Chapter 16
"Carter!" Anna shouted louder since she was having a hard time rising the resident. "Come on please, I have to take a patient down to the morgue and I can't go alone."
Carter opened his eyes. "Why can't you go alone" He asked her as he stood up
"Carter its the morgue and I hate going down there. And this guy that I have to take down there was in a horrible accident, he was doing 65 on the Kennedy and crashed his motorcycle his legs were ground down to nothing and well most of him looks like hamburger. I don't want to do down there alone with him. It's just freaking me out. Would you please come with me?" Anna said to him putting on her most convincing pouting face. "It's just to the morgue Carter. Please. I can't go alone I just can't and there's no one else to go with me."
Carter could tell she was scared. "I'm coming."
Anna turned and headed back to where she had left Doug laying on the gurney. She put her hand on the end of the gurney. "Carter thanks I really appreciate this. This poor guy would have been laying here forever if you didn't agree to come with me. It should just take us a few minutes to get him downstairs." Anna wondered what Doug was up to with this prank but she would soon have Carter on the elevator headed downstairs with him and she would zip down the stairs to turn off the lights. "Ready Carter?"
Carter smiled at Anna. "Yep I'm ready" he said to her as he helped her with the gurney.
Anna pushed the gurney with Carter as the negotiated it into the elevator. "Oh wait, I'll meet you downstairs, I forgot to grab his personal belongings." Anna said as she stepped back outside the elevator and continued to back away when she knew the doors were shut she took off flying down the stairs. When she reached the basement she quickly found the light switches to flick the lights off. Whatever Doug was planning had to be good, but she had to admit standing downstairs in the morgue area with the lights off was freaking her out.
Doug tried hard not to laugh in the elevator. Carter was going perfectly into their plan. he quietly waited on the gurney until he heard the ring of the elevator, indicating they had reached the morgue.
Anna stood still as she could. She didn't know for sure what Doug had planned. She wanted as the elevator doors opened she could see the glow and could feel her spine tingle with anticipation.
Carter came down the stairs with the patient. "Anna what are you doing down here" he asked her
"I went back for the patients belongings." Anna said to Carter.
Carter nodded at Anna as he helped her push the patient down the hall
Anna was getting impatient as they headed toward the morgue. Come on Doug the lights are off what are you planning, she couldn't help but wonder. Oh god, what if she didn't get the gurney that Doug was lying on and now really had some poor dead guy down in the morgue.
Doug couldn't help but smile. he could hear the tension in Anna's voice. as the gurney stopped with a jolt he let his blood soaked arm fall off the gurney with a thud. he tried his best to let it swing naturally. he knew Carter would rest his arm back on the gurney, and if he didn't Doug hoped Anna would recognize his signal and get Carter to do it.
Carter saw the dead man's arm go back off, of the gurney. He went and picked it up and put it back on the gurney
Doug felt Carter bring his arm back and set it on the gurney. Right as Carter went to walk away Doug reached back quickly and grabbed his hand pulling him backwards.
Anna watched as the hand beneath the sheet reached out grabbing Carter. Doug was the master of practical jokes, and poor Carter was about to get the scare of his life.
Carter felt his arm being pulled back. "I thought you said the patient was dead" he said to Anna. This wasn't good at all
With the sheet still covering his face and body Doug quickly stuck out his other arm and starting pulling Carter back. he could feel Carter trying to pull away from him so he tightened his grip.
Anna took three steps back from the gurney as if she was deathly afraid. Her voice trembled in her attempt to hold back her laughter. "Dead Carter, there is no was."
Carter didn't like this at all. he was starting to get scared and he never liked the morgue. Lucy's body was down here once. Carter felt the arms; he finally got them realized and ran. He had to take a few breaths. He couldn't believe what had happened in there. He was thinking of Lucy, what if she was alive, He went into the bathroom to get air
Doug heard him run away and shot up laughing pulling the sheet down from him. he looked around to find john but he had left. looking over to Anna the smile faded off his face. "is he ok?"
"I don't know Doug. I thought that he would jump maybe scream." Anna said, "but he turned deathly white and then ran off. I think he went into the bathroom. Which one of us is going after him?" She asked.
Carter was still in the men's bathroom trying to breathe as much as he could. That wasn't suppose to happen. Every time he went near the morgue it reminded him of Lucy. He didn't know who was under the sheet, but it wasn't funny to him at all.
Doug rolled his head back and closed his eyes. he was expecting Carter to jump too...not to react like that. he read Anna's face. she was feeling as guilty as he was. "I should go. I'm the one who did it." he said with a sigh sliding off the gurney. Doug tried his best to wipe off some of the fake blood on his hands, it didn't really work. he jogged around the corner and tapped on the door to the bathroom as he opened it, "Carter...are you alright?"
Carter heard Doug's voice. He wasn't sure what had happened in the morgue. "Do you know who was under the sheet, the dead guy, if he's alive, it was a sick joke, cause it always reminds me of Lucy, what if she had been alive in the morgue, and then die."he said out of nowhere
Doug's face turned white. he knew he had to tell Carter it was him. After a second of hesitation Doug walked into the bathroom and sat down on the floor. "Well...I was the one that grabbed you. I'm sorry Carter it was just supposed to be a joke. If I had know that you would react like that I wouldn't have done it." he felt really guilty, and he knew Carter had a right to be mad.
"I don't know, that was really sick of you two to do, and really low on my account Doug. I thought you would know better then that, to me jokes around here haven't been fun, since I was stabbed" he said to her
Doug sat quietly for a moment taking in what Carter had told him. "Look, I really am sorry John." slowly he stood up. "And I really didn't think that this would upset you so much since it's been four years since your attack." slowly he walked towards the door. he could tell Carter really didn't want to see him at that very moment and he had too many other things going on. He opened the door to leave but before he did he tried one last time to get through to him. "Hey, if there's anything I can do...let me know"
"Doug is he okay?" Anna said she was concerned now, "I didn't think that he'd take a joke like this."
Doug closed the door and rubbed his head. "Neither did I." he said taking a few steps toward the elevator. "Come on, I'll talk to you about it in a second." Doug said as the elevator doors opened. the last thing Doug wanted was Carter overhearing the two of them talk about him. "Come on Anna, Carter needs to be alone for awhile."
Anna ran her hand thru her hair and followed Doug into the elevator. She leaned back against the wall letting out a sigh. "I never thought that one prank would hurt him so bad." She said, "I never meant for this to hurt him Doug."
Doug nodded as they headed back up to the main floor. "well just be glad that you weren't the one who grabbed him." he tried to joke but he saw Anna's face and decided not to. "you I know." he said as the elevator opened. he stood there looking down at his feet. "I feel real bad about it. he seemed really hurt, I guess he's changed a lot after the accident." Doug paused before walking out of the elevator. "DAMN IT! I don't need this today!" he yelled as he went for the lounge. he didn't know how something he thought was going to be funny turned out like this. the last thing he wanted was to hurt one of his only friends.