Hey, guys. Thanks for following this fic. Here's a new chapter. Enjoy!
"Seriously? A Pink Ranger?" commented Jules as she curiously eyed the stuffed toy that Spike was carrying under his arm. "Can't you get him a stuffed crocodile or dinosaur or…you know, something less feminine?"
The team's computer wizard grinned back. "The gift shop downstairs doesn't sell any of those. Besides, this is perfect! Sam once mentioned that he thinks the girl who plays the Pink Ranger character looks exactly like you, Jules."
She stared at him in disbelief. "What?"
"That's true. I heard, I was there," Ed said, laughing. "But what I really wanna know is why you even bother buying Sam a stuffed toy, Spike. He is a full grown man, if you haven't noticed."
"He has been in these weird moods lately. The toy might cheer him up," replied Spike. "Also, this is like a peace offering. I'm not sure whether he still wants to talk to us after we literally forced him into that ambulance at gun point!"
Team One's shift for that day had just ended. Still in uniform, they all had rushed to St. Simon Hospital to find out how their ailing teammate was doing. Raf and Sergeant Parker had gone up straight to Sam's room, while Ed and Jules waited for Spike as he went gift-shopping.
When they emerged from the elevator at second floor, Raf was already waiting there, his face grim as he announced, "Guys, we have a problem."
"What's wrong?" Ed frowned.
"Is Sam alright?" Jules asked, her heart skipping a beat.
"That's just it. We don't know," Raf replied, his head shaking. "Sam is missing."
"Missing?" They simultaneously cried out loud in dismay.
"How can he be missing?" Ed wondered, "Where could he be?"
"Sarge is talking to one of the nurses, trying to figure out what's happening," Raf explained, leading the way towards the nurses' station.
"You think Sam has checked himself out, AMA?" Spike suggested. "We know how strongly he objected to be hospitalized earlier."
"That doesn't sound like Sam at all," Jules disagreed. "If he decided to leave the hospital, he would at least let us know."
"And he's in no condition to get himself anywhere, not after the type of surgery he has just gone through," Ed pointed out.
At the nurses' station, Sergeant Parker turned at their approach. "Hey. Raf has filled you guys in?"
"Yeah, Boss. What's going on?" asked Jules, unable to keep the anxiety out of her voice.
"This is Nurse Sandy," Parker introduced them to a woman in pink scrubs standing next to him. "Sam is under her care, or was, before she discovered his empty bed an hour ago."
"Ma'am, how is it possible that you managed to lose a patient?" Ed inquired, his eyes narrowing.
The woman was taken slightly aback by Ed's slightly accusing tone. She looked uncertainly at Parker, who then said, "Tell them what you've just told me."
Swallowing hard, she straightened her spine and started explaining, "The surgery went well, no complications at all. We put Officer Braddock into a room to convalesce and let the anesthetic wear off before I returned to do a routine check-up on his vitals. That's when I found him gone."
"Show us his room," Ed instructed.
"It's this way."
The team followed her further down the hallway towards the third room on the right. It had a single bed, with the sheets turned and rumpled as if the occupant had left in a hurry. Tubes and wires dangled freely from the machines and monitors, creating a despondent scene.
"I've checked, he was not in the washroom, he was not anywhere on this floor," Nurse Sandy continued to say. "We found no sign of him."
"So you have no idea where he's gone?" asked Spike. "He couldn't possibly walk past the nurses' station without anybody seeing him, not in his current condition."
"If he had used the main elevator, then yes, the nurses on watch would know," she insisted. "But there's a freight elevator in the back. We won't be able to notice if he left that way."
"Was he acting strange?" It was Parker's turn to ask. "Did he give you troubles or anything like that?"
Nurse Sandy shook her head. "Not in the least. I mean, he was still pretty much out of it when we wheeled him out of the OR. But then this woman approached his bed and started to create a scene."
"What woman?" Jules was quick to ask.
"Oh, she's a regular here. Her name is Angela Morris."
Ed shook his head in disapproval. "What was she doing, disturbing your patient? And you let her?"
"Of course not! I chased her away myself, and made sure she left."
"What did she want with Sam?"
"I'm not sure, but she seemed quite taken with your friend." Sighing, Nurse Sandy added, "Look, Angela's a wounded soul. Her husband was treated here for lymphoma. Unfortunately, he died on the operating table during a bone marrow transplant about six months ago. Angela took it real hard. She can't accept his death, so it affected her mind and emotion. She has been seeing one of our psychiatrists, but she keeps coming to this floor where she last saw her husband alive."
Team One exchanged knowing glances. Now they were getting somewhere.
"I noticed the CCTV outside in the hallway," said Spike in anticipation. "How can I get access to it?"
"Security room, first floor. I'll make the call, tell them you're coming."
"Do it."
Not long afterwards, they were viewing the monitors that showed the video recording from the hallway cameras. Spike was at the helm, running back the video sequence within the previous hour.
"Okay, here we go. That is Sam, they're wheeling him to his room, and…whoa. Is that her?"
On the screen, a tall dark-haired woman had suddenly entered the frame. She rushed towards Sam's bed, looking highly agitated as she bent over him.
"Yes, that's Angela," Nurse Sandy confirmed.
"What's she saying?" asked Ed, as the woman in the video confronted the nurses who were pulling her away from Sam's bed.
"She demanded us to release him, to let him go home with her." The nurse shrugged, and added, "She thought he was her husband, Adam."
"She thinks Sam is her husband?" Jules' eyes drew to a slit as she hissed, "Over my dead body!"
Giving Jules' shoulder a squeeze to calm her down, Parker said, "Fast forward, Spike. Let's see if we can find out how Sam managed to go missing."
His eyes intent on the screen, Spike worked the toggle. After a certain time elapsed, the woman reappeared. She seemed to come from the direction of the freight elevator, pushing an empty wheelchair along. Warily looking about, she then entered Sam's room. Minutes later, she emerged with the unconscious Sam and rushed away out of camera range.
Team One's suspicion was now confirmed. One of their own had been abducted.
"Looks like we have a situation here," Parker remarked, his face grim. "Sandy, you have this woman's address?"
"Sure, it's in the file," the nurse replied. "But, Sergeant, Angela is harmless. She might be depressed, a little off in the head, but she won't hurt anyone."
"We can't be sure on that," Ed said. "Highly depressed people may also be delusional. This might cause them to react outside their norms, which could be very dangerous."
"So we need to find them fast before Angela does anything that would threaten Sam's life, and even hers," said Parker, already moving.
The sound of a clock ticking slowly pulled him back to consciousness.
Fluttering his eyes open, Sam weakly rolled his head from side to side as he tried to gather his surroundings. To his dismay, he found himself no longer in the hospital. He was now lying in a massive bed in a large bedroom. From the look of things, the space obviously belonged to a married couple.
Sam grimaced, finding it highly disturbing to lie in a strangers' bed. He pushed himself upright with a groan, his head swimming from the effects of whatever juice the woman had injected him with. Looking down, he saw that a white t-shirt and sweat pants had replaced his hospital gown.
Chagrined, he softly cursed. A strange woman had undressed and redressed him?
Shit. Jules gonna kill me!
Still reeling, he swung his legs to the side. That was when the door suddenly opened and the woman, Angela, walked in carrying a tray.
"Adam!" She was ecstatic to see him awake. Rushing to the bed, she put the tray down and gently shoved him back against the pillows. "You should be resting, honey. You are not well."
"I should be in the hospital," Sam protested, jerking away from her touch. "And I am not Adam!"
"Oh, sweetheart. I know this is so confusing to you—"
"I'm not confused, lady. I'm pissed!" he all but shouted, and then had to clench his eyes tightly shut when pain erupted in the lower region of his body.
This was not good, not good at all. He was still in stupor, both from the anesthetic and the drug she had given him. And now the stitches from the surgery felt like they were about to come undone, while this woman kept calling him with another man's name. Yeah, this was bad.
Knowing that he needed to stay level-headed to get out of this mess, Sam took a few calming breaths before fixing his gaze on her. "Look, I'm sorry I shouted at you."
She broke into smiles. "Oh, that's alright, baby. I know how you feel, being so ill. Don't worry a thing, okay? I'll take care of you until you get well."
"How about you take me back to the hospital," Sam implored in the placating tone he normally used with a disturbed subject. "I think the doctors there can help me get better a lot faster—"
"No!" she yelled, her face turning red with anger. "The doctors can't help you, Adam. You go back there and you'll die! Those people keep promising to make you well but they lie. They always lie, giving us false hopes, when in fact they don't even have a clue what they're doing. I won't go through all that shit again. Please, Adam. I love you. I don't want to lose you."
Stunned by the vehemence of her words, Sam could only stare at her for a long moment. Finally, he said, "Okay, Angela, I know you're scared. But nothing bad is gonna happen to me in the hospital. They took very good care of me there."
"You don't know that, Adam! I saw how the doctors and nurses look at you, like you're a mysterious lab rat they want to dissect to figure out what's wrong inside you. I won't let them come near you again. You're my husband and I know how to make you healthy once more." She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "Trust me, my love. You're good in my hands."
Sam gulped, totally unnerved by the sheer attention he received from this woman. He knew something was not right with her, that she was delusional. In any other situation, he would simply knock down the subject and be done with it. Unfortunately, his current condition was far from favorable. He was afraid that he might fall flat on his ass if he attempted to even stand, let alone got physical with her.
"So, are you hungry?" Angela asked, smiling again. Gesturing at the tray of food she had brought in, she added, "I've made you some soup, honey. Here, let me feed you."
"Uh…wait, Angela." Sam reached up to stop the spoon from touching his lips. Who knew what drugs she had mixed in there. "I…uh…I need to use the bathroom."
"Oh?" She raised her eyebrows, putting down the bowl of soup. "Let me get you the urinal cup—"
"No! Please…" Sam frowned, thinking fast to get himself away from her, or at least to be able to make a call for help. Sadly, there was no sign of a phone or cellphone inside the room. "Angela, I'd rather use the bathroom. It would make me feel…um…normal."
"Okay, sure."
She bent over to slip one arm under his knees and the other around his shoulders, causing him to balk, "What the hell are you doing?"
"I will carry you to the bathroom, like I used to. Why?"
Thoroughly embarrassed, Sam hastily pulled himself out of her arms. He could tell that she was strong, but that strong? Well, that answered how she was able to transport him to this house all by herself with no trouble.
"No need to carry me. I can get to the bathroom on my own power."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure." Shakily, Sam got to his feet. For a few seconds, he needed to lean against the bedpost to get his bearings. Angela reached over the steady him but he waved her away. "I can manage."
And then, clutching his tummy, he slowly and carefully made his way towards the bathroom. When inside, he bolted the door shut and quickly looked for the bathroom window. He almost cried with relief when he saw it. The window was large enough for him to fit through. The only problem was it stood about five feet above the floor.
"Adam. Are you alright in there?" Angela called from outside.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just need a second," Sam responded, his eyes busily searching for anything solid that he could use as a step. Nothing much though, except for the commode. He put down the lid, and gingerly climbed on top of it. Pushing out the window panel as far as it could go, he gripped the ledge and heaved himself up.
Instantly, he felt burning fire in his belly, but he stoically held on. Not the time to give in to any pain right now. This could be his only chance to escape his abductor.
"Adam?" Heavy knockings came at the door. "Open up. Why do you lock the door? Adam! Open the door now!"
With much difficulty, Sam wiggled and squirmed through the opening until he emerged headfirst. He was already halfway out, the ledge pushing against his thighs, when the momentum pulled him down entirely. He hit the ground with a jarring crash, sending jolts of pain up and down his body.
"Holy f—" he cursed, as black spots marred his vision.
"ADAM!" Angela had begun to scream, kicking the door over and over like a woman possessed.
Whimpering, Sam pressed his fists against the ground and used all the strength he had to push himself up. He placed a hand against the wall for support, and moved as fast as his condition permitted around the house towards the drive way, towards freedom. Maybe, if he were lucky, he could get help from the neighbors.
Only luck wasn't on his side that day.
Angela suddenly rushed out through a side door, brandishing a chopping knife in one hand. She stood smack between him and the front yard, her face a mask of great anger as she asked with sickening sweetness, "Where do you think you're going, husband dear?"
Sam looked behind him, thinking of running the other way. But he knew he couldn't outrun her, not when he was near to passing out from all the pain and exertion.
Sighing, he muttered, "Aw, crap."
TBC...