Haunt: Volume 2

Lorina Gingham Goes to First Aid (A Lorina Story) Part 2 of 2

"Absalom!" Lorina whispered in delight. She rose from the table. "Where are you?"

The voice sounded as if it came from the door's other side. "Look at your mask."

She was excited by the prospect of Absalom so she gently removed the mask from the door to examine it closely. She gazed into the mirror squares on the front.

"Absalom?" She asked.

The mirror's reflection caught her wan face, and she saw nothing else inside. But she got an idea. She decided to slip the mask on. It was a two-way mirror. As soon as she put it on, she saw Absalom once more. He stood in the examination room, still in his robe and mask. But he hunched over, gripping the side of the table as if to balance himself. Perhaps he had suffered injury!

"Absalom!" Lorina rushed to him. "Oh my, what happened to you? What did the Overlord do to you? And why? Oh you poor brave soul."

His mirror-face looked to hers. "Did you drink the hot chocolate?"

"Just a little." She showed him the cup, still more than half-full.

"Pour the rest down the sink."

She immediately did so, rinsing it out afterward to eliminate the remaining splatters of chocolate. Lorina Gingham knew how to hide her tracks.

"They put something in the hot chocolate to make you forget. You won't even remember how you got here. It takes time to settle, but they use it when they need a guest or anyone to stay complacent. Another one of their damn hexes. You are lucky you do not have the whistle or the black sock with you!"

"Oh, oh dear. Did I drink so much as to become a victim of their damn hexes?" Lorina examined the doctor's checkup room once more. "I have an idea."

The cabinet was obviously locked but Lorina Gingham had yet to meet a medicine cabinet she couldn't get open. She looked around the room for tools until she opened a drawer and found a trusty finger-nail clipper set. She slipped out the file and jammed it in the cabinet's keyhole until it was forced to turn for her.

"Lorina? What are you doing?" Absalom asked, alarmed. "You don't need drugs to make yourself throw up. Just use your finger, reach behind your tongue-"

"I know. But that isn't ladylike at all," Inside, she saw a lovely variety of medicines and other first-aid supplies. She pointed at one capped bottle in particular. "They have Ipecac, which may rid me of the hot chocolate. Oh, and Dramamine as well. Hmm, I wonder what happens when one takes both? Oh fiddlesticks, there's nothing very exciting in here."

She selected the Ipecac, unscrewed the bottle and swigged it down without a flinch.

"Oh," said Absolom in surprise. Then he recovered. "Brave girl. You're a warrior inside, aren't you?"

"Yes. Well, one certainly can't wait around for doctors to give you what you need. Momentarily I'll be rid of the substance. Do not watch; it's still not very ladylike."

The unpleasant process completed, Lorina washed her face in the sink and cleaned up the mess. As she worked, she asked Absolom, "Why would they make me want to forget everything I've seen?"

"Because they wish to hide information from the world, Xena. Evermind craves secrets. And now I've paid the price for demanding their truth, just as many others have and will continue to pay as long as the Overlord rules over this park. You are my only contact within the park now. Will you help me?"

Lorina was just happy to see Absalmon again, now she's being told of so many exciting things on her first night! What will the others think? She could not let this opportunity slip her by.