The Cold, Empty bottle of Sarsaparilla
Part.6
*Ding!* went the coffee maker, Nathan grabbed the pot and looked at the clock on the machine, 5:57AM it read. This was usually the time of day he would use to get some paperwork done, before all the patients woke up. It was a nice, simple morning ritual; the kind that you got used to after months of repetition. He walked over to his mailbox in the main lobby, as he walked to the main desk he looked at a pot of flowers sitting there, they needed watering, but that simply wasn’t his job. So he passed it without second thought.
He looked at the stack of paper in his mail slot, mostly papers that needed to be filed, stamped, and refilled again; whatever kept the red-tapes happy. However, he noticed an urgent message in his mail today; it was in a bright red envelope that screamed “we mean business!”
He opened it, not too sure of what to expect:
From the desk of Dr. Krusen,
I request a moment of your time Nathan regarding yesterdays “incident” about patient #109 a.k.a “Pinkie Pie.” I urgently need to speak with you regarding the manor of her behavior and any future treatment of such incidents. Meet me at 6:05 PM today, on the second floor in office #12.
Nathan was puzzled, he’d never been called upstairs before, and he had doubts that they ever summoned someone regarding a patient before. It’s not like this kind of thing isn’t commonplace, it happens often enough.
Despite his confusion, he walked to the rarely used staircase; some nurses gave him odd looks as he headed towards the stairs. The room that housed the staircase was frigid this time of day, and even carried a bit of a draft.
Nathan opened the door to the second level of the hospital; the hallway was quiet, but held some people, who looked at him peculiarly. He walked down the hall, until he spotted office #12, a small gold plaque rested on the door front.
Doctor Wilkinson J. Krusen
PhD. in the Medical and Physiological Sciences
Head Researcher
Nathan wondered why this guy would bother himself with details of a patient, does it have something to do with the drug trial for Serum 14-Q? He was unsure what to think at the moment, it seemed the only logical theory.
He cracked open the door to find a short, bald man sitting at his desk with a bottle of brandy. His office was dusty and unkempt, and the odor of brandy and cigars hung think. He looked at Nathan with eyes of anger, and a slight hint of fear. “Mr.Nathan, have a seat please.” he asked in an unsettling tone.
Nathan did as he was asked; he held out his hand to shake with the doctor, but Dr.Krusen just stared at him, coldly.
“Nathan, lets skip all the unpleasantries and get right down to the point, shall we?” he said in a calm cool manner “Now this patient of yours #109, who likes to be called Pinkie Pie.” he said with a tone of frustration, “I understand that she had a bit of a hiccup in her recovery, am I right?”
Nathan’s words were stuck in his throat “Ummm......yes sir she did, but she was just a bit upset, and I didn’t-”
“And when she was upset, did you get anyone to sedate her?”
“Well, ummmm, Nurse Ratched came with a sedative, but I sent her away cause-”
Dr. Krusen slammed his fist on the table, “Just what the fuck were you thinking!?! Huh?”
Nathan jumped out of his seat a little, “I didn’t think it would be a real problem, but I mean, umm-”
“Do you have any idea how dangerous that individual is, DO YOU?”
“But, there was nothing in her file that said she was any sort of threat.” he began to trip over his own words.
“I don’t give two shits, what was in her file! That girl is a serious threat to me, you and everyone in this hospital!” he paused to catch his breath “I didn’t mean to get worked up like that, Christ” he poured himself another glass of brandy. He tilted his head back and downed the entire glass in one gulp “Now you listen here, and you listen good! If that girl starts to flip out like that again, hell if she so much as looks at you funny, you better fucking tranq her so fast that her head will spin, do you understand me?!”
Nathan was stunned, but managed to speak in a soft, timid voice “Ummmm.......sir, I don’t really think that’s nessiss-”
“I said, do you fucking understand me?! It’s a simple fucking question, yes or no?!”
All of Nathan’s bravery was sapped; he couldn’t even muster up a response, so he just nodded. Dr. Krusen sat back down in his swivel chair, “I’m glad we have an understanding, I’m sending a notice out to all the nurses, now get the hell out of here!”
Nathan scurried to the door, with his tail between his legs; he ran down stairs, without giving any of his co-workers a passing glance. He was back in the break room where his morning started.
Dr.Mathews could see the fear in his face, “Jeez man, what the heck happened to you?”
Dr.Krusen sat alone again in his empty room, he poured himself another glass of brandy and put the bottle away. He took a sip of the glass and set it down “I just pray that her amnesia sticks, so help me god” he said as he took another drink.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pinkie awoke in her usual manner, a stretch followed by another big *yaaaaaawwwnnn* to wake her up. She heard the *CLANK* sound as the door opened, her face brightened, as she expected to see Nathan, but was disappointed to see Dr.Mathews. “Hello there Pinkie!” he said in a cheery voice.
“Hi Dr.Mathews! Where’s Nathan?”
“Well, he’s busy at the moment, so today I’ll be wheeling you to breakfast, ‘kay?”
Pinkie smiled and nodded as she got in the chair, she was eager to see the flowers in the lobby again; but her eagerness turned to disappointment, as she saw the once vibrant and lively flowers wilting away. Did anyone water them? She thought to herself as she passed through the lobby.
She was wheeled into the cafeteria, and set at her regular table. She saw Marvin look up at her and nod slightly at her presence. Ricky looked up at her from his tray of food and smiled “Well hey there, beautiful.” Pinkie did all she could to ignore him, refusing to even acknowledge his comment at all.
She looked down at her own tray of food; today’s meal consisted of blueberry pancakes, and eggs. The so-called “blueberries” tasted like little clumps of rock. The eggs were a tad too runny as well, but she ate them all the same.
“So you’re ignoring me today, I take it? That’s fine doll, your silence says no but your eyes say yes, more of this guy. Am I right, Marv?”
Marvin just rolled his eyes, “Will you please just shut up? For the love of god, you’re just annoying her, and me, not like you give a shit anyway.”
“Now that’s not true Marv, I’m not annoying you, am I doll?” he turned to Pinkie Pie, who just looked back, disgruntled.
“Why yes, as a matter of fact you are annoying me” she grumbled.
Ricky’s face seemed shocked for a moment, as if he actually was surprised to be rejected; but then his face reddened, not in shame but in anger. “Oh! So I’m annoying am I!? Well sweetheart, I say it’s you, who annoys me! How do you like that?”
Is this guy for real? Seriously? Her face never became more serious in her entire life in Equestria; her lips formed a perfectly straight line, her eyes shot sternly across the table toward the bumbling idiot. “Quite frankly, I don’t give a fuck!” she raised her voice slightly; just to make sure she got her point across.
Ricky was fuming now, his face turned a bright cherry red. He stood up, pushing his chair back, which fell down with a loud metal *THUNK* that made everyone look in their direction. One of his massive arms swiped his and her trays off the table, which sent the food flying away from the table. “You godamn bitch! Don’t you ever talk to me like that!”
Pinkie was scared beyond belief, she couldn’t even remember a time where she was more scared then right now. She tried to think back to other times she was so frightened, come on Pinkie, think! What is it you normally do when you’re frightened? Oh I got it!
“Ha, ha, ha!” she laughed out loud in Ricky’s face. Marvin’s eyes widened as if to say, did she seriously laugh in his face? She’s either the bravest person in the world, or the biggest idiot. Or both.
A single vein popped up on Ricky’s forehead; never before had Pinkie realized the brute’s true size. He towered over her looking down at her, partly drooling as he hyperventilated in rage. “BITCH I’LL SHOW YOU NOT TO LAUGH!” he screamed as he raised his arm high in the air.
For a moment Pinkie looked behind her, she saw two large male nurses, each with a sleepyneedle in hand. They started to dart towards them, but were held back by Nurse Ratched. She looked at them sternly, and they both took a step back. I guess I’m on my own with this one! Why did I have to laugh?! That was such a stupid idea!
His arm began to swing towards her; she closed her eyes and mentally braced herself for the pain she was all too sure she’d experience.
Any second now! She winced at the thought, ummmmmm.....did it happen yet? She refused to open her eyes in fear that he was just holding back for a moment, still nothing? She waited perhaps another five seconds or so before she finally worked up the courage to open her eyes.
What she saw was the face bright-red colored, fuming giant, with a look, not of rage but fear. His lip quivered as all his strength was being over powered, by what? Pinkie thought. She followed his arm to see a hand holding it mid-place, about half way to her face. Nathan! Oh my god I love you! It wasn’t Nathan’s arm however, she looked at it again, and it had a more feminine quality to it, Nurse Ratched?!? Nope, the arm was too youthful to be from her. Whose arm is this?
She followed the arm with her eyes to find that the arm was her own. What the hell!?!?!?!?! Her jaw hung open in disbelief. She couldn’t even believe it was possible that someone like her could hold back someone like him; not just hold back, but overpower. Pinkie looked back at his face to see his eyes; they beamed in fear and cowardice. As a fear reaction he struggled to get free, as he raised his other arm into the air. But then, without even realizing what happened, almost like a reflex; she flipped him on his back and onto the table, the two legs on the right half of the table gave out with a *SNAP* as Ricky rolled down the table side, Marvin’s food tray followed and landed on the back of his head with a splat. Then the other two legs decided enough was enough, and gave out as well with another loud *SNAP*
Pinkie Pie stood there in shock, her jaw hung open is awe. She felt a slight prick in her side, as she began to feel sleepy. She turned around to see Nathan with a look of sadness and shock on his face “I’m sorry about this Pinkie.” Was the last thing she heard, before falling into a deep sleep.