"Any sign of him?" Lona asked as she met up with Chris and Hook in
the lobby. She had been unable to stand waiting any longer than necessary
to get on with her search for Elmer and have told them to meet her there
whenever they were ready to help.
"Lona, calm down, okay?" Chris's eyes widdened slightly as she looked at her friend anxiously pacing and she spoke, looking around the room anxiously and almost trembling. What in the world was going on here?
The last she had heard, Lona had still been ticked with Elmer over that little head incident so what was she acting so upset over him suddenly disappearing. Chris rubbed at her eyes, trying to get her mind focused fully on the situation at hand.
"It's been almost forty minutes." Lona glanced anxiously at her watch as she paced. She couldn't believe that this was happening. How could Elmer have just vanished like this? What could she ever tell Louis?
She bit her lip, trying to calm herself and regain control but that was definately a lost cause now.
"Okay, Lona, Chris is right, here. You need to get hold of yourself and tell us what happened so we can help you find Elmer, okay?" Hook said.
He still wasn't entirely sure that what was going on wasn't just part of some attempt at a prank on Elmer's part. 'Oh, Elmer, if this is a joke I hope you know that you're doomed when she finds out.' Hook thought as he and Chris tried to lead Lona off to a private area near the hospital entrance. "Okay, now what was going on before you noticed Elmer was missing?"
Nothing unusual," Lona said slowly, her mind going back over the events of earlier that night. There had to have been something that she missed, some clue that something was going to happen with Elmer, that something was wrong! "I hooked him up to the monitors and he went right to sleep. He's done that a million times and nothing like this has ever happened before."
"You're sure he's sleepwalking? Chris asked her. "Couldn't have have just gotten up and left, maybe went to the bathroom or something?"
"That's the first place I checked." Lona said with a shake of her head. "He wasn't there. And sleepwalking is the only thing that I can figure might have happened from the EEG readout right before Elmer vanished. He definately wasn't awake." She stopped, looking towards the hospital doors. What if Elmer had accidentally wandered out there? It was cold that night, colder than expected and in just a thin hospital gown.
Not to mention the fact that the hospital wasn't in the safest location to begin with. If Elmer ran into any of the drug dealers who hung out in the alleyways around the hospital.... Or cars? He could wander right into traffic and never even realize the danger until it was too later. What if.... She bit back a sob of sudden fright. "The parking lot. Someone needs to check the parking lot. Otto's always talking with Bobby Druse.
Elmer could have went out and he would have missed it totally."
"I'll go." Hook said as he started towards the door. "Why don't you and Chris try to figure out where else we should check for Elmer?"
"Lona?" Chris looked on her friend with concern as Hook headed out of the doors. She had never seen normally cool, collected Lona acting like this and to see her acting like this over Elmer, someone she had claimed to be nothing but a giant annoyance.
Lona just shook her head slowly. She wasn't sure that she could really explain what was wrong to her friend if she tried. "I don't know,"
she said slowly. "It just feels like there's something telling me that I have to find Elmer right away before something happens." Lona dropped her gaze for a moment, her mind running over possible hazards. If Elmer was still asleep, who knows what he might have wandered into accidentally.
This was a hospital. Surely someone had seen him and figured out the problem. Why hadn't they led Elmer back to the safety of the lab?
"Lona, we'll find him." Chris said in what she hoped was a reassuring tone, still trying to puzzle out what in the world was going on with her friend as she spoke. "Okay, where have you checked so far?"
"Everywhere downstairs. The labs, supply closets. the morgue."
The morgue had been the place she had felt the most hopeful about, thinking thatp possibly a dream had driven Elmer back there especially after their last encounter. No sign of him though.
"Well, he isn't in the parking lot as far as I can tell." Hook said as he came back in. "And how many floors could he have went on without being seen?"
"The psych floor for one." Chris said with a shake of her head.
"Remember how clueless those people up there are? They don't even keep track of their own patients much less sleepwalking doctors."
"Tell me about it," Hook said with a shake of his head as they hurried to the elevators. "Maybe he could have wandered into the office areas too. Lona, what about paging him?"
"I don't know if that could do any harm if he's still sleepwalking." Could Elmer even hear and comprehend a page if he was still asleep? Lona wasn't all together sure of that. She suddenly felt herself shivering uncontrollably as she slumped back against the wall. She couldn't resist it, that feeling that something very bad was going to happen to Elmer unless she could get there soon and do something to prevent it.
"Lona, we'll find him. Elmer couldn't have gone far." Chris said,
trying to give Lona what she hopped was a reassuring smile that everything would work out. "
Lona nodded although she was very afraid that Elmer might have gone much further than Chris or Hook were thinking. Okay, Hook couldn't find him ine parking lot but that didn't mean he might not have wandered out and got lost in an alleyway or.... She bit her lip, taking control again only febly, this time. "I'm coming, Elmer. I'm coming." She whispered solfty under her breath. "Just hold on for me."
"Lona, calm down, okay?" Chris's eyes widdened slightly as she looked at her friend anxiously pacing and she spoke, looking around the room anxiously and almost trembling. What in the world was going on here?
The last she had heard, Lona had still been ticked with Elmer over that little head incident so what was she acting so upset over him suddenly disappearing. Chris rubbed at her eyes, trying to get her mind focused fully on the situation at hand.
"It's been almost forty minutes." Lona glanced anxiously at her watch as she paced. She couldn't believe that this was happening. How could Elmer have just vanished like this? What could she ever tell Louis?
She bit her lip, trying to calm herself and regain control but that was definately a lost cause now.
"Okay, Lona, Chris is right, here. You need to get hold of yourself and tell us what happened so we can help you find Elmer, okay?" Hook said.
He still wasn't entirely sure that what was going on wasn't just part of some attempt at a prank on Elmer's part. 'Oh, Elmer, if this is a joke I hope you know that you're doomed when she finds out.' Hook thought as he and Chris tried to lead Lona off to a private area near the hospital entrance. "Okay, now what was going on before you noticed Elmer was missing?"
Nothing unusual," Lona said slowly, her mind going back over the events of earlier that night. There had to have been something that she missed, some clue that something was going to happen with Elmer, that something was wrong! "I hooked him up to the monitors and he went right to sleep. He's done that a million times and nothing like this has ever happened before."
"You're sure he's sleepwalking? Chris asked her. "Couldn't have have just gotten up and left, maybe went to the bathroom or something?"
"That's the first place I checked." Lona said with a shake of her head. "He wasn't there. And sleepwalking is the only thing that I can figure might have happened from the EEG readout right before Elmer vanished. He definately wasn't awake." She stopped, looking towards the hospital doors. What if Elmer had accidentally wandered out there? It was cold that night, colder than expected and in just a thin hospital gown.
Not to mention the fact that the hospital wasn't in the safest location to begin with. If Elmer ran into any of the drug dealers who hung out in the alleyways around the hospital.... Or cars? He could wander right into traffic and never even realize the danger until it was too later. What if.... She bit back a sob of sudden fright. "The parking lot. Someone needs to check the parking lot. Otto's always talking with Bobby Druse.
Elmer could have went out and he would have missed it totally."
"I'll go." Hook said as he started towards the door. "Why don't you and Chris try to figure out where else we should check for Elmer?"
"Lona?" Chris looked on her friend with concern as Hook headed out of the doors. She had never seen normally cool, collected Lona acting like this and to see her acting like this over Elmer, someone she had claimed to be nothing but a giant annoyance.
Lona just shook her head slowly. She wasn't sure that she could really explain what was wrong to her friend if she tried. "I don't know,"
she said slowly. "It just feels like there's something telling me that I have to find Elmer right away before something happens." Lona dropped her gaze for a moment, her mind running over possible hazards. If Elmer was still asleep, who knows what he might have wandered into accidentally.
This was a hospital. Surely someone had seen him and figured out the problem. Why hadn't they led Elmer back to the safety of the lab?
"Lona, we'll find him." Chris said in what she hoped was a reassuring tone, still trying to puzzle out what in the world was going on with her friend as she spoke. "Okay, where have you checked so far?"
"Everywhere downstairs. The labs, supply closets. the morgue."
The morgue had been the place she had felt the most hopeful about, thinking thatp possibly a dream had driven Elmer back there especially after their last encounter. No sign of him though.
"Well, he isn't in the parking lot as far as I can tell." Hook said as he came back in. "And how many floors could he have went on without being seen?"
"The psych floor for one." Chris said with a shake of her head.
"Remember how clueless those people up there are? They don't even keep track of their own patients much less sleepwalking doctors."
"Tell me about it," Hook said with a shake of his head as they hurried to the elevators. "Maybe he could have wandered into the office areas too. Lona, what about paging him?"
"I don't know if that could do any harm if he's still sleepwalking." Could Elmer even hear and comprehend a page if he was still asleep? Lona wasn't all together sure of that. She suddenly felt herself shivering uncontrollably as she slumped back against the wall. She couldn't resist it, that feeling that something very bad was going to happen to Elmer unless she could get there soon and do something to prevent it.
"Lona, we'll find him. Elmer couldn't have gone far." Chris said,
trying to give Lona what she hopped was a reassuring smile that everything would work out. "
Lona nodded although she was very afraid that Elmer might have gone much further than Chris or Hook were thinking. Okay, Hook couldn't find him ine parking lot but that didn't mean he might not have wandered out and got lost in an alleyway or.... She bit her lip, taking control again only febly, this time. "I'm coming, Elmer. I'm coming." She whispered solfty under her breath. "Just hold on for me."