“This is extraordinary!” said Professor Andersen, scanning the radiographer’s report with his expert eye. “And this patient is still alive?”
It was more a statement than a question, but Dr Hans nodded. “That’s not all, Prof.” He cleared his throat, looking a little nervous. “There seems to be no… visible entry point.”
The professor stood up decisively. “I must see this for myself.”
*
The heart monitor was beeping, slow and steady. The glass shard made not the slightest difference to its flat, oblivious rhythm. Detective Gerds sat perfectly still in his armchair. His eyes were closed but his face was tense. The last few hours were playing back in his mind: the 999 call, the rush to the scene. The sinking feeling when he recognised the unconscious body lying face down on the riverbank. And the cold… the stinging, unseasonable cold. He could feel it again now. His right palm, especially, was growing numb, as if he was holding an ice cube in it. But it was only his brother’s hand. His brother…
“Kyle!” Gerds opened his eyes in a panic. He was straining to make out his surroundings in the pitch-dark room. Then a speck of light caught his eye, in the furthest corner, near the shuttered window. Two specks, in fact. Horizontally aligned, almond-shaped, glistening like rubies. As they came closer, Gerds felt a paralysing gust weigh down his limbs. With great difficulty, he swung his arm round, aiming for the red emergency button by the bed. His hand found a light switch instead, and in an instant the room was flooded with an aggressive neon light.
It was a magnificent beast. Gerds wanted to reach and touch the soft, impeccably white fur, but found he could hardly move, only watch as it came towards the bed. There was something solemn about its walk: slow, deliberate steps, head held high, eyes fixed on Kyle. It stopped by the foot of the bed, and brought its two front paws up onto the sheets. From this close distance, Gerds could swear that there were tears in its eyes. As he looked to his brother and back, he realised that he alone was breathing steam out into the nippy air.
*
“He’s in here, Prof.” Dr Hans opened the door to let the professor in.
“Who left the bloody window open in here, it’s freezing!” Professor Andersen tripped over something and cursed. “Switch the light on Hans, will you? It’s like walking into one of Dr Demison’s fridges.”
“The light switch is not working. I’ll try the…”
“Are you sure we have the right room?”
“Positive, why?” asked Hans, as his hand fiddled to find the light switch in the adjoining bathroom.
He finally did, and professor Andersen saw what he had stumbled on.
“Hans, call security.”
“That’s Detective Gerds!”
“So I gathered, and he’s not our only problem”, said the professor, pointing to the empty bed.
Submitted by: Aline Yasmine