo's to get a drink of coffee. While there, he found Dave Malucci, entertaining one of his new girlfriends.
"So the girl stops the elevator, completely unaware that her boyfriend is claustrophobic and- Hey, Carter! What's up, man?" Dave asked as Carter walked in. The woman he was with, a blond, turned her head to see who Dave was speaking to.
"Hey, Dave," Carter gave a forced smile, "Fancy seeing you here when I could have sworn Weaver told you to see to that little boy with the broken leg not fifteen minutes ago. Surely that couldn't have taken fifteen minutes!"
"Oh, it's OK," Dave said, taking a sip of his coffee, "I told Abby she could take it."
"Abby?"
"Davie, who is this?" the blond asked, before Dave could say anything.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Carter, this is Brenda. Brenda, this is Dr. John Carter."
"Hi!" she was perky. Too perky for Carter's liking, and by the way she spoke to Dave, Carter knew she must have been the blond in all of those dumb blond jokes.
"Hello. Dave... Abby?"
"Well... She had nothing to do!" Dave protested. Carter rolled his eyes, shook his head, and walked to an empty table.
"So anyway, the guy's claustrophobic, right? So when the elevator stopped, he was hysterical and the girlfriend had no idea why! So she just..." Dave's story went on, but Carter became engrossed in a newspaper article at the mention of a familiar name.
Paul Sobriki, a patient at Chester Mental Care Center in Illinois surprisingly escaped the other night. Two years ago, on Valentine's Day, Sobriki showed up at Cook County General Hospital in Chicago complaining of a headache. The doctor and medical student who treated him and found nothing wrong with him were later stabbed by their own patient. According to Dr. Dave Malucci, the medical student, Lucy Knight, suspected Sobriki to be mentally ill but Dr. John Carter, stabbed alongside Knight, dismissed the concerns of his med. student.
Sobriki ran out of the hospital naked, only later to be hit by a car and brought back in. The police arrested him for murder of the first degree (Knight died of her wounds) without knowing of his mental instability. When later proven his insanity, Sobriki was taken off to Chester in order to recover. But now, a day before Valentine's Day, he has somehow found a way out.
Sobriki's nurse, a Miss Calendar, said that last night, Sobriki kept muttering something about people trying to hurt him and steal his internal organs. This was the first time he had mentioned this for a while, and Miss Calendar was concerned. She asked him if he had taken his pills, which he replied that he had and left him. The next morning, Sobriki was nowhere to be found.
Dr. Weaver, a doctor who worked on Knight, was unavailable for comment on the subject, but Dr. Malucci was delighted to give us an interview. When asked if he considered Sobriki a threat to the community, he replied simply, "Only to those in Chester. I doubt he would make it back to Chicago without being caught." For Carter's sake, we hope he is correct. But in the meantime for the citizens of Chester, be on the lookout for the escaped schizophrenic.
Carter stared at the article and growled in anger and frustration. He stood up and stomped over to Dave's table, interrupting his undoubtedly interesting conversation with his more than dense companion.
"Malucci!" Carter shouted.
"What? What'd I do now?" Dave asked, guiltily.
"What is this?" Carter demanded, referring to the paper grasped tightly in Carter's hand.
"Murderer escapes from Chester Mental Care Center..." Dave read. Then, realizing what was happening, took on an expression of fear, "Uh oh."
"What the hell did you tell them?" Carter screamed so loud that it made people stare.
"Um..."
"Hey, are you Dr. Carter?" one staring man asked, a paper in his left hand. Carter closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Brenda, being the dumb blond that she was, answered for him.
"Yeah! And my boyfriend here is Dave Malucci! And I'm Brenda!" she said, cheerily. Dave hit his head on the table.
"Nice going, Brenda," he muttered, "Now Carter's gonna be mad at me for a month!"
"Is this true?" the man asked, pointing at the paper.
"No, thank you, goodnight!" Carter said, quickly and turned to the door. When he was in the doorframe, he turned around and said:
"And Lucy wasn't this big hero, you know! Whatever Malucci said it was just to get attention! Do you know how long it took for me to get over her goddamned death? More time than it would take Brenda over there to read a Magic School Bus picture book and that's saying something! So next time you see a reporter, tell them to stay the Hell out of my personal life!" and he slammed the door behind him.