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Post by Medical Team on May 28, 2008 16:00:31 GMT -4
As the team of medics pushed their way through the double doors of the local emergency room at Lawrence hospital, the head paramedic accosted the nearest doctor and all but shoved the patients notes in their hands.
“Rick…Payne, Professor at the university. Found with stab wound to the lower abdomen, passed out on the scene. He was lucid for a time…” he muttered quickly, ensuring the patient was comfortable before allowing the medical team to wheel the bed over to a nearby room.
“Blood loss and the slight jaundice on his skin suggests his liver was damaged in the assault…” he continued hurriedly, making his way with the doctor and ensuring that all notes on the victim were gathered accordingly. “Girl that found him seems to be a friend of his, she is following in her car. We couldn’t gather that much information, past histories, family history, stuff like that. The whole passing out thing made us move fast. We called up to surgery on our way over. They are expecting him as soon s you guys have done with him.”
The paramedic took a hold of the stretcher that once held the professor and made his way over to the doorway. “Melinda Gordon, like I say, she is following. I have no idea what in the hell is happening with this town. People are just going bucket’s of crazy on us. I will leave the good Professor in your capable hands. Got another call come through on our way over.” he added quickly and made his way out of the hospital and back out to his ambulance.
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Post by Melinda Gordon on May 28, 2008 17:52:55 GMT -4
To say that Melinda had followed them would be putting it lightly. She'd actually been right behind them the entire time and miraculously not hit any red lights. Thanking her good luck she turned off into the parking lot of the emergency room knowing she'd get in trouble if she parked behind the ambulance. For one, they wouldn't be able to get out and two, cars weren't allowed back there.
In a flash she'd parked, thrown off her seatbelt and was found running towards the glass doors of the Lawrence hospital. She almost took off her shows to go faster but knew that probably wouldn't help much.
Thankfully the waiting room wasn't too full and no one was in line at the counter when she came rushing in. "I came following an ambulance. They were carrying Professor Rick Payne from the local hospital. Paramedics told me to follow," she said in one breathe.
Melinda sure hoped the woman behind the desk had caught it all because she didn't think she could say it all twice. She was white as a sheet almost like she'd seen a ghost. One thing was for certain however, if she saw Rick's ghost it would be in so much trouble hell would look like paradise.
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Post by Medical Team on Jun 16, 2008 10:00:16 GMT -4
The nurse looked up from her files and into the eyes of the young lady who had made her way over to the desk looking flushed and frazzled though that was usually the norm for the emergency room.
“They just brought Mr. Payne in and immediately wheeled him back as he is in rather critical condition that is all I can really tell you at the time ma’am. But if you want to have a seat I’ll be sure the doctors keep you update as soon as they know something…are you his wife? Or do you know how to get in contact with any of his family because they will need to be our point of contact,” the nurse said with a comforting smile hoping that should could help the young lady as much as possible though there really wasn’t much to be done till the doctor’s came back out.
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Post by Professor Rick Payne on Jun 17, 2008 11:08:16 GMT -4
The world around Rick Payne was more of a haze instead of anything else. Nothing made sense and it was all shrouded in a cloak of empty whiteness and pain which even in an unconscious state didn’t seem to let up. He could hear noises and voices around him and he was tempted to pry his eyes open but the thought of the action was exhausting enough without actually having to do it. Then as if it was as easy as flipping a switch everything went silent and then in a blink of an eye he found himself alone in a hospital room. He sat up the absent sensation of pain was an alarm but not so much of an alarm as he pulled himself from the bed and found himself staring down at…himself.
“That’s never a good sign,” he muttered his eyes growing wide as he took in the state of his own body laid out upon the bed covered in blood and in another blink of an eye the room was bustling around him…both of him as the doctor’s and nurses worked over his injured body. They seemed to go right past him not even aware that he was standing there
He slowly backed away from the commotion which surrounded his body as the words of the paramedics and other doctors filtered through the room.
“Rick…Payne, Professor at the university. Found with stab wound to the lower abdomen, passed out on the scene. He was lucid for a time…”
“For a time?! I was lucid for a good while…not my fault it took you forever,” Rick muttered bitterly glaring at the paramedic who obviously couldn’t hear him.
“Blood loss and the slight jaundice on his skin suggests his liver was damaged in the assault...Girl that found him seems to be a friend of his, she is following in her car. We couldn’t gather that much information, past histories, family history, stuff like that. The whole passing out thing made us move fast.”
“Glad the fact I was bleeding to death spurred you into action,” Rick continued on as he stared over the shoulders of a few doctors that were seeing to the wound in his abdomen. The sight was rather grisly and Rick was pretty sure if he was solid he might have thrown up.
“We called up to surgery on our way over. They are expecting him as soon s you guys have done with him…Melinda Gordon, like I say, she is following. I have no idea what in the hell is happening with this town. People are just going bucket’s of crazy on us. I will leave the good Professor in your capable hands. Got another call come through on our way over.”
Rick swallowed hard his eyes wide as he tried to process what everyone was saying around him and what they were doing. He seemed to be alive or at least partially alive by the looks of him…but then again the fact he was not in his body was an issue.
The room around him cleared as the pulled the gurney his body lay upon out of the room leaving him alone and still very much lost and confused as well as all but terrified. He rushed from the room his eyes searching the hallway not sure where he was going but going there anyways.
He found himself in what he assumed to be the Emergency Room waiting room and his eyes immediately found Melinda standing over by the information desk.
His eyes locked on to Melinda and half of him was hoping she couldn’t see him because he knew if she could he could be in a lot of trouble but he didn’t know what exactly he was supposed to do so he made his way over to her.
“Sort of new at this whole thing…but I think this might be bad…” Rick said staring down at himself before looking back at Melinda confusion etched across his face.
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Post by Melinda Gordon on Jun 17, 2008 19:09:58 GMT -4
"No, no I'm not his wife. She died a few years ago in an accident," she said, pulling her sweater tighter around herself and fixing her purse strap. "I've known him for a few years and he's never really said anything about family. Um, we both just moved here from our old town. I'm opening up another shop and he decided to try and teach some where else for a bit...basically I'm all he has currently."
Melinda wasn't too sure how accurate what she'd told the woman was since she really was still wondering what the hell he WAS doing there.
"I...I really need to know how he's doing. I was on the phone with him right after it happened and I'm the one that found him he was such a mess." She took a deep breathe. Normally things like this didn't bother her. Then again, normally it wasn't someone she knew being rushed to the hospital like this.
"I'm sorry. I'm just really worried," she said before rubbing her forehead a bit. "Thank you for your help," she told the nurse before turning to go sit down in the waiting area.
“Sort of new at this whole thing…but I think this might be bad…” she heard a voice say near her. Melinda's head snapped up at the familiar voice and she froze. Rick was staring down at himself before looking back at Melinda confusion etched across his face.
"No," Melinda said, staring at the alive looking Rick before her. She knew better however. "Rick Payne, I better be hallucinating," she said, breathing back tears with each word as she took a deep breathe breathing through her nose and trying to ignore the stinging in her eyes.
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Post by Professor Rick Payne on Jun 18, 2008 14:48:36 GMT -4
Rick attempted a half hearted smile as Melinda’s head shot around to look at him and he half wished she wouldn’t have been able to see him cause that would have made things a little bit better…if only a little bit.
“No?...I was thinking hello would have been a better greeting,” Rick muttered his eyes locking with Melinda’s the confusion and fear he felt still rather evident and even growing tenfold as he took in the panicked look which crossed her face.
“If you’re hallucinating can I have whatever you’re on cause I would like to be hallucinating too right about now,” Rick snapped the tone of his voice a bit more bitter then he intended but he had a right to be after all he was sort of unsure what he was right now but he didn’t think it was alive or at least fully alive.
His eyes darted around the waiting room not really sure what it was he was looking for but feeling the need to look anyways.
“Just a lucky guess on my part but you being able to see me and the look which is on your face means I’m screwed doesn’t it?” He asked absently pulling at the sleeves of the shirt he was wearing. He wasn’t about to lie to himself or even Melinda he was far from ready to die aside from the fact he was entirely too stubborn to die or at least he would have liked to hope he was.
“You may wanna ask her if I’m still breathing,” Rick said motioning back towards the nurse behind the desk as he looked hesitantly back towards the direction he had come. Rick grimaced slightly as a sharp pain ripped into his chest and he sucked in a quick breath of air his eyes going wide for a moment as he tried to push it away but a few seconds later another sharp pain shot into his chest and he bit back a cry of pain.
His eyes darted back towards the direction he came in and he saw a black unfocused figured and his eyes narrowed slightly as his arm wrapped around his abdomen pain flaring through him.
“Mel…please tell me you can see that…” Rick whispered taking several steps back his eyes still staring back towards the unmoving figure in the hallway.
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Post by Medical Team on Jun 18, 2008 15:47:48 GMT -4
The medical team had struggled to maintain any sort of stability in the patients condition as the moments seemed to flash by and with every passing minute it would appear that more and more would crop up to cause them yet more worry.
His heart rate slowed and quickened within regular intervals and though they attempted to stem the sheer amount of blood still gushing from the abdomen wound, they knew they were dealing with something much more worrying than they first thought. “I need ultrasound over his liver…” the chief attending called out, easing the patients eyes open and flashing his light into them with no reaction to see “Pupils un-reactive….shit….” he hissed quietly “Ultrasound it! Now!” he spat viciously, tearing the scanner from the nurses hand and placing it over the patients abdomen himself.
“Five inch laceration to the liver….possible damage to the spleen….” he mumbled out quietly “But what in the hell is causing the erratic breathing…” he added quickly his eyes gazing over the ultrasound screen and then glancing down to the patient. “What angle did the weapon go in at?” he hissed quickly, a flash of knowledge slamming across his face and he quickly examined the wound with a grimace. “Ah…..fck!” he growled angrily, moving the ultrasound up and over the patients abdomen and allowing it to hover over the chest.
“Perforated diaphragm….puncture to the left lung….Jesus Christ, why did no-one pick this up?!” he spat viciously, his eyes tearing over the surrounding team before he tossed the ultrasound back upon the trolley and pulling the trolley that the patient lay on away from the wall and positioning himself at his head. “He needs intubating and we need a chest drain….the fucking liver is leaking through the perforation.” he added with a small shake of his head.
“Call up to the OR, tell them we are needing them…now!” he bellowed to the nearest nurse as he made light work of intubating the patient and setting the machines to breath for him. The steady rhythm of the breathing apparatus was cut away suddenly by the unrelenting sound of the heart monitor only recently placed upon the patient toning out and the doctor tore himself to the side of the patient and wrenched the crash cart towards him.
“He is in V-tach! We need to get him upstairs! Goddamn it!” he growled angrily, placing the paddles to the patients chest and nodding to all around him “Clear!” he called out, allowing the stream of electricity to slam through his body, causing it to arch and contort upon the bed.
The continuous droning of the heart monitor propelled the doctor into further action and he sent wave after wave of electricity into him until, finally, the heart monitor beeped out a slow, weak but steady beat and he tore the bed from behind the curtains and made his way with the patient in tow, to the elevators “Tell them we are on the way up!” he called out to the nurses station and he and his team pushed the patient into the elevator and made their way up to the OR.
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Post by Melinda Gordon on Jun 18, 2008 21:12:15 GMT -4
“No?...I was thinking hello would have been a better greeting,”she heard Rick say as he looked at her. “If you’re hallucinating can I have whatever you’re on cause I would like to be hallucinating too right about now.” Melinda winced a bit at the bitterness in his remark. "Well sorry if I'm just a bit freaked out about one of my closest friends appearing in front of me as a ghost. I was kind of hoping that I wouldn't be having a second encounter like this for a couple years," she hissed quietly at him, making her way over to the wall and out of earshot of the nurse at the station. She didn't need the woman thinking she was going crazy over her friend's diminishing health.
“Just a lucky guess on my part but you being able to see me and the look which is on your face means I’m screwed doesn’t it?”
"Not necessarily," she said quickly, crossing her arms and pulling her sweater around herself. "I mean she would tell me if you were already dead wouldn't she? I just spoke to her a second ago so I assume you aren't dead. So what is this an 'out of body experience'?" she asked, holding up her hands to make air quotes at the notion.
She closed her eyes and let out a breathe calmly, resting her head against the wall as Rick continued to talk, “You may wanna ask her if I’m still breathing” As Melinda was about to reply she saw Rick jerk. "Rick?" she asked, brows furrowing. When it happened again she reached out almost as if to comfort him before remembering. "Oh no," she said before running back to the desk. "Excuse me," she said quickly. "He is breathing isn't he?" she asked.
Her attention stayed focused on the nurse until she heard Rick say one more thing and she turned. As if in slow motion she looked down the corridor and her eyes grew a bit wide. What was that? Who was that? "Yea....yea I can," she said a bit breathily. "And I don't like the look of it."
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Post by Professor Rick Payne on Jul 11, 2008 9:10:20 GMT -4
“Aw well closest friend? ... See there Mel I always knew you liked me,” Rick said trying to muster up enough energy for a smirk as he looked back at her. He wouldn’t have thought it possible no matter what the situation but his worry about the fact that he could very well be dead in the other room was slightly over powering his need to crack any sort of joke.
“I don’t know Mel. This is your area of expertise here not mine…wow I think that’s the first time I have ever said that…ever,” rick said completely losing focus for a moment as he thought about it. The pain which tore through him though had quickly snapped him back to attention as well as the sight of the ominous and down right fcking scary black apparition at the end of the room which seemed to be doing nothing but staring directly into him.
Rick’s body or spirit or whatever he currently was once more jerked involuntarily as pain ripped through his chest making the world around him go in and out of focus. The world around him had become a blur and all he could hear was a low yet distinct buzzing sound which seemed to travel through his mind. Another sharp pain tore through him and he felt his knees buckle and somewhere he was pretty sure there was a cry of pain which belonged to him which sounded around him.
And yet through it all his eyes wouldn’t move away from the sight of the black figure which had without him noticing moved extremely close to him. His attention was torn from the figure momentarily though as he stared down at himself his own image seemingly flickering in and out for several moments causing even more panic to rip through him before it all seemed to become extremely cold and loud all at once as if the world were rushing through and Rick’s eyes tore up to lock onto the blazing dark figure in front of him and then as quickly as it had all occurred it all vanished.
The figure the blurry world the cold and his not so solid appearance everything vanished and he found himself upon the floor pressed against the nurses desk the faintest sensation of pain still whispering through him as he turned his now completely panicked eyes up towards Melinda.
“What the hell was that?!” he asked his voice frantic as he still sat upon the floor un-willing to move or do much of anything.
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Post by Melinda Gordon on Jul 22, 2008 11:05:29 GMT -4
"Yea well I'd like you even more if you weren't currently undergoing life-saving surgery or showing up in ghost form in front of me," she muttered, keeping an eye on the hooded figure and trying to ignore the very BAD feeling she had.
If it were any other situation she might have grinned at Rick for finally admitting she might know SOMETHING about what she'd been doing her whole life. She turned to look at him for a second and her eyes widened a bit as he jerked. Another moment or two and he was down on his knees.
"Rick?"
Turning to look at the hooded figure she jumped when she realized it wasn't there anymore. Spinning around to look about the room she saw it in front of Rick. "Get away from him," she snapped, her voice shaking a bit and not as loud as she cared for it to be. Rick's appearance started to flicker and Mel quickly flipped into ultimate freak out mode. "Leave him alone!"
Before she could even take a step towards Rick and the scary masked figure they both disappeared. Melinda, thinking that it had taken Rick, mouth fell open uselessly as she felt her eyes start to well up.
However, before she could so much as get a single tear out she heard a voice that caused her to spin around and look a bit angry. Rick lay in front of the Nurses' Station and looked up at her looking a bit scared. She was about to yell at him never to scare her like that again but the look in his eye caused her to stop and shake off her stupid anger. It wasn't his fault anyways.
Melinda reached up to run a hand through her hair and looked at Rick. "I...I really don't know."
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Post by Professor Rick Payne on Jul 22, 2008 12:59:37 GMT -4
Rick forced out a breath of air as Melinda explained she didn’t have a clue as to what in the hell had just tried to re-kill him.
“…Excellent…that’s a perfect answer…now things you don’t know about are trying to kill me…or re-kill me…or finish me off…or whatever the hell they are trying to do to me!”
The panic Rick had been trying to keep at bay had broken through and hit him full force immediately after the hooded figure had vanished. The cold sensation the figure had caused to rip through him still lingered as he weakly pushed himself up off the floor his eyes darting around the room in an effort to make sure that there was nothing else around that was less then fond of him for the moment.
He took several hard swallows to try and push down the lump in is throat but nothing made much of a difference he was past the point of trying not to freak out. His eyes focused back on Melinda as his eyes searched hers desperately. He had no idea what to do in this situation this wasn’t what he did he wasn’t an expert in this hell he hadn’t even believed in it till recently.
“How do we fix this Mel?...How the hell do we make this right?” Rick asked desperately turning to the only person he trusted to help him. Mel had no idea how much he needed her even when he was more then living on his own.
“Either I’m gonna die or I’m not Mel that’s fine but this…” Rick explained gesturing at himself and the room around him.
“This isn’t going to cut it!”
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Post by Melinda Gordon on Jul 22, 2008 18:27:27 GMT -4
Melinda cringed as Rick started to freak out on her. Well it wasn't her fault the idiot had gone and gotten himself stabbed! She wasn't the one that had demons seeking her out now was she?
"Okay I get the picture," she said holding up her hands to stop the freaking out professor.
Melinda took a breathe, looking around. "Alright. Let's just TRY and calm down and think about this. Technically right now you are a spirit. You're obviously earth bound seeing as your body is still fighting and knowing you, you won't go down without a crazy action packed fight."
She moved to stand where Rick and the psycho-hooded-guy had stood and took a step back. "Hey Rick," she said, her voice trying to remain calm. "What can go after spirits?" The hooded figure flashed in her mind along with a picture she'd seen once in Rick's many books. Though then it had, had a scythe.
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Post by Professor Rick Payne on Jul 24, 2008 9:08:42 GMT -4
Rick stared back at Melinda willing to give her a few moments of silence all be it seconds as he listened to her try and figure it out. But the truth was he didn’t know what the hell was going on and the expert didn’t know either…none of which was comforting right about then.
“Just for the record the sentences “try and calm down” and “technically you’re a spirit” don’t really transition well together,” Rick muttered bitterly still staring back at her. He watched her as she walked over to where him and the creepy ass thing had been moments beforehand.
He looked at her with a whisper of confusion in his eyes as he heard her question. Usually it was spirits that did the going after but then of course there were the soul collectors, the gate keepers, the angel of death.
“Reapers…” Rick whispered his eyes wide as they locked with Melinda’s.
“The Grim Reaper to be more exact…” Rick continued on beginning to pace lightly in his spot as he began to grab a hold of the knowledge he had learned throughout the years.
“The Grim Reaper or Death serves to sever the final ties a soul has to its body and lead it into the afterlife…in ancient Greece it could be seen as the boat trip across the River Styx which led to the afterlife or was the breach between the land of the living and the dead. That’s why the loved ones would place pennies over the eyes of the dead…so they would have enough money to pay the ferryman and not be left in limbo…it’s called many things in many different cultures but it’s all the same…the only thing which can go after spirits…to take them or trap them or tear them from their bodies is a reaper…and there’s no way to stop it,” Rick said stopping his movements as he looked back at Melinda.
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Post by Melinda Gordon on Jul 24, 2008 11:38:37 GMT -4
Reapers. "That's what I was afraid of," she mumbled. Of all the stupid things to go after Rick it had to be a reaper. She'd prefer his dead wife again anytime. At least in the end she'd been able to do some good.
Melinda listened as he went on to ramble on about the Grim Reaper and his life history. "…and there’s no way to stop it."
At this Melinda looked up and caught Rick's eye. "There's always a way," she said firmly, shaking her head. "There's always a way and we'll find one."
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Post by Professor Rick Payne on Jul 31, 2008 9:53:19 GMT -4
Rick looked back at Melinda as she seemed to start to think over what he had said either or she was tuning him out which might have been possible had he not been dead or dying or doing whatever it was his body was currently doing.
“It’s death Mel!” Rick protested as Melinda explained that there was always a way to stop things.
“You don’t stop death, it isn’t an angry spirit or a demon or a goblin or ghost or anything else it’s death…it has a plan…and a time and purpose…how do you stop the end? I highly doubt me asking it to come back another time is going to work,” Rick said the panic rising in him once more as his pacing resumed.
He stopped though and a rather amused smile came over his face as he looked around the waiting room at the several people who kept glancing at Melinda and then back away again.
“I think we may wanna go elsewhere otherwise you’re gonna get stuck in the mental ward,” Rick explained gesturing to the people in the waiting room.
“Make her check again though…” Rick said gesturing to the nurse behind the counter.
“That I’m still alive…for now anyways,” he grumbled making his way to the edge of the room and leaning against the door frame as he waited for Melinda. He would prefer the news of his demise came from Mel and not by over hearing it from Nurse Betty over behind the desk.
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