Part Five

I ran my way to the hospital that Elarin told me John was at. It was just inside the wall that separated the slums from the rest of the city. Inside, the place seemed rather busy and chaotic. Nurses and doctors were yelling out orders and running back and forth trying to get to their next patient as fast as they could. Obviously, no one could help me find John. Except for Elarin. She had been waiting for me, knowing the state of the hospital. She said something, but it was hard to hear over the chaos. When I tried to ask her what she said, they just grabbed my arm and pulled me outside. The doors slid open to escort us out then slid back again to keep the noise in and a red “X” came up on the door’s projector.

“El, what’s going on?” I asked her as she walked me over to a nearby bench. “Why’d they lock the door?”

She sat down and just shook her head. “They’re at full capacity.” She said without looking at me. “And they don’t need any visitors getting in the way.” She took a deep breath and leaned back. “But um, good news. I think John’s ok.” She put on a little smile for me then pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and promptly lit one up.

I didn’t notice until that moment, just how very tired she looked. This version of her seemed so very different from my Elarin. If it was anyone else, I would have thought that she was just stressed about John, but I felt like something heavier was weighing on her mind.

“El, did something else happen?” I asked her. She finally looked at me and I could see the tears behind her eyes. That was answer enough. When I took her in my arms she let it all go. After, she told me everything.