Level Zero by Dan McDowell (debian ebook reader .txt) 📗

Chris passed out.

CHAPTER NINE

TODD ADAMS awoke in RGH.

Crappy room. I’m not that important, am I? Not a single card or flower to wish me well, either. Nope. Not even one visitor…

He pushed the panic button on the remote attached to the bed, staring up at the television in the room as the evening news played. No significant stories, nothing to pique any interest. He yanked the IV from his arm and sat up, feeling a numbness below the waist.

I guess I didn’t miss anything important. Where’s Lorrie? I’m the one that should be dead.

A full-figured woman entered the room. Her forehead wrinkled as she squinted to study Todd.

Aren’t you going to say something? Stop staring…

“Hi, I’m Nurse Rickle. We weren’t sure if you would ever wake up. You are one lucky man.”

“Lucky? Why do you say that?”

“They say your plane was all but burned up on one side,” she said. “Something snuffed out the fire closest to you. I’m very sorry, sir… but your other passenger didn’t make it.”

He scoffed. “And you’re the one to tell me? Some night shift nurse? Is this as good as it gets?”

She nodded. “You’ll get enough bumps and bruises in your life to appreciate it more one of these days. I’ll let the doctor know your back with us. I’ve got to get to my next patient. Must be something in the water around here today. She just woke up, too. You two both arrived on the same day. Never seen that before. Strange coincidence. Mercy. It’s time for a night off. This is a little stranger than I’m up for.” She walked toward the door.

Todd’s mind raced as he looked around the room, hoping to find some clarity. Memories of the event all seemed a blur.

I need a method. A plan. Some way to rationalize and justify what happened. At least I’m not handcuffed to the bed yet. The amnesia’s got me scatterbrained.

Todd Adams was nothing more than a broken man with a fractured mind. Enraptured by struggle, he glimpsed a piece of an unfamiliar past.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony at a hotel hinted at an unfamiliar period and life. He stood in front of the building, clipping the ribbon as onlookers applauded.

Good Lord, they’re going to have to up my dosage. I’ve gone mental.

As he came back into the moment, the door to the room squeaked open, clanging shut behind a doctor in a lab coat. He approached Todd’s hospital bed, extending his hand to introduce himself.

“I’m Doctor Hicks. To be frank, I never expected to have this conversation with you. All tests told us you were brain dead. Perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise that you get a second chance. I wish Lorrie had that chance. I expected the toxicology screen on you to be nothing short of questionable, but, somehow, it came back negative. The odds are in your favor, though. I have no doubt in my mind that you were in any sober condition to fly that plane. Your story’s been all over the news. All I can say is… this is your time to shine bright.”

Todd studied Dr. Hicks.

Look at you. Thirty something… A nice bird’s nest on top of your head. Tall and slender. Intelligent. Single. Who knows what else you did with Lorrie? If I had my wits about me, I’d slug you now. Stop thinking that way. Play it smarter, Todd.

“I… don’t remember a thing I should.”

“It’ll be fuzzy for a while. I would expect nothing less from a coma patient arriving in your condition. My bigger concern is the risk you are to yourself and to others.”

“Risk? What do you mean?”

“You’re going to need a lot of therapy. We have to get you physically and mentally back into shape. A brain injury is no overnight recovery.”

“Doc, I don’t know. I feel different. It’s hard to explain. Can you let me walk?”

“Walking is weeks away. Just be grateful you’re alive.”

Todd’s mind drifted.

He stood in a large hotel lobby packed with guests dressed in fine garb surrounded by ornate décor. He explored the place of intrigue within his mind, despite having never been there.

“Todd, Todd, you with me…?”

“I’m sorry, doc. I’m just trying to wrap my head around things.”

“You know Lorrie worked up here… and off the record, we had our share of chats the last year or so. She told me how you were sometimes. I’ll do my best to avoid the conflict of interest because I’m the only double duty shrink and MD in this hospital. There’s not enough evidence to lock you up, but then again, I’m not the one carrying the guilt. We’ll get you back on your feet… Questions for me?”

“I don’t remember much, doc. Only messed-up fragments. When will it come back?”

“In God’s time. In God’s time. Let me be clear, I’ll give you fair treatment, regardless of how I feel about the situation. RGH could use some good press given our recent wrongful death suits. Keep in mind, I’m the one to discharge you, so be wise.”

CHAPTER TEN

CHRIS WILKERSON awoke on the eighth floor of The Oak Hollow Hotel building (the soon-to-be home for Creepy Nights) — a place that would claim him as its own.

How did I end up in here? Good grief.

The area was wide open, once a ballroom of sorts responsible for hosting the most exquisite parties. The space still housed various pieces of dusty furniture left over from the hotel. There were red felt chairs, tapestries, and bear skins strewn about the floors and walls. He walked around the dark room as the moonlight shined through the windows. Magazines in the room dated back to the 1950s, spread across the top of a worn coffee table. To its left, there was an end table with a few tobacco pipes and a Tiffany lamp on it. He laid down on an old blue sofa, checking out a few minutes before he reflected upon his encounter with Joe in