Re: Orange County Hospital - Recovery Room
Everything that happened after speaking with Trenton and Isobel was like a heartbeat that thudded without pumping blood. Archer was trying to put it together, to make sense of it, while simultaneously realizing that his ego had been very much hurt. Griffin's crowing triumph in this situation did nothing to help things, and in fact only made them worse.
And then suddenly, people were falling down.
At first, Archer was rooted to the spot. He stared as bodies fell amidst splashes of red, the screams of civilians ringing silent in his ears. Though Griffin was screaming at him to run, he couldn't move. He couldn't think. All he could see was all that carnage, and something snapped inside him. Eyes wide, he watched as a police officer shot two people in front of him. They both collapsed, shrieking, and the officer turned on him. He stared at the other man, face blank, and watched him raise the barrel of his gun to level with his nose.
That was the last thing he saw before appearing inside the lobby, just within the doors. Griffin was gone. His heart wouldn't stop pounding. He was covered in sweat and everything shook. The doors opened as the paramedics arrived, and he blankly followed several people outside. He didn't know why he was going there. He just knew that people were moving, and when in doubt, you follow the crowd.
He made it halfway to the hospital before a paramedic realized that he wasn't a companion for one of the injured, and had simply wandered in for the ride. When they arrived at the hospital, he was taken to a nurse for examination. He was mildly intoxicated, severely malnourished, and quite dehydrated. The way in which he barely responded to the people around him was worrisome, and so the nurse decided to admit him for the night.
After being outfitted with a horrible gown, Archer was placed in a recovery room. An IV in his arm provided him with liquid nutrients to combat the malnutrition and dehydration, while a tube of fresh oxygen attached to his nostrils allowed him to breathe more easily, as he had been struggling for some time.
For a long time, he just stared at the opposite wall, stony silent. But the ruckus of another patient caused him to turn slightly. His face suggested no recognition, but he knew the man as the "heart attack victim" from the prison. The nurse sighed as he struggled, attempting to coerce him into accepting this bed for the night.
"Take the bed," he said, voice deadly even. "It's comfortable."