Chapter 2: Thane

Kate let go of the stranger’s arm to run up to the clinic door and ring the doorbell. A few seconds later the door opened.

“Ms. Holland? Is everything alright?” the man at the door asked. Hearing Tim grunt with exertion, he leaned outside to see the injured man draped over Tim’s back. Stepping out he hurried over to the unconscious stranger to check his pulse. His stethoscope came back with blood on it. “Get him inside, now.”

Tim dropped his cargo to the ground, unable to support the weight any longer. He remained hunched over, gasping for air as sweat poured down the side of his face. Looking up briefly he said between breaths, “Yeah that’s . . . a lot of blood.” He removed his beanie, mopped his face with it.

Kate crouched by the stranger’s side and then looked up at Tim. “Would it be alright if I stayed with him? Just to make sure he’s okay?”

Tim nodded, not really listening to what she was asking.

Doctor Nguyen hooked his arms under the stranger's armpits and lifted, but only made it a foot before he had to stop. “Tim, could you give me a hand?”

Tim responded with a look that said he may possibly need a doctor himself.

Kate went over to the stranger’s feet and hooked her arms behind his knees. “I can help. Lead the way.”

As the doctor and Kate maneuvered the stranger inside, Tim nodded and partially waved with his hand holding the beanie. “I’ll just . . . go open up.” When the door to the clinic was shut he said to no one, “I’ll . . . check on you later.”

After letting out a few loud “whews”, he started back to his store.

Inside the clinic, it took Kate and the doctor several tries to get the man onto the examination table. Doctor Nguyen leaned on the sink against the wall and said, “Who is this guy?”

Kate shook her head. “I dunno. Me and Tim found him stumbling around outside of Carol’s Grocer.”

The doctor nodded and looked at his watch. “Alright. Stacy won’t be here for another half hour. Would you mind helping-”

“Yes. I mean no. No, I don’t mind helping.” Kate didn’t mean to cut him off and looked away from the doctor.

“Good. I’m going to go get some things to clean him up. Check his pockets,” He paused when he saw the strange attire the unconscious man was wearing. “If he has any, or some form of ID. Then if you could remove this…tunic thing? He has some chest wounds.”

Kate nodded. “Yeah, sure. Okay. Yeah.”

Doctor Nguyen went to the door. “I’ll be right back.”

Taking a deep breath, Kate patted both sides of the stranger’s legs where pockets were normally located on pants. The coarse fabric covering his thighs was heavy though, and she didn’t think she would feel anything through it. Looking at his face she said, “I’m just doing what the Doctor asked.” Lifting the thick material, she slipped her hands underneath and felt around for pockets.

Her heart was slamming against her chest, she could feel it beating all the way in her eardrums. She found a pocket, though searching it yielded nothing. After another deep breath, she leaned over the top of his stomach to check the pocket on the other side. The moment she reached a shaking hand inside, a British-accented voice asked,

“May I help you?”

Kate froze. “This isn’t what it looks like.”

“If you’re not looking for my wallet this will make for an extremely uncomfortable situation.” he said.

“I’m looking for your wallet. That’s what it was.” Taking her hand out of his pocket she stepped away and sat in the chair next to the table. “Sorry.”

“No harm done. Are you the uh, nurse?” The man tried to sit up, gritted his teeth and lied back down. Before Kate could answer, Dr. Nguyen returned wearing blue gloves holding gauze, antiseptic, and a tray full of medical instruments. Noticing his patient was conscious, he smiled.

“Ah good, you’re awake. I’m Dr. Nguyen.”

“Thane Edwards. Pleasure.”

After setting the tray and antiseptic down, Dr. Nguyen examined the head wound, nodded and then turned to pick up a pair of scissors. “The cut in your head isn’t deep. Would you remove your uh…tunic?”

“Surcoat.” Thane answered.

“Right. Am I correct to say you’ve sustained injuries to your chest and abdomen?”

Thane’s eyebrows lifted up. “Probably. I hope it’s nothing serious.”

Kate cleared her throat. “What happened?”

Dr. Nguyen looked at Kate as though he’d forgotten she was still in the room. “Ms. Holland, you may leave now. I can take it from here.”

Kate leaned back in the chair and folded her legs. “I’m okay. If he’s okay with it, I’m okay with it.” She looked to Thane. “Are you okay with it?”

Thane finished unbuttoning the multiple layers he was wearing and pulled them back to reveal a heavily muscled, finely toned upper body with multiple lacerations and holes starting from his collarbone going down to his abdomen.

Dr. Nguyen’s eyes bulged. “Whoa! No wonder you felt like a bag of cement! Look at those guns!” he laughed, trying to lighten the mood, and started to clean around the wounds he would need to sew up. “How did this happen?” He looked to Kate again, who was staring at Thane’s chest. “Kate, can you wait outside?”

Kate’s eyes were pointed at Thane’s chest, but it was his wounds she couldn’t take her eyes from. Painful thoughts and memories flooded through her mind. Her legs and arms felt like lead and she didn’t think she could move even if she wanted to. She did her best to respond, knowing the doctor was waiting for an answer.

“Can I have a second? All the blood,” she lied, “made me a little lightheaded.”

Thane held up his hand. “It’s alright.” he turned to her. “You and your friend, you're the ones who found me?”

Kate nodded, curious to know how he knew she brought him with someone else if he was unconscious.

“I see. Thank you.” Answering the doctor’s question he said, “So I was on my way to a conference and some lunatic ran me off the road. Don’t know who they were or why they did it, I’m just thankful to be alive.”

Dr. Nguyen gave a slight nod of his head. “Are you going to file a police report?”

Thane winced. “I plan on it.”

Still queasy, Kate asked, “What kind of conference has you dress up like that? The Council of Elrond?” She laughed a little and then the smile on her face faded away when neither the doctor or Thane picked up on the joke.

Thane looked away from the cut Dr. Nguyen was sewing up and said, “Those I work with are very old fashioned. It is part of their formal dress code. Believe me, it wasn’t my first choice.”

Kate had no way of knowing if the man was being sarcastic or not. She knew from living in California that there were guys who took their nerd conventions very seriously, but it was hard to read his tone with that accent. To her, everything he said sounded proper and scientific.

Thane interrupted her thoughts. “Ms. Holland,”

“I go by Kate.”

“Right. Kate. Could I perhaps use your mobile?”

Kate looked puzzled. “My mobile what?”

“I’m sorry,” he smiled. Not to her surprise, his teeth were perfect in spite of the wreck he was in. He continued, “Your mobile telephone. Do you have one?”

“I do, it doesn’t work out here though. This is a LAN line only kind of town.”

Thane stared at her, waiting to see if there was more to the sentence.

There wasn’t.

He continued to smile. “You’re serious,” he said. Closing his eyes, he sighed. “Brilliant.”

The phone at the reception desk rang. Dr. Nguyen finished taping down some gauze over a cut and said, “I’m finished Mr. Edwards. You can get dressed.” Pulling off his gloves he left the room to answer the phone.

“So, you’re English.” Kate said. “Where at in England?”

Thane shook his head. “It isn’t likely you’ve heard of it.”

She scoffed. “Why would you think that?”

“You didn’t know what a mobile was. I assume your knowledge of the United Kingdom is limited.” He wasn’t rude when he made the statement, but Kate wasn’t sure if that wasn’t just his voice throwing her off again.

She turned away from him and looked out the window.

Thane shook his head in frustration at his own attitude. He thought, ‘Fine way to treat someone who possibly saved your life. ‘

After a quiet sigh he said, “The Channel Islands. There isn’t a whole lot there, I’m not even sure most people from England know about them.”

She turned back around. “You’re right, I’ve never heard of them.”

Thane tilted his head to the side. “Strange. Usually I just tell people I’m from London to avoid the long explanations.”

Kate nodded. “I tell people I’m from Los Angeles, but I’m really from Culver City.” Her eyes narrowed in mock suspicion. “Do people actually live in the big cities? When you consider how often they’re destroyed in movies, one might say those buildings are empty.”

Thane refrained from saying how ridiculous that sounded.

After several seconds she asked, “What?”

Thane hadn’t realized he was staring at her without saying anything. He frowned and looked down at his bandaged torso. “I haven’t considered how I’ll repay you or the kind doctor,” pulling the sleeves back over his shoulders he began buttoning up the front.

Dr. Nguyen returned, his expression glassy and distant. He held the cordless phone up to Thane and said in a monotone voice, “It’s for you, Mr. Edwards.”

Thane looked confused. “Are you sure? No one knows I’m here.”

Dr. Nguyen remained silent as he continued to hold the phone out to Thane.

Thane’s eyes looked to the doctor’s and then to Kates as though he was expecting a trick of some kind. When nothing happened, he took the phone. “Hello, this is Mr. Edwards.”

When he heard the voice on the other end, the color seeped from his face. A second later, Thane powered off the device and massaged the bridge of his nose with his finger and thumb.

Dr. Nguyen’s expression returned to normal moments later. Smiling, he said, “Now then if you’d like to call someone, it’s important you rest for the next few days. I’ve written a prescription for some antibiotics-” his face transformed into genuine confusion seeing his phone in Thane’s hand. “How…?”

Kate’s own expression was one of confusion. Who was on the other end of the phone? “Doctor Nguyen, how much do we owe you?”

Dr. Nguyen shook his head, his eyes still on the phone. “Don’t worry about it Katey. This one’s on the house. Just make sure your friend has somewhere to rest. And make sure to file that police report.”

Thane looked up at Kate, and then the doctor. “That is incredibly generous of you. Thank you. Kate, it was a pleasure meeting you.” Getting up, he finished with the last of his buttons and started toward the front exit.

Kate followed after him. Outside the clinic she called to him, “Hold on, how far are you going to get with no money, ID or transportation?” She looked back toward the doctor's office. “And what was that all about? Who called you?”

Thane stopped walking, his eyes searching the forest as he spoke. “I was reminded what will happen if I fail to attend the… conference I was heading to.”

Kate rubbed her arms. It was getting colder out. “Well you won’t get there standing out here.”

Thane turned to her. “What would you suggest?”

“I’ve got an extra room at my place. It’s just down the block from here.”

When her pale green eyes met his, Thane was reminded of the tree-filled landscape and why he volunteered to take over work in this region. The thought of what his profession involved made him look away. He started to fold his arms over his chest and then grimaced from the cuts underneath. “Pardon me for asking, but do you have anything to eat?”

“Actually,” lifting one of the flaps on the pocket of her coat, she reached in and pulled out an apple. Gripping the bottom of the fruit with her fingers and pressing down on the top with her thumbs, she tore the apple into two clean halves and handed him one.

Thane stared at his half and blinked. “Ms. Holland,”

“Ith’s Kate,” she said through a mouthful of apple.

“Kate. That is one of the strangest, yet most fascinating things I’ve seen in some time.” he took a bite of the apple.

Kate couldn’t hide her smile. “I have more food at my place, but first we gotta stop by my work so I can ask for the day off and you can meet the guy who carried you two blocks to the clinic.” Around them, the small town of Caribou Falls began to wake up. Blinds and curtains opened behind windows, several stepped outside to pick up the newspapers on their doorsteps.

Kate knew how fast gossip spread in town and wanted to get inside. Walking forward she took Thane’s arm, noticing once again how warm it was. “We should get going.”

As they made their way back to Tim’s shop, Thane asked, “Kate, my memory is a bit muddled, but did you see anyone earlier? Not from your town?”

Kate froze.