Nevada Confidential

New Hope

Brinley tried to keep her footfalls even and slow, but she found herself sprinting through the halls to the hospital wing. She barely noticed the burning cramp in her side, or the searing pain in her feet from the heavy impacts; all she could think about was the fact that Eli, the most selfless, pure person she'd ever met, who deserved nothing short than an eternity of happiness, was sick.

Sick, as she had been, but what if he didn't recover- as Alex couldn't? Imagining him the way Alex had been, vulnerable and unmoving in a tank in a lonely basement deep underground, pushed her faster down the hall. When she rounded a corner she almost forgot to slow down, and nearly crashed into the opposite wall. She skidded for half a second before collecting herself, and continuing the journey to the room where she would see him.

After what seemed like years, Brinley got to the door leading to the room where she'd spent her days in the dark. It was closed, and when she tried to open it she found that it was locked. She pounded on it, hoping that someone would hear her, but there was no answer.

She sunk to her knees, and laid her head back against the door. She would wait here until someone came in- or out- and force them to let her see him. The floor was cold, as if it were made of ice; and Brinley began to shiver. She crossed her arms over her chest for warmth, and sighed. Several minutes passed, and she began to wonder if she'd come to the wrong door.

Just as she made the decision to ask someone which room the sick were being kept in, Diana rounded the corner. When she saw Brinley she stopped short, obviously surprised by her seating arrangement.

"Emelda, are you okay? Are you sick again?" Diana asked, hurrying toward her.

Brinley shook her head quickly, and stood up. "I was just waiting for someone to come. I wanted to visit my friend."

"Elijah, right?"

Brinley nodded. "Yeah. Why is the door locked?"

Diana shrugged. "We were at lunch."

"But... don't you have someone watching over everyone when no one's in the room?" Brinley asked, her eyes wide. That sounded extremely irresponsible.

"We have cameras," she assured her. "That way we can get to the room quickly if something goes wrong."

Brinley frowned. She still didn't like the thought of Eli- or anyone else- being alone in there. She thought of Alex, who- even though she was supervised- still passed without anyone noticing right away. She stepped back, allowing Diana an easy route to the door.

The young nurse put a key into the lock, and turned it. When she opened the door, Brinley half expected it to creak eerily. Instead it slid easily open, and she followed Diana into the room.

It took a few moments for Brinley to find Eli in the three rows of people, and when she felt the need to run. She had seen him just this morning. Just an hour ago.

He looked awful. His hair was dripping with sweat, and he trembled as he tried not to be sick. He clutched the wastebasket tightly in his hands, shaking his head slightly and constantly as if willing his food to stay in his stomach.

It was no use. In one movement he was leaning over the top of the bin, and Brinley plugged her ears. It was bad enough when she saw people who were sick- but Eli? It felt unfair, in a way, that the world could hurt him. She wasn't sure when she'd begun to consider him in such a saint-like way, but at some point she had. When she thought of him, she thought of the perfect human- getting angry only when it was necessary, giving even when it wasn't necessary, and always being intelligent and affable. He never looked down at people- he was too humble for that- and he never ceased to impress Brinley with his deep understanding of life, and everything in it.