"Miss whats your name?" The nurse asked me after I had gotten dressed and was waiting by her station, her pen clicked and perched above the paper in anticipation. "Right now your name is Jane Doe so I figured you'd want to change that. If you didn't like your name before or hated your family now is the time to change it because what you tell me now will be what we call you forever." She explained. I was thoughtful for a minute before replying.
"I don't hate my name or my family. I just wish she was like she used to be..." I said quietly. I stared at the floor for a minute before I suddenly realized I never answered her question. "My name is Lacy Von Alluni."
"Von a middle name or part of the last name?"
"Its not written together but we've always said it together." I clarified.
"Alright, Lacy. Age?"
"18." She nodded and marked it down.
"Birthday?"
"February 14th."
"Aww! Valentines Day baby!" She gushed. I reddened, I hated when everyone did that...
"All your medical stuff is already filled out and all other information isn't really necessary so that's it." She said looking up and giving me a warm smile.
"Now it's my turn to ask you questions!" I said happily. She gave me a worried look but then prepared herself and went serious again.
"Try me."
"Does the Doc actually have a name or do y'all just call him the doctor all the time?" I asked genuinely curious, this made her laugh.
"That's everyone's first question! But anyways no, or yes actually I guess but he doesn't tell anyone it." I thought about this for a second then looked around for a chair to settle in and chat with her but couldn't find one so I quickly jumped on the desk and folded my legs across each other while her back was turned. When she turned around again and noticed my new seating choice she didn't look happy but didn't protest it either.
"That's odd... What is this place?" I asked, she smiled again.
"Everyone's second question." She teased, " This place is called the facility an-"
"Its sounds like someone who is named "The Doctor" named "The Facility"." I said sarcastically, cutting her off mid sentence. "Sorry, please continue."
"He did," She said with a nervous laugh, "He spends his time treating hurt and abandoned people and relocating them." She explained, "That's the purpose of this place." I was about to ask what she meant by "relocating" but I thought better of it.
"Where can I hang off a balcony flashing people?"
"What?!" She screeched in shock, dropping some papers that had been in her hand. I heard someone down the hall choke on a drink.
"The next question someone would ask is what you meant by relocating so to keep you on your toes I went a completely random and spontaneous route. You gotta be ready for any crazy person like me!" I laughed, enjoying every moment of her horrified face.
"Oh, okay... You scared me for a second." She laughed nervously with red tipped ears then looked down the hall and focus on someone.
"Its okay Sir. She was just joking." I followed her gaze to The doctor who was leaning out of a doorway down the hall.
"Damn, I would have said my room." He said, playfully cracking a joke.
"Sir!" The nurse gasped in shock. The red hue now consumed her entire face. The Doc and I shared a chuckle at her expense then he disappeared again.
"Watch what you say." She warned, "He pops up randomly, it's like he hears through walls or something..."
"I do what I wanna!" I said in a joking, sassy voice. She shook her head but couldn't suppress her laugh.
"Now back to what we were talking about!" I nodded and listened intently. "The hu-people that we save either stay with us and do a job to help out our little society and the facility function or they leave to start a new life else where. Everyone gets to choose what they do." I had given her a questioning look when she stumbled just before saying "People" but I didn't think to much about it.
"Does anyone ever go back to their old life?" I asked.
"Another normal question." She said with a wink, picking up the teasing again. "No that's the one rule we have here. After you've seen the facility you can't go back, you only go forward."
"Watch it, you've already seen how weird my mind gets when it's challenged and called normal." I warned, shaking my finger at her.
"So I've noticed." She laughed.
"You guys call this a little society?" I said skeptically throwing a glance around the small hospital ward.
"This is just the clinic honey." She said gently. I smiled when she called me honey, she was so warm and loving that she reminded me of my Ma from when I was little, all I wanted now was for her to give me a big hug. "You've barely seen any of the compound yet."
"Is it all run by the Doc?" I asked.
"Uh huh. He's the commander and chief of everything here. I nodded then suddenly became obsessed with the thought of exploring my new home and what I might find. I felt a gaze on us and looked up to see The White Coat coming down the hallway behind the nurse's station.
"Don't look now..." I said then leaning in to her ear "It's behind you!" I whispered fiercely. She was confused and looked behind her then jumped, turning away again and looking like she wanted to disappear.
"Whats up doc?" I said with a smile.
"Would you like a carrot with that Bugs Bunny?"
"Ohh pop culture reference, nice! I'm surprised, you strike me as the type of person who lives under a rock and is allergic to fun." His eyes narrowed and the nurse looked like she was about to have a stress induced stroke. But like a good sport The Doctor gave a little chuckle and let the jab roll off him as he carried out his business at the nurse's station.
"What are you still doing here for?" He asked nonchalantly and looked at me with that same guarded expression from before.
"Just talkin' a little shit about you with my new buddy." I said sarcastically. His gaze went cold and made even me want to shiver, I knew I was wearing on his patience. The nurse jumped with fright,
"No we're not Sir!" She gasped. looking at him then throwing a desperate look at me. "Why do you keep doing that!?" She whispered fiercely to me. I shrugged and the Doc smiled at her. "Get out of here! Go to breakfast you trouble maker!" She said with a little edge to her voice and pushing me off the desk. I laughed then dragged myself down the hall. I didn't look back at them but I heard her sigh and tell him.
"She is going to be a difficult one."
"That's alright, we're good at fixing the difficult ones." He told her.
I wondered what he meant by this as I wandered down the hall. I wasn't sure where I was going because I wasn't done asking the nurse questions but my sarcasm threw me out on my own and now it was up to me to make myself swim. With a bad sense of direction and no knowledge of this place at all I just started opening random doors trying to find my way.
"Oh god, sorry!" I exclaimed when I opened the door to another patient room and caught a boy changing. He was mostly dressed and only had his shirt left to put on but it was still embarrassing. He was hot so I couldn't help but stare for a minute but then he shot me a flirty smile and a wink so I quickly shut the door, rolling my eyes. Finally I found a door that led to an outside courtyard. There was a stream of people all headed towards one building so I followed them and found myself standing inside a big lunch room. I stood in the middle of the buzzing room in a daze. All the movement made me feel dizzy.
"Are you alright?" I heard a voice ask me. I turned to see it belonged to one of the ladies serving food. She was very stout with aged skin and light brown hair wrapped up in a fishnet cap. I nodded to her. "You new?" I nodded again, unsure why I couldn't seem to make a voice come out. A smile broke out on her face. "Come here, get some food." She instructed, I grabbed a tray and put it in the line in front of her. "Did they just throw you into the mix without any help?"
"Yes but I was kinda a bitch to the Doc so I deserve it." I said, finally forming a sentence with a nervous laugh. She smiled again,
"Don't worry, he has a thing for troubled ones and deals with them all the time so I seriously doubt you hurt his feelings at all." I nodded and she dumped some bacon and eggs on my plate. I looked at it in surprise, expecting school lunch room food but this actually seemed nice. I moved down the line and another lady put some apple juice on my tray and another some grapes. After that I found a quiet deserted table in a corner no one had claimed and sat thoughtful poking at my food every now and then. I only slightly nibbled on a piece of bacon before being done. It wasn't that it was bad, it was actually very good, I just wasn't much of an eater. Instead I hungered for my thoughts and exploration, they were the only sustenance I needed in life.
"You should eat, your too thin for your age and height." A voice said, annoyingly pulling me from my thoughts. I rolled my eyes and looked up.
"Do all doctors have a god complex or think they know everything like you do?" I snapped. I looked past him an noticed that everyone was leaving now and the medical staff was now coming in for breakfast.
"Hey lay off, you barely know me and if you'd eat you wouldn't be so snappy, your blood sugar is probably low." He said defensively. I sighed, putting my face in my hands. I really didn't feel like talking right now. "Are you alright?" He asked and I heard the bench across from me creak under the weight of him sitting down. "You were so talkative before and now you try to hide your face, why is that?"
"I really don't want to be examined or.. or scrutinized or bothered right now." I told him rubbing my temples.
"Fine." He said but continued to sit with me. After a long silence he spoke again. "I only asked because I don't know everything like you implied. I don't know you well so I wanted to ask to get to know you and I'm not good at judging people like you's feelings yet so if I ask questions it just because I'm trying to learn more so I can help others." He explained looking down and rolling an apple around on the table. I narrowed my eyes,
"What do you mean people like me?" I said feeling a little offended.
"Never mind... I shouldn't have brought it up." He said looking towards the other tables. He looked like a trapped animal that desperately wanted to escape but he held on not wanting to give in. The silence returned and I felt a little bad, I wasn't exactly the easiest person to be talking to right now but at least he was trying.
"Here's some food Sir." A boy from the lunch room came slinking up to him and placed a tray in front of him, avoiding his eyes. The Doc smiled his thanks and the boy ran back to the kitchen. We ate for a while in awkward silence... well he ate, and finally I decided to throw him a bone for trying so hard to start a conversation by talking.
"I don't eat much because food makes me feel sick, I've never been a big fan of it." I said quietly looking down. He looked up at me at first shocked that I said something but then he cocked his eye brows in skepticism.
"Everyone has to eat, how are you still alive then?"
"Luck?" I said. He snorted, 'Now who's the hard to talk to snob?' I thought, internally rolling my eyes. But then his gaze turned to curiosity as he continued to look at me.
"Something isn't right then yo- ...sorry, no examining you right now." He said cutting off mid sentence and looking down.
"Its not normal for most people but it is for me." I told him. "and I know me better then anyone else." He nodded, excepting my point. "...Shouldn't you be mad? Why are you here?" I asked, referring to my comments to him earlier and also slightly bothered by the fact my tactics of getting rid of him weren't working.
"Because I'm not mad, you'll know when I'm mad, trust me. Anyways I understand this is a weird and stressful time for you and I just wanted to make sure you were alright."
"I don't need a doctor." I said quickly, he nodded.
"A friend then."
"No I don't, I'm plenty happy."
"Yes you do, your sitting at breakfast alone ignoring everyone else, most people make friends so they can have some comfort here." He pointed out.
"Yeah cause its my first day here!"
"Technically third." He jutted in, cutting me off. "But go on."
"Well my first day awake then, and I'm not alone, I have my friendly, neighborhood stalker doctor." I smiled sweetly but still very sarcastically. He laughed at this. "Plus me and the nurse are very tight, best friends even."
"You don't even know her name, you keep calling her nurse." He pointed out, looking a little proud of himself like he had won this argument.
"I don't know your name either." I pointed out back at him, his pride deflated.
"True..."
"and I accidentally walked into a room with a guy changing trying to find my way out of the clinic, the way he was acting I'm sure we would have been great friends if I had stayed." I joked, "Maybe would have even made it to 3rd base." He didn't laugh though, he just looked at me with that same guarded expression. "Oh come on that was funny!" I laughed but he refused to give a reply to it. "What is your name anyways?" I asked curiously.
"The Doctor." He said plainly.
"Wow. Your mama is so original, it reminds me of the middle ages when they would name kids after the job they would have" He didn't receive the mama comment very well either, he seemed very agitated at this point.
"Whats your name?" He countered, pushing away all my comments.
"Why would I tell you my name if you won't tell me your?"
"Because I have told you mine, and if you wont tell me I'll go find out some other way." He said with a little devilish glint in his eyes. I grinned at him.
"We'll see who wins this one..."