Sixteen (ON HOLD)

2.1 A Place of Healing

As the first squad car in the caravan rolled up to the emergency room driveway it became apparent that the media had gotten wind of the story.

“Well that sure as hell didn’t take long,” mumbled the Chief. “Just stop right here, I’m going to take care of this.”

The Chief was a large man, tall and reasonably still fit after years behind the desk. He had a stern solemn face, which could look downright intimidating if you were on the wrong end of it. Being serious, controlled and direct; that was what made him good at his job. He had no patience for these media hounds, especially when they got in the way of his operation. He walked towards the crowd of camera men and suited reporters with his hands already up in a halting motion.

“Alright people, let’s clear this area. You need to get back.”

Instead of retreating they rushed forward, mouths open all shouting questions at once that melded into one big roar. Remaining purposefully calm, the Chief stood still and allowed them to crowd around him for the time being. The questions flew at him like bullets.

“Is it true that the missing kids have returned?”

“Where have they been all this time?”

“Are there any suspects?

“What is their condition?”

He let the questions die down before bothering to try to talk over them. Once all the questions were on the table, a silence fell over the group as they awaited their answers.

“I have no comment at this time, now please get back – a good 20 feet or so should do, if you have to be here at all.”

Outrage swept the crowd as they erupted with a whole new barrage of questions and accusations about the public having a right to know and the media having a right to report the news. The Chief’s steady patience was wearing thin already as the pain of his loosely wrapped wrist throbbed under the cheap first aid kit bandage.  

“We have maybe eleven kids back, that leave five families in the dark and not one of them has been contacted yet,” he barked at them. “These kids are in shock, they need medical attention and right now you are standing in their way so I’m just going to ask one more time, step back.”

Sheepishly a few stepped back, with the rest of the still disgruntled mob reluctantly following suite. They were appeased for the moment by a promise from the Chief to come back personally with an update as soon as one was available. In exchange he requested that they not report the total number of kids returned until all of the parents had been contacted.

Kate watched this scene unfold from several cars back. She was skeptical of this group of people, all shouting and excited. Her instinct was to flee, but she had to think of the others. She could not leave them here alone. It had been a long and mostly silent car ride, with Kate in the back seat of her mother’s car and the two adults in the front. Kate’s mother had absolutely refused to stick her daughter into one of the squad cars. Kate wasn’t sure what the big deal was, she liked the blue and red lights the swirled around on the top of those cars.

She wasn’t the only one that was nervous. Kate’s mother touched a button that immediately locked all four doors of the car at once. Kate’s attention was captured as the click of the lock echoed in the quiet car. She noticed a small button on the door nearest to her and she pressed it. The door made the clicking sound again and she jumped back a little. Her heart started to race for no reason, just like it had back at the station when she first tried to leave the Chief’s office. She touched the button again, lock. She touched the button again, unlock. Ginny and Kate’s mother exchanged worried glances but Kate didn’t notice as she locked and unlocked the car over and over again until she started to feel better.

“How long has Kate had OCD? She certainly hasn’t forgotten about that,” Ginny said to the mother.

“Never. I’ve never seen her do this before,” her mother answered in a whisper.

Kate looked at her mother, then at Ginny. “What is O - C - D,” she asked.

“Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, the overwhelming desire to perform the same task over and over again like you just did with the lock on the door,” Ginny answered in the least clinical way she could think of.

Appearing to be lost in thought, Kate turned her gaze to the mob outside again. The Chief had successfully diffused them for the time being and the cars were starting to move forward again. While still looking out the window she said, “I suppose I have that. You can add that to my list of injuries.”

“Well it’s not an injury Kate, it’s more like a condition . . .” Ginny started to attempt an explanation but she was cut off when it was their turn to enter the hospital. “Never mind, it’s not important right now. Let’s go inside.”

Much like the men in blue uniforms, the people scurrying around in white coats seemed completely foreign to Kate. This building, hospital they had called it, was much larger than the police station. The large number of people it held made her uncomfortable and it seemed like everyone wanted to touch her or ask her questions. There was nothing about the place that seemed familiar to her, in fact there was nothing about the concept that was familiar to her. She had surmised that when people got sick or injured that came here but had no idea why it was necessary.

Sitting on the side of the bed, with her feet dangling over the edge, in her bland light blue hospital gown, there was little reason to suspect that Kate Sellers had been returned in any different condition than when she left. They checked her over carefully for bruises, for signs of malnutrition or abuse, and found nothing but her perfect smooth skin.

“She looks great, health wise, they all do,” said a young intern who was assisting the doctor on call that morning at the small hospital. “There’s not a mark on them, excellent heart rates and blood pressure, great reflexes, all that. So, what do you think is causing the amnesia?”

The doctor looked up towards the ceiling as if the answers were magically going to appear up there. After a while he answered, “Mass psychosomatic amnesia? Brain washing probably, maybe they were part of a cult.”

“Excuse me, what are you calling my daughter? A psycho- what?” Kate’s mother, maternal instincts ablaze, was fast to her feet and in the doctor’s face before she could hope to control herself.

Ginny put a calming hand on her shoulder, “He means, there might not be anything physically wrong with her. Sometimes the mind can convince the body that a condition exists when it doesn’t, for example if they are hypochondriac or in this case possibly brain washed or otherwise convinced it’s in their best interest not to remember something.”

“My daughter would not join a cult! Kate was a happy, smart, popular teenage girl and she had no reason to want to run away as I’ve already told both the detectives and the FBI about a million times.” She was crying now, her rage spilling out in tears that had been building up all morning long.

Just then, the door to the room opened and a young nurse in magenta scrubs stuck her head in briefly. “Doctor Hillbrand, you’re gonna wanna see this, room three.” She ducked back out just as quickly as she had appeard, leaving the door open behind her.

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Author's Note: Sorry this one was short, I have some time this weekend and hope to have the next bit up Sunday if at all possible!

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