Re: Ray's Adventure

[Riley Oran]

"So, does he need to sit?" The girl motioned to the boy next to him, and Jake examined him for a moment. He seemed lost in thought at first, but a few seconds later Jake drew the conclusion that something definitely was wrong in his head. Jake waved a hand in front of his face. No response. He was lost now, just... standing there. Jake's brow furrowed as Ray smiled, seemingly oblivious to the rest of them. 

"Apparently so," Jake mused. Jake would attempt to lead Ray to a chair on the far wall of the room, and sit him down so that he wouldn't fall over in some unfortunate accident. The doctor wouldn't be here for at least fifteen minutes. No sane person would just loiter over a desk staring at a woman who was barely awake anyway, so this was something that should be addressed. It would be unfortunate if Ray fell over on top of her papers, though she didn't seem to be concerned with them much anyway.

As Jake sat down in a chair next to Ray, he sat straight up almost like a proud beast observing quarry. Internally, he was sighing. He was becoming more and more convinced that this Ray Mitchell really did have brain damage. And in truth, a person could have all the power of the grim reaper, but if they were dumber than two stones in a river that would make them ultimately useless to him. Then again, in his experienced, stupid people were remarkably easy to execute. Hopefully for Ray, this marked level of "intelligence" would be temporary. If not...

Minutes passed. The clock ticked as Jake sat in the seat, waiting for Gregory to arrive when the Doctor entered the room from the same entrance Jake and Ray had used some minutes prior. Jake looked at the clock, and nodded. Only twelve minutes, Jake noted, standing up from the chair as Gregory rushed past him, not noticing Jake in the lobby. "Doctor Malcolm," Jake called after him, and Gregory turned to face him. 

"Mister Giffan," Gregory responded in a surprised tone. "It's been some weeks since you've been down here on the night shift." A pause. "Do you need more pills for the Vanderbaig, uh... thing?"

Jake shook his head, playing it off. "Oh, Gregory. Mention that again, and you might disappear," he replied almost cavalierly. "No, my supply is fine for now, and the episodes are lessening as the years pass by. I'm here because of this young man to my right," Jake motioned to Ray. "A few hours ago, he was beaten rather badly. On top of internal damage, I'm not sure if he has any brain damage as well." 

Gregory looked over Ray and noticed some obvious burns, scuffs and of course the condition of his tattered clothing. He also noted that the boy smelt of urine, particularly his hair and face. "Uh-huh... alright then, could you escort him back here?" Jake nodded, and would pat Ray on the shoulder. "Come on, stand up. Can you stand?"

[Ray Mitchell]

     Ray heard all of the conversation that Jake had with the Doctor but Ray wouldn’t put any thought into it until later. Ray looked up at Jake and said “Of course I can!?” Ray said it more to prove it to himself rather than to prove it to Jake. Ray rely didn’t know if he could get up. Ray tried to get up, but it was kind of hard for him at first, so he tripped. If Jake tried to help Ray he would yell for him to stop and Ray would try his best to stand all the way up without any help. Ray was on the floor on his stomach thinking “I can’t let myself become so useless!” You see Ray is the type of person that hates to be looked down on and they take pity on. Ray knew that they weren’t trying to pity him he was in bad shape, but Ray wouldn’t let them. Ray thinks that if he just let them “comfort” him he wouldn’t look like he was of any use in the first place. No Ray had to do this for his pride and to get his blood flowing again form sitting on his feet.


                Ray started to push himself up almost looking like a push up, and he fell flat on his face again. Ray thought he heard someone laugh at him but he didn’t care now. Ray put his hands out on the floor again looking like he was going to do a seal’s push up. Ray did a loud grunt and he pushed off the floor hard, and up he went. Ray went from a push up poisons to a standing one. This was something Ray liked doing when he was little to show off in front of the girls. Ray remembered! Or at least he was starting to.


                Ray looked around him and at the people too. He wanted to see their reactions. He wanted to remember more!               

[Riley Oran]

Jake watched as Ray lifted quickly from the chair, lost his footing, and tripped landing on his stomach against the floor. Jake glared at him at first before pinching the bridge of his nose and exhaling a heavy sigh in shame. So now, Jake began to count. "One-thousand-one," he began. "One-thousand-two," he repeated as Ray lay there, struggling to stand. "One-thousand-three, one-thousand-four..." Ray attempted to lift his body as though he were executing a push-up, only for his arms to succumb to the invisible force of injury. "One-thousand-five, one-thousand-six," he continued as Ray tried once more to push-up, rising into a standing position.

"Six and a half seconds," Jake concluded, and angry scowl on his face as he pressed himself very closely towards Ray and started to whisper a lecture into his ear. "Next time you can't do something without help, don't waste my time by not seeking it. You don't look tough. You don't look proud. You look stupid. Six and a half seconds? You're dead twelve times over already," he concluded, tearing himself away and motioning for him to follow.

[Ray Mitchell]

Ray took Jakes advice he didn't want to make him upset over something so little. "Ok it wont happen again." Ray said and followed Jake into the hall. The hall was a long hallway, with doors all the way down it. The first door Ray passed was open wide enough for Ray to see what was in side. This room was another waiting room, smaller than the one he just left, but just as spectacular as the first. there were no one in there but Ray heard some erie sounds coming out of that door. Ray didn't want to ask Jake what it was because it didn't seem to bother him, it looked like he didn't even hear it at all. so they walked on. The floor in the hallway was made of grated metal like out side but only in stripes. Ray looked up at the wall and saw a clock, it was 4:13 AM it said. "It can't be that late can it?" Ray thought to him self. most of the doors they passed where closed and looked locked. At the end of the hall there was a double door wide open and Jake looked as if he was heading to it. "Is this the place?" Ray asked thinking he just sounded like an foul."Of course it is! there are no other rooms here!" Ray thought to him self.

[Riley Oran]

Jake nodded at Ray's affirmation, continuing in a straight line in the tow of Doctor Malcolm as he lead them down the hall. "Do you ever sleep, Jake?" Malcolm mused. "You must sleep eventually."

"Eventually," Jake replied. "No, I don't sleep very much I'm afraid. Maybe a few hours ever couple of days do I rest my eyes, but I don't think I've truly slept for weeks in recent time." His gait was steady, as was his expression when he spoke.

"Don't you worry about your health, Jake? As Consul of Crucis, the people must have confidence that you are in good health." Malcom cast a backwards glance as he spoke, examining Jake's expression carefully. For a man who received no sleep, Jake sure appeared to be well rested. He was composed, intimidating, full-faced and regal. His very appearance was health and power, and yet shouldn't his body body be falling apart if he got as little sleep as he claimed? The doctor had always assumed him to be human, but maybe he wasn't so human after all. It was an unnerving thing to contemplate.

The footsteps of the three sounded as they stepped on the strips of metal that composed the floor, a small sound coming from the slight wobbling and creaking of the metal beneath their feet. It would hold as it was strong, but it gave in slightly to their weight as though it were reminding them of it's existence. "My health is fine," Jake reassured him. "I am blessed with great vitality and stamina. Don't fret. I'll come when I am sick. This is a promise I have made months prior and repeatedly since then. I merely have much business to attend too."

The doctor nodded, leading the two into a therapy room in the back. Ray uttered something aloud, but Jake and Malcolm were too engaged in dialogue with one another to give much credence to what he had said. It seemed to be unimportant, as he did not repeat himself again. The next two hours were a variety of physical tests. Reflexes, an X-Ray, an MRI, blood work, allergy screening, the works. One such event was immunization, and in addition to Ray's physical injuries he would be ill for the next few days. For reasons that weren't clear, Ray's immune system hadn't adapted to Radix properly. The reality was that Jake was aware of why: despite his lie, Ray hadn't been in Radix long enough to acclimate. The immunizations were insurance that nothing nasty from Orbis was lurking in his circulatory or nervous system.

After the tests had completed, the doctor left the room briefly to look over the results, and Jake sat silently in the room opposite of Ray. When the doctor returned a few minutes later, his face was neutral. "I have good news," he replied. "But I also have bad news. I'll discuss the good news first." The doctor cleared his throat, and opened the manila folder he carried at his side as he slumped into his stool.

"Ray's physical condition is severe, but not permanent. He has some internal bleeding, but nothing that will kill him. His bones are bruised, and more than a few of his muscles are strained or torn. His reflexes are compromised because of some damage to his joinrs, and his nervous system seems to be damaged due to what appears to be SNT, or sudden nerve trauma. Overall, the patient's body is consistent with being caught in an explosion, as you described Jake." Jake nodded. "That's the good news, though. For a person who's body has been wrecked, he's moving fairly well. A few days to a week of bed-rest, and most of the major problems should resolve themselves." He pointed at Ray. "That means no physical exertion. You'll have to wait before going on a hike in Orbis or anything like that. You'll never heal right if you don't. The nerve damage may be irreversible, but I'm not certain yet. It's too early too tell. In addition, I'm waiting on your blood work to return to see if there is a chemical reason for your memory loss."

Jake nodded once again. "What's the bad news, then?"

"Brain damage," Malcolm stated. "Or more specifically, a lack of brain damage. If the patient has amnesia, then it would follow that there would be damage in the hippocampus, the amygdala, or within the basal ganglia system. There's nothing, not even brain damage consistent with being caught in an explosion. While there is evidence of nerve damage elsewhere in his body, his brain which should be the most affected is perfectly fine. It's why we're searching for a chemical cause for his amnesia. It could also be psychologically induced or, given how many magic users are in Radix, somebody could have simply taken them. Who knows? We're looking into it, but we can't answer the question maybe a Source Master can. I recommend waiting a few days before finding one. They're beyond expensive, and we still don't know the real cause."

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