When he heard the crash above, the boy froze. He held a “halogen otoscope” — used by doctors to examine the ear drum. It provided just enough light for him to see about three feet down the hall. He stole it during his escape from the room with the chair. He took the otoscope, some slippers, and a labcoat.
He turned off the light and listened. He stood in a long corridor with a black-and-white tile floor, white walls, and no lights. He could hear his own heartbeat and breathing, but no more noises from above. Too afraid to move, he pulled the coat tight and tried not to shiver.
He stood there frozen for several minutes, until he remembered the chair. The thought of being tied down again got his feet moving. He shuffled down the hall and turned the otoscope back on.
He found a giant door blocking his path. The handle looked twice as big as any door handle he had ever seen. Set into the lower right-hand corner of the giant door was a very small door.
The boy scanned the walls and floor, but found nothing. He reached out and grabbed the large handle. He had to put the otoscope into his mouth and turn with both hands. A loud click sounded when he got the handle around and the door began to swing inward.
He heard a loud, electronic beep from above and looked up to see a red light above the doorway. He could just make out a camera mounted above the frame.
CHAPTER 14
Kate
“Mom!” Jack shouted when he got in the house. “MOM!”
She came trotting down the stairs, tucking her hair behind her ear — “What? What is it?”
“Ben’s hurt.”
“Oh shit,” she said. “What happened? Where is he?”
“He’s downstairs with Stephen, he said he was tired.”
She grabbed the phone from the charger and bounded down the stairs. She slowed momentarily at the foot of the stairs as she saw Ben and then she rushed to him. His head was sticky with blood and he looked as white as the walls.
“Oh, poor thing, what happened?” she asked, sitting next to Ben on the couch and gingerly trying to move the hair away from the wound on his head.
“I slipped and hit my head,” said Ben. He sounded frightened and a little groggy.
“Well, you’re fine — you’re in the right place now,” she said, trying to soothe him with confidence. “Stay right here.”
She jumped up and stepped into the furnace room and closed the door. Out of earshot, she dialed the rescue squad from the sticker on the back of the phone. In her neighborhood she knew how to get help quickly, and calling this number was her best bet. She spoke to Angela who was related to Jim Henderson from down the street. Angela told her the ambulance would be there in five minutes.
“Okay,” she said, coming back into the rec-room, “let’s get you upstairs.”
Jack and Stephen helped Ben to his feet and pointed him towards the stairs. Seeing that he was in good hands, she followed and dialed the number for Ben’s house.
“Answering machine,” she said. “Ben, what’s your mom’s cell phone number?”
He told her the number, but warned her that he hadn’t had any luck with it recently.
“Yeah, straight to voicemail there too. Must be off,” said Jack’s mom.
She dialed his home phone again and waited to leave a message. They stood in the living room by the time she got a beep.
“Sheri, this is Kate, Ben has a cut on his head. It’s not terrible, but I’m going to take him to the doctor just to make sure they get it all cleaned out. Call me, my cell is 951-0428. I’ll call you again when I know more.”
She hung up the phone and put her arm around Ben. “Here honey, sit here,” she said. “Jack — go out front and wait for the guys. Stephen, you go upstairs and find some books and stuff to keep you guys occupied while we wait.” She didn't use the word “hospital” around Ben. She knew of his phobia.
“Do you think I’ll need stitches?” asked Ben.
“I don’t know honey, but I think you’ll probably get a little haircut,” she smiled.
“Don’t let them cut it too much, okay?” he asked.
“Of course not,” she said. Kate was beginning to regret having called rescue, but she knew they could get him to the hospital much faster than she could, and his pallor made her nervous. It bothered her to sit and wait, but better to be safe, especially given Ben’s history.
Kate followed the ambulance and didn’t let it out of her sight. She thought again she could have easily driven Ben to the hospital.
She ended up losing the ambulance once they got into town. They couldn’t be more than a couple of minutes ahead. Still, it surprised Kate to find he was already with the nurse by the time they arrived at the hospital. She sat Jack and Stephen in the waiting room and went to go fill out forms and answer questions. Between interviews, she called her husband to bring him up to speed.
In the waiting room Jack and Stephen couldn't focus on reading so they ended up talking in hushed tones.
“This place is empty today,” said Jack. “It’s usually really busy.”
“I wonder what he’s doing right now?” asked Stephen.
“He’s probably up to level six at least,” said Jack. Stephen had packed Jack’s handheld video game console, and they had given it to Ben before he got in the ambulance.
“I really started to get worried when he wasn’t crying or anything,” said Stephen. “I think that’s shock, when the person isn’t really reacting to the injury and stuff.”
“I can’t believe he got out of that hole,” said Jack. “By the end he could barely even jump across the gap. I thought he was going to fall in there.”
“I know,” said Stephen. “When I grabbed him I was like — he almost fell backwards.”
“Yeah.”
Ben was drifting off to sleep when Kate found him in the examination room. He had the room in the corner, separated from the others by curtains. Equipment surrounded Ben. Kate sat down in a chair close to his side.
She hunched forward, her bag on the floor between her feet. She stared at Ben, watching him breathe; her hands were folded between her knees.
The curtains rustled and Kate sat up straight. She was surprised to see Dr. Lambert — the man who had seen Jack when he fell out of the loft. Kate stood up.
Dr. Lambert set down his papers on the edge of the bed and flipped through until he found the file he was looking for. “Ms. Randolph?”
“Yes,” Kate answered. “We met last month — with Jack?”
“Oh, right, Jack. How is his arm?”
“Perfect, thank you. He’s doing quite well,” she answered.
“So this is his brother?” he asked, skimming the documents in front of him.
“No, this is his friend, Ben Palmer. He’s staying with us for the summer,” she replied.
Ben stayed quiet through this exchange.
“Hello Ben,” Lambert went to Ben’s left side and extended his hand.
They shook and Ben said “Hi.”
“You hit your head?” the doctor asked.
“Yeah, I was running and I tripped,” said Ben.
“Anything else hurt?”
“I think my neck hurts a little,” said Ben.
“Okay, well let’s get you checked out.”
