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problem.
If you guess the origin of McIllvanney's nickname, you have my permission to eat sweeties.
&&&&&&
"What is the patient's condition?"
Dr. Brown turned away from the blonde-haired man, and looked at the nurse who had just entered through the door. She smiled wanly at the man, then turned back to the patient.
"Well, for a man who has just walked across the Nevada desert without any water for almost ten hours, he's doing surprisingly well. His organs have escaped major damage, and all his scrapes are healing without infection." She looked outside the window, hearing the rain beat a staccato rhythm against the window.
"It almost seems too good to be true..." The nurse said thoughtfully. He walked over to the opposite side of the gurney. He looked up at Dr. Brown, looking faintly concerned. "In fact, it's almost miraculous."
Dr. Brown sighed, "Miracles have nothing to do with it. As you may have guessed, the man is a mutant. It seems as if he has a remarkable regeneration process." She smiled humourlessly. "I suppose I should be glad he's only a mutant. If people became this healthy, we'd be out of a job..."
"So, what do we do with him?" The nurse asked, looking at the man's effeminate features. Dr. Brown shrugged.
"I suggest we follow the Hippocratic Oath as far as we possibly can. Even though he may not be a human, we nevertheless took an Oath to heal people without prejudice."
The nurse pulled an unhappy face. "Still, I'll be glad when he gets transferred in a few hours."
"What do you mean?"
"When we reported the possibility of an injured mutant, we got an order from some big wig up at the top to have him sedated for a transfer to a private hospital."
Dr. Brown's face fell. "I don't even need a doctorate to see what's actually going on here. 'Private hospital', my eye..."
The nurse shrugged. "We don't have a choice. They're sending in soldiers to ensure that the order is carried out."
"Soldiers?! The man was shipped in here with severe heat exhaustion and dehydration! Even if he has some form of advanced healing, I doubt he'll put up much a fight."
"Actually, I was told to inform you that this man is to be treated as a highly dangerous person. We have been told to keep him under constant surveillance and sedation until the cavalry arrives." The nurse held up a syringe. "We're going to pump this poor bastard with the most potent stuff we've got. He's not going to get up soon." He pierced the man's skin with the needle, and injected the chemical into him.
Dr. Brown sighed. "He may be a mutant, but he hasn't done anything wrong..."
"They said they're just keeping him for questioning." The nurse added.
"They said that about Camp X-Ray, too." Dr. Brown added in response.
&&&&&&
Three hours had passed. The rain had increased in volume, and thunder could be heard, rumbling angrily into the night. The hospital doors opened, and a squad of soldiers entered the building. The sergeant approached the desk, and asked for the whereabouts of the blonde-haired man. He was pointed in the direction of the man's ward.
The squad walked sharply towards the dorm, and stopped at the door, seeing Dr. Brown outside the room.
"Ma'am," the sergeant said sharply, "I must ask you to stand aside while we remove the patient from this premises."
Dr. Brown smiled wanly at them. "You may have orders to escort this gentleman out this hospital, but I am here to ensure that no mistreatment comes to the patient while he is being moved. We wouldn't want any 'accidents' to occur, now would we?"
The soldier's face contorted slightly. He then sighed. "Alright, you can overlook our removal of the patient. It's too late for me to have an argument right now."
Dr. Brown smiled slightly, then opened the door and let the soldiers enter. "I presume the subject has been kept under sedation?"
"He's been hit with enough drugs to knock out a horse. He's not going to wake up through the next ice age."
The sergeant gave a sharp hand signal to one of the soldiers. The marine stepped forward, and drew out a small syringe of his own. "Still, we have been instructed to ensure the patient is well and truly sedated before transport."
"Hang on." Dr. Brown said, walking forward, only to be stopped by one of the soldiers. "What is in that syringe?"
"Just a mild sedative." The sergeant stated. "Don't worry, we're not going to kill him."
"I'm not to sure about that! You could be in serious danger of causing severe internal injury by injecting multiple drugs into his system. You could cause him to go into shock."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we have orders to sedate the subject our way. If you do not allow us to do this, I am afraid that I am going to have to remove you from this room."
"The hell you will! This is a hospital! I am a doctor! It's my duty to- Hey!" A soldier grabbed her arm. "Get your hands off of me, you ape!"
"Get her out of here." The sergeant snapped at the soldier who was restraining her. He turned to the soldier with the needle, and nodded. The needle was placed into the crook of the man's arm. The needle pierced the skin.
The man leapt up with a yell, flinging his arm out instinctively, throwing the needle and soldier away from him. He swallowed, and gasped, a fish drowning in air. Then he remembered.
&&&&&&
"...right here and now, you are no longer my friend." McIllvanney stared at the man, blood filling his eyes. The man kicked out with his foot, knocking McIllvanney out the van door.
He fell out of the vehicle and landing awkwardly on his arm, shattering it. His body bounced off the dry earth, and he landed again, this time on his head, splitting it open. Pain, like nothing he had ever encountered before, wracked his body. He looked up at the departing van, and gritted his teeth. "Bastards..."
&&&&&&
He heard yells all around him. People in fatigues were pointing weapons at him, but he couldn't make out the words. What was going on? What had he remembered? Who was he...?
&&&&&&
"So what is this?"
The bald woman turned and smiled at him wanly. "'This' is a small group of elite personnel used to target and eliminate certain..." she paused, "...elements within this country. We are a highly secretive and strategic group used in conjunction with military operations, among other things."
McIllvanney tipped his head to one side. "You mean an anti-terrorist squad?"
The woman pursed her lips. "More or less, more o-"
&&&&&&
The Sacred Order!
He remembered!
He was a member of the Sacred Order!
But what was he doing here?
One of the soldiers pointed the gun directly between McIllvanneys eyes. He was screaming at him to do something... but what? Why couldn't he understand him...?
&&&&&&
"There are several considerations one must remember when you have been taken hostage." It was the bald woman again. "You may find that you cannot hear or understand people, even if you know that they are trying to communicate with you." She paused, and turned to one of the people she was lecturing to.
"Is there something amusing, Whistler?"
The man shook his head, his beaded hair flying wildly around his face. "No, ma'am."
"Good." The woman resumed her pacing and lecture. "If you ever experience this, it is an indicator that you have been exposed to a mind- weakening substance. It may be something mundane, like a sedative, or altern-"
&&&&&&
That was the reason. They had given him something. He couldn't understand them because they had given him something. McIllvanney raised his hand, and opened his mouth sluggishly.
The man shot him.
The force of the bullet smashed McIllvanney onto the bed, and he heard the spattering of his skull and brain hit the ground.
Strange, he thought, why am I not worried? Why am I still alive...?
&&&&&&
The red-haired girl wrinkled her forehead. "What are you saying you can do?"
McIllvanney smiled, and drew out his machete. "I have a form of advanced regeneration, rather like the ones found in reptiles or insects." He raised his machete, and cut off one of his fingers. He held the stump up to his face.
"Any cellular damage causes an extraordinarily fast healing response. An upshot of that is..." he raised an eyebrow as new tissue started to rapidly grow from the stump, "...that I can never truly be incapacitated."
The girl wrinkled her nose in disgust. "That's gross."
"Ah 'hink that's cool, m-"
&&&&&&
He was a mutant? What was that?
McIllvanney felt his head re-grow, hidden from view of the soldiers. A woman in a white coat was screaming at them. She was a-a-a doctor. Yes, that was what she was.
Another thought struck him, just as his head finished healing.
These bastards were endangering his life!
There was another person saying something quickly. Concentrate now... what was he saying...?
"-uck's sake, we have a fatality here, I repeat a fatality. Hendrix, what the hell is wrong with you? We were supposed to take him alive!" There was a sigh. "Well, we'd better get this son of a bitch to the scientists, see what they can get from the autopsy."
Someone grabbed his arm, and dragged him out of the bed. He heard a zipper being pulled, and saw a large plastic bag - a body bag, that's what it is called, he remembered - and saw them grip his legs. The woman in the white coat was still screaming. She sounded more angry then scared. She didn't want them to kill him...
So, I haven't been abducted by any type of government agency.
I am not in a military instillation.
I can escape.
McIllvanney flung his foot out at Hendrix, shattering his kneecap in one blow. The sergeant's arm was grabbed, then hurled under the bed-rest. Another movement swiftly lowered the bed, crushing it. Another blur of movement, and the man's sidearm was in his hand.
He felt bullets slam into and out his arm. As each bullet passed, he felt the slight tickling sensation of his wounds healing. He was the Road Virus. That was his nickname. Because he just kept coming back...
He turned to face the last soldier. He smiled, his lips drawing over his filed-sharp teeth. He knew who he was, what he was, and who had done this to him.
If you guess the origin of McIllvanney's nickname, you have my permission to eat sweeties.
&&&&&&
"What is the patient's condition?"
Dr. Brown turned away from the blonde-haired man, and looked at the nurse who had just entered through the door. She smiled wanly at the man, then turned back to the patient.
"Well, for a man who has just walked across the Nevada desert without any water for almost ten hours, he's doing surprisingly well. His organs have escaped major damage, and all his scrapes are healing without infection." She looked outside the window, hearing the rain beat a staccato rhythm against the window.
"It almost seems too good to be true..." The nurse said thoughtfully. He walked over to the opposite side of the gurney. He looked up at Dr. Brown, looking faintly concerned. "In fact, it's almost miraculous."
Dr. Brown sighed, "Miracles have nothing to do with it. As you may have guessed, the man is a mutant. It seems as if he has a remarkable regeneration process." She smiled humourlessly. "I suppose I should be glad he's only a mutant. If people became this healthy, we'd be out of a job..."
"So, what do we do with him?" The nurse asked, looking at the man's effeminate features. Dr. Brown shrugged.
"I suggest we follow the Hippocratic Oath as far as we possibly can. Even though he may not be a human, we nevertheless took an Oath to heal people without prejudice."
The nurse pulled an unhappy face. "Still, I'll be glad when he gets transferred in a few hours."
"What do you mean?"
"When we reported the possibility of an injured mutant, we got an order from some big wig up at the top to have him sedated for a transfer to a private hospital."
Dr. Brown's face fell. "I don't even need a doctorate to see what's actually going on here. 'Private hospital', my eye..."
The nurse shrugged. "We don't have a choice. They're sending in soldiers to ensure that the order is carried out."
"Soldiers?! The man was shipped in here with severe heat exhaustion and dehydration! Even if he has some form of advanced healing, I doubt he'll put up much a fight."
"Actually, I was told to inform you that this man is to be treated as a highly dangerous person. We have been told to keep him under constant surveillance and sedation until the cavalry arrives." The nurse held up a syringe. "We're going to pump this poor bastard with the most potent stuff we've got. He's not going to get up soon." He pierced the man's skin with the needle, and injected the chemical into him.
Dr. Brown sighed. "He may be a mutant, but he hasn't done anything wrong..."
"They said they're just keeping him for questioning." The nurse added.
"They said that about Camp X-Ray, too." Dr. Brown added in response.
&&&&&&
Three hours had passed. The rain had increased in volume, and thunder could be heard, rumbling angrily into the night. The hospital doors opened, and a squad of soldiers entered the building. The sergeant approached the desk, and asked for the whereabouts of the blonde-haired man. He was pointed in the direction of the man's ward.
The squad walked sharply towards the dorm, and stopped at the door, seeing Dr. Brown outside the room.
"Ma'am," the sergeant said sharply, "I must ask you to stand aside while we remove the patient from this premises."
Dr. Brown smiled wanly at them. "You may have orders to escort this gentleman out this hospital, but I am here to ensure that no mistreatment comes to the patient while he is being moved. We wouldn't want any 'accidents' to occur, now would we?"
The soldier's face contorted slightly. He then sighed. "Alright, you can overlook our removal of the patient. It's too late for me to have an argument right now."
Dr. Brown smiled slightly, then opened the door and let the soldiers enter. "I presume the subject has been kept under sedation?"
"He's been hit with enough drugs to knock out a horse. He's not going to wake up through the next ice age."
The sergeant gave a sharp hand signal to one of the soldiers. The marine stepped forward, and drew out a small syringe of his own. "Still, we have been instructed to ensure the patient is well and truly sedated before transport."
"Hang on." Dr. Brown said, walking forward, only to be stopped by one of the soldiers. "What is in that syringe?"
"Just a mild sedative." The sergeant stated. "Don't worry, we're not going to kill him."
"I'm not to sure about that! You could be in serious danger of causing severe internal injury by injecting multiple drugs into his system. You could cause him to go into shock."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we have orders to sedate the subject our way. If you do not allow us to do this, I am afraid that I am going to have to remove you from this room."
"The hell you will! This is a hospital! I am a doctor! It's my duty to- Hey!" A soldier grabbed her arm. "Get your hands off of me, you ape!"
"Get her out of here." The sergeant snapped at the soldier who was restraining her. He turned to the soldier with the needle, and nodded. The needle was placed into the crook of the man's arm. The needle pierced the skin.
The man leapt up with a yell, flinging his arm out instinctively, throwing the needle and soldier away from him. He swallowed, and gasped, a fish drowning in air. Then he remembered.
&&&&&&
"...right here and now, you are no longer my friend." McIllvanney stared at the man, blood filling his eyes. The man kicked out with his foot, knocking McIllvanney out the van door.
He fell out of the vehicle and landing awkwardly on his arm, shattering it. His body bounced off the dry earth, and he landed again, this time on his head, splitting it open. Pain, like nothing he had ever encountered before, wracked his body. He looked up at the departing van, and gritted his teeth. "Bastards..."
&&&&&&
He heard yells all around him. People in fatigues were pointing weapons at him, but he couldn't make out the words. What was going on? What had he remembered? Who was he...?
&&&&&&
"So what is this?"
The bald woman turned and smiled at him wanly. "'This' is a small group of elite personnel used to target and eliminate certain..." she paused, "...elements within this country. We are a highly secretive and strategic group used in conjunction with military operations, among other things."
McIllvanney tipped his head to one side. "You mean an anti-terrorist squad?"
The woman pursed her lips. "More or less, more o-"
&&&&&&
The Sacred Order!
He remembered!
He was a member of the Sacred Order!
But what was he doing here?
One of the soldiers pointed the gun directly between McIllvanneys eyes. He was screaming at him to do something... but what? Why couldn't he understand him...?
&&&&&&
"There are several considerations one must remember when you have been taken hostage." It was the bald woman again. "You may find that you cannot hear or understand people, even if you know that they are trying to communicate with you." She paused, and turned to one of the people she was lecturing to.
"Is there something amusing, Whistler?"
The man shook his head, his beaded hair flying wildly around his face. "No, ma'am."
"Good." The woman resumed her pacing and lecture. "If you ever experience this, it is an indicator that you have been exposed to a mind- weakening substance. It may be something mundane, like a sedative, or altern-"
&&&&&&
That was the reason. They had given him something. He couldn't understand them because they had given him something. McIllvanney raised his hand, and opened his mouth sluggishly.
The man shot him.
The force of the bullet smashed McIllvanney onto the bed, and he heard the spattering of his skull and brain hit the ground.
Strange, he thought, why am I not worried? Why am I still alive...?
&&&&&&
The red-haired girl wrinkled her forehead. "What are you saying you can do?"
McIllvanney smiled, and drew out his machete. "I have a form of advanced regeneration, rather like the ones found in reptiles or insects." He raised his machete, and cut off one of his fingers. He held the stump up to his face.
"Any cellular damage causes an extraordinarily fast healing response. An upshot of that is..." he raised an eyebrow as new tissue started to rapidly grow from the stump, "...that I can never truly be incapacitated."
The girl wrinkled her nose in disgust. "That's gross."
"Ah 'hink that's cool, m-"
&&&&&&
He was a mutant? What was that?
McIllvanney felt his head re-grow, hidden from view of the soldiers. A woman in a white coat was screaming at them. She was a-a-a doctor. Yes, that was what she was.
Another thought struck him, just as his head finished healing.
These bastards were endangering his life!
There was another person saying something quickly. Concentrate now... what was he saying...?
"-uck's sake, we have a fatality here, I repeat a fatality. Hendrix, what the hell is wrong with you? We were supposed to take him alive!" There was a sigh. "Well, we'd better get this son of a bitch to the scientists, see what they can get from the autopsy."
Someone grabbed his arm, and dragged him out of the bed. He heard a zipper being pulled, and saw a large plastic bag - a body bag, that's what it is called, he remembered - and saw them grip his legs. The woman in the white coat was still screaming. She sounded more angry then scared. She didn't want them to kill him...
So, I haven't been abducted by any type of government agency.
I am not in a military instillation.
I can escape.
McIllvanney flung his foot out at Hendrix, shattering his kneecap in one blow. The sergeant's arm was grabbed, then hurled under the bed-rest. Another movement swiftly lowered the bed, crushing it. Another blur of movement, and the man's sidearm was in his hand.
He felt bullets slam into and out his arm. As each bullet passed, he felt the slight tickling sensation of his wounds healing. He was the Road Virus. That was his nickname. Because he just kept coming back...
He turned to face the last soldier. He smiled, his lips drawing over his filed-sharp teeth. He knew who he was, what he was, and who had done this to him.