Backdated to June 27
Friday evenings didn't hold the same sort of promise on the island that they had back in the real world. Without any discernible work week, each day was interchangeable, mutable, but old habits are hard to break. Nicholas was freshly-showered after football, had a glass of iced juice clamped in one hand and a mind to head out to the Hub to while away a few hours in tribute to the long-lost art of the weekend.
There was a certain irresistible allure to the clinic when you worked there. Being off-duty mattered very little; if you happened to be in the Compound, popping your head in was normal, expected, as if the various medical professionals were afraid they might miss out on something memorable. Carson would be on, and Nicholas thought he might have a bit of a chat about everything and nothing (As it invariably seemed to go) before continuing to the Hub. As he strode in, his glass was already hoisted in greeting, the ice inside tinkling pleasantly with the movement.
There was an examination table in the middle of the room, and Kay was on it. Kay, as he'd last seen her, arms and legs sawed off and replaced improperly as a macabre warning to those who dared defy a madman. Nicholas blinked, and she was blond and pale, then blinked again, back to lackluster brown. His fingers slipped, then, and the glass tumbled to the floor, sending a spray of orange juice across polished concrete before landing in the puddle and shattering, slivers of glass and ice both skidding to the far reaches of the room. Nicholas slipped on the mess in his haste to scramble backwards out the door and landed hard on his arse with a sound like a wounded animal.
There was a certain irresistible allure to the clinic when you worked there. Being off-duty mattered very little; if you happened to be in the Compound, popping your head in was normal, expected, as if the various medical professionals were afraid they might miss out on something memorable. Carson would be on, and Nicholas thought he might have a bit of a chat about everything and nothing (As it invariably seemed to go) before continuing to the Hub. As he strode in, his glass was already hoisted in greeting, the ice inside tinkling pleasantly with the movement.
There was an examination table in the middle of the room, and Kay was on it. Kay, as he'd last seen her, arms and legs sawed off and replaced improperly as a macabre warning to those who dared defy a madman. Nicholas blinked, and she was blond and pale, then blinked again, back to lackluster brown. His fingers slipped, then, and the glass tumbled to the floor, sending a spray of orange juice across polished concrete before landing in the puddle and shattering, slivers of glass and ice both skidding to the far reaches of the room. Nicholas slipped on the mess in his haste to scramble backwards out the door and landed hard on his arse with a sound like a wounded animal.