Chapter 6

  Deke awoke to find himself in a hospital bed, with Gillian holding his hand. Through the window, he could see that it was dark outside. The sights, sounds, and smells of the hospital room gradually coalesced around him.

  “What time is it?” slurred Deke.

  “You're awake!” murmured Gillian gratefully. “You gave us all a scare. How are you feeling? Are you OK?”

  Deke tried to turn his head to see her better. The thick bandages around his neck wouldn't allow it. “I'm feeling pretty good, but still, I'm a little groggy.”

  Alex's voice came from the doorway. He stepped up behind Gillian, his shirt splashed with Deke’s now-dried blood. “Groggy's a good step up from unconscious. Although... You are easier to get along with when you're comatose.”

  Gillian pushed Alex playfully away. “How did you get in here?” she asked him.

  “Nobody asks a lot of questions to a guy covered in blood walking the halls of a hospital.”

  “Thanks so much for getting him here.”

  Deke’s head was clearing. “How did you get me here?”

  Alex responded, “In the back of my Tio’s farm pickup truck. Lucky, I had borrowed it today to get the chicken to the lab. Don't worry,” he grinned, ”the manure doesn't stick to the box when the field is engaged.” Then, in a more serious tone, he asked, “What do you remember? Did you get a look inside the box?”

  Kelton thought for a few seconds. He opened his mouth to respond a few times and took a thoughtful breath. Finally, he spoke, “Imagine blinking and finding yourself in a totally new place. From my point of view, the best I can do is say that it felt like I had been teleported. In one instant, I was lying on my back, bleeding in the lab. In the next instant, I was lying on my back, bleeding in the operating room. It was very disorienting. I tried to talk to the Doctor, and then I passed out.”

  “Chaz and Beta are going to be very relieved that you’re ok.”

  “Where are they?”

  “They are in the waiting room down the hall. Chaz might have gone for coffee.” Alex whistled, ”That was some intense afternoon. I thought we were gonna have to put a tourniquet around your neck.”

  Nodding toward Gillian, Kelton looked intently at Alex. “ That’s enough lab business for now. Why don’t you go let Chaz and Beta know I’m ok. I need to spend some time with Gillian. Can you give us a few minutes?”

  Alex left the room. Deke took Gillian's hand. ”How are you holding up, Rani?” he asked gently.

  Gillian looked into Deke's eyes, and her emotions flooded out with tears of concern, love, gratitude, and distress. He held her hand more tightly. “I'm so glad to see you awake. You really, really scared me. The university seems like it should be such a safe place. Your experiments were just kind of boring, and I loved that. But since you've been experimenting with your box, I have just been on pins and needles.” She continued in her stream of consciousness, “I was having another cry about my dad when I got the phone call from Beta. I almost passed out. It was all too much. Just as I was about to collapse, out of the blue, I had the feeling that everything was going to be OK. Somehow, I was able to make it to the hospital. I'm so relieved to talk to you. You are going to be OK.”

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “Yes, I think I'm going to be OK,” Deke smiled. He felt the stitches under his ear pull a little bit when he smiled.

  “I've had a bad feeling about that box for the last two days. I knew something bad was going to happen.” Gillian said. “I told you not to get in that box. You promised!”

  “That box saved my life today,” Deke said quietly.

  Gillian inhaled deeply, opened her mouth, then closed her mouth. It was apparent to Deke that she was trying to change the direction of the conversation.

  “I must look a mess. I'm in my sweats; I've been crying all afternoon.”

  The nurse in the doorway said, “Honey, you've been through a lot today.”

  Deke and Gillian were startled out of their conversation. They looked at the doorway to see a nurse with a broad smile carrying a tablet, walking towards the bed.

  The nurse continued, “I can tell by the look on his face that he thinks you're the most beautiful thing he's seen today. I can tell you I've seen lots worse, sweetie.” Bending over Deke, she adjusted the tubes and wires attached to him and took a glance at the monitors. “You're looking pretty good for a guy who had a zero percent chance of survival just a few hours ago. Is there anything you need? Can I get you anything? We'll have you out of the recovery room in just a couple of minutes. We're all pretty interested in that box you were delivered in.”

  “I think I've got everything I need right here,” smiled Deke, squeezing Gillian's hand. “Thank you for your help, Nurse Schmedlap.”

  Gillian looked at Deke quizzically. “How do you know her?

  “I guess I saw her in the operating room. She has a very distinctive smile.”

  Early the next morning, Gillian showed up in Deke’s hospital room. “How are you feeling this morning?”

  “About the same way I always feel when a monkey has cut my throat the day before.”

  Alex, Beta, and Chaz appeared in the doorway. “Good morning, Doc!” said Alex. “We were just on our way to clean up the lab. And thought we'd better check in and see how you're doing.”

  They talked for a few minutes about the events of the day before. “The doctor said that surviving an accident like that is pretty unlikely. You have to get into a treatment room almost immediately if you're going to survive.”

  Gillian took Beta's hand in hers. “Thank you so much for getting him here on time. All of you.”

  Chaz said, “Well, I think we found a new application for the box. Patient transport looks like a natural application. The early money will come from emergency services. There are hundreds of thousands of ambulances around the world. Every one of them needs to be equipped with a box.”

  “Or organ transportation. A heart could be moved and maintain viability for days, weeks, or even months,” added Beta.

  Chaz jumped in again, “Bomb disposal units! Think how much safer we could make bomb disposal!

  Kelton gestured with his hands to keep the volume down. “Keep thinking, but let's discuss it in a more private setting. We still need to limit access to this information.”

  Kelton was discharged, and Gillian took him home. As they walked through the front door, Deke saw the magazines scattered on the floor. It triggered a vague memory. “I had a strange dream yesterday. I came in to see you sitting on the floor there crying.”

  “That's not such a strange dream,” said Gillian. “I've been doing that a lot lately.”

  Deke wrestled with whether to tell her the rest of the dream. “Well, you were sitting there on the floor, crying, but your dad was standing behind you, saying he was sorry and pleading with you to forgive him. You got a call from Beta, your dad left the room, and then I told you that everything was OK, that I was going to be OK.”

  “That's pretty wild,” Gillian said, “I was sitting right there on the floor crying about Dad again when Beta called me.”