The Dharma Revelation

Chapter 17

Daniel awoke to the sound of an X-ray photograph being shaken. The doctor was in his room, showing the film to a woman Daniel assumed was another doctor. His nurse was also there, checking his IV bag.

As he stirred, they all looked at him.

"How do you feel?" the woman asked him.

He groaned in answer. "How long have I been asleep?"

The doctors exchanged a glance.

"An hour or two," she said. "You don't feel any better than before?"

"No," he said, remembering the news about Jessie and her condition. But as he shifted and moved around, he noticed that most of his pain was gone. Even his arm, which was still in a cast, felt fine.

"Well, physically I feel much better," he corrected himself.

His original doctor said, "We've done several follow-up tests to monitor your progress. Mostly we were concerned about your arm. You had acute fractures in both your humerus and radius, which required follow-up X-rays, but—"

Daniel pushed the button on the bed that raised him to a higher sitting-up position. Other than feeling tired, he actually felt pretty good.

"And how do they look?" he asked.

"Ah, well, the X-rays still show a slight break in your humerus, but it's as if it has been healing for weeks. And your radial crack is completely healed."

Daniel sighed. Diagnostic mistakes and unexplained phenomenon no longer surprised him. What was important was he felt better and could visit his sister in the ICU.

Once in a sitting-up position he swung his legs out over the edge of the bed, "Can you take this IV out? I don't think it's necessary."

The doctor came at him and eased him back into bed, "No. We need you to lie still and relax until the rest of our testing is complete. Despite your recovery, your body has sustained a lot of damage."

Daniel complied but frowned and looked around his room, "Where's Dharma? And Peterson? The two that were here before..."

The nurse said, "They left. Two rather large gentlemen arrived and are outside your door. They claim to be some sort of private security. When they arrived, your two friends left."

"Private security?"

"Would you like to speak to them? Whoever they are, they are cooperating with the police."

"Yeah, sure."

As the nurse turned toward the door, Daniel grabbed her arm.

"How is my sister?"

"I'm sorry, she's the same. No change."

Daniel nodded somberly.

The doctors excused themselves, and as they walked out, a bulky man entered. He looked to be over 300 pounds. He wore a dark, stylish v-neck shirt, with the sleeves rolled halfway up his rather large arms. His hair was dark, but it was cropped short.

"Father Sheppard," he said.

"Who are you?" Daniel asked.

"My name is Banacek," he explained. "I've been sent to protect you."

"I appreciate that."

"After you're cleared by the doc, I'm taking you to Osiris."

Daniel looked at him, "I have no intention of going anywhere."