The
room was dark and I tried desperately to hold on to the dream as it faded from
my mind. It had been so long since I
lost my family that I no longer knew if my dreams were recalled memories or
desperate wishes for something, anything, that resembled my old life. I missed the feeling I got when my daughter
hugged me. I longed to have the
opportunity to see my son smile one last time.
I would give my life to look into my wife’s green eyes and feel her
heart beat in her lips as we kissed. But
all I had was a fading dream and a hospital bed.
The
room was still dark when the nurse came in.
Blue florescent light flooded the room from the hall when she entered. I
watched one dark shadow march along the tile followed by another. The nurse pulled back the curtain.
“I
am glad to see you’re awake, Mr. Mullhaney.” The night nurse was a middle-aged
black woman with short cropped hair. She
walked to the monitor beside the bed and began looking at the jagged line printout
that stretched from a small box printer below the monitor onto the floor.
“What’s
going on?” I asked, my eyes still readjusting to the blue light.
“A
bus accident,” her voice was emotionless. “They needed all the room in the ER
they could get. They moved you to this ward for overnight observation.”
“I
don’t really understand, why would they keep me for overnight observation for
cuts and bruises?”
“You
had head injury Mr. Mullhaney, they wanted to rule out a concussion.”
“If
they thought I had a concussion why did they let me sleep?”
“That’s
actually a misconception, patients who may exhibit signs of a mild head trauma
often fall asleep. It is common to let
them sleep but wake them and assess their symptoms at regular intervals. But you have nothing to worry about, your CAT
scan came back negative.” She said looking over a manila chart.
“I
had a Cat scan?” I propped myself up on my elbows.
“Yes,”
“Was
I awake? I don’t remember that.”
“Yes,
don’t worry, short term memory loss is common with head trauma. Like I said, your scan was negative, you’re
probably experiencing some temporary memory lapses but that should soon subside”
“When
will that be?”
“A
few more hours, try to get some rest.”
“Nurse?
One more question.”
“Sure”
“Who
came in the room with you?”
“Excuse
me?” the nurse looked back up from the chart.
“I
saw two shadows cross the floor, but only you came around the curtain. Who
followed you in here?”
“Mr.
Mullhaney, I am not sure what you…” the nurse began but was interrupted. A man in a dark suit stepped from around the
curtain
“It’s
ok,” the man spoke to the nurse, “I will handle it from here. Will you excuse
us for a moment?” the nurse nodded to the man’s request and turned to exit the
room. Blue light flooded in once more
and the door swung closed. I was alone
with the man.
I
looked at the man’s shape in the darkened room.
A green light on the heart monitor beside the bed began to flash and
beep. My heart rate was elevating
rapidly.
“Do
you know anything about Lie Detectors, Mr. Mullhaney?” The man in the suit
stepped closer. “They measure physiological changes in a person’s body,
specifically, physiological changes that occur when a person lies. Someone who has been extensively trained to
read lie detectors could easily read such information from something otherwise
unrelated to lie detecting. Something
like the subtle changes in a person’s breathing patterns, the way a person’s
eyes dilate in different light, or even
something like a heart rate monitor could easily convey information to a
trained professional.” The man spoke
slowly and began to look at the print out beneath the monitor.
“Who
are you?” I asked
“Try
to relax, introductions aren’t necessary at this point. We know who you are and the time has come to
ask you to help us.” The man took a seat in the plush arm chair beside the
bed. He moved the monitor next to the
chair. “But first I need to ask you a few questions. It’s important that you relax and answer me
with complete honesty.” The man in the dark suit stood up and reached into his
sport coat. He pulled out a syringe and
began prepping it.
“WHAT
THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!” I began to
panic. The beeping of the monitor jumped
to an erratic pace. I tried to reach for the man but found I was strapped to
the bed. Thick bindings were strapped
snuggly around my waist and ankles. Despite my efforts, I was unable to move.
“Are
you familiar with Sodium Pentothal?” the man asked.
“Yeah,
it’s one of the drugs used for lethal injections.”
“That
is correct, but believe me Mr. Mullhaney, you are far more valuable to us
alive. More specifically, Sodium
Pentothal is an anesthetic. During the 1950’s it was found to be a fairly
effective truth serum. But Sodium
Pentothal was not infallible. During the
cold war the formula for a reliable truth serum was perfected, based on Sodium
Pentothal. The final formula is highly
classified and is known only as ‘Item 419’. I am giving you a small dose of
419. This will help you relax and ensure
your absolute honesty.” His voice was
calm and monotone. “419 is extremely
potent. Please, sit back and relax.”
