Theblinding white hallway went on forever. A gurney was parked against one wall.Henry saw the soles of boots. The nurse was gone, the stretcher unattended.Henry felt a tug of morbid curiosity. He stepped slowly. He figured it had tobe the motorcycle accident victim. No sheet covered the body but the man had tobe dead. Henry had spent time in a hospital corridor when an emergency roomoverflowed but surely someone critically injured wouldn’t be shunted into ahallway.
Theleather pants were gone. Cloth riding pants were tucked into knee high boots -more suitable for horseback than motorcycle. The boots were wrong. The manwho’d come through the emergency doors had worn clunky motorcycle boots withsquared toes.
Itcouldn’t be the same man but who else could it be? Henry hadn’t had a clearlook at the face. The head wound had taken his attention. He looked at the manon the stretcher.
Theleft side of the man’s skull was a bloody ruin. The injury nearly identical towhat Henry had seen on the leather clad man.
Henryglanced around, worried. He didn’t want to create a commotion. The staff musthave known what they were doing. You don’t just forget about a cranial injuryin an emergency room. No one could neglect their duty so badly.
“Hello?”The hallway swallowed Henry’s words.
Thenurse couldn’t have gotten far.
“Hello?”He spoke louder but his throat squeezed the words to a higher pitch.
Theman on the gurney twitched. Henry saw the head loll over onto the wound, bloodseeped into the white pillow case. Then the convulsions started, legs kickedwildly, boots thudding haphazardly off the wall
“Jesus!”Henry leapt away from the gurney and ran for the emergency room.
“Nurse!Nurse! Someone! Anyone! Help!”
Bythe time he reached the waiting room, Dora and Peggy intercepted him.
“What’swrong, Mister Alvarez?” Peggy asked.
“You’vegot to help!”
“What’swrong, Henry?” Dora chose to use his first name in an effort to calm him. “Areyou in pain right now?”
Henryshook his head violently. “Not me!”
“Notyou?”
“Themotorcycle guy! The one who came through here!” Henry pointed around thecorner. “They just left him in the hall! How the hell could they do that?”
Thetwo women rushed off.
Henrystaggered into the waiting room, groaned as the adrenalin shock ebbed and thekidney stone stabbed again. Sudden exhaustion battered his body and hecollapsed into one of the chairs.
Thepain persisted. He felt his hands tingling, skin growing cold. Nauseathreatened, his body too stupid to know that even though his guts hurt, youcouldn’t puke up a kidney stone.
Heshut out the world, heard nothing but his own pounding blood vessels and whitenoise crescendoing in his ears.
“Mr.Alvarez?”
Hegrunted. He wasn’t sure he could open his mouth without vomit coming along forthe ride.
“MisterAlvarez, are you alright?” He recognized Peggy’s voice.
“Painhas kicked up,” Henry said, his mouth clenched hard.
“Doyou have a fever?” Dora asked. “Did you self-medicate before you came to us,Henry?”
“Selfwhat?”
“Thepain, Henry. Did you take something for the pain?”
Henryshook his head, the motion aching with the pounding and throbbing. His head wasgetting worse. The kidney stone stabbed furiously. There was nothing but whitenoise. He wouldn’t open his eyes, couldn’t. Everything was too bright.
Washe getting a migraine? He’d never had one before. Goddammit. A migraine and akidney stone.
“Ishe okay?”
“Who?”
“Themotorcycle driver!”
Therewas silence. He slitted one eye open against the light. Peggy was gone,returned to the reception desk. Dora gazed at him with a mix of pity and atouch of anger.
“Thatman was D.O.A. You shouldn’t have wandered into the emergency ward, MisterAlvarez.” Dora had stopped the informality of using his first name.
“Ididn’t. I didn’t go near the beds.”
Dorapressed on, her anger rising, clipping her words. The patients and staff do notneed such a disruption.”
“Isaw him in the hall.”
“Wedon’t leave the deceased in the hallways.”
Henryheld his tongue and didn’t mention he had also seen the man spasm on thegurney. He sagged back in the uncomfortable chair and gave up arguing.
“WillI be seen soon?”
“Yes,Mister Alvarez. We’re very close to getting a bay open for the doctor to have alook at you.”
* * *
Thecircle of round lights glared down. Henry closed his eyes. He shivered. He felta draft. Why didn’t hospitals issue proper pajamas rather than stupid johnniesthat never stayed on correctly?
Heopened his eyes again. Masked faces of nurses came and went from his view.
“Thedoctor will be here shortly,” a green mask said.
X-rayshad shown the kidney stone to be too large to pass. Henry had missed the cutoff by a millimeter. At least there would be no incision. He didn’t relish thethought of waking up with a sore pecker. Whenever he mentioned his previousexperiences with stones, someone always brought up the idea of sound waves anda hot tub. Sit in the bath and get the stone smashed from the outside. Niceidea. No one had ever offered him the option.
Upthey would go.
Hetried not to squirm.
Thedoctor arrived - a urologist named Keppler whose bushy salt-and-pepper eyebrowsglowered over his surgical mask. He looked over the equipment, traded nods withhis staff.
“OK.Mr. Alvarez. We’re ready.”
Ablue mask loomed over his face.
“I’myour anesthesiologist. I’ll start you with a little something to take the edgeoff.”
Henrywatched the hypodermic needle slip into his I.V. bag.
Hedidn’t feel the next needle prick at all. He hadn’t noticed theanesthesiologist leaning over his right arm.
“OK,Mister Alvarez.”
Anumbing chill crept up his arm.
Therewas an odor. A strong, sweet smell with a chemical undercurrent. Rum? Almost.Sweet as rum but somehow a thinner, more ethereal scent.
Shewas there. The nurse with the cape and the old-fashioned hat. White mask overher face. She pressed a wad of cotton against his face and the medicinal smellfilled his nostrils, invaded his lungs, moved through his blood.
Hetried to scream. His tongue was a lump of useless flesh.
Thenurse leaned in closer. Her face pale, her eyes beautiful. An odd brown tonecolored her hair. She was a sepia photograph moving through the real world. Sheheralded salvation and death.
Herheavy, white cotton mask fell away.
Henryscreamed and fell into darkness.
* * *
Theworld rushed into Henry’s consciousness. He saw light and heard muffled sounds.He was too weak to open his eyes. He focused on his hand, his fingers, down tohis pinky. He fought off the returning sleep and put all his will into hislittle finger. It twitched.
“MisterAlvarez? Henry?”
“Wha…?”
“You’rein
