The Only

Chapter Four - Karl

Karl ran back to the emergency room from the parking garage. It had taken him longer than he expected to get Neima situated in his car. Her body was as limp as a noodle, and his upper body strength lacked the heft needed to lift her effectively. It took several tugs to get her sprawled out on the back seat of his Honda Civic; her phone tucked under her chin.

It would have been ideal to stay and thoroughly exam her. Her body was severely hindered by – what did she call it? Her morphing. It was a fascinating bit of unexplainable science. But she punched him when he attempted to check her pulse. Rubbing the sore spot on his shoulder, he rounded the corner only to find the policemen still waiting for him.

Karl immediately began to sweat. The big officer swaggered over to him and placed his hands on his hips, puffing out his enormous chest. "Dr. Jensen, where is your patient?"

He gulped. The big man scared him. Years of bullying by husky, aggressive schoolyard oppressors had scared him for life.

"We've got a cab driver screaming bloody murder about the state of his taxi, and we need to talk to that woman."

Lie. Remember to lie. Karl licked his lips and cleared his throat. "She's...she's in –"

He was never so happy in his life as when he heard the announcement of a gunshot victim in the ER and his name spoken over the loud speaker. Thank god! If he actually believed in such a thing.

Karl gave his excuses to the police officer and joyfully looked forward to putting his arms elbow-deep into a man's chest cavity. When he finished, he would simply say that the patient checked herself out before anyone could get any paper work completed. It happened all the time, so there wasn't any lying involved. It was partially true. He had no idea who or what Neima Addison was.

Once the doctor sent his stabilized patient to surgery, he was relieved to see he only had an hour left of his shift, and there was not a policeman to be found. In the large officer's place was a tall, muscled man, elegantly dressed in a dark suit with a red tie. His eyes were a very pale blue, almost gray, and his head was cleanly shaved. The strangely charismatic man laughed along with the nurse as he signed some paperwork.

"Oh, there he is," the nurse said, pointing to Karl.

The elegant man smiled and put down his pen. "Dr. Jensen?" He picked up the papers he signed with a graceful move, folded them, and placed them into his breast pocket.

Karl felt oddly compelled to step closer to the stranger. "Yes, I'm him...he...that's me. Karl. I'm Karl."

What was the matter with him? The words tumbled out of his mouth in a terrible attempt to impress this guy. He didn't need to impress anybody.

The stranger clamped him on the shoulder. "My name is Monty."

Monty. What a wonderful name. Karl felt his cheeks twitch from fighting the urge to break into a smile. The strange man made him want to smile. He never wanted to smile.

"Why don't you come with me?" Monty said, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

Karl shook his head. He felt as if he entered a fog. "I can't. My shift isn't over."

"Yes, it is. You're definitely done for the night. The woman you know as Ms. Addison has sent me to collect you, as well as the fair Vulgari Alexandra."

A vul...what?

"Collect me?" Karl giggled. Something was severely wrong with him. He lost the fight, and a silly smile took over his face.

Monty took hold of Karl's elbow and began to guide him down the hallway. The room was spinning and shaking his head wasn't helping him to be any clearer. He couldn't go anywhere. He just had to tell Monty no. Why couldn't he tell him no? Why couldn't he just stop walking? There was only the room spinning, and the irrefutable need to go wherever Monty wanted to go.