InsaneJournal

Paul Ballard had actually been there for a couple weeks, but with no one he knew anywhere near the hospital, it didn't really matter. He hadn't really been awake, either. He'd heard things, had dreams. People talking about him like he couldn't hear---and a few who spoke like he could. We was fed through a tube until very recently, when he'd woken up. Even then, they kept it simple. No one really knew what the hell had happened to him, and he certainly wasn't going to talk. He'd chit chat, he'd say hello to people, but it was clear the only reason he was staying in this bed was that he was still learning to walk again.

Occasionally, he asked for Echo. Only new people, ones he'd never seen before, and then he would stare at them to gauge their reaction. When he decided they weren't lying, he would go quiet again.

They had volunteers, usually kids, who came in and brought stuff to the patients. Gave the kids experience if they wanted to be in medicine, kept them off the streets being hoodlums, or something. It was Karolina's first day, and she was pushing around a meal cart, making the rounds. According to her chart, the recipient in this room was----

"Mr. Ballard?" Karolina poked her head in, her cart preceding her.

Another new kid. That happened a lot. Kids got bored and had to be moved around a lot, or they quit. She looked vaguely familiar, but she was pretty; in Paul's experience, pretty only came in so many different ways. He'd probably seen someone similar while he was working at the Dollhouse.

"Last I checked. You're the new jello pusher, then."

"Yep, that's me. First day, I was ... I mean, I got dumped here, I'm assuming we all got dumped here in one way or another, but I was taking a walk and there was a sign, so... ta da, they needed someone right away. They're test-driving me." She took a breath. Smiled. "Hi. I'm Karolina."

Paul tensed when she introduced herself. One syllable off. "...Dumped?"

Maybe not everyone was dumped. Oh. "Do you live in Las Vegas..?" Karolina crouched down and reached for the plate that was tagged for him. Made a face. "I hope you're not vegan."

"No. And..." He moved to sit up and groaned, uncomfortable. "No. I have no idea how I got here." And Paul didn't have a choice but to stay. That weeks-long coma he'd been in meant that his legs had forgotten how to walk. He'd lost muscle mass and muscle memory; talking hadn't been an option at first, either.

"Where were you before?" Karolina glanced up and stood, taking the tray with her. She balanced it in one hand while she maneuvered Paul's tray table over the bed.

Paul was watching her carefully, like she was about to pull a pistol on him at any moment. "California," he said finally.

Karolina beamed. She almost seemed to glow for a second, almost seemed like a breeze ruffled her hair. He must have been seeing things. "No kidding! For real? Me too! Los Angeles!"

...Freaky.

"LA," Paul agreed. "I don't know how I ended up here, but I'm looking for someone. Have you ever heard of a girl named Echo?"

"Echo? No, but ... most of us have been thrown here," said Karolina. "As in, we've been kidnapped, or something, I don't know. But nobody I've talked to actually came here of their own free will." She lowered her voice, not certain that this was really to be discussed. "There's a network, for people, and I could always look? I can take a look at the postings and check, see if ... Echo's here." She set his tray down.

"Network?" Yeah, Paul had been unconscious for all this. Sorry.

"Oh, on..." Karolina reached for her pocket and then glanced at the windowsill that served as an air vent and heater. "No, you've got one----here." She went for it, picking it up. "It's kind of keeping all of us connected, like e-mails and IMs, just... with this big forum for everyone who's here. I guess. I've only been here since morning." She clicked through a few screens and ran through the network postings on his phone. "I see a girl named Echo, yeah."

Paul reached for it the moment he heard Echo's name. She must have been important. "Here---" He had large hands, wide palms, long fingers. Rough.

Karolina passed it to him quickly. "There."

Paul took it, turning it over in his hands. "Well, it's not an iPhone," he muttered. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said. "Um, should I leave you alone? I've got other people to visit..."

"Um. ...Yeah." There was nothing sarcastic there. Paul had the air of a person who was normally rather polite, even personable. Just jittery, not knowing how to ask someone to leave without being rude. "Thank you," he repeated.

"Hey, hey..." Karolina reached out and touched a warm---unusually warm----hand against his. "I hope you find her. So get better, all right? You'll need your strength."

How right was it that a girl named Karolina was the one to actually tell him things. Paul looked over, watching her carefully for a moment. "Who are you?"

Karolina was just about to go back to her cart. "...What?" She smiled vaguely, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Karolina, don't you remember? Karolina Dean, if you need to know."

"And you said you're from LA?" If Paul had ever seen Karolina or her parents on television, it didn't show. "Are people just being kidnapped from California, or...?"

"I don't think so, no----from everywhere. My parents are----were----Frank and Leslie Dean? The actors? ...Movies? So if it seems a little, like, if I'm familiar, or whatever, probably not..." Karolina blushed, awkward. "Sometimes I get that, not that often. Not like I'm famous."

"Never heard of 'em."

"Oh, well. Good. They're..." Evil. "Dead." Karolina cleared her throat. "But funny, yeah? LA... who's this Echo you're trying to find? Is she in trouble?"

"Yes." Paul didn't explain. He looked back down at the PDA, scrolling through the network.

"I don't know what the police are like here..."

"Police have nothing to do with it. Ever."

Karolina tilted her head. "It's one of those things, huh."

He looked up at her again, his expression sincere. Well-meaning. "It's probably best if you know as little as possible. Thank you, though."

"I hope you find her all the same." Her smile was gentle, sweet. "I'll go. I'll be around tomorrow if they decide to keep me. Don't strain too much, 'kay?" She went back to her cart and pushed it to the door.

"I won't," he lied. "I won't."