3
Arthur slid a loose strand of Ariadne's untidy hair and tucked it neatly behind her ear. He watched her silently like something he had never become before. There was something alluring about sitting next to her hospital bed while she slept. As her eyes moved quickly behind their skin shields and her index finger curled inward and outward like a blossoming flower about to catch its sunrise, Arthur finally felt something new in his adventurous and chaotic life. It only took one look at her beaten arms that lay helplessly alongside her body to realize what it was.
He couldn't stand discovering new bruises every time he looked at her, so he took to standing near the window where he could watch the outside world. Four floors below men in suits and white lab coats carved their way into the world as they moved to and fro. Deep down he knew he was one of them but on an elevated scale. Like them he was just trying to survive and make peace with their own subconscious. The only difference was that his subconscious wouldn't let him.
A muffled whisper perked his attention towards Ariadne and he immediately rushed to listen. His face was inches away from hers and the proximity was destroying him. The more he realized it the more he didn't take her beauty for granted. No, she was much more than that. Arthur suppressed his tension by squeezing the railing alongside her bed. Ariadne muttered something underneath her breath and he leaned in closer. Some part of him begged it to be his name.
Arthur walked away from the bed suddenly and cupped his mouth with his right hand. His body wouldn't let him leave the room but he felt tormented to be stuck in such limbo of emotions. His feelings towards Ariadne had elevated from flirtatious wonders to something darker and much more confusing. When he heard the noise again Arthur sat back down on the chair next to the bed and waited.
He knew what the new feeling was and as foreign as it was it as also excited him. He never felt so strongly for someone other than himself before that the magnetism he felt for Ariadne was evidence of powerful forces at work. Arthur watched Ariadne was wide eyes and waited. Before he met Ariadne he was complete and alone; a one man star to his own movie. But Ariadne was doing something to him and he loved it.
She opened her mouth to whisper the noise again and he leaned in as far as he humanly could.
Somehow in some ridiculous way…
The urge to do something overwhelmed him when she breathed in.
Somehow in some fantastic way…
Ariadne smiled and whispered only one word.
Somehow Ariadne had left a deep and endless hole in his heart. It was a hole that was deep enough for him to fall through for an eternity and for the first time in his life he was incomplete.
"Thomas," she said softer than wind.
Arthur moved away and held his breath until it stung. He picked up the silver suitcase and quietly walked out of the room. Arthur turned around just when Cobb had reappeared in front of him.
"Holy! Where did you come from?" Arthur gasped.
"From your place but my question is what were you doing in there?" Cobb looked at the door behind Arthur.
Arthur's throat itched. "I was watching Ariadne- looking after her I mean. I was just watching."
"Well then you can help me with getting her out of here."
Arthur nodded but then immediately stopped. "Wait, why are we getting her out?"
Cobb was already inside looking for the foldable wheelchair that was stored in the closet.
"Aside from a slight legality with Ariadne's crash we've got a pretty big problem."
"How big?"
Cobb shrugged. "Oh I don't know…Enough to put us away, I guess."
"Ah, understood."
"We need to put her in the wheelchair while I…" Cobb sat down the chair and thought for a moment. "Wait here."
Cobb disappeared from the room leaving Arthur with Ariadne.
"Oh what did you get us into?" Arthur said under his breath.
He thought about the execution of the mission at hand and wondered how he would put Ariadne into the wheelchair. A hand behind the small of her back? Two arms behind her beautifully curved rear and shoulders? He sighed, knowing it would be a thousand times more difficult because it had to be him. Arthur decided to simply pick her up with his arms and softly set her into the chair.
The door to the room opened and in came a handsome doctor who appeared almost identical to Cobb. Arthur smirked. "Damn, you're good."
"Second best to you." Cobb said as he wheeled Ariadne out of the room.
"Now tell what's going on."
"The driver that nearly killed our little architect drove out of the way and managed to only hit her with the rear bumper."
"Only." Arthur repeated.
"She's lucky to be alive, Arthur. Don't test it."
"Does this have to do something with the driver?"
"Well, if you leave out that the driver is in critical condition then no"
Arthur felt the pressure of the situation. "How critical?"
"I don't know but at this point we can't do much but take care of our own. We need to get her out of here and out of public eye or else this whole situation will be out of our control."
Arthur caught a glimpse of the ID on his shirt pocket and noticed a twenty year age difference. The ID read Dr. Coleman Loche.
"Who's coat is that, Cobb?"
Cobb guided them through several hallways of oblivious nurses and doctors into a silent maintenance hall. While he wore the lab coat no one really paid them any attention. Cobb's plan was definitely working. He stopped in front of a large door that read EMERGENCY STAFF EXIT. The door had a keypad over the handle. At the foot of the door was a man that matched the photograph of Cobb's ID. The doctor was unconscious and unaware of anything.
"Since we can't just walk out through the front door we're going to have to go through the staff exit. It'll be much faster and quieter."
"And the code to unlock it?"
Cobb tapped on the doctor's forehead.
"I want to do it, Cobb." Arthur said immediately. He looked at Ariadne and felt empowered and even obligated to do it.
"Figured you would." Cobb opened the silver suitcase that Arthur was carrying and pulled out a thin, long tube. He adjusted the timer and then attached the tubing to Arthur's arm. Arthur watched Cobb intensively. During his entire run with Cobb he trusted the man entirely. Cobb seldom made mistakes and even if he did he found a way around them. Somehow, someway he got the job done.
"Ready?" Cobb asked.
Arthur nodded and laid down on the clean tile floor. In his mind he had two things: getting the key code and Ariadne. But soon after Arthur's mind went blank and the last thing he heard was a soft hiss and an echo that followed him deep into his sleep.
Thomas, the echo called out. Thomas…
Dr. Coleman Loche was in his surgical scrubs and he was completely ready to make the best of his decade long study in the medical field. A massive lamp that hung a few feet above him shined an orb of light that draped the patient in white. Dr. Loche had several trays surrounding him with surgical utensils and gears.
"We'll need to cut through the sternum and if the heart rupture's then that'll give us less than five minutes to patch this poor soul up. What do you say Doctor…"
"Bale. Doctor C. Bale." Arthur appeared from the shadows of the operating room. He was also wearing scrubs but his face was hidden behind a face mask. "I agree with you."
Dr. Loche looked at him for several seconds and smiled behind his own face mask. "You must me new."
"I just got in this morning."
"Fantastic. I always love working with fresh meat!" Dr. Loche laughed at his own tasteless joke and then pulled out a buzz saw.
"Dr. Loche, mind if I ask a question?" Arthur remained calm and focused.
"Of course not, what is it?"
"There's something that I left downstairs and I don't think I'll make it in time by walking through the main halls and public staircases. I think I'd rather go down the emergency staff exit."
"But that's for emergencies only." Dr. Loche's voice was rising. "You might be new here but that doesn't give you the right to take advantage of us."
Arthur needed to act fast. "Of course not sir. I didn't mean to make you think that way. I was only trying to take the fastest route due to the seriousness of this surgical procedure that we're in. Wouldn't you think it'd be wise to get my errand over with so that you have yet another achievement in your long line of fine surgeries?"
Dr. Loche sat the buzz saw down and nodded. He understood him perfectly. "Good call, Doctor. The key code is 0-7-1-6-1-0-"
Bingo, Arthur thought in his head.
"Now go do whatever is it that you have to do and meet me back here. I'm afraid this will be a bit messy and without anesthesia it might be twice as difficult. No worries though." Dr. Loche coughed up another chuckle and turned the buzz saw on.
"Thank you Dr. Loche." Arthur said, disturbed, as he walked away. He was three feet away when he saw the patient on the operating table. He recognized the long, flowing brown hair and the soft skin. The patient looked up Arthur and batted their eyes curiously. Then a small arm poked out from underneath the operating sheet with an enclosed hand. Its fingers began to uncurl and a small die suddenly slipped through and plummeted towards the ground. It rolled and stopped at Arthur's feet landing only to show six dots staring up at Arthur's own bewildered eyes.
"Save me, Arthur," the patient whispered.
Arthur's heart stopped dead and lunged towards Dr. Loche before he lowered the Buzz saw onto Ariadne's body. Dr. Loche fought back enough to push Arthur away.
"What the hell is the meaning of this!" Dr. Loche shouted angrily as he began swinging the Buzz saw near Arthur's torso.
Arthur flipped one of the surgical trays away from him which flung its contents towards Dr. Loche. Arthur needed to get Ariadne out immediately. Dr. Loche covered his face with his arms as knives began raining down on him. Unfortunately the weight of the Buzz saw was too great for him to hold up. The hissing cutter inched nearer and nearer to his face until…
Dr. Loche's snapped open. The doctor turned his head toward Cobb who was carefully watching the silver case and Arthur at the same time. He looked up at Ariadne in the wheelchair and frowned angrily.
"Goddamn Extractors," the old man growled.
Cobb didn't notice Dr. Loche bolt up. He was too busy studying his friend, hoping that the artisan in front of him was really the best of his trade. However, it only took Dr. Loche one second to release himself of the device and wrap his hands around Cobb's neck and two seconds to start a wrestle that moved Arthur around in his place. Dr. Loche slammed his fist against Cobb's ribs, unintentionally pushing the back of his foot against Arthur's side.
Arthur couldn't adjust to the sudden change of gravity and was forced backwards. His back collided with the wall behind him making him loose his breathe.
Cobb broke free of Dr. Loche's grasp and shoved him aside. Dr. Loche grabbed Cobb's hair just before he toppled on top of Arthur.
Arthur felt the pressure inside of the operating room begin to build up. Ariadne was still laying on the operating table which was rolling all over the floor. He got on his knees and crawled towards the table. Her eyes were still wandering around the room curiously and apparently oblivious to the events around her. He struggled to get back on his feet but managed to do so. Arthur picked up Ariadne from the table with his own two arms and carried out of the room, dodging the ceiling tiles and apparatus which were suddenly collapsing around him.
Dr. Loche was still on top of Arthur with Cobb attempting to move him away. Dr. Loche gave Cobb another strong jab against the head and knocked Cobb away.
"I hate Extractors. I hate all of you!"
Dr. Loche kept his weight on top of Arthur while he dialed a number on his cell.
"Security? I need you at the third maintenance hall on the fourth floor. We have intruders in the-"
A loud pop sent Dr. Loch flailing sideways. Ariadne was standing over his unconscious body with her hand balled up into a fist. She had a look of exhausted bewilderment.
"Nice punch, kid." Cobb appeared behind her.
Ariadne was in pain as she was confused. She looked at Arthur's sleeping body and Cobb's bleeding eyebrow. Her eyes kept moving from Arthur to Cobb.
"I'll get the answers eventually," she growled. Ariadne and Cobb then began to pull Dr. Loche off of Arthur's body but the dead weight was too much.
The pressure inside the room was getting worse and Arthur felt himself being crushed from the outside.
"I'll get us out. I can do it sweetheart." He groaned.
"You called me sweetheart." Ariadne looked up at Arthur who looked down at her. A thin smiled curled upwards, making him do the same.
"Of course I did."
Ariadne's smiled grew and she closed her eyes. She sighed and said one word.
"Thomas."
Arthur woke up with gasp. He noticed the sudden excitement of Dr. Loch's body weighing him down with Cobb and Ariadne trying to pull him aside. Arthur's eyes met with Ariadne's and a wildfire of emotions set him ablaze. With one clean push Arthur moved Dr. Loche's body aside.
"Arthur, are you alright?" Ariadne asked in a quick voice.
Cobb stood in front of him. "What happened in there?"
Arthur couldn't answer him. He could only looked at Ariadne with pain in his eyes.
"Arthur?" Cobb noticed something was wrong.
Arthur saw the exit and immediately punched the key code in. The door opened with a hiss and he was the first one down the steps.
Ariadne looked at Cobb. "What's going on?"
Cobb was equally confused. "I…don't know."
Arthur knew. He knew it in his heart, that deep, endless hole in his chest that he now had to wear with him. He felt no exit to his urges and pains, no relief to his nightmares and the echoing voice. With every step he took downstairs he was slowly beginning to realize that there really was no escape.
(BIG SIGH. Wow, I got chills from writing this strong mixture of romance and action. I hope this had the same effect on you as it did to me. What a relief to get this chapter done. I'm so proud of how my story is working out but there is still so much to explain and lots more to write. I haven't even begun to tie up the who's and what's of the story. By now some of you should be getting an idea of where this is heading and I believe that as more chapters come up, you all will not be disappointed by what you read. Once again thanks so much for your support in your reviews. They are very helpful and I believe YOUR reviews are what make this story go. This first attempt at romance is turning out better than I thought as I can see so much positive reaction. I know this isn't the most original pairing out there but by-God will I make it creative. So I leave you with this chapter and my only request is for your review. No matter how small or big, everything counts. Thanks for reading!- EH)
