SHIFTED: The midnight series

by Toni Goode

  She felt relieved that he was alive. She had no idea how he had managed the injuries he had. She walked up closer to the bed and inspected him more. He looked peaceful as he laid there. She couldn’t help herself as she reached out and touched his face. He felt strong and she felt a twinge deep in her belly as she ran a finger down his cheek bone. Who was this man? Her eyes traveled back to the hint of a tattoo on his arm and she moved the blanket some, revealing it. It was an odd symbol with strange writing inside of it. It looked Latin or Greek. She wasn’t sure. She moved the blanket more and she followed the line of the tattoo that covered nearly his entire arm. She had never seen such a beautiful design not to mention his skin looked flawless.

  She ran her finger down and across his hand. His palm was facing up and she felt the coarse skin of his hand. His hand was large, much larger then hers. His finger twitched, and she snapped her hand back from his as she quickly looked up. She found bright green eyes staring back at her and she jumped some as she moved back from him.

  Chapter Two

  Briana stared back into his green eyes as he looked at her. It took her a moment as she snapped back into reality and a flush covered her skin as she stood there. The sound of the door opening made her spin around as a doctor came walking in. He stopped as he looked at Briana and then at the man on the bed.

  Before she could explain herself the man on the bed spoke. “Where am I?” The mans deep voice made Briana spin back around and she saw the man pulling at the tubing attached to him.

  “You need to keep those in place son, Its for the best.” The doctor said quickly as he walked over to the bed, but John continued to pull on the tubes. “Sir, I need you to calm down.” The doctor continued to say as John pulled an IV roughly out of his arm. Everything was so foggy to him. He didn’t want to be there.

  “God damn it I need to get out of here!” He snapped as the doctor went to reach out for him and he pushed against him hard. The doctor stumbled backwards as Briana gasped in shock. John was grabbing wires and knocking things over as he yelled. He was out of control and soon security guards and other physicians were rushing into the room as Briana got pushed towards the back of the room. “I said let go of me!” He yelled as he fought against the security guards, one of them went flying as he pushed against him. The guard landed by Briana’s feet as she let out a small yelp in shock. What the hell was happening?

  “Sir you need to calm down!” One of the security guards yelled out as he pulled out a taser and aimed it.

  “Oh my god what are you doing!” Briana yelled, and everyone looked at her. It gave John an opportunity as he jumped out of the bed. He almost fell as he got to his feet. He still had wires hooked to him and he violently pulled them off as he knocked over the IV pole.

  “Sir STOP!” The guard yelled as he lunged for him and within second he had the guard by the neck as the taser gun dropped to the ground. Briana yelled out as more people rushed into the room. John looked at her for a moment as he held the guard by the throat. He had an insane look in his eyes and then seconds later a needle was being jabbed into his neck as he spun and grabbed the doctor with needle. His grip loosened quickly as he wobbled some.

  “What did you do to me?” He said as he shook his head. The images blurring before him and then everything went black as he fell against the bed.

  “Is he ok?” Briana finally called out as the physicians got John back on the bed and a guard rushed over to her.

  “Maam your going to have to leave.” He snapped at her as Emma came running into the room.

  “Holy shit what happened?” Emma said in shock as she looked at the guard getting up off the floor and another one handcuffing the unconscious man as the physicians stood off to the side. “I left to grab coffee.” Emma continued as Briana walked over to her.

  “He woke up and freaked out.” Briana said in shock.

  “I’m going to need you both to leave.” The security guard said sternly as he damn near pushed them out of the room and slammed the door.

  Briana was still in shock. What the hell had happened? “Jesus, Bree.” Emma shook her head. “Are you ok?”

  “Yeah I mean.” Briana began as she shook her head.

  “We can’t be over here Bree. There are privacy laws.” Emma began nervously. “Come on let’s go before those doctors come out and I lose my job” She finished as she grabbed Briana’s hand and quickly began to lead her down the hallway.

  “He’s going to be ok, right?” Briana stopped in the middle of the corridor.

  “Bree he is just some unlucky guy, why do you even care?” Emma began to walk as she pulled Briana along.

  “What if they hurt him? He looked scared.” Briana continued.

  “Your really worried about this guy, aren’t you?” Emma stopped walking and looked at her friend. “What happened with Chris?” She added.

  “I don’t want to talk about him.” Briana said quickly as she looked away.

  “Bree look at me, what happened?” Emma asked with concern.

  Briana took a deep breath and exhaled. “It’s over ok, Me and Chris are over.” She finally said as she looked at Emma. “Apparently I didn’t get the memo about how it is ok to cheat with whores.” Briana finally huffed as Emma’s eyes got wide.

  Emma blinked in shock as she stood there. “Are you kidding me??I will kick his ass, for real!” She said angrily. Everyone knew that Briana and Chris were an item. They had been an item since high school and that was four years ago.

  Briana sighed heavily. “Listen I’m tired, exhausted. I just don’t want to talk about it anymore.” Briana said quietly as her eyes began to tear but. The tears weren’t just for what happened with Chris, but it was everything. It was the man drugged up in the hospital room. It was her life in general. It was all becoming too much. She honestly didn’t know how much more she could take. She felt sick to her stomach.

  “Oh Bree, I’m so sorry.” Emma said as she grabbed Briana and hugged her hard. It may have been the hug or the circumstances that lead to this moment, but Briana couldn’t hold it in anymore as she began to cry as she hugged her best friend. “It’s going to be ok, I promise you. It’s going to be ok.” Emma said reassuringly as they hugged.

  “Everything is just falling apart Em, I just don’t even know what to do anymore.” Briana cried against Emma.

  “We got this girl, Remember friends forever.” Emma said as they pulled back from the hug and Briana quickly wiped her eyes.

  “I feel so stupid, I must look crazy.” Briana shook her head.

  “You don’t look crazy Bree, trust me I know crazy when I see it. Most of it is on the 5th floor.” Emma smirked some and so did Briana. “You know I always have your back Bree, so if you need me to kick some ass then just say the word.” Emma grinned but Briana knew that Emma was serious about this, but she also didn’t want to deal with Chris. She wanted to focus her energy on something else.

  “I know, and I love you for that.” Briana said seriously. “Right now, I just want to make sure John Doe is ok.” She added.

  “You know it’s really crazy how you found him. I heard he was mangled really bad. He is lucky that you came when you did.” Emma said honestly.

  “I can’t believe that it was animal. I mean what are the odds of that happening?” Briana shook her head.

  “I know right, but damn he is pretty hot.” Emma laughed.

  “Hot? Um I didn’t really notice.” Briana said as she flushed some.

  “You didn’t notice?? Sure Bree!” Emma laughed loud. “This calls for more coffee.”

  “Yeah you may be right.” Briana said as the girls headed to the hospital cafeteria for some coffee. Briana sipped her coffee as an awkward silence fell over her and Emma. Briana finally spoke, “You must be exhausted Em, your shift is over. You should go home.”

  “Nah I’m good, you know I’m a night owl.” Emma smiled softly as she sipped her coffee. “So, are you planning on staying here?” she added as they sat there.
>
  “I mean yeah, I just want to make sure he is ok.” Briana said honestly.

  “Well from what I saw he is a fighter.” Emma smirked. “Not to mention he is probably in restraints as well.”

  “He has no ID on him. I have no idea who he is and yet I feel obligated to make sure he will be ok,” Briana said as she drank her coffee. “I mean why would he be on the outskirts of town? It’s odd you know. He was just laying there on the ground. He looked like he was dead and then...” Briana’s voice trailed as she thought back to the accident.

  “And then what?” Emma asked with curiosity.

  “He um, he called me beautiful, but I mean he was half out of it and just mauled by something so...” Briana tried to be nonchalant but even thinking about the way his bright green eyes looked at her when he laid there on the road and then again in the hospital bed. Well it made her stomach do summersaults. It was a feeling she was not use to. There was something about him. Something deeper then his ridiculous good looks.

  “No because you are hot, girl!” Emma smiled big. Briana rolled her eyes as they sat there but as she glanced up she saw Chris walking over as she sighed. Emma watched her expression and she got up before Briana did. “Listen right now is not a good time ok Chris.” Emma said protectively.

  “I just need to explain things, I love her.” Chris began to say loud as Briana got up quickly and began to head in the opposite direction as Emma blocked Chris.

  “Chris listen to me, you messed up and your lucky were surrounded by people I know otherwise I wouldn’t be so nice. So back off and give her space.” She snapped at him as Briana made her way quickly out of cafeteria and down the hall.

  Briana didn’t want to deal with Chris at all. She was glad that they had not fully moved in together though now she knew why. She was pissed and upset. Four years of her life were wasted and for what? It was nearly three am now and she sighed as she thought of her class she had today not to mention she was working tonight as well. She decided to make one last stop at the room of John Doe, she was sure it would probably be the last time she would see him. As she headed down the hall her phone began to vibrate, and she saw it was Chris calling. She immediately silenced it as she shoved it in her back pocket but when she glanced back up she banged right into a strong chest and if it wasn’t for a strong pair of arms she would have fallen backwards.

  “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry.” She began to apologize as she looked up into the bluest pair of eyes she had ever seen. The rest of the man was equally intriguing. He was tall, slender and with short hair, but it was his immaculate skin and blazing eyes that had her stunned for a moment. This man was gorgeous. What are the chances that she would run into two drop dead gorgeous men in one day and in this small town? “Oh, um.” She swallowed hard as he smiled at her and released her arms from his strong grip.

  “No worries sweetheart. I seem to have nicked you here.” His words rolled off his tongue and she felt paralyzed to move as he moved his index finger to her arm and the small cut that was newly there. A small pool of blood sat on the cut and she watched in shock as he wiped the blood and seductively put his finger in his own mouth, licking the blood off. Now normally she would be completely turned off by the gesture but something about this man made her blood boil with lust. He moved closer to her, the space between them not closed as his body pressed against hers. “So sweet and so very innocent.” He licked his lips as he moved his face closer to hers. She was powerless to stop him and honestly, she didn’t want to. She would do anything for this man. What the hell was happening to her? Just as his lips touched hers, he pulled back quickly and turned to look down the hall. “Another time.” He said as he walked away from her. She felt dizzy as if she would faint and she reached her hand out for the wall to steady herself, but her reaction was too slow and then she was falling but a hand reached out and grabbed her as she wobbled on unsteady legs.

  “Briana are you ok?” The resident doctor James said as he held onto her arm. “You don’t look good, come on you need to sit down.” He said with worry as he walked them over to a seat in an empty room.

  “I’m sorry I don’t know what came over me.” Briana said as she tried to shake the fogginess out of her head.

  “You’ve had a really traumatic day, you should be at home resting.” He said with worry.

  “I know, I just” she began but the sound of something loud crashing onto the floor made them both spin their head.

  “Jesus here we go again.” James said with a sarcastic tone as he rushed out of the room. Briana was right behind him and when she saw what room he went into her heart began to race. It was John Doe’s room and by the time she got to the door she gasped at the sight before her. There was blood splattered everywhere and one of John Doe’s arms hung off the side of the bed. The IV pole was on the ground and blood was gushing out of the wound left from the IV that had been ripped out of his now lifeless arm.

  “Oh my god!” Briana yelled out as another doctor ran inside and then a few nurses.

  “Get her out of here!” James yelled at the nurses as she was being pulled from the room.” We got a code blue here, get the crash cart stat!” James yelled as the nurses ran from Briana and down the hall. Everything was happening so fast. How had this happened? He had been drugged up, how could he have done this? She watched as the nurses came running back into the room with a defibrillator and then she watched in horror as James pulled back the blanket and placed the shock pads on his chest. “Everyone stand clear!” James called out before he pressed a button that shocked John’s heart. His body jumped up like a ragdoll but the now loud buzzing from the monitors had shown that the shock had not worked. “Stand clear.” James yelled out again as he shocked him again.

  Briana stood there in shock with her hand over her mouth as his body jumped and then fell lifelessly once more. All she kept thinking was that he was going to die, after everything he was going to die! The faint sound of a beep filled the room and then the beep got stronger and stronger. James began to bark out orders as the nurses rushed around and Briana stood at the doorway. He was alive! The emotions running through her made tears fall from her eyes. She didn’t know why but the thought of him dying was a horrific feeling.

  “Damn it Briana, I told you not to be in here.” James said as he walked over to her and then he saw her emotion and he lowered his voice. “He is going to be fine, ok. I don’t know how the IV became dislodged.” He continued with a shake of his head.

  “This has been one hell of a day.” Briana said as she wiped her tears.

  “You aren’t kidding.” James said dryly as he looked back at John. “You should go home and get some rest.” He said softly.

  “He doesn’t have anyone, I feel like I should stay at least until he is released.” She said honestly.

  “The soonest he can be released will be another day or two possibly. The police still need to question him and with his outburst earlier. Well I can’t guarantee that it’s all going to go smoothly.” He said honestly. “I can keep you updated ok?”

  “Alright, but please tell me if anything changes ok?” She said as she took one last look at John and then slowly left the room. Even though she really wanted to stay, James was right. He wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and life did go on. She had a class to get to in a few hours and then work afterwards. She did wonder if John Doe had anyone looking for him, possibly a girlfriend maybe even a wife though he had no ring on his finger. She was sure that he had to have someone. No one that looked that good was ever single for very long.

  Briana made it through her classes with no sleep at all. She could barely concentrate, and it was just from a lack of sleep but also from everything that had happened over the past twenty-four hours. Chris had called her nonstop and she refused to listen to the messages. She was distracted by thoughts of John Doe and not to mention that other man. The one that nearly kissed her in the hallway of the hospital. Was she losing her mind? It sure felt like it.

  O
nce Briana got home from her classes she immediately laid down on her bed. She had a few hours before work and she needed some sleep. She was exhausted both physically and mentally but as she laid in the bed, staring at her ceiling the emotions of the day began to overwhelm her. In the matter of twenty-four hours not only had she broken up with her boyfriend Chris but she also nearly killed a man. Her eyes closed quickly as she laid there and soon she had fallen asleep.

  Meanwhile John felt the groggy effects of the medication wearing off as his eyes began to adjust to the room around him. It took him a second to remember how he had ended up in a hospital room but quickly it all came crashing back and the scent of those blood suckers were all over him. He went to move his arm and it clanked against the bed as he looked at the handcuff that was attached to his wrist and the bed. It only took one quick snap of his wrist to have the metal chain breaking into two. He sat up as he looked around the room and then he looked down at his body. He had a sling on one arm and bandages on his stomach and legs. His body was healing slowly but not fast enough for his liking. He had lost a lot of blood and it was impairing his ability to heal fast. He moved his legs to the side of the bed and stood up quick. He was surprised at how much his legs tried to give way. It had to be the medication they gave him because he wasn’t very steady on his feet at all. He glanced down at his naked frame and he sighed heavily as he looked for his jeans. They were nowhere to be found and he didn’t have much time. He would leave in the hospital gown and figure the rest out later.

  He could see what looked like a guard outside the door and he walked towards the window. He was about four floors up and a large field was behind the hospital. He knew the drop was going to hurt like a son of a bitch especially since he wasn’t all the way healed but he couldn’t stay in this place any longer. It was only a matter of time before the doctors realized that he was healing too quick and too many questions could be a dangerous thing. He would have to leave now and deal with the consequences. At least if he jumped out now they would only think that he was crazy not that it wasn’t too far from the truth by the way things had been going.