Taking Back Fun Day

Ghoul opened his eyes; he felt weak and extremely tired. Looking around he noticed that he was lying on a comfortable bed in a dimly lit room. The room appeared to be sparsely furnished with a small cabinet at the side of the bed, a wardrobe and a table on wheels sitting near the foot of the bed; a jug of water resting on one end.

“A hospital?” Ghoul frowned with confusion as he continued to look around the room.

Hanging from the side of the cabinet was a remote control. Stretching his arm fully, his fingers brushed lightly against it and he was surprised to realise just how draining this simple task was on his pain racked body. Allowing his arm to drop and his shoulders to sag, Ghoul exhaled deeply and with apparent regret and frustration.

“Come on!” He muttered to himself.

Once more stretching to reach the remote, he allowed himself to roll slightly towards it until he finally managed to curl his fingers around it and unhook it from the cabinet. Glancing for longer than he would normally due to extreme fatigue, he eventually found and pressed the call button. Flopping back down onto the bed, he lowered his arm to his side, still clutching the device. He didn’t know how long it was before someone responded as with his eyes again closed, he wasn’t sure if he had drifted off to sleep, but when he opened his eyes once more, a doctor stood at the foot of the bed. Young and slim with soft features and wavy brown hair, cut in a short yet relaxed style, he held a file in his hands and he seemed engrossed - so much so that he didn’t notice that Ghoul was once more awake.

“Where am I?” Ghoul asked; his voice even weaker than he imagined it would be.
“Ah!” The doctor’s head snapped up. “You’re awake.”
“Yeah,” Ghoul managed, his voice gravelly and still very quiet.

Closing the file, the doctor moved to left side of the bed and took hold of Ghoul’s wrist as he consulted his watch. Finally lowering his arm, the doctor nodded.

“That’s fine,” he announced. “Considering your condition, your pulse is strong.”
“What’s my condition?” Ghoul frowned.
“Well,” the doctor smiled, “before we go into details, I have a few questions for you.”

Ghoul nodded and gave what approximated to a shrug in response.

“Okay,” the doctor opened the file once more and pulled a pen from his pocket. “So, do you remember your name?”

Ghoul frowned and nodded again.

“My name’s Frank,” he replied, closing his eyes once more.
“Frank, can you stay with me?” The doctor encouraged.

Ghoul took a deep breath and opened his eyes once more, but only managed to force them half way.

“I’m tired,” he replied; the obvious exhaustion heavy on both words.
“I know and I’m sorry. Just a few questions, then you can rest.”
“Okay,” Ghoul sighed.
“Do you remember your last name, Frank?”
“Iero,” he replied with a tired sigh.
“Very good,” the doctor smiled. “Where do you live?”

Ghoul hesitated and frowned as he stared back, uncertain what to say.

“I remember two addresses, but I’m not sure either are current.”
“What are they?”
“Sixteen twenty four, Battery Tower Nine and Penthouse, City Tower.”

Ghoul shook his head, his frown deepening.

“Neither feels recent,” he glanced up, searching for answers in the doctor’s eyes. “They both feel like they were a long time ago.”
“Don’t worry. Your age?”

Ghoul stared back, his expression blank and briefly nervous.

“I... I’m not sure... thirties? I’m too tired to work it out.”
“That’s close enough,” the doctor smiled. “Do you know what your occupation is?”
“I...” Ghoul frowned again and pursed his lips. “Nothing’s coming to mind, but I want to say some sort of engineer. It feels like what I know.”
“You’re doing very well, Frank,” the doctor beamed a smile at him before looking down at the file once more. “Just one more question. Do you know where you’ve been for the last twenty years?”
“What?” Ghoul’s eyes widened at the question and he appeared more than a little afraid. “No! Where? Have I been in prison or something? What...”

Panic set into the young man’s eyes and he looked around frantically, checking to see if the windows were barred or the door locked.

“What’s going on? Where am I?” His pitch raised as he spoke rapidly.
“It’s okay!” The doctor tried to reassure him. “It’s okay, Frank, you’re in the hospital. You’re safe.”
“The hospital?” Ghoul finally calmed, though he still sounded hesitant. “What happened to me? Where’ve I been? Why don’t I remember?”
“Do the words Party Poison mean anything to you?” Carmichael asked, looking at his patient once more.
“No,” Ghoul frowned. “Should it? Is it some sort of drink?”
“No,” Carmichael shook his head. “Not a drink.”
“It’s not drugs is it?” Ghoul’s expression grew pained.
“No, don’t worry, it’s not important at this stage.” The doctor closed the file once more.
“Where have I been?” Ghoul asked quietly.
“You’ve been in the desert.”
“Out in the Zones?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I don’t remember.” Ghoul looked down. “Twenty years?”
“Roughly,” the doctor nodded.
“Doing what?”
“That, I don’t know, I’m afraid. Someone from the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W Unit will come to see you when you’re more recovered.”
“S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W?” Ghoul’s eyes widened again. “Seriously?”
“Yes, but don’t worry, they just want to talk to you.”
“Oh,” Ghoul nodded, calming quickly.
“Now then,” the doctor returned his pen to his pocket and smiled again. “I suggest you get yourself some more rest and when you wake up, we’ll sort out some food for you.”
“Thanks, Doctor,” Ghoul offered a thin but grateful smile before closing his eyes once more.

Relieved to be able to sleep once more, Ghoul didn’t even remember to ask about what the doctor had referred to as ‘his condition’. It was as if it was too much effort to think about, so the detail had slipped away from him. Within moments, even before the door to his room had been closed, Ghoul was asleep once more.

As he entered the corridor, he saw Exterminator Korse waiting for him along the hall near his office. Carmichael nodded to the exterminator as he approached and indicated that he should enter his office.

“Chief Exterminator Korse,” Carmichael greeted him politely, as he pointed to a chair opposite his own at the desk.

Korse looked around the room, he guessed that it was a generic office used by whichever doctor was on duty. The room was functional, containing a desk and chairs, a table with two more chairs, a bookcase stocked with numerous medical reference books, a small window and a coffee pot. There seemed to be nothing of any personal nature, suggesting multi-person use.

“Coffee?” Carmichael asked.
“Black,” Korse replied tersely.

As the doctor poured two mugs of coffee, he turned to glance at the exterminator, now seated in the chair and waiting, it seemed impatiently, to discuss his patient. His body seemed stiff and his jaw clamped shut, the muscles of his jaw rigid in anticipation. Placing one mug on the coaster in front of Korse, Carmichael took a seat and offered a brief smile.

“So, what would you like to know?” He asked.

Korse immediately sat forward in his seat and grew suddenly animated.

“How did he seem to you?” He asked, keeping the brief open, hoping for a fuller answer, taking a sip of coffee as he listened.
“He was very weak and tired, lucid, somewhat afraid...”
“Afraid?” Korse intervened. “Afraid of what?”
“He can’t remember the last twenty years of his life, Exterminator Korse. That alone would be frightening.”

Korse sat back in the chair once more and interlinked his fingers, raising them to his mouth, tapping his lips in a thoughtful motion as he considered Carmichael’s words.

“Genuinely can’t remember?” He asked, his tone edged in suspicion.
“It seemed genuine enough to me, but I can’t guarantee that he won’t have some recall as he recovers.”
“Some recall might actually work in our favour,” Korse mused. “Did you ask him about Party Poison?”
“I did,” the doctor nodded. “Not only did he claim not to know what it meant, but there didn’t seem to be any flicker of recognition in his eyes.”
“Good,” Korse drew out the word as a satisfied smile settled on his face. “I want his door locked and a guard on it at all times, I will provide that. If he asks, it’s for his benefit. If, and only if, he presses for more information, tell him that he was rescued from rebels but that’s all you know.”
“Yes, sir,” Carmichael nodded.
“Keep a close eye on him, and if he remembers anything of who he really is, I want to know immediately, do you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” the doctor nodded again. “And, of course, I’ll let you know as soon as he’s sufficiently recovered to speak with you.”

Korse took a long drink from the mug before rising to his feet and offering his hand for the doctor to shake.

“Thank you, Doctor Carmichael, I look forward to hearing from you.”
“Sir,” Carmichael nodded as Korse swept triumphant from the room.

Allowing a sigh to escape his lips, Carmichael sat down once more and reached for his own coffee, taking a sip of the still warm and caffeine rich beverage. Pulling another patient’s file from the pile in his in tray, the doctor muttered quietly to himself.

“Asshole!”

*

Jet Star opened his eyes slowly and sighed heavily. His right shoulder and arm ached and he found himself grimacing as he tried to sit upright. Only then did he feel the dull throb emanating from the back of his head and forcing him to lie back down once more.

“Jet’s awake!”

He heard the voice and recognised Kobra’s voice - and it was far too loud for his liking. It was hard enough for him to even open his eyes, never mind listen to the excitable younger man.

“Guys!” He yelled again. “He’s awake!”
“Kobra,” he croaked, still with his eyes closed. “Stop shouting.”
“What?”

Kobra turned to look at the man still lying, only half awake, on the bed and realised he was probably in some pain.

“Sorry, Jet, you took a nasty blow to the back of your head, you must have one hell of a headache,” Kobra observed in a thoughtful tone before taking on a more urgent sound as he continued. “But, you gotta wake up. We have to know what happened to Red!”

The door, that had been standing ajar, was now opened fully as Party, Death Defying and the two mechanics, Larry and Tina, entered the room, all with concerned expressions and all but the doctor also looking pale and exhausted.

“Red?” Jet frowned, his brow creasing as he searched his memory.

It was as if a light suddenly switched on in his mind and the memories of recent events flooded back. Sitting bolt upright in his panic, his head swam and it seemed that all blood drained from his face in a matter of moments. So dramatic was the change that those closest to him were left wide-eyed and worried as he immediately crashed back down onto his back, groaning with the effort and queasy sensation he had been left with.

“Take it easy, Jet!” Death Defying instructed, moving forward in his chair to examine him. “I don’t want you moving until I’ve checked you over.”
“What happened?” Kobra asked again, his words clipped and impatient.
“Kobra,” the doctor admonished. “Give him a minute or two, yeah?”

Jet waved away the doctor’s concern, now deeply worried himself as his memory returned with ever increasing clarity.

“It’s okay,” he confirmed. “I’m okay.”
“What happened?” Kobra repeated, the stress showing on his face, matched only by Jet’s own.
“Coffin took some coffee out to the car for you, Larry and Tina and I gave a mug to Party; only one good arm. Red was with Dr D,” he explained. “I noticed Party had fallen asleep a few minutes later, but I didn’t think anything of it other than the rest would do him good. I was thinking about calling Kami but when Coffin came back in, I thought better of it. He seemed really surprised that I wasn’t having any coffee, but I told him we hadn’t made enough. He said he was going to make some more and that’s the last thing I remember. Where’s Red? What’s happened?”

Dr Death Defying looked around. As the only one awake when he had once again found them all unconscious, he was best placed to continue the story.

“Red came through after we talked, but I stayed in my office - I had some stuff to sort out for the next broadcast. I don’t know what happened but when I came through, I found you on the floor with your head bleeding and everyone else sparked out. Again, I might add!” He shook his head in disbelief. “This note was under Party’s mug.”

Death raised the scrap of paper before reading it out loud.

“Hey, guys! So, it seems you don’t trust me any more - I’m disappointed. You should have treated me better. But this is what happens, I guess. Korse wants two of you because he thinks that’ll control you all. He was really specific about who he wanted and now I see why.
But, call me sentimental if you like, but if you’re prepared to stop treating me like the enemy, I’ll help you get them both back. I’ll be in touch. Coffin.”
“I’m gonna kill him!” Kobra snapped, furious at the glib message.
“Get in the queue!” Jet growled.

Death Defying rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“You,” he pointed at Jet, offering a stern expression as he did, “are going nowhere! There’s only Kobra fit enough to make that journey.”
“And me,” Party offered.
“Party,” Death sighed. “You’re fitter than Jet, but it’s marginal. You’re not going anywhere either.”
“I am,” Tina piped up, moving forward to stand next to Kobra.

Kobra frowned and briefly narrowed his eyes.

“You want to help Red?” He asked with a level of doubt in his eyes. “After what she said to you?”
“This isn’t just a ploy to make a move on Kobra, is it?” Larry asked, his tone laden with suspicion.
“Oh, my god! You have such a low opinion of me!” She snapped. “Okay, so yeah, he’s cute! There’d be something wrong with me if I didn’t notice but I didn’t know he was taken, because someone,” she turned an accusing stare towards Kobra, “didn’t bother to tell me!”

Kobra offered a sheepish shrug. He could have mentioned Red when at the garage, but hadn’t.

“Look, she had every right to say what she did to me, because as far as she was concerned I was making a move on someone she thought I knew was taken. Bottom line, she’s one of you, and you need all the help you can get right now. So, do we go get her?”

Tina glanced around at the sea of faces and raised an eyebrow to elicit a response. Kobra stepped forward and grinned broadly in admiration of her bravery.

“Let’s make some noise.”

Notes

Hello lovely readers! So, finally an update! Most of my deadlines for uni are over, at least for a while, so I can find the time to write again! I really hope you enjoy it!

Sas xx