The Rictor Effect - The Hospital

[x-rictor.livejournal.com]

Julio Richter wakes up, and finds out that some things are different.



At first, all Julio was aware of was darkness. Then he became aware that there was something in his hand. He tried to remove it, only to be gripped by someone strong. His hand was forced away, and he slipped back under. Later, he would realize the thing in his hand was still there, along with something under his nose. He tried to itch at it, but he was too tired. He drifted again.

Sometimes he heard voices, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying. There was also something hissing in the background. He tried to tell the voices that the hissing was bothering him, but he couldn’t make his mouth work. The voices and hissing went away.

Finally, Julio opened his eyes. He was in a small, clean room in a bed with white sheets and a white curtain drawn beside it. He was next to the window, and it was day. He lifted his head. His father was asleep in the armchair beside his bed. His head was thrown back and he was snoring softly.

“Papa?” Julio whispered. His father continued sawing. He swallowed and tried again, louder, “oy. Old man. Wake up.” Still nothing. Julio looked to his right. There was a table next to him, which contained a plastic cup full of ice. Julio moved slowly, reaching for the cup. Movement was so hard, somehow while he was out all of his muscles had turned to syrup. His fingers also decided they wouldn’t respond to mental commands, and instead of grasping the cup, he knocked it over. It hit the floor with a clatter. Luis Richter snorted and woke up.

“Hijo! You’re awake!” Luis’ tired face stretched into a smile. He reached over and clicked a button for the nurse. “I’m supposed to call the doctors when you wake up. How you feeling, boy?”

Julio lifted his arms, out of which a variety of tubes and bandages were attached. “Where am I?” He said, groggily.

Luis reached over and pushed Julio’s arms back down. “You’re in the hospital, Mijo. You’ve been out for several days. Don’t you remember anything?”

Julio closed his eyes. “I was in the car, with…” he trailed off. Even in his current state he knew he shouldn’t be talking about Felicia. “There was a man, in a helmet...and, did we crash?”

Luis rubbed his bald spot like he did when he was agitated. “There was a crash. A thirteen car pile-up.” Julio whistled softy. “That’s not all, Hijo. There was also an earthquake. Not a big one, but there’s a lot of damage.” Luis looked very somber.

“Papa, about...about who I was with...” Julio swallowed.

Luis turned to his son sharply. “I know, boy. And you’ve got...” He was cut off by the curtain being drawn away sharply. A doctor and two nurses in gloves. The doctor looked at Julio like something he had recently scraped off his shoe.

“He’s awake?” The doctor said to Julio’s father. He pulled out a pen light and flashed it in Julio’s eyes.

“Yes.” Luis replied. “Just a few minutes. Been talking too.”

“Good.” The doctor replied in a bored voice. “Follow my finger.” He instructed Julio, moving it side to side and then up and down. “Any pain?”

“A little.” Julio mumbled. He did not like the way the nurses were looking at him, like they expected him to suddenly sprout horns and a tail.

“That’s to be expected.” The doctor said shortly. He also had Julio touch his nose, and repeat several words and phrases. When he finished, he turned to Luis. “Neurologically, I don’t see anything wrong with him. We’ll have to run further tests, though I’m confident there was no serious head trauma.” One of the nurses giggled. Luis glared at the woman, and she shut up. The doctor continued, “The cat scans came back clear, and his X-rays show nothing broken nor any serious internal damage. In short, your son is a miracle.” The nurse giggled again, but silenced herself off the doctor’s look.

“Miracle?” Julio said, confused.

“Julio, the car they pulled you out of was completely crushed. It fell off an embankment and rolled over thirty feet. And yet, here you are with nothing broken, only a few bruises and scrapes.” The doctor said. “In short, you are a miracle.” The doctor’s lip twitched with that last word. “In some ways.”

“What do you mean?” Julio turned from the doctor to his father. “Papa, what’s going on? What does he mean, in some ways? And what,” He snapped at the giggling nurse, “is so funny?”

The doctor didn’t even look at Julio. “I think it’s best if you explain it, Señor Richter. If his condition changes, just hit the button and someone will come.” He jerked his head at the nurses, and they followed him out.

“Papa? What the hell was that? What did he mean?” Julio’s monitor shrilled, showing his agitation.

“Calm down boy, otherwise they’re going to come back in here and knock you out again.” Luis pushed Julio back down on the bed. He rubbed his bald spot again. “Now there’s some stuff you’re going to have to fill in for me, because I don’t know what happened in that car.” With that, he shot Julio a look. Julio gulped. “But when they pulled you out, it was just like they said, the car was all smashed to pieces, everything was crushed.”

Julio’s stomach dropped. “Everything?” he whispered.

Luis sighed. “Yes Hijo. Everything. Except you. It was like there was some sort of bubble and you were inside of it. Paramedics said it was the damndest thing. Which is why they tested you.”

“Tested me?”

“For the X-gene, boy. And you tested positive.” Luis shook his head.

“Oh.” Julio said in a small voice. “Oh.” So that’s what they were looking at. The nurses probably were expecting to see horns and a tail. “And F…Felicia?”

“She’s dead, hijo. Crushed, with the rest of her car.” Luis reached over and grabbed Julio’s chin, forcing him to turn and face his father. “And you. Are in so much trouble.”

Julio’s eyes went wide. “You know?”

“Know?” Luis shoved Julio’s face away. “Know? Boy, what the hell were you thinking?” He got up from the chair and began to pace. “Going off in a car with Alejandro Mendoza’s wife. Ana told me you were meeting your girlfriend.” Luis spat. “She said that you’ve been sneaking off to see your fictional girlfriend for months.” He rubbed his temples. “Of all the women in the world Julio, for the love of God, why did it have to be my boss’s wife?” Luis really felt like taking his son’s i.v. cord and strangling him with it.

“She said she loved me.” Julio said in a small voice. He felt like crying.

“She said she…? Oh hijo. My poor stupid son.” Luis sighed. “And what’s more-”

“Alejandro knows?” Julio felt even smaller.

“Alejandro suspects. He doesn’t know. Which is why he’s having tests run on the body.” Julio flinched at the word ‘body.’ “I told him she was giving you a ride to my office. That I asked her to. And maybe, God maybe, if all the tests come back negative-” Julio withered under his father’s glare. “He won’t have you shot.”

“Mother of God.” Julio mumbled.

“You better be praying, boy. Because when someone like Alejandro Mendoza wants you dead, even God can’t save you.” Luis sagged back into the armchair. He had aged about ten years in the last five days.

“What do we do?” Julio whispered.

“We? Julio, you can do nothing but stay in that bed and get better. I’ll have think of something.” Luis shook his head. He didn’t bring up Julio’s x-gene. The boy hadn’t connected the tremors that their neighborhood had been feeling with the earthquake. When Julio’s tests came back positive, a lot of things suddenly made sense to Luis. His son’s inexplicable headaches, the constant shaking of the house. The boy was a mutant, and a dangerous one at that. There had only been a few casualties from the “Guadalajara quake,” mostly from the accident, but plenty of injuries. Julio needed to be someplace safe, but Luis didn’t know of any safe places for a mutant like Julio. Unless...

“What is it, Papa?” Julio called from the bed. His father had that Look.

“Just an idea, Hijo. It might be nothing. You get some rest, okay?” Luis patted his son’s hand. He still had the number to contact him with, a recent number. Maybe, just maybe, he could save his son’s skin after all.