Denial: Stage 2

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The beeping sound of a heart rate monitor is heard as Lazarus lies in a hospital bed. He slowly comes to, groaning as he does.

"You're awake. That's good." Elias says, standing not far from the bed towards the door.

Lazarus groggily opens his eyes, "It sounds like there was a chance I might not."

"Well, with the type of damage you've been taking lately, I'd say it's a serious possibility." Elias fires back.

"He's right, you've gotta take it easy." Martha says from the nearest corner of the room to Lazarus' bed.

Lazarus sighs, annoyed, "You worry too much. I'm fine."

He tries to sit up, not successfully before he lies back down.

"You almost died Russ, AGAIN. I don't think it's too much to ask for you to slow down."

Lazarus focuses on Elias, "What happened to Morley?"

"He's... gone."

Lazarus looks at him with anger, "You let him escape? Last I heard you were right outside the door."

"And when I finally got in the door, he was gone and his kitchen window was open."

Lazarus watches him for a moment, "Why didn't you go after him?"

"My partner and friend was lying on the floor, I figured it was more important to deal with you." suggests Elias, slightly joking.

"You should've gone after him." insists Lazarus with anger.

"Russ!" Martha interjects, clearly angry with him.

"What?" fires back Lazarus at his sister.

"You could've died Russ."

"But I didn't. I'm fine, and Morley is still out there. We need to get him."

"We will." declares Elias.

"So let's go." Lazarus insists, trying to get up but Martha closes the distance between them and pushes him back down.

"Not a chance."

Lazarus tries again to leave his bed and Martha again pushes him back down, making him cringe and groan at the pain.

"You're not going anywhere."

"Listen to your sister Russ." Elias insists, moving next to Martha in the room, "She's trying to help you."

"She can help me by letting me go so I can catch Morley." Lazarus says, trying again to get up but getting knocked back down by his sister.

"We'll get him Russ, without your help. We've got our people looking." Elias pushes back.

"The same people who failed to see that he killed his sister?" suggests Lazarus with disdain.

Elias and Martha look at each other, surprised and confused.

"He killed his sister?" Martha asks.

"Why do you think he hit me?" Lazarus pushes back, "He thought it would be fun for me?"

"We figured that you were just your normal, charming self and that's why he did it." Elias jokes, "But I guess that means security will be doing double duty."

"Double duty?" questions Lazarus.

"We knew you would want to go looking for him for hitting you, even if we didn't know about what he'd done. So we have some of our officers posted outside." explains Elias.

"To keep me in?" asks Lazarus angrily.

"That was the plan, but now it's also to keep Morley out."

"Also? I don't need to be kept here."

"The captain has signed off on this Russ. She doesn't want you doing anything stupid like getting involved in the manhunt."

"You might as well just accept it."

Lazarus looks at his sister and his partner, eventually letting out a deep sigh.

* * *

Martha makes her way to her car in the hospital parking lot. As she gets there, she pulls out her keys.

"I understand now." a voice says from behind, "He is the one."

Martha turns to see who it is but is knocked out as she does.

"And you will bring him to us... so he can save us all."

"

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