City of the Dead

Chapter 13

Part 2

The sound of water running through the pipes, filling the bathtub, helps to try and drown out my thoughts. I see myself in the reflection of my bathroom mirror. I studied myself, noticing the dark circles under my eyes, my face seems to have gotten thinner and my hair is oily from the lack of showers I'd been putting off. My sleep schedule is nothing but poor as almost every other hour I wake up at night, tending to Bernard to make him comfortable and checking his vital signs. Days have passed since the Hamunaptra incident and we've all been on edge since then. David has been acting more paranoid than usual and Isaac, well, he's been drinking more. Not so much to the point where he's blacking out, but he always orders a shot of bourbon with every meal he's had since we've been back.

Isaac and I haven't really talked much since we left the desert. There have been times when I've asked Isaac about what happened while I was gone, and he always gives me the same answer.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

I hate that. We used to be so close before, but now there's a rift between us that I have no way of fixing. I take my clothes off, like a snake shedding their skin and I noticed the bruises and scratches on my body. It reminds me of the previous attacks and battles I've had to endure those few nights during the expedition. I step into the half filled bath tub, water rising to my chest as I sit down. The lukewarm water soaks my hair and I use almost every soap imaginable to wash my hair and scrub my body. After rinsing my body, I step out of the bathtub and notice the color of the water is a light brown.

"That's disgusting." I commented.

I grab my towel and start drying myself off and brushing out my hair, to my surprise, locks of hair were being brushed out with ease. My hair was falling out, most likely due to the stress I've endured. I threw my hair brush against the bathroom counter, as it ricocheted across the bathroom, to which muttered under my breath, "Fuck."

I continued and decided to braid my hair, to try and manage the fall out. I wore a long light blue dress, with a matching belt and buttons down the middle of my chest to the bottom of the dress. I started putting on my stockings when I noticed Dr. Bey's book laying by my bedside. I grabbed the book and sighed, "I guess I should bring this back to him."

I buckled a pair of black pumps to my feet and decided to check on Bernard before I venture back to the museum. I walked down the hall, not too far from my room and knocked.

"I'm coming in," as I open the door to see Bernard in his bed, resting comfortably.

"Hey Bernard, how was your night?" I asked.

"Iz waz beder than las nigh" he said as he was struggling not to spit while talking.

"I'm glad to hear that." I said as I grabbed my stethoscope from his bed side and started listening to his heart. It sounded stronger than before, and his lungs were starting to sound clearer and less raspy, which gave me a sigh of relief.

"Well good news is, you definitely sound better, but you still gotta take it easy. You can still walk, but be careful, I don't want to see you laying on the floor because you tripped over and fell."

"Oh Kay" Bernard agreed.

"Now let me change your bandages and I'll leave you to rest."

As I unraveled the bandages from his once vacant eyes, a shiver ran down my spine as I saw the emptiness of his eye sockets. It never gets any easier, I remind myself. I discarded the old bandages and started placing a topical cream around Bernard's eyes. This definitely doesn't get any easier. After placing the topical cream, I proceeded to re-bandage the eyes and tied it off with a knot behind his head.