Darkest Just Before The Dawn

Chapter 1: Inpatient

"Is she going to be alright?" I ask the doctor.

"She's going to be fine. Speaking of, I could use a ward too," he responds.

Knowing what most of my officers do to their wards, I look at him with great suspicion. Could that really be his motive? He doesn't seem like the type. He's more of a nerd. Tall, lanky, hairline receeding, thick glasses, an unfastened button on his jacket... I could go on for days.

"Gorman's not going to be happy. He had his eye on her," I explain.

"Gorman already has Joan. What kind of a doctor doesn't have a nurse to assist him?" He snaps back.

"He has Joan if we ever find her. It's been a couple of days now," I tell him.

"Yeah, I wonder why she went missing," he sarcastically replies.

He makes a good point. Most of my officers have wards already. Admittedly, some are treated better than others, depending on who they're assigned to. I'd have to assume he'd take care of his ward, and I'd hope she'd tell him to fasten that button.

"Okay then, she's yours. We'll introduce ourselves when she's awake, and you can explain how things work around here." I instruct.

I'm just about to dismiss him when we hear a pounding sound come from the door just down the hall, where the girl in question is being held.

"She's awake, let's go. Fasten that damn button and try to look professional," I demand, as we walk towards the door.

"Hey! Hello! Hey!" The girl screams from inside the room.

I open the door and enter with the doctor, to see the girl weilding her IV needle as weapon.

"Everything's okay. Okay?" The doctor assures her.

"Put it down. Drop it right now," I demand, with my hand on my holstered gun.

She immediately drops the needle to the floor and curiously stares at us, awaiting an explaination.

"I'm Dr. Steven Edwards. This is Officer Dawn Lerner. How are you feeling?" Dr. Edwards asks.

"Where am I?" She asks, ignoring the question.

"Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta," Dr. Edwards answers.

"How did I get here?" She wants to know.

"My officers found you on the side of the road surrounded by rotters," I inform her.

"Your wrist was fractured and you sustained a superficial head wound. Can you remember your name?" Dr. Edwards cuts in.

"Beth," the girl answers simply, before a brief pause. "The man I was with, is he here, too?" She adds.

"You were alone. If we hadn't saved you, you'd be one of them right now. So you owe us," I tell Beth, before instructing Dr. Edwards to show her around and go over the way things work here.

I exit the room and notice my ward, Noah, mopping the hallways like I asked. Also one of my officers, Tanaka is walking towards me, with a clipboard. He must be wanting to report some findings from his last patrol. We finally reach each other in the hallway and discuss the details right there.

"Find anything useful out there?" I inquire.

"No people, but I did find a box of twinkies and a few jars of peanut butter, in the back of a pick-up truck. I put it all in the storage room," He says.

"Any rotter activity?" I continue.

"Nothing out of the usual. Seen a few handfuls every couple of blocks. Took a few of 'em down by the pick-up truck, but that's it," Tanaka explains.