Arrows of Time - Kim Falconer [80]
‘It’s the Jane Doe. You said to inform you immediately if…’
He leapt out of his chair. ‘What are her stats?’ he asked, pulling on his lab coat. He’d crossed the room before the words were out.
‘She crashed. No breath sounds, ECG flat line.’
‘A cardiac arrest? Why didn’t you notify me?’
‘It only just happened and then she…’
‘I should have been beeped.’
‘By the time you received the message and rang back it would be…’
Everett tore past the cluster of staff blocking his way—attending physicians, patients, nurses and students—snapping on gloves and a protective gown as he entered the treatment room. ‘What’s happening?’
‘Dr Kelly?’
The words stopped him.
‘I’ve been waiting for you.’
It was her voice, rich and melodic, as if it had been trained in elocution, each syllable and phrase full of warmth and promise. He stepped up to the bedside, glancing briefly at the chart his nurse held in front of him. He nodded, waving it aside. Everything around him faded. Only his patient came into focus. Only his Jane Doe.
‘So you’ve decided to make your first appearance,’ he said.
She smiled, and the world fell away at his feet. ‘I was getting bored listening.’ Her eyes shone under the halogen lights.
‘Were you now? And does that mean you’ve heard everything we’ve said?’
‘Everything of interest to me. And I agree with your diagnosis, doctor. Cardiomyopathy—no known cause. Though why you keep calling me Jane Doe, I can’t figure out.’
‘If you could supply us with your ID, we’d call you by your real name.’
She laughed. ‘What is “real”?’
‘Your ID, for starters.’
‘There you go again, on about identification. Where I come from, names are sacred, chosen at times of initiation in accordance with numerology and planetary alignment. There is a ritual…a ceremony. None of this ID and scanning of chips embedded in the skin.’
‘So why don’t you tell me yours?’
She closed her eyes for a moment and the light went out. ‘I can’t.’
‘Can’t or won’t?’
‘I can’t remember,’ she whispered, her face strained. ‘I can’t remember.’
‘Don’t worry.’ He patted her hand, an extraordinary action for him. ‘It’ll come to you. Just relax. Breathe.’
‘I can hardly do anything else. What kind of herbs are you giving me? I don’t recognise the names.’
‘We are giving you exactly the right things.’
‘You’ll hardly think so when I die.’
‘Die? Whatever gives you that notion? No one is going to die.’ He knew it was patronising, but he didn’t know how else to soothe her. Besides, it was true.
‘That’s an answer for a child, Dr Kelly. Is that what you think I am?’
‘Not at all.’ He waited for her face to soften. ‘Do you remember what you are? Your profession? A paramedic perhaps?’
‘I’ve had experience in the healing arts, if that’s what you mean.’
‘Arts?’
‘What do you call it?’
‘Science.’
‘I see. Is that where I’ve landed?’
‘What do you mean?’
She closed her eyes for a moment. ‘First things first, Everett. I don’t think I have a lot of time.’
‘I wouldn’t be so sure. Now that you’re awake again, I plan to keep you that way.’
‘You aren’t listening. I don’t have a lot of time.’ She motioned him closer. ‘I have to get back.’ He swallowed, heat flushing his face. As he leaned in, she grabbed his shoulder, holding him just above her face. ‘I am a temple priestess, a High Priestess and witch. I know that for certain. I also know my message.’
‘Message?’
‘The one I’ve come to deliver. Everett, you have to stop this notion of eternal life and let me die.’
His eyes shot a quick glance at his staff. They didn’t appear to have heard. ‘You don’t know what you’re saying,’ he whispered.
‘But I do.’ Her eyes bored into his.
‘Why do you want to…die?’
‘I told you before—I have to get back.’
‘Back where?’
She sighed. ‘The balance is upset, Everett, and your eternal life experiments are creating havoc on other worlds. I can’t remember exactly how I came here or who I am, but I know I am meant to straighten this out. It’s not going well. I need you to stop, and I need to