"What's going on over there?" Mary asked, hearing the commotion coming from down the hall. Susan turned and watched as Hazel ran out of the room that was occupied by the Everett boy. A sudden flash shot through Susan's mind. The moment she thought about Jon, she felt a certain close familiarity with him, even though the first time she met him was here in the hospital. "Are you okay, Susan?" Mary asked, noticing the odd expression on her face.
"What?" Susan asked, looking at the other nurse. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. I just had a weird ... I don't know what it was."
Both nurses turned their attention back towards where the commotion was coming from. They watched as Hazel took off her shoes, then ran down the hall and into the stairwell.
Then, a moment later, they both saw a man dressed in a black suit and tie emerge from the hospital room, talking to someone on a cellphone.
"Who's that?" Susan asked.
"Oh, that's Mr. Everett's friend," Mary said.
"No, it's not."
"Huh? How would you know?"
"Jon is only friends with one person: Karyn Black. And that's not Karyn," Susan explained.
"Karyn Black? Who's that? Is that someone you know?" Mary asked.
Susan paused, her eyes wide. "I ... I'm not sure. For a moment there, I did. I could even tell you what she looked like. But now it's gone." She moved away from the nurse's station and walked down the hall towards Jon's room, getting close enough that she could hear what the man in black was saying.
"Yes, Morris. The device works perfectly. Uh huh," the man said. "Yes, you can see the data collected by it. Now, please tell Kendall that I've put out an APB on Hazel Jackson. I'm following her right now. And tell him not to worry. Mr. Everett won't get away."
Mr. Everett? What did he have to do with this? Wasn't he still in his room? And wasn't it Hazel who was running?
She watched as the man put away his cell phone, then briskly walked down the hall towards the elevators. Then Dr. Foxworth emerged from the room and stumbled down the hall in the other direction. When both of them were out of sight, Susan headed into Jon's room. Yes, there he was, still in a coma. She approached him. But she found that the closer she got, the weirder she felt.
Susan looked at him and said the strangest thing. "I'm you." She shook her head, not sure where that idea came from, then backed away and headed out of the room.
