"Are you afraid?" The man asked out of the blue.
"Afraid?" Lay repeated as he brought his knees closer to his chest. He willed his body to stay more still. "Of what?"
The two were taking refuge in an abandoned parking garage. The wind had picked up and begun to howl.
"Of those white men," the worker continued, eyeing the hospital across the street. More vehicles were pulling up into its driveway. "What if they are after you?"
"I'm not afraid," Lay folded his arms against his chest. "I've never seen anything like this before. I'm more concerned for the hospital."
"Huh," the man muttered under his breath. "I bet he was scared." His expression was emotionless and it seemed as though he was whispering to himself.
"Did you say something?" Lay asked.
"Sorry, bad habit." The man scratched his head. "Just some friend. No, he's not really my friend," he continued as he joined Lay on the pavement. "He was my coworker,"
"Coworker?" Lay remarked. "What about him?"
"We don't know each other very well, but I feel awful. All of this is my fault."
"What's your fault?"
"Have you heard?" The worker turned to face the nurse. "The man who disappeared the other day, that was my coworker."
"Oh my," Lay remarked, not knowing what sign of emotion he should convey. He pursed his lips and took a deep breath. "How does that make it your fault? If you don't mind me asking."
"He was working a night shift." The other explained as he ruffled his hair. He turned to face Lay again. "That was supposed to be my shift."
"Your shift..." Lay began. "And that's when they took him?"
The other nodded, then quickly looked away. "Do you know what that feels like?"
Lay shrugged slightly. "In a way, I suppose."
"When someone you don't know personally just disappears out of your life?" The man begun. "What if I never see him again? Just the thought of that is horrible, and I don't even know him at all."
"I know how you feel," Lay agreed, offering up his empathy. "I see patients come and go all the time. It's unfortunate."
The other proceeded to take off his glasses and began cleaning them with the fabric of his button-up shirt. Something in his eyes looked different.
"Woah," Lay muttered. "Do that again,"
"Do what?"
"Put your glasses on and take them off again," Lay instructed, and the man did so accordingly. The brown in his eyes turned bright blue when he took off his glasses.
"What color are your eyes?" Lay asked.
"Brown." He looked at Lay with a scrunched up face. "Why do you ask?"
"Can I see these?" The other handed his glasses over.
"What are you doing?" The man asked as Lay took the glasses and squinted at them.
