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The Unsolicited Traveller
#WritcoStoryPrompt47
Aurora heard muffled voices around her. She struggled to open her eyes. Every time she almost pushed her eyelids open, they weighed too much and shut down again. It took a while for her to open them wide enough for the scene around to materialise.
She was clearly in a hospital, though not too tech savvy. It must be a small hospital.
In the row in front of her, she saw cot beds with steel handles at both ends and wheels at the bottom. They were mostly empty, except for two patients, probably both men, lying asleep on two cots on the right.
The wall behind the stretchers was painted dirty green half down, and a pale yellow above.
'That's a sad combination for a hospital.' was Aurora's first thought.
Her gaze drifted to a doctor and a nurse standing a few feet away from her bed. The doctor was tall, while the nurse was a few inches shorter than him. He had to slouch in order to hear her whisper.
'But where am I?' Aurora wondered.
"Uhh.." she struggled to form words, but her whimper was enough to draw the attention of the doctor and the nurse to herself.
They rushed to her wide eyed, as if looking at an unearthly object.
The doctor had a weird haircut and spectacles like Aurora's grandfather. Though he looked quite young.
'Who wears that hairstyle and glasses in the 21st century?' She muttered to herself.
"Ohh, I am glad you are finally awake. How are you feeling?" The doctor queried Aurora.
She tried to speak, but could only manage a few words.
"Fff...fine. Whh..ere am...I?
"Ohh you are in Grace hospital. You were brought here in an unconscious state seven months ago."
It was as if the doctor had slapped Aurora out of her trance.
"Sssee...ven months?" She struggled still, but this time purely out of shock. She tried to get up, but her body gave away. The doctor gently pushed her shoulder down gesturing her to not get up.
"Yes, miss. You didn't have any ID on you for recognition and the person who brought you here vanished as soon. Anyways, you have been in coma all this while since April."
"April?" Aurora tried to remember the last memory she had. It took her a few seconds to recall flashes of her trip to Dr Pereira and what happened in his lab. But that was in October. How did she arrive in this hospital in April?
She grimaced.
"What happened? Are you alright? Do you have pain?" The nurse enquired.
"The last memory I have is of October, after attending Biden's rally. I had gone to meet a friend downtown when....an accident occurred at his lab.."
"Biden? Do you mean Joe Biden? So you were in Delaware?"
"No, here in New York."
The doctor and the nurse gave each other a puzzled look and then turned their gaze to her. The doctor spoke first.
"Errr...miss, this is Seattle. Are you sure this is where you were? Because Joe Biden is the senate of Delaware."
The words confused Aurora. She frowned at the statement.
"No… Joe Biden had been elected a senate in 1973. About 50 years ago!"
The doctor and nurse went blank. The nurse spoke this time.
"Since we are in 1989, so 1973 was just 16 years ago, not 50."
It was Aurora's turn to go blank. Her mind went blank too.
'1989?' she stared at the nurse.
No thoughts appeared in her head for the next couple of seconds. Then she recalled something.
'What did Pereira do?!'
She looked at the doctor and nurse dressed up aptly as per the time she had travelled to. Thanks to Dr Pereira's flawed experiment of a time machine.
She had known Dr Pereira for over twenty years. He was a brilliant scientist, but like every...
Aurora heard muffled voices around her. She struggled to open her eyes. Every time she almost pushed her eyelids open, they weighed too much and shut down again. It took a while for her to open them wide enough for the scene around to materialise.
She was clearly in a hospital, though not too tech savvy. It must be a small hospital.
In the row in front of her, she saw cot beds with steel handles at both ends and wheels at the bottom. They were mostly empty, except for two patients, probably both men, lying asleep on two cots on the right.
The wall behind the stretchers was painted dirty green half down, and a pale yellow above.
'That's a sad combination for a hospital.' was Aurora's first thought.
Her gaze drifted to a doctor and a nurse standing a few feet away from her bed. The doctor was tall, while the nurse was a few inches shorter than him. He had to slouch in order to hear her whisper.
'But where am I?' Aurora wondered.
"Uhh.." she struggled to form words, but her whimper was enough to draw the attention of the doctor and the nurse to herself.
They rushed to her wide eyed, as if looking at an unearthly object.
The doctor had a weird haircut and spectacles like Aurora's grandfather. Though he looked quite young.
'Who wears that hairstyle and glasses in the 21st century?' She muttered to herself.
"Ohh, I am glad you are finally awake. How are you feeling?" The doctor queried Aurora.
She tried to speak, but could only manage a few words.
"Fff...fine. Whh..ere am...I?
"Ohh you are in Grace hospital. You were brought here in an unconscious state seven months ago."
It was as if the doctor had slapped Aurora out of her trance.
"Sssee...ven months?" She struggled still, but this time purely out of shock. She tried to get up, but her body gave away. The doctor gently pushed her shoulder down gesturing her to not get up.
"Yes, miss. You didn't have any ID on you for recognition and the person who brought you here vanished as soon. Anyways, you have been in coma all this while since April."
"April?" Aurora tried to remember the last memory she had. It took her a few seconds to recall flashes of her trip to Dr Pereira and what happened in his lab. But that was in October. How did she arrive in this hospital in April?
She grimaced.
"What happened? Are you alright? Do you have pain?" The nurse enquired.
"The last memory I have is of October, after attending Biden's rally. I had gone to meet a friend downtown when....an accident occurred at his lab.."
"Biden? Do you mean Joe Biden? So you were in Delaware?"
"No, here in New York."
The doctor and the nurse gave each other a puzzled look and then turned their gaze to her. The doctor spoke first.
"Errr...miss, this is Seattle. Are you sure this is where you were? Because Joe Biden is the senate of Delaware."
The words confused Aurora. She frowned at the statement.
"No… Joe Biden had been elected a senate in 1973. About 50 years ago!"
The doctor and nurse went blank. The nurse spoke this time.
"Since we are in 1989, so 1973 was just 16 years ago, not 50."
It was Aurora's turn to go blank. Her mind went blank too.
'1989?' she stared at the nurse.
No thoughts appeared in her head for the next couple of seconds. Then she recalled something.
'What did Pereira do?!'
She looked at the doctor and nurse dressed up aptly as per the time she had travelled to. Thanks to Dr Pereira's flawed experiment of a time machine.
She had known Dr Pereira for over twenty years. He was a brilliant scientist, but like every...
