"Nurse Cranston," Brigadier Perry stops the nurse as she's about to head through the doors into the medical ward, she stops as she holds the clipboard in her hands, her baby blue eyes glistening under the lights above.
"Yes, brigadier?" Nurse Cranston looks at him as he stands in front of her, as he inquired about the soldiers.
Leading him through the doors, they rattled as they swayed closed, the nurse moved through the secluded hallway, smelling of sterilizing agents.
At the end of the hallway, the nurse stops at the door, waiting for Brigadier Perry, who joined her side, and she opened the door inward.
The sound of the machines echoed through the quiet room as there's rows of beds, all occupied, each separated by plastic filaments.
Going over to one of the beds, occupied by Corporal Addams, Nurse Cranston reached down for his clipboard, stacking it on top of the clipboard she already held, reading it off for the brigadier.
Frowning as she finished and puts up the clipboard, Nurse Cranston worryingly says, "Sir, I think we should send them elsewhere. I don't know what to do for them, Dr. Adrian isn't sure if he's capable, either."
Despite the team of doctors and nurses's efforts, none of them capable of undoing the effects of the exposure from the methane gas.
Looking over to the comatose Corporal Addams, induced medically to help alleviate his symptoms, the brigadier frowns as he then tells the nurse, "I'll talk to the general. If there's no signs of improvement by then, prepare them for transport. Understood?"
As she nods, Nurse Cranston watches the brigadier walking past the beds, looking over the comatose patients, all in medically induced comas, their clammy pale faces illuminated under the soft lights as the nurses kept the room dim.
Nurse Cranston explained their symptoms, debilitating the nausea, confusion, they barely ate because of the nausea, and it worsened to the point the doctors settled on medically inducing their comas, hoping the symptoms past.
"Sir, in all my years working, I've never seen anything like this," Nurse Cranston says to the brigadier as he's looking through the clipboard of another corporal.
Frowning, he clipped it back on the front of the bed, Brigadier Perry followed Nurse Cranston out of the medical ward, briefly, he spoke with Dr. Mixer, telling him the same thing as Nurse Cranston, and he told the same thing he said to her.
"We've done everything, brigadier, the symptoms aren't alleviating, are you sure it's methane gas?" Dr. Mixer asked Brigadier Perry on the matter, causing him to sigh heavily, answering that it's what he heard, and he didn't know the specifics.
"I find it difficult that you don't know the specifics, brigadier," Dr. Mixer questioned Brigadier Perry's inability of knowing the incident regarding the exposure.
"You know I can't discuss the matter, doctor," the brigadier informed him that his hands remained tied, that he can't say anything of the incident.
Disapprovingly, Dr. Mixer shook his head, his stiff platinum hair barely moved, as he stared back at the brigadier, as he said, "How do you expect us to do our jobs, when you can't even tell us what happened?"
Nurse Cranston agreed with him and it caused Brigadier Perry to finally tell them something on the matter, but made them aware of consequences if anyone finds out that they know.
"All I know's that they were found laying near a hole after not responding to their radios," Brigadier Perry informed Dr. Mixer and Nurse Cranston, "when they recovered them, it was found that an unknown gas seeped from the hole, believed to been a vein of some sort. That's as much as I can tell you, two, and I don't want anyone knowing about it, understand me?"
Unable to tell them much, due the red tape preventing him, and the information censored for him, too, the brigadier explained how personal dispatched to find the soldiers discovered them unconscious near a hole bored into the earth, ashen with blackness.
"That's it, that's all?" Dr. Mixer found it disheartening that the brigadier wouldn't tell them more about the incident, but he was told by the brigadier that he couldn't say more without risking his head.
Despite their attempts, Dr. Mixer and Nurse Cranston watched as Brigadier Perry left the medical ward, while they returned to tending to patients.
On his way back to his office, Brigadier Perry ran into an unexpected guest, Brigadier Ramsay.
"Brigadier Perry," he said to him as Brigadier Perry approached him.
"Brigadier Ramsay," Brigadier Perry's shocked at the sight, having not heard of the brigadier's arrival.
The tall man, in his sixties but looked sharply like a man in his early fifties, with soft hazel eyes that accented fine lines around his face, stares as Brigadier Perry unlocked his office, allowing the men to speak privately.
"I wasn't told of your arrival, brigadier, you must forgive me for not preparing," Brigadier Perry profusely apologized for not having his office in proper conditions for the brigadier's arrival, but he waved his hand as he took a seat across from Brigadier Perry.
Sitting down in his chair, Brigadier Perry asks him, "What brings you here, brigadier?"
Sighing, Brigadier Ramsay says, "Your base's doing reviews, soon, am I wrong?"
Shaking his head as he pulled out a glass cut bottle of whisky and two glasses, Brigadier Perry affirmed that Brigadier Perry's correct, that there's reviews coming up, and it's driving him mad.
"Everything satisfactory thus far, brigadier?" Brigadier Ramsay took his glass of whisky from Brigadier Perry and he nods, saying that despite the soldiers driving him up the wall with their antics, they're still satisfactory in the eyes of the board.
He sees the look on Brigadier Ramsay's face as he then says, "Why did I hear her say there was a blue police box in the substation?"
Shirking in his spot, Brigadier Perry informs him that it's what she wrote and while it sounded improbable, he didn't have any reason to disbelieve her.
"She's never one to lie, brigadier," Brigadier Perry asserts as Brigadier Ramsay sat quietly in his chair, holding his glass, a frown appearing on his face.
He then goes on to ask, "And the two individuals she and Corporal Dewitt apprehended?"
Blinking as he took a sip of his whisky, when he retracted the glass, Brigadier Perry tells Brigadier Ramsay, "I've seen them, as exact as her report, brigadier. What's this about?"
Resting the empty whisky glass on his desk, refusing another refill, Brigadier Ramsay shifted his questions to the soldiers in the medical ward.
"How are they?" Brigadier Ramsay inquired about them and when told by Brigadier Perry their conditions, made Brigadier Ramsay exhale sharply.
Crossing his arms, Brigadier Ramsay asks him, "How long have you been here, brigadier?"
Harkening back to his youth, Brigadier Perry responded with, "Oh, I must've been here lesser than you have, brigadier."
Despite his accomplishments and years under his belt, Brigadier Ramsay never ascended further into the ranks, remaining as a brigadier, much to the shock of his colleagues, and he never gave reasons why.
Hearing his response, Brigadier Ramsay stood up from his spot, telling Brigadier Perry, "Then you don't know."
Tilting his head, Brigadier Perry says, "Brigadier?"
Sighing, Brigadier Ramsay broke down and explained to him the reason for his unexpected appearance, "When they were flagged, it came to my attention. Combined with the incident. He's back, again."
Standing up from his chair, Brigadier Perry's visibly confused as he joins Brigadier Ramsay's side as he held a sharp look on his face.
"Walter, I don't understand, who is that man, what does he have to do with the incident?" Brigadier Perry forgets himself, calling Brigadier Ramsay by his first name.
Opening the door, Brigadier Ramsay didn't answer him, instead asking, "Where is she?"
Confused, Brigadier Perry haphazardly responds, "She's patrolling with Corporal Dewitt. Will you please tell me what's going on?"
Pulling him close, Brigadier Ramsay tells him, "It's the Doctor, he's back, again. Whenever he shows up, something's happened or about to happen. It's no coincidence he showed up today."
Seeing the confusion on Brigadier Perry's face, Brigadier Ramsay realized he was never told of the peculiar man, and as Brigadier Perry joined him in his search, he explained to him what happened.
The Doctor's an enigma, never gave straight answers, he'd show up at odd intervals, sometimes for no reason, but at the end, there's always a reason for his visits.
Many like Brigadier Perry never met the man, but those who did, knew him by sight, alone, and the troubles he brings with him.
He'd swear more than once he'll come back with different faces, maybe not even the same sex, but seeing the report, Brigadier Ramsay became doubtful.
"Is he dangerous?" Brigadier Perry inquires if the Doctor's a threat, but Brigadier Ramsay didn't answer him, too focused on his search, but when he didn't find her, he asked about her from another corporal.
"Not since shift change, sir," said the corporal, having confirmed that he hadn't seen her.
Frowning, Brigadier Ramsay thanks for the corporal's time, letting them go, continuing his search with Brigadier Perry trailing him.
Becoming abundantly clear that something's amiss, Brigadier Ramsay asked about Corporal Dewitt, but no one saw him since the shift changes.
Forcing his hand, Brigadier Perry stopped the brigadier, asking pointedly him, "Walter, what's going on?"
Turning around to face him, Brigadier Ramsay responds, "Something's going to happen if it hadn't already, I know it is, now tell me this, where is my daughter?"