Haeven

Chapter 17

My face felt cold and wet. There were strange noises all around me and my eyes kept going in and out of focus. It was raining and someone was shaking me to wakefulness.

"Miss? Miss? Are you alright?"

For a moment I thought I was dreaming. I slowly turned my head and tried to find the person that the voice belonged to.

"Are you hurt? Can you sit up?"

Other than the terrible ache that throbbed inside my head there didn't seem to be anything wrong with me. I tried nodding but only managed a feeble yes.

"Here let me help you," a man was kneeling beside me and he carefully eased me to sitting. "Is there someone I can call? Do you have a friend nearby or family that can help you?"

"Who are you?" I asked utterly confused.

"I'm Nathan," he half-smiled then asked, "what's your name?" his voice was friendly but his tone seemed condescending, like he was talking to a child.

"It's...it's..." I realized that I didn't know...I couldn't remember. I couldn't remember anything! The man waited patiently while I struggled to answer. I shivered both from the cold and my confusion.

Nathan stood up and offered me a hand, "Well, maybe we should get you inside somewhere and warmed up. Hopefully, things will become clearer once we do," he gave me that odd, half-smile again and I wondered if he thought I was a simpleton or perhaps a vagrant.

I accepted his help and once I was on my feet, took in my surroundings. "Where are we?"

"In the park, just outside the city," he answered as he led me away. "My car is over here. If you let me I'll take you to the hospital or the police. You seem like you could use their help."

I mumbled and tried to puzzle out what he might have meant by the statement. As we walked away, I did a quick assessment of myself to see if I had any injuries, "I'm not hurt," I said with confidence.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine. I just...I feel...lost..."

Nathan held the car door for me while I took the passenger's seat. He brought me to a nearby hospital but didn't speak to me during the entire ride. Every once in a while he glanced over at me and sighed. If I looked his way he would turn towards me and his mouth would twitch into that uncomfortable grin.

After explaining to the nurses that he had no idea who I was and that he could not get the information out of me he left me there. I was terribly dismayed as I watched him walk away. A moment later a nurse came over and slipped a band around my wrist then had me take a seat in the waiting room.

"Jane Doe," I whispered as I spun the tag around and around. Tears sprung to my eyes and I covered my mouth while I tried to choke back the fear that seemed to have a sudden stranglehold on my heart.

Everything seemed so wrong, so foreign - the people, the noises, the lighting - even the air had a sour taste to it. It was overwhelming as I sat there all alone taking it all in. The nurses glanced up from time to time and would either try to look or say something encouraging. My mind wandered away several times only to be startled back by a voice over the intercom paging some doctor, patient or other.

Eventually someone approached me with a wheelchair and a clipboard. He picked the board up then patted the chair for me to sit down, "Jane Doe, right?"

"No, it's...it's..."

"It's OK," he chuckled, "we'll get you all sorted out in no time!"

I wasn't so sure. I stood up and fretfully met the eyes of the nurses who had been watching me from their station. One of them nodded for me to go ahead and the other lent voice to the suggestion. "G'won, darling. We'll be right here when you're done."