Chapter 9
"The Damage is Done"
Following the encounter with the two amoeba kraken, we rushed Daphne and the other FBI agents to a nearby Orlando hospital. I gotta tell you, waiting for Daphne to get her x-rays was pure torture in my mind. The love of my life was in an examination room and I was not at her side.
"Mr. Jones?" I heard the doctor ask as he stepped out into the waiting room and I realized that he had something on Daphne. While Shaggy, Scooby and Velma waited in the waiting room, I followed the doctor to Daphne's room.
"How is she?" I asked.
"Well, the good news is she's alive," the doctor answered, taking a deep sigh. "The bad news is that Daphne does indeed have broken ribs…two of them."
My fears were confirmed that Daphne was indeed injured, but my fears of her being greatly injured quickly subsided. That's one less thing for me to worry about, I'm happy to say.
"I'm going to recommend her staying here for a few days," the doctor continued. "However, she is adamant that we release her. I was hoping that…"
"Let me talk to her," I interrupted. "If she'll listen to anyone, it's me."
Although it was against the better judgment of the doctor, he let me into Daphne's room and there I saw Daphne lying in her hospital bed. She had a look on her face that confirmed what the doctor had told me about her staying to heal from her injuries.
"Fred, they want me to stay here," she said as I sat down next to her. "It's just a few broken ribs, what's the big deal?"
"Broken ribs or not, your health is more important right now, you know that. Who knows what those kraken would have done to you? Listen, I love you to see you in this condition and I want you to be safe."
However, Daphne seemingly could not embrace the idea of staying in the hospital. As far as she was concerned, we were on a mystery and she didn't want to miss out.
"Besides, if Reverend Kane is looking for you, then you are in a safe place."
But Daphne disagreed.
"He's a ghost, Freddie," she sighed, wincing slightly at the pain in her chest. "Ghosts have no boundaries when it comes to roaming aimlessly, you know that. If anything, Reverend Kane would get me easily if I stay here."
I could tell that Daphne was getting really antsy. She didn't want to be here in the hospital, but she didn't have much of a choice.
"Either way," I countered in a firm, yet caring voice. "You are in a much better place right now and you should be thankful that you don't have any headaches."
Daphne immediately had a worried look on her face, as if to say that she knew exactly what I was talking about.
"What do you mean?" she asked as another painful feeling erupted from her chest. "Damn it!"
"I've heard that all of the agents that were in the kraken's stomachs are complaining of headaches," I explained. "Some of them have even started throwing up, becoming confused and such. I think by being inside them caused the brain eating amoeba to enter their heads."
It was then that Daphne began to consider the possibility that she too, could have been affected by the brain eating amoeba particles.
"Freddie, do you think that they can perform a CAT scan on me?"
Now this was something totally out of left field.
"Why?"
"Because I want to ensure that the brain eating amoeba didn't get into me."
Now when it came to Daphne, if there was one person I would never argue with, it was her.
"I can ask the doctor, but I wouldn't recommend it," I replied in a cautious voice. "I don't think you got the amoeba because you weren't in the kraken's stomach."
"Fred, what if Reverend Kane did place amoeba inside of me? I need to be reassured that I am clear of any amoeba."
Although it was against my better judgment, I had no choice but to go along with Daphne's request and I went to go find the doctor. No sooner did I step outside Daphne's room, did I see a commotion in one of the hospital rooms. It was one of the FBI agents as one of the medical teams were working on him, trying to give him mouth to mouth and shocking him on the chest.
"We're losing him!" cried one of the nurses. "Blood pressure is dropping!"
All I could do was stand in the doorway and silently pray for the agent, but after a few moments, I could hear the dreaded flatline tone, signifying that he had already passed on.
"Time of death, 7:02pm," one of the doctors sighed and I could see why Daphne would request such a CAT scan. "Notify the next of kin."
As the preparations began to mark the agent's death, I waited and waited until the doctor would come out of the room to make Daphne's request to him. If Daphne did indeed have brain eating amoeba inside of her, then it would only be a matter of time before she too would have any symptoms.
...
A little while later, the doctor came out of the room and I seized the opportunity to make Daphne's request known to him.
"What is it, Mr. Jones?" he asked.
"Doc, I know you just lost a patient, but..." I started to say, but I couldn't get the words out. "But..."
"Well, what?"
"Daphne wants to have a CAT scan done on her to see if any amoeba got into her brain."
"Very well," the doctor sighed. "I'll have her prepared at once. It's better to be safe than sorry, I will say. Now, excuse me."
As the doctor left to continue marking his previous patient's death, all my attention focused on Daphne and the possibility of her having these creatures in her brain and giving Reverend Kane something to smile about.
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