Shifting Sands - Chapter 63 - 04/27

[Pierry Louys]

This chapter it was mean one hahahah since everyone is waiting for what gonna happen next with Zack father and Kelly rsrs 

anyway it’s was excellent chapter 

[CDfm]

I was actually laughing at this a little bit.  I work in a hospital and one time we had a young guy, late 20’s come in pretty drunk.  Wet himself once so the ER charge nurse diapered him.  About 0400 he woke up again and got out of the bed.  He had also really wet the diaper.  The charge nurse sent him back to bed and I will forever remember the sight of this young healthy man crawling into bed with an obviously wet and sagging diaper.  I was thinking a picture of that guy then hanging on the wall of every bar would put a stop to people ever getting drunk. Poor Zack didn’t even get the pleasure of getting drunk to present a similar image.  Now I am hoping he didn’t miss the call from his dad.  
Loving the story and looking forward to seeing more. 

[A_Pale_Spirit]

Another excellent chapter! Can't wait for more!

And as always very well-written!

[Little Sherri]

Sorry to keep everyone waiting... I went down a rabbit hole with the plot on this, then decided to back up and have another go. I didn't discard what I wrote, I just decided to push that element of the storyline out a bit. I'm torn between fast-forwarding to the next significant event, versus wanting to examine the moments Zack is living through a little more closely. I guess since I've gone long-form so far (accidentally), I'll stick with that approach. 

[A_Pale_Spirit]

12 minutes ago, Little Sherri said:

Sorry to keep everyone waiting... I went down a rabbit hole with the plot on this, then decided to back up and have another go. I didn't discard what I wrote, I just decided to push that element of the storyline out a bit. I'm torn between fast-forwarding to the next significant event, versus wanting to examine the moments Zack is living through a little more closely. I guess since I've gone long-form so far (accidentally), I'll stick with that approach. 

Naturally I definitely welcome a long-form for this story  

[CDfm]

7 hours ago, Little Sherri said:

Sorry to keep everyone waiting... I went down a rabbit hole with the plot on this, then decided to back up and have another go. I didn't discard what I wrote, I just decided to push that element of the storyline out a bit. I'm torn between fast-forwarding to the next significant event, versus wanting to examine the moments Zack is living through a little more closely. I guess since I've gone long-form so far (accidentally), I'll stick with that approach. 

I am all for the long-form and taking a closer look at Zack’s life and what he is going through. That seems to be what the story is about and it’s definitely working for me. 

[Little Sherri]

Chapter 56 – Camera Action

Kelly looked at the time on her phone. It was time for action, she thought. An arbitrary line had been crossed. A kid was missing. They had to have a system for that, beyond paging the kid two more times and imploring them to come back. If Zack could hear the pages, he was ignoring them. Or, he couldn’t hear them. Either way, things needed to be escalated.

Brenda seemed to be slightly flustered, but was still primarily attending to her duties at the nursing desk, and whatever they were, they did not appear to involve tracking down a wayward child. Kelly decided to skip asking her once again what she was going to do, and instead, she strode up the hall to the elevators, and headed down to the lobby. Once down there, she found the security office, which was adjacent to the parking office, on the way to the ER.

Knocking impatiently on the mirrored window, she caught the attention of a uniformed woman that Kelly judged to be in her twenties, who had been looking at monitors at the back of the room. She approached the glass.

“Can I help you?”

“I certainly hope so,” Kelly quipped. “My son is a patient on 4B who had surgery on his ankle a couple of days ago. He went for a walk somewhere this afternoon, or rather, a roll – he’s on a mobility scooter. He was told not to leave the floor, but evidently, he did, because he’s not up there, and he hasn’t responded to any of the announcements asking him to come back to the floor.”

“So they’ve made an announcement on his floor, and he hasn’t shown up?”

“That’s correct. For more than an hour, now.”

“I can make an announcement from here that will be heard throughout the hospital. What is your son’s name?”

“Zack Fischer,” Kelly replied.

“Where do you want him to meet you – back up on his floor, or down here?”

“Ask him to come here. Maybe he’ll take it more seriously if he knows that security is looking for him, and not just his nurses.”

The lady walked back to a desk against the back wall of the security office, and picked up a phone, before dialing an extension. Then, Kelly noticed that whatever background music had been playing in the lobby stopped. The lady’s young but authoritative voice rang out across the echo chamber of the atrium, and, Kelly assumed, across all the upper floors as well.

“Zack Fischer, Zack Fischer, please report to the security office immediately, or ask to call security from any desk or nursing station. I repeat, Zack Fischer, report to security, or call security from wherever you are.”

Upstairs, Brenda heard the announcement booming across the PA system, and she shook her head. No wonder the kid wants to stay hidden.

Kelly leaned down so that she was speaking directly into the opening in the glass. “What else are you going to do?”

The lady considered Kelly. She looked like she had money, and was used to being listened to, and that she’d probably go knocking on the doors of the executive offices next, if she wasn’t satisfied that her situation was being taken seriously. That, or skip straight to calling the cops.

She walked over and pulled open a door in the wall next to the glass window, that Kelly didn’t even realize was a door, and then she invited Kelly in. She walked over to a bank of monitors with a computer under them, and what looked like a large track ball set into a desk.

“What floor was he on?”

“4B, orthopedics.”

“Can you describe him? What is he wearing?”

“He’s eleven but small for his age. He’s on one of those scooters that they give kids with injured legs - it’s silver. He’s wearing a light blue romper, and he has blondish hair. He’s overdue for his medication, he hasn’t eaten dinner yet, he doesn’t have his phone, and he needs his diaper changed.”

“Oh… is he special needs?”

“Oh,his needs are special, alright. He’s a smart kid – he can understand the announcements, and what to do in order to find us. He just may not want to be found. He’s seeing a therapist for a defiance disorder.”

“Right, okay, well, I’ll radio all the security stations.”

She picked a radio up off a charger on a desk, keyed it, and spoke. “Attention, this is the lobby desk at front. Please be on the lookout for a minor child, about eleven, blond hair, on a silver scooter, wearing a blue one-piece and a diaper. He’s missing from 4B. He may not cooperate with instructions. If you see him, please detain, and notify me immediately.”

A series of static-laden “rogers” followed in return.

Next, the guard walked over to the keyboard in front of the monitors, and started keying in instructions. One of the monitors blinked on and started showing what looked like the bank of elevators on the fourth floor.

“Around what time would you say he went missing?”

“It’s been a couple of hours. I last spoke with him when they were delivering the dinner trays on the floor. He was watching TV in one of the lounges.”

She rolled the track ball in the center of the table back, and the time signature on the monitor image rolled back rapidly until it showed about three hours prior to the current time. Then, she started rolling the track ball forward, and people started fast-walking on and off the elevators, at the rate of a couple of seconds for every minute of real time. After about a minute, she punched a button next to the track ball.

“Is that him?”

Kelly looked at the view as shot from above and behind where the figures on the screen were standing. One was a woman with long, dark hair, in what looked like a suit, and the other was the unmistakable back aspect of Zack on his scooter, complete with the vague outline of a diaper under his light-blue romper.

“That’s him, one hundred percent.”

The security officer punched something else into the keyboard, and then the view switched to one from in front of the bank of elevators in the lobby, at the same time. Doors opened, and the woman and Zack appeared, with her allowing Zack to exit first. Zack rolled out of the elevator, across the lobby, and out of the shot. The lady hit another button, and then they were looking down on the lobby from much higher up, at the same point in time. She used the trackball to fast-forward slightly, and Zack was seen to pause by a pillar, look around, and then fast-roll his way to the doors, where he disappeared into a revolving door that seemed to be moving at the speed of a blender.

The lady punched more keys, and now they were looking down the front of the hospital over the main entrance from a vantage point that seemed to be on a utility pole somewhere. Zack left the revolving door, stood in one spot for a moment, whipped his head back and forth like a bird, and then he went straight for a large vehicle that was pulled up to the curb.

“That’s the campus shuttle. It goes to the other satellite locations,” the officer explained.

Kelly’s eyes were popping out of her head. “Where does it go from here?” she demanded.

“To the downtown campus, and then to the Northern campus, and then back here again.”

“Does it stop anywhere else?”

“No, only at the hospitals. I’m going to call the security desks at both locations, starting with downtown.”

She picked up the phone and dialed an extension, then waited.

“Hi, this is the lobby desk at the Children’s hospital. Please be on the lookout for a minor child, about eleven, blond hair, on a silver scooter, wearing a blue one-piece and a diaper. He’s left the premises this afternoon at about seventeen hundred, on the shuttle. He may not cooperate with instructions. If you see him, please detain, and notify us immediately.”

She repeated the call to another extension, barking out the same instructions.

Kelly stared at the paused image of the bus, pulled partway out into traffic.

Gotcha, smartass.

[Andyman3]

Yes that is a big thing, pace. I would say you've kept a slower pace to go over all the details and it's great. I would love for the pace to speed up a tiny bit😄. Does get a little to tense. 

[A_Pale_Spirit]

A short yet excellent chapter.

Just like all your characters, I love how well-written Kelly is, like in this chapter you really feel as if she reminds you of some angry person ready to demand to "speak to the manager" if things don't go her way.

As usual, looking forward to see what happens next.

[CDfm]

Loved it!!!  For some strange reason Kelly still seems to think she is in control.  Those last two words concern me a bit, I just hope Zack can get in touch with his dad before security manages to catch him and let Kelly know where he is. I would absolutely love to see her stress some more.  
Can’t wait to see more. 

[Little Sherri]

Chapter 57 – Crossed Wires

Martha searched the phone number on her laptop, using a cellular internet stick she had plugged into a USB port.

“It comes up as the downtown campus of the University Health Network.”

Chris furrowed how brow. “Zack’s at the Children’s Hospital on the outskirts of the city. I wonder what he’s doing downtown. Call the number, I guess – let’s find out.”

Martha picked up her phone and dialed the number she’d typed into her laptop. She put the phone on speaker mode. One ring droned out and then an automated system answered.

“You have reached the University Health Network Main Downtown Campus. For the operator, press zero. For patient inquires, please press two. For our address and fax number, please press three. For visiting hours and parking information, please press four. If you know the extension of the person you wish to reach, press 1.”

Martha shook her head. Why make that the last option they offer? She pressed 1, then dialed the extension.

_________

 

Zack rolled his way back from the ER towards the main lobby, acutely aware of the bulk of his new underclothes. The inner toddler diaper hugged him resolutely, while the outer white plastic diaper was surprisingly thin, but also enveloped half of his torso. The combination was crinkly and puffy, humid, and, he felt, not well disguised by the lightweight fabric of the romper. Each push with his good leg brought a cacophony of crinkles and a plasticky sawing sensation halfway up his back. The ER nurse hadn’t put the out diaper on very snugly. The Baby Steps from the Children’s hospital had felt better, but he had no choice but to change. Wet circles on the back of the romper would not have been less noticeable.

At least I can take them off if I want to.

Zack rounded the corner just in time to see Reese, the volunteer manning the desk, stand up and visually scan the lobby. His eyes quickly found Zack, and he waived his free hand in a summoning motion while holding the phone receiver with his other hand.

Dad called back!

Zack picked up his pace, but as he drew closer to the main desk, he noticed that the lady behind the security window was also standing up. She also gesticulated towards him with a summoning motion. He studiously avoided betraying that he had seen anything, by not turning his head, and he resolutely headed towards the reception desk, picking up his pace.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the security lady walk away from behind the window – to where, he could not tell. There was no obvious door from behind the glass into the lobby, but the perimeter of that side of the building was a warren of hallways and alcoves, so she could appear anywhere.

“Kid, it’s for you – some lady,” Reese said with some annoyance evident in his voice. He held the phone across the desk, cord stretched out, to Zack, but at that moment, a commanding female voice echoed across the lobby.

“HEY, KID, YOU, ON THE SCOOTER BY THE DESK – STAY WHERE YOU ARE.” The lady from behind the window, now wearing what looked like a police cap, and a dark blue vest over a yellow shirt, was fast-walking across the faded, faux-stone floor, holding a radio in front of her face. Zack heard an electronic bleep and a hiss from behind him, and turned to see the guard at the door looking over at him, also holding a radio.

Reese caught the sound of a loud woman’s voice over the walls of his booth, but couldn’t make out what she said, and it took him a moment to realize that one of the guards was walking towards his location. Zack grabbed the phone receiver, held it to his face, and said “I’ll call you back!” then dropped it on the desk. The springy cord sent it clattering back over the top of the desk, causing Reese to throw both hands up in the air and shake his head.

Zack looked around the lobby and spotted a hallway running off the back of it, through which a steady stream of people entered and exited. There were lines painted on the floor at the start of the hallway in different colours, and Zack could see that there was a legend on the wall where it opened into the lobby, but he did not have time to study it. He gave a heave with his downward leg, felt his diaper bunch up, and then he shifted his balance onto the scooter and picked up his good leg like he was riding a skateboard, steering for the hallway.

The smooth flooring of the lobby allowed him to pick up a good pace via repeated shoving with his good leg, putting as much muscle into it as he could muster. Looking over his shoulder he saw that the security lady had picked up her pace, but judging by her stature, actual running probably wasn’t in the cards for her, and while the guy at the door looked capable of a footrace, he also evidently needed to stay near his post. Reese had come out the back door of the booth and was holding the phone up to his ear.

Zack needed to look where he was going, so he put his eyes ahead of him and entered the hallway at a good clip, veering around people walking inward, and then cutting ahead of them to get around people who were walking out. He looked at the lines on the floor.

Red, blue, yellow, pink, grey.

What did they signify? He had no idea. However, when he came to a tee in the hallway, he saw that every colour but grey headed off to the right, where most of the people were coming from or going to, as well, and that there was an elevator lobby down that way.

No good. Can’t wait for an elevator.

Zack took a left instead, and followed the grey line. It passed through a set of doors that were locked open, and then the flooring changed from the stone-looking surface, to painted concrete. Other hallways intersected with the one he had chosen, so he hung a right turn at the first one, to get out of view from the main hallway, and kept pumping his leg. The number of people in the hallway diminished notably, and most of them were wearing scrubs, but nobody down here was carrying stethoscopes – instead, they pushed carts or carried buckets or bags or clipboards. A couple of them gave him a look, but they all seemed busy, which Zack was thankful for.

He heard the security lady’s voice echo in the hallway behind him, but distantly – he figured she was probably standing at the main intersection, trying to figure out which way he’d gone. Down the hallway from him was another tee, and above this one was a green sign that showed a person running towards a door, with an arrow pointing to the left again. Zack needed no further information, and he took the turn as soon as he reached it.

 

_________

 

A male voice answered the phone. “University Health Downtown Reception – this is Reese speaking, how can I help you?”

Martha spoke. “Hello, I’m looking for Zack Fischer – is he there?”

“Does he work at the hospital or is he a patient?” The voice on the phone sounded confused.

“He’s a patient – a child. Apparently he called us from your extension,” Martha explained.

Reese clued in. “Oh, wait, the kid on the scooter, right?”

Martha hit mute on her phone to address Chris. “Is he on a scooter? I thought he’d hurt his leg?”

“They were going to give him some kind of mobility device, that’s probably it,” Chris responded quickly.

Martha unmuted her phone. “Yes, that’s probably him – is he there?”

“Well, unfortunately….,” Reese droned, in a tone that didn’t sound like he thought what he was saying was unfortunate, “he ran off to go use the bathroom or something, and I don’t know where he is right now. Maybe try calling back in a bit.”

“WAIT!” Chris barked, and reached for the phone, which Martha handed him. “This is his dad – don’t hang up. Can you possibly make an announcement and ask him to come back to the desk? His name is Chris Fischer. He’s a patient at the children’s hospital. I really need to speak with him, if possible.”

“Well, uh, I’d have to put you on hold in order to ask security to page him. I suppose I could do that, if I don’t get too busy, but it’s not really our job… actually, hold on, I think I see him. I’ll wave him over.”

Chris and Martha listened to the background noises of the lobby of the downtown hospital. A moment later, they heard the person who had answered the phone say, “Kid, it’s for you – some lady.”

Chris shook his head.

I said I was his dad.

Then, there seemed to be some kind of situation unfolding near the phone; they could hear the sounds of distant shouting. Zack’s voice came on the line, but only for a moment. “I’ll call you back!” he said quickly, and then they heard the sound of the phone clattering across a hard surface.

“Zack! What’s going on !?!” Chris responded, but got no reply. Then, the first person they’d spoken to came back on the phone.

“Hello?”

“Yeah, what the hell is going on? Can you get my son on the phone?” Chris demanded.

“Well, here’s the thing – he kind of took off. I think security is looking for him, actually.”

“Well can I talk to security, then?”

“You’ll have to dial back in, press zero, and ask the operator.”

“Great. You’ve been an absolutely tremendous help.”

Chris stabbed the end call button and then hit redial. Martha’s phone showed the time as 6:15.

 

_________

 

Kelly’s phone emitted a chirp from where it sat in her purse, causing her to dig for it. She was sitting on a chair outside the security office, trying to avoid breathing too much, because of the steady stream of ER patients coming and going.

I’m going to end up with tuberculosis. Stupid kid.

She picked up her phone and saw a text message from Chris.

Chris:  Zack just called me from the downtown hospital in Seattle? What is going on?

Kelly: He took off without telling anyone – I just figured it out. Saw it on camera. He got on a shuttle bus.

Right then, the security guard inside the booth opened the door that wasn’t a door. “Ma’am, they think they found your son at the downtown campus.”

Kelly: They just found him at the downtown campus.

Chris: Okay, he’s safe then? I’m on hold with security there right now.

“Okay, I’ll head down there right now – where are they going to keep him?” Kelly asked the guard.

“Uh, I don’t think they exactly know where he is yet, just that he’s on the property. I’ll confirm.”

“You do that.”

Kelly: He’s there, he’s fine, I’ll go get him and text you later. Go to your dinner.

Chris: Does he have his phone?

Kelly: He left it in his room.

Chris: What got into his head?

Kelly: Your guess is as good as mine. I’ll ask him, don’t you worry. 

“Uh, ma’am? It sounds like he’s somewhere in the building – they confirm they saw him in the lobby, but then he avoided them, apparently.”

“Yeah, I know he was in the lobby – he just called my husband from there. What do you mean he ‘avoided’ them?” Kelly asked with an edge in her voice.

“Apparently he, uh, fled into the hallways,” the guard responded in an uncertain tone.

“FLED?!? He has a broken leg. A child with a broken leg just outran your crack security team? Remind me never to get admitted to your downtown campus.”

“I’m sure they’ll find him momentarily, ma’am.”

Kelly rolled her eyes and shook her head. Useless rental cops.

 

__________

Chris hung up the phone before anyone picked up the security extension. He looked at Martha.

“Why the hell would Zack take a shuttle bus to another hospital, without telling anyone?” he asked out loud.

“Maybe he got bored,” Martha mused. “Or do they have him on medication that might change his behaviour?”

“Should I head back to Seattle? I’m worried about him,” Chris said with a serious look.

“By the time you get on a flight and get there, this will all have been sorted out,” Martha replied earnestly.

“Leave your ringer on, and answer the phone, I don’t care who we’re with or where we are.”

“I will, Chris, I will.”

 

__________

 

Zack zipped down the concrete hallway, following the exit sign, but at the end, he found himself in a strange alcove. First of all, there was a door that had another exit sign above it, but on the handle, which was a full-width push bar, there was another sign, in red letters, that said ALARM WILL SOUND IF OPENED.

Against the wall in the alcove was a long stainless-steel table, on castors, with a slightly concave top, surrounded by a lip with a flat metal rim on it. On two corners, stainless bars protruded upward from the rim and were bent in at the top, like handles. On the wall perpendicular to the exit door, there was another door, this one with a card access touchpad that glowed red. On the door was a plaque, which Zack squinted at. Morgue, it read.

“Jesus,” he said out loud to himself. I have taken a wrong turn.

He strained to listen to the sounds coming down the hall, but he couldn’t detect any increase in volume or tempo that might suggest a search team was making its way to where he was standing. He seemed to have found a backwater in the busy hallways. You might call it a dead end…

Going back up the hallway would lead him to… who knows where. Into the busy guts of the hospital, swarming with staff and guards and doors you can’t get through. Trying to sneak across the lobby was made impossible by the scooter, which made him stand out. The stupid baby clothes don’t help, either.

There was nothing for it. He was, he felt, already in trouble, although he didn’t really know what the rules were about leaving one hospital campus for another. But apparently, hospital security hadn’t appreciated his relocation efforts. Kelly probably told them I’ve gone crazy or I stole her wallet or something.

Zack felt his bladder empty lightly into the toddler diaper. His eyes widened.

I have to stop doing that.

He took a breath, took one more look at the spooky metal table, and then charged at the exit door, leaning ahead of the front wheel of his scooter so that he could spring the door sufficiently wide open to clear its arc before it came swinging back.

The door popped open, and a localized, very loud bell started ringing – he thought it was probably built into the door itself. On the other side of the door was… STAIRS!

Zack tried to halt his momentum, but he did it by slamming his good foot into the ground, rather than grabbing the brakes on the scooter, and that foot slid off the edge of the concrete floor, and down the first step, causing the scooter and his upper body to tilt downward. After that, gravity took over, and the scooter crashed down the next two steps, before he reached out wildly and grabbed hold of a metal railing that ran alongside the stairs, causing his momentum to swing laterally to the left. The scooter went out from underneath him and crashed down four more stairs, to the asphalt below, and meanwhile, Zack, desperately trying to avoid putting any weight on his damaged ankle, drove his right knee into the ground instead, skinning it immediately. He came to a crashing halt two steps from the ground, four steps from the door.

Six stairs. I’m lucky that it wasn’t more.

He looked back at the door. The bell had gone silent when it swung closed. A stinging from his knee and his right palm forced him to conduct an inspection before getting up, as much as he wanted to get off that staircase before someone came to investigate the bell. He had road rash on his palm and blood oozing up on his knee, and for a moment, a sob caught in his throat. He put his left hand against his chest and felt the outline of his pacifier.

No. I carry on.

His rear, at least, was unbruised, padded as it was, although a cursory feel with his uninjured hand suggested that the thin fabric of the romper was a bit abraded. Looking down, he realized that a couple of the snaps between his legs had popped open as well. He used his hand on the railing to haul himself up onto his good foot, and then hobbled down to level ground, before picking up his scooter. The scooter seemed undamaged at first glance. Scuffed, maybe. He spied the crumpled $5 bill the lady had given him, on the ground in front of it, so he reached over and picked it up, before righting the device, and then pressing his right leg onto the saddle.

He winced as his skinned knee transferred blood wetly to the seat cover, but ignored the sensation and took in his surroundings. There were some loading docks, and a couple of dark metal staircases leading up to other industrial-looking doors like the one he’d crashed through. Just to his right were a couple of large dumpsters coupled to trash compactors, so he decided to roll over between them while he figured out his next move. The scooter seemed to have more drag now than it had before he’d ridden it down a staircase, he noted. Just as he got between the bins, he heard the bell on the door sound again, and he froze, not even taking a breath.

The bell kept clamoring; either someone had wedged it open, or, they were standing in the doorway, holding it. He heard the hiss of a radio broadcasting unintelligible words, then, clearly, “Roger, yes, I’m checking the back lot. I heard the door alarm, but I don’t see anyone. It could have been someone from maintenance.”

The bell sound faded audibly, and then the door clinked shut, and it cut off completely. The lighting at the back of the hospital was completely different from inside or out front. Here, shadows were long, and the light was yellow, and dim.

[CDfm]

Awesome!  It was far too long of a wait but well worth it.  This was an action packed chapter that kept me at the edge of my seat and not allowing any distractions. I am kind of impressed that Zack managed to escape being on a scooter and all.  Doesn’t sound like he was to broken up in his little crash.  For his sake I hope the scooter wasn’t damaged too badly. 
I was very happy he was able to kind of make contact with his dad.  Now he needs to get far enough away from Kelly to contact him again.  I really don’t think Kelly has it in her to track him down herself but she has the hospital staff helping and I am sure she could get the police involved as well. 
I have really enjoyed the story to this point and look forward to seeing more of it. 

[A_Pale_Spirit]

Wow what a chapter! Very exciting, and as always very well-written.

Like the person above me said, it was definitely worth the wait!

I could clearly picture that phone call with Zack's dad and the receptionist, I literally laughed at “Great. You’ve been an absolutely tremendous help.”

And then Kelly sitting outside the security office: "trying to avoid breathing too much, because of the steady stream of ER patients coming and going. I’m going to end up with tuberculosis. Stupid kid." The germaphobe in me likes her character now lol.

[Little Sherri]

I'm back. I don't know of that's good news or bad, lol. Work has been incredibly busy lately, and it's been hard to find time to work on this story, as much as I'd love to dive in and spend weeks in this universe - I have so many ideas. Lately, I've mostly been working on this well after hours, when the busyness of my daytime work has created an excuse to stay in my office uninterrupted for a bit in the evening. 

Note: I've added timestamps to the chapters starting here - I may not stick with them moving forward, as they aren't always necessary, but in this dynamic stage of the narrative, I was otherwise going to have to have my characters looking at the clock and commenting on it with some unusual frequency, because as I switched character perspectives and settings, even I was getting lost, so I figured that you, dear reader, might wonder what was going on. I wanted the timeline to be somewhat realistic and believable, as it expands and contracts, to zoom in on some details and then jet across others at ten thousand feet, so to speak. I appreciate your patience. 

Chapter 58 – Among Strangers [6:35 PM]

Zack waited another quarter of an hour between the dumpsters, in case anyone else decided to come out of the emergency exit he’d escaped through. There were no more ringing bells indicating the opening of the door, but a heavy truck engine started up, unnerving him and causing him to retreat further back between the large iron containers, the surfaces of which bore the scares of many bumps and dings. Eventually, a box truck trundled by the gap, headlights glowing, the cab topped with amber marker lights. Zack froze, but the driver did not look over, as far as he could tell. The light from the sky was completely gone, and only the pale sodium vapour lamps provided any contrast. The far corners of the lot were blue and grey with shadows.

The smell between the dumpsters was not the greatest, and Zack fought with himself over a desire to get away from the hospital, or at least, away from the festering trash containers, versus his fear of the unknown, which in this case, meant pretty much any course of action at hand short of going back into the hospital. Where would he go? How would he get there? Could he pilot his scooter around the dark streets of a major city without attracting any attention? And what kind of attention might he encounter? Authorities, intent on returning him to the hospital? Or, possibly worse, strangers? Homeless people?

I am a homeless person.

Zack felt tears at the corners of his eyes, and willed his eyes to stay dry.

I am NOT homeless. I have a home, and it’s with my dad.

He took a deep breath, then wished he hadn’t.

These things probably have rotting food in them, because nobody eats anything they’re served in a hospital.

He smiled ruefully to himself. And diapers. Lots of diapers, probably. They seem to want to diaper everybody in these places.

Zack swallowed, and took a tentative rolling step toward the expanse of dark asphalt beyond the corridor between the two bins. He quickly realized that while his scooter wasn’t unusable, it had been damaged in the tumble down the stairs. The brakes felt like they were dragging a little, and to get it to go straight, he had to steer slightly to the right. His knee was stinging, his scuffed palm smarted, and the fractured ankle throbbed a little as well. However, he tried to ignore the feedback from his body, which whispered to him that maybe running away from a building full of doctors and nurses was a bad idea right now, at night, in a strange city.

He struck off across the asphalt, hearing a light whir whir whir  with each rotation of the front wheel. The sea of black tarmac narrowed down to a two-lane roadway that ran away from the rear of the hospital, and spilled out onto a side street with very few signs of life along it. It seemed like the whole area was behind buildings whose entrances faced other, busier streets.

Zack looked back over his shoulder as he maneuvered past an automated arm that prevented vehicles from driving into the parking lot without pressing an intercom button or tapping in a code. There was a camera on a pole above the intercom box, which he decided to avoid looking directly at, although, realistically, he realized that if the search was on for a kid with a broken leg, he would probably be identified as a possible target right away, if anyone was watching the camera feed, regardless of if he gave them a close look at his face, or not.

Left or right?

Left would take him towards a busier intersecting street that his navigational intuition told him would then cross over the main street that the hospital was on. Going right looked like it would take him past the parking garage entrances, dumpsters, and service entrances of some tall buildings that might be hotels or residential towers, or both. A cat ran out from under a forlorn looking bush that occupied a lone patch of dirt amidst an ocean of asphalt and concrete. It looked at Zack and then bolted into the shadows on the other side of the street. Three white vans sat across from him, silent.

The scream of a siren split the air and echoed off of the concrete surfaces around him, causing Zack’s heart to freeze, but as he spun his head, he saw an ambulance race by on the busier street. So, not the police. Not yet, anyway. Although he hadn’t broken any laws… had he? He wasn’t sure. It definitely felt like he was on the other side of the law, though – he knew that back at the Children’s Hospital, a ward of nurses would be on the lookout for him, and behind him, an angry security guard was riding up and down an elevator, probably asking people if they’d seen a kid on a scooter.

And Kelly will be on the warpath.

He decided to turn left and head towards the busier street, on the theory that he would blend in better with a crowd, or with any group of people, than he would by himself, a kid on a scooter on a dark side street, as the hours grew later. However, on that street, he decided to turn right again, rather than left, thinking that if the search for him was on, they’d probably check up and down the main street a bit, before scouring every possible route of escape.

 

_________

[6:55 PM]

Zack half-shuffled, half-rolled for another twenty minutes, until he felt like he’d crossed some kind of invisible border, and was now in another area of the city. There were bars, and closed businesses, and entrances to glittering condo lobbies, as well as eateries and donut shops. The sounds of the hospital were well behind him, and it felt more like an area where people lived, than where they worked.

Past a row of darkened business that included a bookstore and a travel agency, Zack encountered a view of the brightly lit interior of a sandwich shop. A couple sat at a table eating, and a lone guy in a blazer sat at a counter, contemplating some kind of wrap. Zack’s stomach growled, and he considered his options, looking in through the window, past his own reflection.

The five bucks that lady gave me.

It sat like a wad of crumpled paper in his scooter basket.

What can you get for $5? Something to eat, and maybe change for a pay phone, or, even better, maybe they’ll let me use their phone.

He walked up to the door, and pulled it open, struggling a bit against its desire to close on him as he dragged his scooter inside. An employee of the shop, who looked possibly Greek, or possibly Middle Eastern, stepped out from behind the counter and crossed the dining area with a few large strides, white apron fluttering around him, to hold the door open for Zack. Zack summoned his best I know what I’m doing face, smiled at the man, and scooted up to the counter.

“Hello, younk man,” the proprietor said with an accent Zack couldn’t identify, as he resumed his position behind the counter. “What can I get for you tonight?” He rolled the r from for into his you, making it sound like one word. Forrryou. But he sounded friendly.

Zack studied the menu on a row of flatscreens behind and above the man, but the options kept changing, so he didn’t have time to really focus long enough to find anything that could fit his budget. The options were weird, too – there were bagels and other sandwiches, but also words in another language – shawarma, falafel, souvlaki, gyros.

“Sir,” he said in what he hoped was a confident tone, “have you got anything I can eat, for five bucks? I only have five bucks with me. I, uh, forgot my wallet…”

The man smiled down at Zack. How old is this kid? Ten? He took in the casted lower leg, but also, the injured knee that had not been treated, and was still openly weeping blood.

“Where are your parents?”

Zack’s eyes opened wide, and he swallowed and took a breath. “They’re, uh, at the, uh, the travel agency, and they sent me over to get a snack. We haven’t had time to get dinner yet – they’re booking a trip. A big trip.”

“Well, that is exciting – where are you going?” the man asked, arms crossed.

“I’m not sure yet – maybe Mexico, or, Africa. Somewhere hot.”

The man nodded. “And in the meantime, you are hungry?”

Zack nodded back.

“What would you like to eat?”

“What can I get for five dollars?”

“That doesn’t matter. What do you like?”

“Can I have, uh…,” Zack studied the pictures rather than the text on the screens. “Can I have like a bagel?”

“Certainly, I can prepare a bagel for you. What would you like on it? Lox? Cream cheese? Butter? Any kind of meat?”

Zack thought hard. He didn’t know what the hell lox was, and he wasn’t sure if what this guy called crrreamcheese was going to be anything he would recognize. As for meat, again, he wasn’t sure, basically, if it would be weird or not.

“Is butter okay?”

“Certainly. I will prepare this for you. Do you want it toasted?”

“Yes, please.”

“And with a drink? Some apple juice, maybe?”

Zack nodded. Apple juice was apple juice, he assumed.

“Take a seat at one of my tables and I will bring it over to you. Also, I am going to hand you a wet towel, so that you can clean your knee. Did you fall on your way over here from the travel agency?”

Zack nodded emphatically. “I didn’t want to interrupt them.”

“I understand.” The man turned around and pulled a fat, sesame-seed covered bagel out of a basket below the counter, carrying it over to a perpendicular counter behind him.

“How did you hurt your other leg?”

“I, uh, I fell at school.”

“Playing sports?”

“Yes.”

“What sport?”

“Uh, soccer.”

The man furrowed his brow. “You were running for a ball, and you tripped?”

Zack nodded.

“What position do you play?”

“Uh, lots of them, wherever they need me.”

“But which do you prefer?”

“All of them, really,” Zack said, unsure of what his answer should be. Why didn’t I say baseball?!?

The man put the cut bagel onto a metal tray and put it under a broiler, then he pulled a new kitchen rag out of a bag on a lower shelf between two stoves, and he wet it with warm water and rang it out, before handing it to Zack.

“Go sit at a table and clean your knee off – otherwise you will scare away my customers,” he said with a wink.

Zack took the rag from the man, and wheeled his way over to a table that was as far away from the occupied tables, and from the windows, as he could get – it was over by the entrance to the washroom. He took the rag and pressed it against his knee, wincing as it stung. The warm water wiped away the clotted blood that had dried on top, revealing a series of parallel gouges that reddened again when he pulled the rag away. He cleaned the blood that had run down his shin, wiped his scuffed palm, and then turned the towel over and pressed the clean side against his knee.

Please stop bleeding…

The man walked over with the toasted bagel on a white ceramic plate, holding a bottle of apple juice in his other hand. He put it down in front of Zack. Zack leaned over the handlebars of his scooter and picked up the crumpled bill, quickly straightening it as best he could, and then he held it out to the man.

“No, no, injured soccer players with exotic travel plans do not pay for food in my establishment.”

Zack smiled broadly, and dropped the bill back into his basket, before picking up one side of the bagel and taking a bite. It was crusty and buttery and slightly sweet – delicious, really, better than any he’d had at home.

“But perhaps we should call your parents at the travel agency? Or wherever they are? My understanding is that the agency is closed, my young friend, and has been for a couple of hours.”

Zack swallowed a too-big bite of the delectable bread, and then tried to wash it down with a gulp of apple juice.

“Take your time, we are in no rush,” the man said. “Do you have a phone number for your parents?”

Zack looked down at the basket on the front of his scooter, and a terrible heaviness formed in the pit of his stomach.

The sticky note with dad’s phone number… I left it stuck to the phone at the hospital.

He took a breath and blew it out. All the phone numbers he needed were inside his phone, which was, at this moment, safely sitting on a bedside table at a children’s hospital in the suburbs. He didn’t actually know any phone numbers.

“I don’t know my dad’s phone number,” Zack whispered.

“And I can assume that if I call the travel agency, they will… not be in attendance there?”

Zack shook his head solemnly.

The door to the sandwich shop opened, and a young Asian couple breezed in, laughing as they looked at a phone together, and leaning on each other.

The restaurant owner patted Zack on the shoulder. “Do not worry about it, my young soccer player, eat your food, I can see that you are hungry.” He walked back to the counter to deal with the couple who had come in, and were now studying the varied menu.

Zack ate his bagel, but his heart was racing. This guy is going to come back and ask me some more questions, I know it.

 

__________

 

The man was busy behind the counter, so Zack considered his options. Attempting to slip out of the restaurant unnoticed would be difficult, although he could hope that the guy wouldn’t abandon his post just to chase after some kid he didn’t know. But chase was perhaps an optimistic word. His scooter, in its current state, was not a rapid conveyance. The man, who looked to be in much better shape than the guard at the hospital, could have him by the collar within a few steps. Whether he would do that or not, Zack wasn’t sure, but, one thing he was sure of was that the hour was getting later, and, fleeing into the night again was probably not going to produce better results than the last time he’d done it, a couple of hours before.

But, the guy had seen through his travel agency rouse.

It wasn’t very well thought out.

He was thinking hard now. He tilted his bottle of apple juice, when the ID bracelet on his wrist caught his eye.

If he notices this, he’ll know I’m from the hospital.

Zack pushed back from his table, balanced on his scooter, and rolled over to the bathroom door. The bathroom was universal, because the small premises only had one, and, thankfully, it had a lock on the inside, and no spring-loaded closing mechanism on it, unlike the front door. So, he was able to easily open it and roll inside, before locking it behind him. He pulled at the bracelet with his other hand, wincing as the strain made his scuffed palm smart, but the bracelet was made of plastic and had a snap through it that had been closed, he guessed, by the nurse who’d put it on him, back when he was newly arrived and dosed with pain medication in the ER at the first hospital. He had no recollection of it.

Looking around the bathroom, he noted the serrated edge that ran along the front of the paper towel dispenser. He rolled over to it and reached up, using his other hand to create an unsupported expanse of bracelet that he sawed back and forth across the metal teeth. The bracelet resisted at first, and then split in one quick tear.

Just then, there was a knock at the bathroom door.

“Youngk man, are you okay in there?” the restaurant owner’s voice inquired.

“I’m fine, just using the bathroom,” Zack said cheerfully, then he eyed the toilet. He did need to pee, just slightly, but getting the romper open and excavating down through two layers of diapers would, he felt, leave him exposed, if the guy somehow had a mechanism for getting into his own bathroom, while the door was locked.

Which he probably did. Zack remembered back to using a kitchen knife to open the door and surprise Maddy by turning the lights off in their bathroom, when she was taking a shower. Or, he would sneak in and make off with her towel, pajamas and pull-up, leaving her begging him through the bathroom door to bring her something to wear. So, yeah, if he could figure that out when he was nine or ten, this guy could open his bathroom door if he wanted to, lock or no.

He tossed the torn bracelet into the toilet and flushed it quickly, watching as it circled, seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then rushed out of the bowl and into the pipes to oblivion. He decided to run the sink for a moment, to contribute to the illusion that he’d used the facilities, and then he rolled over and opened the door.

The man was not waiting on the other side, but when he looked across the restaurant, his heart sank through the floor. The Asian couple who were still waiting for their food, and the guy in the blazer who was mostly finished his, were both looking with curiosity at the young, female police officer who was standing at the counter, talking to the restauranteur.

Oh Jesus.

Zack considered his options, and decided the best one was to sit back down at his table, and drink his juice, and pretend that nothing was amiss. He rolled over to the table, propped it against the edge, and dropped back into his chair.

Maybe she’s just grabbing some dinner.

[007specialk]

Wow had me on edge and still do great Chapter worth the wait looking to see whats next for poor Zach..... Big trouble ouch...

Quote

 

 

[A_Pale_Spirit]

I've missed this story, excellent chapter!

Very suspenseful and so well-written, looking forward to more like always!

[CDfm]

Wow awesome chapter.  Zach is certainly more resourceful than I had given him credit for but he needs to slow down and think.  This takes me back to some training I had once.  Cover for status and cover for action.  Always have a valid for being where you are at and doing what you’re doing. In this case Zach is already behind the curve because he has already explained something that couldn’t be. Even still, I am impressed with how he’s doing so far.  I really doubt that Kelly has contacted the police yet.  She really doesn’t want to have to be explaining herself to any authorities. If he plays it cool he might just get out of there and still have his freedom. 
 

Sorry to hear that work has been treating you poorly.  I know the feeling.  As much as I want to read more I fully understand the demands of life and where priorities need to be.  I will say that you can be assured I appreciate every new word you put out yet fully understand the necessity delays.  

[CCApril]

Might be the perfect person to listen to a story about child abuse!

[zzzz50]

9 hours ago, CDfm said:

Wow awesome chapter.  Zach is certainly more resourceful than I had given him credit for but he needs to slow down and think.  This takes me back to some training I had once.  Cover for status and cover for action.  Always have a valid for being where you are at and doing what you’re doing. In this case Zach is already behind the curve because he has already explained something that couldn’t be. Even still, I am impressed with how he’s doing so far.  I really doubt that Kelly has contacted the police yet.  She really doesn’t want to have to be explaining herself to any authorities. If he plays it cool he might just get out of there and still have his freedom. 
 

Sorry to hear that work has been treating you poorly.  I know the feeling.  As much as I want to read more I fully understand the demands of life and where priorities need to be.  I will say that you can be assured I appreciate every new word you put out yet fully understand the necessity delays.  

I think an unescorted minor patient who is already in the wrong facility and just escaped security will probably require a mandatory reporting to police, whether they are reacting that fast is another question.

[Little Sherri]

10 hours ago, CDfm said:

I really doubt that Kelly has contacted the police yet.

You are prescient, sir. This comes into play in the chapter I am writing now.  

 

1 hour ago, zzzz50 said:

whether they are reacting that fast is another question.

This as well. 

[Alutheria]

The king returns!

Its great to see this continued. And poor Zach. He's going to have hell to pay once Kelly catches up with him, isn't he?

[Little Sherri]

2 hours ago, Alutheria said:

He's going to have hell to pay once Kelly catches up with him, isn't he?

When I put myself in Kelly's head... yeah, she's upset. 

[cdory]

Is it possible that Kelly did all this in desperation to have a mother son relationship with Zach? I may not like her methods, but I cannot unsee a frustrated step parent, that just wants to be a part of the family. I would love to see her express Joy and Relief to see Zach safe, followed by a well earned talk and punishment. I see Kelly as a well intentioned individual, who perhaps went a bit to far trying to fit. Though I think ole Zach just lost his big boy pants for a lot longer now lol.  (Though I truly hope LS lets him have them back in the end)

[CCApril]

On 3/13/2024 at 8:03 PM, CCApril said:

Might be the perfect person to listen to a story about child abuse!

I don't understand the confusion about this post. I see Kelly in the same light as I saw the Mom in "All My Mothers Rules". The could have adjacent cells and exchange parenting tips! I think the cop would be sympathetic to Zach's story and call CPS.

[Little Sherri]

10 hours ago, CCApril said:

I see Kelly in the same light as I saw the Mom in "All My Mothers Rules".

First of all, I'm honoured to have my character mentioned in the same sentence as All My Mother's Rules, which I consider to be an example of writing excellence within this genre. That said, I'm still struggling with Kelly's motivations. She's definitely a bit of a witch, in her soul, but I do think that part of her wants what @cdory is alluding to... to be a real parent to these kids who have canonized their beloved, departed mother, while chaffing under the autocratic rule of their dad's new wife. She just has no idea how to go about it. 

The dynamics of their relationships stem at least in part from my experience with having a stepparent, whose methodologies I had bottomless disdain for, when I lived with him, and then as an adult, for two decades afterwards. However, when I became a parent myself, I came to realize that the stepparent role is not an easy one, and that perhaps not all of his intentions were malign, as much as some of his behaviour definitely was.