Day Two ∞ Saturday afternoon
IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG for the girl to fall asleep again. Danny sat at the end of the bed and watched it happen. He couldn't blame her. During the short time she'd been up, he'd pretty much caused her to go through an emotional roller coaster ride. There was no doubt that not being able to remember troubled her. She hardly spoke while they had lunch. Now it wasn't going to be enough for him to just watch over her.
As soon as she was strong enough he would help her in any way he could to get her memory back, for her to find out where she belonged, for her to find out what had happened to her. And anything else she needed.
Like clothes, he thought, glancing at the dresser where his sister had left a few for the girl. He was sure those would be a couple of sizes too big. And the clothes she came in that hung freshly washed inside the closet—they were all she had.
Just the clothes on your back. That won't do.
He looked back at her, nodding to himself. That would be his mission from now on. At least now he didn't have to think of her as just 'the girl' anymore. She had a name. Well, it might be a temporary substitute, but still... It was a name he could call her by. Mickmi.
The sound of barking interrupted his thoughts, and then the toot of a horn. That must be the doctor. He sighed and rose. She wasn't going to get much sleep right now.
When he got outside he found Zorro sitting beside the Maverick keeping guard, with teeth bared. Phil was jokingly baring his teeth back at the dog.
"Okay, I got your message. I'm not getting out. Good afternoon, Danny."
"Afternoon," Danny replied. "It's okay, Zorro, come here." He walked over to the side of the house where the runner leash was. The dog trotted promptly over to him so he could attach the clip to its collar and give it a rub between the ears. "Good boy."
He returned to the front. "You can come out now."
Phil nodded and stepped out with his bag. Danny watched as he reached back into the car for a file on a clipboard.
"Gina's not here, you know," he commented.
Phil closed the car door and straightened himself. "Yeah, I know. She called me last night." He followed Danny onto the porch. "A shame, really. I was going to take her out for dinner tonight."
Danny stopped by the screen door to look at the doctor. "Oh?"
"Yeah. To cheer her up."
Danny nodded. Gina would have appreciated that.
"How's the patient?"
"She's better. She's been up and eaten since morning. She doesn't remember anything, though." Danny pulled the screen door open and entered.
Phil followed. "That's not surprising."
Danny glanced back at the doctor. "Well, apart from a name—kind of." He led the way up the stairs. "How are the tests you took?" he threw over his shoulder.
"They're all negative. She appears in good health, and she's type O-negative. However, there is a... an anomaly that concerns me. I need another blood sample to investigate it properly."
Danny stopped in front of the guest room and glanced at the doctor again.
"Oh." He hesitated, not sure what Mickmi would say to that. "I'll wake her." He pushed the door open.
Mickmi's eyes flew open with a start as he gently shook her shoulder.
"Hey, Mickmi. The doctor is here to see you."
She gazed at him for a moment, then turned her eyes to Phil standing at the end of the bed.
Danny straightened himself. "Mickmi—Doctor... Phil? Phil, this is Mickmi."
"It's Doctor Roberts," Phil smiled. "Hello, Mick-mi. How are you feeling?"
She pushed herself up to a sitting position and nodded once to the doctor, then looked questioningly at Danny.
"It's okay, he was here yesterday. Remember?"
Her eyes followed him as he left the room.
When Phil came back out, he found Danny leaning with his elbows on the railing overlooking the staircase. He cleared his throat.
"She's progressing fine. It's remarkable how quickly her bruises are healing."
Danny turned around. "So? She's a fast healer."
"Yeah... Well," Phil pinched his chin thoughtfully, "I've never seen it like that before."
"And you got your second sample?"
"Yes. Though she was puzzled, asking why I wasn't using a... a... some 'Bir'?" He stared at the door. "Not sure what she was talking about."
Danny was tempted to say, That what you're doing is obsolete, but something held him back. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to share such information. It wasn't his to share anyway. He gestured for the doctor to go ahead, and followed him.
At the bottom of the stairs, Phil turned to him. "Could I get some water?"
"Sure." They went into the kitchen.
"Thanks." Phil sat down with the glass he received. Danny leaned back against the counter watching as the doctor took his time to drink.
"So she'll be fine. But what about the amnesia?"
Phil lowered the glass. "If she has amnesia she'll need all the support she can get. From family, friends... Her memory will most likely return in bits and pieces, and some of it may be traumatic. It's a pity we don't know where she's from..."
"What do you suggest, Doc?"
"Check the missing persons reports."
"Aside from that. I mean," Danny added when Phil looked at him strangely, "I'd let her decide on that herself when she feels better. Or maybe she'll remember by then."
"Understood. Well... I'd suggest that she stays here then. It has become familiar to her and it's a stable environment. That's what she needs right now." He drank some more.
Danny took a deep breath; he knew that was what she needed. The doctor had just confirmed it for him. Then it sank in. "What d'you mean, if she has amnesia?"
Phil lowered the glass. "May I be candid?"
"Please."
"She could be faking it," he said, watching Danny keenly.
Danny was stunned. How could anybody think that? "No, she's not. I've talked to her. I've seen her reactions. That's not somebody who's faking it." He crossed his arms, looking steadily back at the doctor. He didn't like where this was going.
"Hm." Phil leaned on one elbow and drained the glass. Then he said, "You heard about the crash right? In the lake?"
A change of topic? What's next? "The weather satellite, yeah. I heard it on the radio."
"Well, there's a lot of rumors going on around about it at the hospital. We've had several campers come in with flash blindness after the incident."
Danny's brows rose. "Really?" He thought of the brightness in the sky that night.
"Some are saying a low-level EMP caused a temporary blackout in the area. We're not hearing that on the news."
"EMP? What the hell is that?"
"An electromagnetic pulse. There are different kinds, but some can cause an electrical surge, like... a lightning strike."
"Oh," Danny said, thinking back. Maybe the EMP caused his truck to stall too.
"But some are saying that what crashed wasn't a satellite at all. There was no huge splash apparently—it was more like... a forced landing sliding into the water." Phil used his hand in a flying motion to slide onto the counter. "By the way, where did you find the girl?"
Danny was taken aback; he hadn't seen that question coming. "Aah..., Lakeside. Just outside of town." A sense of alarm made him lie. "And she doesn't remember how she got there."
"Hm." Phil nodded, looking at him thoughtfully. Then he raised the glass to Danny and put it down in the middle of the counter. "Well... I won't need to come again unless something else crops up. Here's the number to the hospital. They'll page me if anything." He placed a business card next to the glass.
∞
Relieved to be rid of the doctor and his intimations, Danny climbed the stairs, deep in thought, and found Mickmi standing in the guest room doorway, her hand resting on the handle. He paused near the top of the steps and wondered why she was studying him.
"Why spoke you an untruth?" she said after a while.
He stared at her in surprise. Had she been sneaking around and eavesdropping?
She tilted her head slightly. "Nay. I need not eavesdrop. I know not why, but – sometimes – I can hear you."
His eyes widened. "I..."—he cleared his throat—"you... You can hear me? You mean you can hear me thinking?"
She blinked slowly in the affirmative. "Why spoke you not the truth?"
He barely registered that she'd repeated the question as he stared at her. But her expression was open without a hint of accusation. He took a deep breath. "I didn't think it was any of his business. Besides, he's not my friend."
They stared at each other for a while. Then her brows contracted in thought and her gaze drifted sideways. The next moment she looked back at him with a puzzled look on her face and said, "Am I your friend?"
Was she his friend? He couldn't answer; he hadn't even thought about it. He stared back at her, feeling like he'd just landed in an awkward moment. "Mickmi, I—"
"Can not answer," she whispered and lowered her eyes, backing into the room. The door closed quietly.
Danny exhaled sharply, staring at the door.
I'm an idiot. Here she was, alone, lost, without memory of family or friends. And he just had to hurt her feelings on top of everything else.
I should apologize.
He stepped up on the landing, heading for the guest room, but then turned and walked the other way—and stopped.
How was he supposed to do that? He raked his fingers through his hair as he looked across the banisters at her door.
Just do it. Sighing, he geared himself up to face her, when ringing interrupted him. He threw another glance toward the guest room before he answered the phone next to the balcony door.
"Missis Dee!" he said as he recognized the perky voice. "I'll be coming next week, as usual."
"I haven't forgotten, dear." The voice chuckled. "But that's not what I'm callin' about."
"Oh? What's up?" He sank down on the couch's armrest.
"I think you'd want to come and see for yourself. Before the wildlife people take it away."
"Wildlife?"
He heard some voices in the background. "Oh, the new neighbors are here... I've got to go, Danny. Will we see you in a bit?"
"Aah... sure." He stared at the receiver for a moment after the call ended, then hung up, frowning.
Wildlife people?
His gaze was drawn toward the guest room again. Maybe she'd like to come. Getting out might ease the awkwardness.
He circled the landing and knocked on the door. "Mickmi?"
He stuck his head in. She was sitting sideways in the window alcove, looking outside.
"Mickmi. There's something going on at my neighbor's down the road. I'm going to check it out—you wanna come? We'll take the truck, so you don't have to walk."
She turned her head to look at him. Then she nodded once.
"Okay. Well, get dressed then. Gina left some clothes for you over there on the dresser," he said and pointed.
Danny was leaning against the truck when Mickmi stepped outside. She was wearing Gina's white short-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of roomy jeans held up with a belt. The big bruise on her upper left arm was fading, and the scratches on her upper right arm were barely visible.
"Do those hurt any?"
She looked at her arm and then back at him. "Nay."
He opened the passenger door for her and pushed it shut after she got inside. He paused.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Mickmi nodded once in reply and he went around to the driver's side and climbed in.
"Let's find out what's going on."
As the truck rolled up to the cul-de-sac, Danny saw a number of men, some with rifles on their shoulders, making their way toward the woods between the two end houses. He parked, looking around. There were also two police cars, and a pickup truck and van from the National Wildlife Refuge parked in and next to the driveway. A group of women stood in discussion nearby, and a few children were chasing each other on the lawn.
He turned to Mickmi. "That's Missis Davenport over there. I'm going to talk with her, find out what's going on. You can stay here if you want, okay?"
She nodded once. "Okay," she said slowly, looking outside.
Danny hopped out and walked over to the group. "Missis Dee," he said loudly. "Good afternoon ladies," he added as the others turned their heads toward him.
"Danny! Am I glad to see you!" The woman came to him and grabbed his arm between her wrinkled hands, tilting her head as she looked up at him.
Danny smiled. "What's happening here, Missis Dee?"
"Would you believe, Bill found a dead cougar out there?" Mrs. Davenport pulled him with her. "Here, have you met Missis Henderson? She recently moved into ol' Ertman's house with her husband and the cutest little baby. This is Danny from down the road. He's been helpin' us to maintain our yard for several years now. He's a good boy," she added, patting him on the arm.
Danny shook hands with a dark blonde woman he didn't recognize. She had a chubby bundle dressed in green and white sitting on her arm, and it was gazing at him with unwavering interest. He wasn't sure if it was a girl or boy. "Welcome to our neighborhood, Missis Henderson. I'm Danny McGahn. From number nine," he added with a smile and made sure to give Mrs. Davis and Ms. Watson each a nod and a smile also.
He turned back to Mrs. Davenport. "A dead cougar?"
"Yes, and a cub. We heard that whistling cry several times yesterday—not a bird callin'. But it wasn't until the rain stopped that I would let my Bill go out to find out what it was. That's when he found the dead cat. The poor thing's an orphan. They're going to try to catch it now."
Danny looked toward the forest. "Oh... Okay. Well, I'm glad that thing's gone. It killed my sister's dog."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that! She must be very upset."
"Yes, she is. Any idea how it died?"
"Well, Bill says it was killed by some other animal."
By another animal?
— ∞ —
©2016 by kemorgan65
*Image from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/555139091539659080/