Ethan Landry : Oneshots - Scream 6

Hospital

I may not have a lot of experience working as a nurse, considering my graduation was just a few months ago. But if it's something that I've learned while working in the emergency apartment, is that some patients isn't possible to save. No matter our efforts. Either they were recovered too late, or maybe it was just their turn to go.

When a young, brown haired man was brought in with the ambulance, I first believed him to be one of those patients. He had multiple deep wounds, especially in the patients mouth. Also multiple skull fractures, it was later discovered that he had a subdural hematoma. That didn't surprise me, not at all, considering what the paramedics told me when they came in with him.

"He was stabbed in his mouth and almost got crushed by a old tv?" I repeated, not believing my ears. The paramedic nodded and handed me the patients journal. I read the few lines that we had on the young man.

Ethan Landry, or also Ethan Kirsch, was deeply involved in a police investigation regarding the Ghostface murders. That explained why the cops had been here multiple times.

It was a miracle that he survived long enough for our surgeons to operate on him. Our doctors honestly deserve a raise, especially after being able to save the patients tongue. They put him in a medically induced coma, in order for him to heal properly after his multiple surgeries. It took months of caring for him before he opened his eyes again for the first time.

I was observing his IV nutritional drip, when suddenly the machines connected to him got louder. His heart rate accelerated, and his pulse as well. Then he suddenly opened his eyes and looked around franatically. He started breathing heavily, almost like he was panicking.

"Hey," I said in a calming voice and the patient held steady eye contact with me. "You're okay. You're in a hospital and we're taking care of you." I said and smiled gently towards the terrified man.

"Hospital?" He said under his breath. The patient is capable of speaking, that's always a good sign. I monitored his vitals, slowly but surely they returned to normal. Ethan, the patient, looked at me in some kind of disbelief.

"Yes, I will go and call for our doctor so that he can examine you..." I explained, and turned around. But before I could leave, Ethan took my hand.

"No, please don't..." He started saying, and quickly let go of my hand. Almost like he had burnt himself on my skin. "Can you tell me what happened?"

I looked at him. I should check his neurological state.

"What year were you born?" I asked, and lifted up his journal to fact check. He answered, and it correlated to his journal.

"What year do we have now?" I looked up from the journal, into his eyes. He answered that one correct as well.

I walked around his bed to the other side. He kept a careful look at me the whole time. I got the feeling that he is quite a paranoid patient. Not really unusual.

"I want to examine your eyes. Is that okay with you?" I asked and lifted up my medical pen light. He nodded slowly.

"Look me in my eyes" I instructed and observed how his pupil reacted to the light. Good, good so far.

"Impressive recovery, but I do want our doctor to observe you too." I explained and leaned back.

"What happened?" He asked, with a distraught look on his face. I hesitated before answering. I had heard about what he and his family had done. Murder. Horrible, violent murders. But looking at him, I had a hard time imagining him being able to do such horrible actions.

He was about two years younger than me. Not old at all and appearing even younger with those unknowing puppy eyes.

"What do you remember?" I asked, and leaned against the wall. I soon was supposed to go and take my lunch break, but this patient was intriguing. Amnesia wasn't unusal after traumatic head injury.

"I- I don't know. Everything is blurry." He said, looking down at his hand. He noticed that one of his hands was handcuffed to the bed. He observed the handcuffs and then looked up at me, with a certain sadness in his eyes.

"I've hurt people, haven't I?" He asked with a low voice.

I didn't really know what to answer. Nursing school never taught me this.

"Uhm, yes. Probably. But I think that you need to speak with the police about that. But not now," I reassured. "You won't leave this hospital until you've recovered. Me and my colleagues will look after you." I smiled, in a attempt to cheer him up.

He took a moment to think.

"How many did I kill?" He answered.

"I don't know, once again you'll need to talk to the police-"

"Did I kill Sam and Tara?" He asked eagerly. His tone had suddenly changed. That caught me of guard. The eagerness in his voice, almost like a kid waiting for his present.

"I- Uhm. I can't discuss that with you."

"So they're still alive." He sighed. The way he was... Disappointed?

"You should probably rest." I said, deciding to move on with my task. "The doctor will want to look at you."

I started to walk away, when a question made me stop dead in my tracks.

"Why are you taking care of me?" He sounded genuinely surprised.

"It's my job to help people." I said, as a matter of fact.

"I can see the way you look at me, you think I'm a monster." He said and shrugged, like it didn't really matter. "You're probably correct, I might not remember exactly what I did, but I remember wanting to do horrible things. Why aren't you scared of me?"

"You aren't really that scary" I said, jokingly.

"That still doesn't answer why you're helping me."

I shrugged.

"I believe that everyone deserve to receive care. I don't really know what you've done and not, but I do know that you're a person in need of help. So I'll help you get back on your feet again." I said, smiling.

He stared at me. His gaze was something else, honestly. I've heard that this patient is dangerous. I could see a hint of that side in his eyes. Behind the warmness of the brown. Then he opened his mouth one more time.

"Oh... Thank you."