A/N: While researching the effects of sleep deprivation I found out that, in real life, it would actually take someone quite a bit longer to collapse from lack of sleep. For the sake of the flow of this story, however, I have decided to apply literary license and shorten the time span to five days.
The Storm and Thunder Megazords intercepted Lothor's monsters on the outskirts of town. The Thunder Megazord disposed of the first creature with only a few well-placed blows, but the second monster turned out to be anything but a pushover and the ensuing battle was fierce.
"Cam, we need some power spheres here," came Shane's voice through the intercom after a few minutes. Cam's hands went for the keyboard – only to freeze in place as a sudden wave of nausea washed over him. Eyes squeezed shut, he sat frozen in place until the attack passed, but when he opened them again, the images before him were blurred, taking form only slowly. He actually reached up to check whether he was wearing his glasses. He was.
Cam blinked a few times, and his vision improved, albeit only marginally. On the computer screen, the Thunder Megazord took a vicious blow to the chest that brought it down to one knee.
"Cam?" came Shane's voice again, tinged with urgency and alarm.
Cam blinked again. He knew he had to do something, but found that he had a hard time getting his brain to form any coherent thoughts. He managed to say "Hold on," but when he tried to focus on his computer, he couldn't even connect half of the objects in front of him with their respective names. All memories of how to access the program to transfer the power spheres were gone, and Cam felt the sweat break out along his hairline.
Subconsciously he knew that the neurons in his brain were short-circuiting, but he had not the slightest idea what to do about it.
"Son?" Sensei had hopped onto the keyboard and was looking at Cam with a worried expression. Cam turned his head – and flinched. I'm hallucinating again, he thought. There was a talking hamster in a robe standing not a foot away from him. Or was it a gerbil? No, wait! Lothor, attack, spell…
"Dad, I…" But before he could continue, there was another wave of nausea, this time accommodated by a sensation not unlike floating. Cam felt disconnected from his body and before he knew it, he had somehow risen from his chair. He heard his father's voice, but it was distorted, as if he were speaking from under water. His surroundings became blurred again. Cam felt the impact of his body with the ground only in a sense that he was aware of the floor rushing towards him.
His father's small form came into view again, close by his face, but Cam still couldn't make out anything he was saying. He wanted to reach out, but he had no strength to raise his arm. From a distant chamber of his memory, a voice suddenly emerged: Don't close your eyes from now on, for if you do, chances are you won't ever open them again.
A bolt of fear shot through Cam, but it wasn't enough to keep him conscious. He fell into a void of blackness at the same time as Sensei bounced back up to the console and onto the communications button to call the Rangers for help.
Renewing an acquaintance…
When Hunter streaked through the door two minutes later, he was still morphed. He powered down as he dropped to his knees next to Cam's head, his blood running as icy as any January mountain stream.
There was no need to ask Sensei for any further details of what happened; Cam's dreaded collapse had been imminent.
Hunter pulled Cam halfway into his lap and cradled his head in his arm. He slapped the samurai's cheeks lightly, calling his name, although he didn't really expect a reaction. Cam never even twitched.
Hunter groped for Cam's wrist. His pulse was rapid and weak but at least it was there. The Crimson Ranger didn't know much about First Aid, but he was aware of the life-threatening risk of shock, so he gently put Cam's head back on the ground, then sped into the direction of his partner's room, returning only a moment later with an armful of pillows and blankets. He shoved one pillow under Cam's head, covered him with a heavy comforter and used the rest of the blankets and pillows to elevate his legs. Only then did Hunter sit back, contemplating his next move. He raked his fingers through his mop of hair, trying to force the hovering panic down enough to think at least halfway clearly. Now what?
A loud noise sounded from the direction of the Supercomputer's monitor, but Hunter spared it only a fleeting glance - just long enough to register that the Storm Megazord had destroyed the second monster.
Sensei appeared next to Cam's head. Up until now, the guinea pig had been watching Hunter's ministrations silently, giving neither orders nor offering any directions, which spoke of the level of trust Cam's father put into his son's partner.
"Sensei, we have to take him to a hospital."
"I agree," Kanoi said gravelly. "Cam must receive medical attention as fast as can be. There is no other choice now." Even though the Wind teacher had spoken calmly, Hunter could hear the quiver in his voice.
"If only there was a doctor we could take into our confidence about this..."
At that, Hunter's head jerked up from the memory Sensei's exclamation suddenly evoked. In the back of his mind was a voice, loud and clear: 'I'm a doctor at BBH General Hospital.'
The monster attack two weeks ago...the man stuck in the elevator at the Southside Mall...
Hunter fumbled for his back pocket and pulled the forgotten business card from his wallet. The doctor could help. He had to. No other possibility even bore contemplation.
And for the first time since he had been handed the card a few weeks earlier, Hunter actually took a closer look at it.
Gerald McAllister, MD
Chief Physician, Emergency Department
BBH General Hospital
Hunter tore his cell phone from his belt and punched the number on the card with shaky fingers, only to be promptly rebuffed when the call connected.
"Doctor McAllister is currently making his rounds," the nurse told him in a professionally distant manner. "I can take a message…"
"No," Hunter interrupted sharply. "This is an emergency. I need to speak to him now!"
The nurse could apparently hear the barely contained panic in his voice, for she hesitated only briefly. "Hold, please."
Hunter endured another few minutes of annoyingly upbeat hold music before a new, distinctly male voice, came on the line.
"Gerald McAllister."
At the sound of the doctor's quiet authoritative voice, Hunter unconsciously gripped the phone tighter. "Doctor McAllister…" Suddenly, even in the midst of this extreme situation, he found himself at a loss for words. How could he possibly relay this desperate emergency accurately? And more importantly…How much could he disclose? Hunter took a deep breath. "A few weeks ago, you gave your card to someone with the words: If there's ever anything I can do for you or anyone on your team, call me.'"
For a moment, there was silence on the other line, before the doctor's voice came on again, strong and determined.
"Yes, I remember," Hunter heard him say. "I remember very well."
Hunter expelled the breath he'd been holding. "Sir, it looks like I have to take you up on your offer."
The hospital…
Doctor McAllister was waiting at the curb of the circular driveway of Blue Bay Harbor General Hospital's ER entrance when Tori's van pulled up. Only one orderly with a stretcher stood next to him. Hunter was pulling the door open before the Water ninja had even come to a complete stop.
Dr. McAllister took one long look at Hunter's crimson shirt, then met his eyes. "I wish it could have been under better circumstances, but - good to meet you again..."
"Hunter," the Thunder ninja finished the sentence and the physician nodded in acknowledgment.
"Tell me about it," Hunter said grimly, then gripped the physician's elbow. "Over here." He motioned to the van's side door which was being slid open from the inside even as they spoke. Dr. McAllister grabbed a corner of the stretcher and brought it alongside the van just as Hunter and a dark-skinned boy in red were carefully but clumsily trying to transfer an obviously unconscious young Asian man from the backseat of the van. The orderly lent a hand and the green-clad boy was strapped to the stretcher a minute later.
From the interior of the vehicle now emerged two dark-haired boys; one in yellow, the other one in dark blue denim. A blonde girl coming around the driver's side of the van made up the rest of the group.
Gerald McAllister had no doubt that the entire Power Rangers team was now assembled before him, but he was too much of a professional to let that faze him. His primary concern was the unconscious young man on the gurney. He motioned for the orderly and Hunter to push the stretcher while he unclipped a penlight from his coat pocket and shone it in the boy's eyes. No reaction in either pupil. Not good. While he trotted beside the stretcher, Dr. McAllister took the boy's pulse. It was rapid and dangerously weak. His skin felt clammy to the touch.
"You said on the phone that he was attacked and injected with an unknown substance that prevents him from sleeping," McAllister recapped. "And he's been up for five days?"
At Hunter's nod, the doctor was silent for a long moment, obviously thinking, and the grave expression on his face sent another spike of fear through the Crimson Ranger.
The orderly wheeled Cam down the ER hallway, past the Triage station and several patient rooms towards the end of the corridor, the Rangers following only a step behind.
"We'll have to run a few tests, toxicology and such, but for now, let's just get him settled in." The tall physician had his stethoscope pressed to Cam's chest, but he nodded his head down the hallway. "I set aside a single-patient room for him and my staff is aware of the need for complete privacy in this case."
"Thank you, Doc. We appreciate that," Shane murmured from the other side of the gurney.
A moment later, the orderly made a hard left, steering the stretcher through the door of a patient room where a nurse was already busy preparing what looked like an EKG machine. They secured Cam's bed to its bay and the nurse immediately proceeded to take off the samurai's clothing.
As soon as Cam had been wrestled into a hospital gown, Dr. McAllister turned to the nurse. "I want a full set of blood work done asap." And while the nurse was looking for a suitable vein in Cam's arm, the physician handed Hunter a clipboard. "Here, fill out your friend's medical history in the meantime. Try to be as detailed as possible." At Hunter's wary look, he lowered his voice. "Don't worry; it's just for my personal reference. None of this will end up in the hospital's files."
"Okay." Hunter eyed the form on the clipboard, frowned, then looked up to where the rest of the team was hovering near Cam's bed. "Uh, guys...I might need some input here..."
Glad to have something, anything to do, the Rangers crowded around Hunter and together, they pieced Cam's medical history together as best as possible.
Meanwhile, Dr. McAllister and his nurses were busy assessing Cam's condition and hooking him up to IV fluids and monitoring equipment.
As soon as the gang had finished their collaborative effort of filling out Cam's medical history form, they went back to crowding around their fallen team member's bed, but Dr. McAllister cast them all a pointed look. "Normally, due to the severity of this case, I would have to restrict access to this room to family members only."
Hunter fixed Dr. McAllister with a resolute gaze, ready to argue. "We're his teammates, Doc!"
The doctor nodded in affirmation, but his voice stayed firm. "I know, but there are still too many of you in here."
Shane stepped forward, resolute in his role as leader. "We need to get going anyway. We have to find Morales and the antidote somehow."
"Yeah, but where do we start?" The look on Dustin's face could not have been more dismal. They all remembered the failed session with the sheriff and the botched drug-buy attempt. All eyes automatically went to the team leader, whose own gaze was firmly fixed on Cam's bed. Shane took a heavy breath while he ran a hand across his face. Hunter regarded him solemnly. The Red Ranger looked tired - matter of fact, they all did.
"All right," Shane sighed after a moment, cast a look around at his teammates and began to pace. "Let's recap: The attack happened right after the fight with Mara and Kapri's kelzaks, right? So I'm thinking...what if we were under surveillance since then? Or even during the fight?" The Air ninja made sure he had the team's attention before he continued. "The Supercomputer is programmed to record every battle, so maybe if we viewed the tape of the fight...I mean, concentrate on the spectators, the immediate surroundings - anything or anybody suspicious." He shrugged as he looked at his friends. "Unless you guys have any other ideas."
They did not, and the looks of worry and fear Shane saw in his friends' faces he knew was visible in his own as well.
"It's as good a plan as any at this point," Blake finally said and that seemed to break the helpless paralysis that appeared to have settled upon the Rangers. Heads nodded, shoulders squared and anxious glances traveled between Cam's bed and the door.
"Right, then let's go," Dustin said resolutely.
Hunter looked at Cam's blanket-swaddled form, clearly torn between his need to stay with his partner and the urge to find Morales. Blake put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "How about you stay here, and we'll let you know when we find out something," he suggested quietly.
Hunter exchanged a glance with his brother, then turned to McAllister. "Can I stay, Doc?"
"Yes, sure."
"All right," Blake patted Hunter's back. "We'll be in touch, bro."
Hunter caught his brother's arm. "You better. Call me the moment you find out any news. I need to know what's going on."
"For sure!"
Miserable for half a dozen reasons, Hunter watched his friends sprint from the room until Dr. McAllister's voice broke his trance-like stare.
"Hunter, is there anyone from Cam's family whom you should contact?"
Hunter thought of a ten-inch robed guinea pig who was doubtlessly pacing the entire length of Ninja Ops' command center right now, waiting for word about his son. He would have to wait a few more minutes longer, until the ninjas arrived at Ops to report to him.
Reluctantly, he shook his head. "No. We're pretty much his family." His eyes transferred to Cam's face and the next words came out almost of their own accord. "And I am his partner."
He sensed McAllister regarding him for a moment as he kept his eyes fixed on Cam. Before long, he heard the doctor's voice. "Well, that's about as close to family as it'll get, then." The physician hung the clipboard back onto the foot rail of the bed, then came to stand next to Hunter. "Until the more in-depth blood analysis comes back, I'm afraid there's not much more we can do except keep him warm, hydrated and monitor his vital signs. I'll be on duty for a few more hours, so I'll swing by every now and then." The doctor pulled a notepad and pen from his coat pocket, scribbled something, then tore off the small page and handed it to Hunter. "Stay as long as you like and if anything comes up, here's my personal cell phone number."
Hunter pocketed the paper and mumbled a thank you. He watched McAllister's back until the physician had stepped out into the hallway, then pulled a chair close to Cam's bed and began his vigil.
To Be Continued…