THE TRIPPLE FACADE

D.O.A

Alfred couldn't believe the news he was receiving and so told them he was on his way. He called his friend Patrick from their work place and told him to meet him at St.Augustine Hospital.

He arrived at the hospital safely cos the way he drove that car was maddening.
He saw an incoming from Patrick and answered it right away

"Hey, I'm here, so where are you?" Patrick's voice was a bit raspy.

Alfred placed the call on speaker while rushing to get out of the car to go and check.

"Just arrived, now going to the emergency ward" Alfred cut the call when he reached the ward, he went to the lady at the front desk and enquired about a patient that was brought in with Brenda's details.

As the lady was going through a file, Alfred saw another nurse coming out of the ward, the nurse also noticed him and approached him.

"Hi, Mr. Alfred?" the nurse asked Alfred to ensure if it was him.

"Yea, that's me", answered Alfred and then was directed to a private area away from the front desk.

The nurse was a beautiful woman close to her early thirties with brown eyes and dark curly hair. She was a mixed race.
She started explaining things to Alfred.

"So a guy in a dark suit and some other two dudes who were all dressed in black were here not long ago asking of miss Brenda Woods. I told them we hadn't received any patient by that name and if anything, they can come back and check later" the nurse said to Alfred

Alfred didn't know why some men in black were looking for Brenda but knew it couldn't be any good.

"So who brought miss Brenda in and what was her condition?" Alfred asked the nurse who introduced herself once more as Vera. She was pleasant looking and took her time to explain everything to him.

"She was brought in by the paramedics when a neighbour called 911 saying she heard screams from Brenda's apartment. When she was brought in, she was lifeless lying on the gurney and had to be rushed to the operation theatre". They heard the rushing of shoes as another ambulance sound was heard outside the hospital and bodies being removed from the car. Nurses were pushing gurneys to meet the paramedics at the hospital door.

Alfred looked on as nurse Vera excused herself and rushed on to assist the other nurses cos the bodies were many from where he was standing close to the waiting area.

There were screams and moaning all around as the bodies were being brought in. Alfred knew it could be another attack from the saviours as they are known to pull such heinous acts. Blood were spilling all around. Some of the victims were dead already and those not dead wished they were.  Those alive were with mutated arms and legs. Some with only one hand left whiles the rest had been chopped off. It was a horrible sight.

Alfred sought nurse Vera out and asked her which room Brenda was in. She gave him the room number and showed him where to find it. He walked along the corridors and came to a room a bit far on the left side. When he reached the door, it was propped open a bit and so he pushed it all the way in and entered.

He saw a man in a gray coat and black hat in the room. He was standing by the bed and holding one of Brenda's hand. Alfred couldn't see the bed fully because the man was taking half of the space in the room literally. He was a big man.

"Uh, hi" Alfred said as he looked at the man's back stiffen at the sound of his voice. The man placed the hand he was holding gently back on the bed and turned to at him. Alfred couldn't believe what he was seeing. They guy was probably in his late 40's with brown hair which had some greys at the front. He was scary to look at.  With his blotched face and bushy eyebrows, he was menacing. He showed no emotion on his face, but Alfred knew he was hidding a lot behind that menacing look.

The man took a step towards Alfred and came to stand infront of him with only an inch between them. He was a very tall man with broad shoulders and big biceps. Alfred was no way short at 6'2 but the guy towed over him by some inches. 

"Who the hell are you!?" the guy shouted to Alfred's face. He had a very menacing voice to match his look too. If Alfred was any ordinary guy, he would've have been shaking in his boots by the guy before him. But he was no one's average Joe even though the guy looked a bit huge than he was.

Alfred cleared his throat and looked at the guy. "Who the hell are you too?".

The guy stared at at him for some time before turning his back on Alfred and went back to the bedside. Alfred moved to stand beside the bed and saw the body that was covered in the bed. The guy had a tattoo all over his neck with symbols. He gazed at the body and then turned to Alfred.

"I'm Ricardo, Brenda's baby daddy" the guy's eye twitched a bit and then he bent his head down a bit before raising it up again. He looked at Alfred again with questions unanswered between them.

Alfred detected something was off cos Brenda has never told him about her ex even though they have been friends for so long but this wasn't the type of guy she will ever go for. He decided to test the waters.

"I'm Alfred, Brenda's partner" he didn't bother with the working stuff.
"She never mentioned you" Alfred saw the guy's eye twitching again and knew he had hit the nail on the head. He knew Brenda alright but not the way he was saying it.

"Yea, that's her for you. She was quite a woman. Has she told you anything recently concerning having a problem at work?". Ricardo looked a bit agitated.

Alfred was watching the body on the bed so took a while to digest what the guy was saying.
"No. She never said anything like that. All that I knew was that, she was a hard working woman and was wonderful at work".

Alfred moved closer to the bed and looked to the guy Ricardo.
"Can I see her face?".

Ricardo nodded his head and then drew the cloth from her face. Alfred gasped because the body on the body was brutalised beyond recognition. Her face was almost torn off and there were burnt marks all over her neck. He saw a small tattoo on her neck like a butterfly trapped in a cage.

Alfred knew Brenda didn't have any tattoo on her kneck cos she was so against having a tattoo on her body. He had so many questions going on in his mind. First, who this body belonged to and where the hell Brenda was and lastly, who the hell this guy truly was.