Created

Chapter Seven

I was nervous as I peered through the small, square window in the door, observing the scene before I entered Adam’s hospital room. I felt bad just walking in unannounced and was afraid of his response.

Most of the rooms were set up like his, small, with a white bed sitting horizontally against the left wall, a small table to it’s left, and a window on the far wall. From what I could see in this small, darkly lit room, the bed hadn’t been so much as touched, and the light’s not even turned on. The only light came from the window across the room, but it was definitely not enough to light the room sufficiently. The fact was, it looked like no one had even been inside. I wondered for a moment if anyone had. I knocked lightly on the door, out of courtesy. Slowly, suspiciously, I opened the door and flicked on the lights. The bright florescent light from above seemed to explode throughout the seemingly empty white room, and I jumped as an invisible someone cried out.

“Ah, my eyes!” it cried from the other side of the hospital bed. Startled, I jumped back and watched with wide eyes as the top of Adam’s head appeared over the top of the crisp white sheets on the bed. “I liked the lights off,” Adam complained quietly. I got a hold of myself quickly, remembering Nurse Weedman just outside the door.

“But… But it was so dark in here,” I replied, not really sure how to respond this this. Adam looked away thoughtfully.

“I’m just not fond of electric lights. It makes everything glare a little, you know? But, I suppose my eyes just need to adjust…” he muttered, and slowly, those green eyes disappeared back behind the bed. It was silent again. That Adam certainly wasn’t a chatty one.

Swallowing back any fears I’d deemed irrational and clutching my new clipboard tightly to my chest, I closed the door and walked around the bed. There sat Adam, looking so unthreatening there on the floor. His knees were pulled up into his chest in some sort of mock fetal position. In his hands, and with his concentration, was a sketch he was drawing. A beautiful girl started up at me through black Egyptian eyes, her mischievous smile hiding her thoughts. Adam’s hands moved quickly. Soon, the long blonde hair became apparent as he drew so passionately. Intrigued, I sat down next to him to watch. We shared several seconds of silence there on the cold tile floors, both of us watching the girl come to life under his pencil.

“She’s so pretty,” I commented quietly.

“Yeah, she is,” Adam responded. I watched as Adam’s pencil froze on the paper for a few seconds. I looked up into his face. He looked so… lonely as he stared at the girl. I wondered if she was his girlfriend. I was about to ask who she was, but before the words could leave my lips, Adam slapped the sketchbook shut right in front of my face. He looked over at me with those haunting eyes.

“I have come to a conclusion,” he said with nearly childish finality. “You really are trying to help me.” He looked at me and smiled. I couldn't help but smile back and nod.

“Yes, we are. What changed your mind about us?” I asked.

“This,” Adam said, and lifted the pencil in his hand. “When I asked for a sketchbook and pencil, they brought it to me. If I were a prisoner of some sort, a victim, you wouldn’t bother to bring me what I ask for to make me comfortable. So,” Adam looked up into my eyes once again. I began to recognize eye contact as a sign that he was being entirely serious. “So, I trust you, even though you locked the door when you put me in here.” They locked the door? I glanced back at the door behind me, looking above the sheets on the bed. I hoped it wasn’t locked now.

When I looked back at Adam, he had already started drawing again.

"Are you going to try to find out who I am?" Adam asked, looking over at me. I sighed and looked down at the clipboard that was sitting in my lap, holding a blank questionnaire, waiting for me to fill it with information.

"No." I replied finally. "I won't get anything if you don't want me to, Adam. Everything I know will depend on if you want to tell me." I turned and stared into Adam's face, noticing some of the colour had returned to his cheeks, expelling most of the sickest grey. He was staring at nothing, thinking hard. He looked up from our seat on the floor towards the sky, a perfect little square of blue captured in his tiny window. I wondered exactly what was going on in his head. Without turning to look at me, Adam began to respond.
"I said I trusted you, and part of trusting you would be to talk to you, but I promise, Claire, I won't tell you everything." I looked down at my lap again, at my paper with all the Board and the Hospital's questions. I thought of all the things I knew that I certainly wouldn't want to go around telling complete strangers in hospitals. Unfortunately, a lot of my childhood flashed through my memory. There were most certainly things in my own personal story I would want anyone to know.
"I understand. I'm not asking for any of your secrets. Anything you don't want me to know, well, we can just skip those questions. I don't want you feeling at all uncomfortable." I'm sure the Board would object to my decision. They'd want me to force all the answers out of him, but that was where I put my foot down. They could take control of my life, they could mess with me all they wanted, but they wouldn't get Adam. I refused to let those control freaks have free access to every last bit of information about him. Heck, he shouldn't have anything to do with this mess to begin with! Adam had just been dragged into this to be the test subject for their guinea pig-me. I vowed at that moment that I would everything in my power to protect him from the Board. Everything.
Adam smiled sweetly at me. "Thank you, Cla-oh wait!" Adam stopped, looking a little confused. "Do I, do I call you Nurse Claire or something?" He asked. I laughed quietly. I'd had been called a nurse twice in one day, once when that other volunteer called me Head Nurse, and now. I was on a roll. But my face grew grim as it occurred to me that I would have to tell Adam. I wasn't really a nurse as had thought. How would he respond? I looked away from his kind, trusting face and began fingering the big white buttons that lined all the way down my lab-coat looking nurses uniform.
"Well, no, actually, I'm just Claire. Not Nurse Claire or anything like that. I-I don't have a title." Adam looked over at me, his eyebrows coming together in a look of confusion. I began to explain. "I'm only a volunteer. For some reason, I'm not really sure why, its some sort of test or something, they assigned me to you." Adam stared grimly into my eyes, trying to see if I was lying or not. He could tell I wasn't joking-I could see the shock in his eyes.
"They? Who are 'they'?" Adam asked, alarmed. I sighed sadly and looked back down at my knees, at my clipboard.
"The Board, a committee that runs the Hospital," I told him. "They're only tyrants, bullies, if you ask me." I said. "The Board has nearly the whole hospital brainwashed. Its really scary, actually..." Adam sat, thinking.
"Puppetmasters," he muttered so quietly I almost didn't hear him. I nodded.
"That's exactly what it feels like..." I said, half to myself. I looked toward Adam with frightened eyes.

"They-They really scare me." Adam stared into my eyes and slowly reached to take my hand. He squeezed my palm reassuringly.

"It's okay," he said. "I'll help you." He smiled sweetly at me, but that was all he said. He turned back to his art. Awkwardly, I sat there, and let my hand drop to the ground. He'd help me? I was trying to help him!! I smiled a little. Adam was genuinely a good person. I could tell that, even though we'd only been talking for a little while.

"Well, um, I need to fill out this information," I broke the silence awkwardly. Such a mundane thing seemed trivial next to the kind thing he'd said to me, even though it, too, was only little. I tapped the clipboard with my pen. "Uh, it's for the hospital, so we can register you and begin treating you."
“So this is a hospital… Okay!” Wow… Did he just realize that?
“Well, um, yeah. But, anyway, um the first question. Shall I begin?” I asked.
“Please do,” he invited me politely. I scribbled the date quickly at the top of the page and began. “Alright. Name?”
“Adam,” he answered.
“Well, yes, I know that. But I also need your last name.” Adam cocked his head, looking a little confused as he thought.
“I, uh… I don’t think I have a last name…” Adam said thoughtfully. I was shocked.
“Huh? What do you mean? You must have a last name! Everyone does!!”
“I guess I don’t,” Adam said.
“Are you sure you just don’t remember it or something, maybe you hit your head that night, you could have selective amnesia, something?” Adam shook his head sadly.
“I know I remember everything. I know I remember never have been given a last name. I’m just glad I have a first name.”
“Um, yeah, okay, just ‘Adam’. Alright.” I wrote down his name, then added a note to the side. ‘No known surname’. “The next question is your birthday?” Adam had to think a moment about this, too.
“January 22, 2049.” I’m glad this answer wasn’t so… strange. And, this meant Adam was the same age as me, 18.
“Next one. What’s wrong with you?”
“Huh?” Adam said, looking over at me.
“Well, uh, what’s wrong, what are you in the hospital for?” I clarified.
“Well…” Adam thought some more. It looked like this answer would be another elusive one, but it wasn’t. Not really. “Well, I’m not quite sure. I guess I’m just not feeling all too well. Is that a good answer for your clipboard?” I nodded.
“That’s just fine. You’ll have to tell the doctor what you think is wrong, though. Have you had any past illnesses, anything else in the past that’s brought you to the Emergency Room?” I asked, for the next question.
“Nope.”
“Do you have insurance?”
“No,” Uh, oh. “Well, no wait, don’t put that down yet. I might. I don’t really know. I think I could pay for it, even if we don’t have insurance… But we might anyway, you know, it’d be smart to keep that around. How would I get a hold of them anyway…?” Adam was going to keep going, but I interrupted him.
“Yes or no? I can’t put down ‘maybe’.”
“Oh, uh, okay, yes-wait no!! Er, um, put yes! Put yes, that’s my final answer, yes!”
“That’s your final answer?” I teased.
“Yes!!” I giggled a little at Adam’s franticness. What a funny guy! His little panic attacks seemed to be short, but constant. It was actually rather amusing, I was embarrassed to say. I was starting to really like him, though. He was cute when he panicked, even though I wished he'd be a little more laid back and unafraid, for his own sake. I guess I wanted the same thing for myself as well.
I was a little worried to put down ‘yes’ if Adam was so unsure. I didn’t want to get in trouble, this was a big thing!! But I decided to trust him and wrote ‘yes’ anyway, but crossed my fingers for luck.
“Okay, I put down ‘yes, you have insurance’.” Adam let out his breath and slumped a little.
“I’m glad that one’s over. The stress was awful.” I laughed out loud this time. He was taking this all so seriously! (But, then again, I guess whether he can pay us or not IS something to take seriously!)
Adam looked over at me wearily. “Any more questions?” he asked, sounding a little pained.
“Nope, that’s the last one,” I told him and smiled when he sighed loudly. “But I do have to record some basic things, like height and weight, get a new picture of you, you know, little stuff! Then we’re done! That alright?” Adam nodded and gave me a tired smile.
“I think I can do that.”