No Way Back by Vincent Formosa

Author:Vincent Formosa [Vincent Formosa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-31T23:00:00+00:00

13 – Take Two Pills And Have A Lie Down

He sat on the bed, his legs dangling over the side. His head was ringing, and he had a bump the size of an orange on his forehead. In the chaos of the touchdown, he didn’t even realise he’d banged his head on the gunsight.

“Open wide,” said a voice, all soft and husky tones.

Hunter did as he was told, like a good little boy. He stared at the ceiling while a wooden stick pushed his tongue down. A small medical torch lit up his mouth, and the nurse had a good look inside. She closed his mouth with a hand under the chin and indicated for him to lay down on the bed. He did that too, grateful for the chance to lie down.

The nurse pulled crisp white sheets over him. She wrote some notes on a clipboard. Hunter closed his eyes, his head pounding. It felt like someone was stabbing at him with knitting needles. He must have nodded off because when he opened his eyes again, there was a doctor by the side of his bed instead of the nurse.

“How are we feeling?” he asked.

Groggy, Hunter levered himself up into a sitting position. He did it slowly, as the room was still swaying from side to side. It felt like he was back at sea. He fought off the urge to throw up and turned his attention to the doctor.

Thin as a rake, all angles, his face was a hollowed-out shell. Heavy brows shadowed his eyes, and light reflected from his horn-rimmed spectacles. A stethoscope hung around his neck. The long white coat, typical of all doctors, hung off his bony shoulders.

Hunter wrinkled his nose, his nostrils stung by the strong smell of antiseptic. The curtains to his left were drawn, and there was a general hush on the ward. Even the man in the next bed coughed quietly. He checked the time, but there was no watch on his wrist.

“Oh, I feel great, doctor,” he said with a forced smile.

The doctor nodded. He peered into Hunter’s eyes. That made the room shimmy even more. The doctor hummed and hawed as he scrutinised his reaction.

“Take these,” he instructed, handing over two small white pills. Hunter eyed them with distaste. He hated taking pills, preferring to tough things out, but for once, he acquiesced. The doctor gave him a glass of water and waited until Hunter had taken both of them. Satisfied, he patted Hunter on the shoulder.

“Get some rest,” he advised as he left the ward.

Hunter twiddled his thumbs. It had been a long time since he’d had nothing to do. He wasn’t quite ready to sleep just yet. There was a small bookcase by a table and two chairs. He perused the shelves. Fly fishing didn’t interest him at all. There was a book about the 1937 Grand Prix season but he didn’t feel like reading a dispassionate critique of his driving at Monaco or Spa. He settled on a dusty tome about the fall of the Roman Empire and went back to bed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.