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You gotta be kidding me. Am I really hearing this? Lockdown? Is this some kind of sick joke? Are they trying to scare the hell out of everyone? April Fool's Day was two weeks ago. Halloween is six months away. I looked around to make sure it was real. There were thick metal shutters on all of the windows. The glass exit doors were no longer visible. Instead I saw steel. This was no joke. There was a red emergency light flashing above our heads. Thankfully the ringing had stopped but not before leaving everyone a little more deaf than they were before. To my surprise, no one was panicking. Ms. Santos was holding her son close to her (how I envied him). Old Lady Hickory looked asleep. How anyone could sleep through all the noise a minute ago, I can't explain. Hickory's grandson was looking around as clueless as I was at this moment.
I looked through the glass window. Jane, the receptionist was gone. She must have retreated to the Staff Only Crisis Shelter. Or maybe something else had happened. Maybe the reason the hospital is now under lockdown has something to do with Jane's disappearance. I quickly removed the thought from my mind. No use scaring myself to death over mere speculation. It's a good thing the glass window was closed. I looked around again. Ms. Santos was obviously scared. Her son was crying. Mrs. Hickory's grandson was looking at me as if I had the answers. How should I know what to do in a situation like this? I looked back at the empty chair behind the glass window. Half expecting Jane to be back. She wasn't coming back. Somehow I just knew that.
I looked down at the floor and tried to come up with some answers. Why is the hospital in lockdown? Where did Jane go? What the hell are we supposed to do now? Why doesn't someone shut off this stupid ******* light?
"Excuse me, sir." A tiny voice said above me. I looked up slowly. It was the grandson.
"What?" I asked him.
"My name is Tim Hickory. Is this **** for real?"
"I'm Lance. Unfortunately Tim, I believe this **** is for real."
"So what are we supposed to do, Lance? Are they gonna let us out?"
"I don't know, Tim. I don't like to make a habit of getting caught in lockdowns."
"Do you really think this is a good time to be cracking jokes? We have to get out of here!" Tim was starting to get a little agitated. Which would eventually make me get a little agitated. This was something I wanted to avoid.
"You know they say 'Laughter is the best medicine.'" No response from Tim.
"Okay seriously kid, calm down. Go back to your seat, sit down and be patient. I'm sure they'll let us out in a few minutes."
"You really think so?" Tim asked in a very curious childlike voice.
"Yeah sure. Whatever." What the hell is wrong with this guy?
First he seems normal enough, then he gets an attitude and now he's like a little kid. That's almost enough mood swings to build a playground.
Tim went back to his seat. I had just met the guy and I already knew I wouldn't like him. He seemed like one of those types that takes life way too seriously. They usually don't mix well with people like me. Plus, something was wrong with him. We all stayed in our seats and waited. And waited. About an hour later, it was evident that we were going to be here for awhile.
The next time I looked around, Ms. Santos' son had fallen asleep. Mrs. Hickory was wide awake. I guess they were on alternating shifts. Mrs. Hickory was asking Tim what was going on. She looked to be quite confused. By this time, my arm was starting to throb in pain, letting me know it was time to do something. So instead of sitting around waiting for something to happen, I decided to try a few ideas I had thought of. I wasn't trying to be a hero. Sometimes bad things happen and someone has to do something about it. In this case, someone turned out to be me.
You gotta be kidding me. Am I really hearing this? Lockdown? Is this some kind of sick joke? Are they trying to scare the hell out of everyone? April Fool's Day was two weeks ago. Halloween is six months away. I looked around to make sure it was real. There were thick metal shutters on all of the windows. The glass exit doors were no longer visible. Instead I saw steel. This was no joke. There was a red emergency light flashing above our heads. Thankfully the ringing had stopped but not before leaving everyone a little more deaf than they were before. To my surprise, no one was panicking. Ms. Santos was holding her son close to her (how I envied him). Old Lady Hickory looked asleep. How anyone could sleep through all the noise a minute ago, I can't explain. Hickory's grandson was looking around as clueless as I was at this moment.
I looked through the glass window. Jane, the receptionist was gone. She must have retreated to the Staff Only Crisis Shelter. Or maybe something else had happened. Maybe the reason the hospital is now under lockdown has something to do with Jane's disappearance. I quickly removed the thought from my mind. No use scaring myself to death over mere speculation. It's a good thing the glass window was closed. I looked around again. Ms. Santos was obviously scared. Her son was crying. Mrs. Hickory's grandson was looking at me as if I had the answers. How should I know what to do in a situation like this? I looked back at the empty chair behind the glass window. Half expecting Jane to be back. She wasn't coming back. Somehow I just knew that.
I looked down at the floor and tried to come up with some answers. Why is the hospital in lockdown? Where did Jane go? What the hell are we supposed to do now? Why doesn't someone shut off this stupid ******* light?
"Excuse me, sir." A tiny voice said above me. I looked up slowly. It was the grandson.
"What?" I asked him.
"My name is Tim Hickory. Is this **** for real?"
"I'm Lance. Unfortunately Tim, I believe this **** is for real."
"So what are we supposed to do, Lance? Are they gonna let us out?"
"I don't know, Tim. I don't like to make a habit of getting caught in lockdowns."
"Do you really think this is a good time to be cracking jokes? We have to get out of here!" Tim was starting to get a little agitated. Which would eventually make me get a little agitated. This was something I wanted to avoid.
"You know they say 'Laughter is the best medicine.'" No response from Tim.
"Okay seriously kid, calm down. Go back to your seat, sit down and be patient. I'm sure they'll let us out in a few minutes."
"You really think so?" Tim asked in a very curious childlike voice.
"Yeah sure. Whatever." What the hell is wrong with this guy?
First he seems normal enough, then he gets an attitude and now he's like a little kid. That's almost enough mood swings to build a playground.
Tim went back to his seat. I had just met the guy and I already knew I wouldn't like him. He seemed like one of those types that takes life way too seriously. They usually don't mix well with people like me. Plus, something was wrong with him. We all stayed in our seats and waited. And waited. About an hour later, it was evident that we were going to be here for awhile.
The next time I looked around, Ms. Santos' son had fallen asleep. Mrs. Hickory was wide awake. I guess they were on alternating shifts. Mrs. Hickory was asking Tim what was going on. She looked to be quite confused. By this time, my arm was starting to throb in pain, letting me know it was time to do something. So instead of sitting around waiting for something to happen, I decided to try a few ideas I had thought of. I wasn't trying to be a hero. Sometimes bad things happen and someone has to do something about it. In this case, someone turned out to be me.
