Mad Powers (Tapped In) Read Online Free Page A

doctor said, shaking his head.
    I looked over and noticed the cream-colored envelope sitting on the bedside table.
    “We opened it and read the card inside, hoping to find out who you were—perhaps someone to contact.” Doctor Madison pointed his nose toward the envelope and shook his head. “We really didn’t get much from the card, but perhaps it will jog something for you. Take a look?”
    He handed me the envelope, with Rob and the small, hand-drawn red heart on the front … I opened it and pulled out a small rectangular card. Just five words written in that same feminine cursive …
    “Okay, I’ll wait for you.”
    The doctor was watching me: “… so, are you Rob?”
    I shrugged. “Sure, why not. Call me Rob.” I had no idea if I was Rob or not, but I was tired of not having an identity, and the thought that somebody was waiting for me, anyone, was compelling.
     
    * * *
     
    Jill’s afternoon shift had just started and she was back in my room—busy disconnecting me from various tubes and cords. “We need to get you up and moving around, Rob,” she said with enthusiasm.
    “Are you always this cheery?”
    “No,” she said, eyebrows raised and shaking her head at the question. “I’m just having a really good day. You have to take them when they come—right?”
    “Yeah, I guess …” I said. “So what are we doing here?” Jill was in the process of pulling down the covers and moving my legs over the side of the bed.
    “We’re going for a walk. Need to get the blood moving, your muscles active again.”
    “Don’t you think it’s a bit early for that?” I wasn’t ready to face the world just yet. I still felt like I’d been run over by a truck, which I almost had been, and the weight of those other drivers’ deaths clung to me like a black shroud. I looked down at the bed covers and wanted to bury my head beneath them.
    “Yeah, well, it’s time for a change of scene; it’ll do you good … up, up, come on!” she responded pleasantly.
    Using my I.V. stand for balance, I was able to stand. Everything hurt, especially my head. Jill put her arm around my waist and we slowly walked out of my hospital room.
    “So what’s that symbol on your wrist? The tattoo?” I asked, gesturing towards her left hand.
    “Oh … that? It’s a birdcage. And see, the little door is open.” Jill released her arm from around my waist and put the tops of her two hands right next to each other. “See here, this is the little birdie that got out and is flying free.”
    Less than halfway around the corridor my legs started to throb. As we turned the next bend I asked if we could take a short breather. Leaning against the wall I took a couple of deep breaths. Across from me was a utility door with a sign that read:
     
    MECHANICAL
    WARNING: HIGH-VOLTAGE AREA
     
    “What’s in there?” I asked, nodding towards the utility room.
    “What does it look like? It’s an electrical room … and that one down there is a broom closet, and that exciting room further down the hall is a bathroom. And if you’re done stalling, maybe we can get back to a little more exercise?”
    Once back in my room, all tucked in for the night, with Jill off tending to other patients, I tried to watch some TV, but nothing held my interest. The guy in the next bed hadn’t said much. And from what I could tell, he was most likely Russian or from some other Slavic-speaking country. Even though he couldn’t understand a word of what I’d said to him, from his chortles and giggles, he could understand old Seinfeld episodes just fine. I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling for several more hours. The floor was quiet; on-duty nurses and doctors had disappeared behind computer screens or into break rooms.
    I quietly climbed out of bed, found my hospital-issued slippers hiding under a chair, and made for the hallway. The lights had been dimmed, and a feeling of calm and quiet permeated the floor. I retraced my steps from my walk with Jill and