DANIEL HERON: BECOMING

27. Are you the one Ana sent?

The sun was low on the sky when Daniel arrived at the side entrance of the town's hospital. He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his oversized denim jacket. The day before he removed the leftover dirt that reminded him of the events that took place in the Ground Zero. A baseball cap covered his head, the jacket collar popped up as if he wanted to hide from the world. It was chilly; he was convinced no one would find it peculiar. Still, his heart raced every time someone would pass him by.

He perked up his ears. The fire at the abandoned factory was no longer the main topic. From the fragments of the conversations he overheard, it became clear that there had been murders in the town. The words brutal and maimed particularly caught his attention.

He sighed a sigh of relief when he arrived to the hospital. He passed by the main building and carried on towards the side entrance. The door, upper half of it made of glass, were closed. Four large concrete columns stood like guards, two on each side of the covered entrance. He stepped in the shadow of one of the columns, making sure he was as inconspicuous as possible.

It wasn't more than a couple of minutes before someone pushed open the hospital's side door. The door opened with a slight squeak, making Daniel turn his head in the direction of the sound. A man stood at the door. His brown hair was neatly combed, and he wore a light blue uniform of a medical technician.

When his eyes found Daniel, he smiled and asked, "Are you the one Ana sent?"

Daniel looked over his shoulder, partly to make sure the man was speaking to him, partly because he wanted to confirm that no one else was around. He turned to the man at the door, nodded, and started walking towards him. He pulled his right hand out of the pocket and extended it. "I'm Daniel," he said. He hoped his voice would be firmer, but nervousness snuck in.

"Good evening, Daniel. I'm Eugene," replied the man, shaking Daniel's hand.

"Good evening, doctor." Daniel's voice couldn't hide his insecurity.

Eugene laughed. "I'm not a doctor. I'm a medical technician."

"Yes, of course." Daniel shook his head and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and his index finger. Once again, he looked around and added, "I'm sorry."

Seeing how unfocused Daniel was, Eugene laid a palm of his hand on his shoulder, squeezed gently and said, "Don't worry. Officially, you aren't here."

"But I'd rather be anywhere else," Daniel mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

Eugene squeezed his shoulder one more time, before he invited Daniel to follow him into the hospital.

The hospital hallways were nearly empty. There were no patients waiting for the examinations, nor the visitors coming to ease the loneliness of those who were hospitalized. Only footsteps of the medical personnel echoed off the hospital walls painted in some vague shade of green. The fluorescent pipes on the ceilings in no way contributed to creating a more homely atmosphere.

Just a promise he gave Ana and Terea, kept Daniel from running senseless. Neither of them commanded him to go, yet he promised he would get the examination done. Partly because he still refused to believe that Teresa might be right.

Eugene brought him to the wooden door with a sign that said MRI. Daniel quivered, but the technician failed to notice it because he was fishing for keys inside his pocket. He unlocked the door, stood to the side, letting Daniel enter first, and he followed suit. Were he just a few centimeters taller, the top of his head would touch the doorframe, but Daniel didn't notice it because he found himself completely engrossed by the room he entered.

It wasn't a large room, but it was dominated by a glass wall in front of which stood a desk with a heavy monitor and a massive computer case. Numerous cables connected the two devices. Many more lay by the wall, like a den of starving snakes.