The Accident

Disclaimers: Logan and Remy belong to Marvel Comics. The other characters in the story, are mine. No harm intended. No money collected. inigmatic@hotmail.com


Spiker stood in the doorway of Remy's room, and watched as the young man sat in a chair, bent over tieing his shoes. "I hope you've enjoyed your visit, with us. I am still amazed that there wasn't more damage, considering the extent of the accident you've had," he smiled and stepped closer to Remy as he spoke.

Sitting up and looking at the doctor with a monotonous expression, Remy took a breath. He smiled slightly and then stood up. "I will be sure to come back if I feel anymore pain." After a deep breath, Remy gathered his things as they sat on the unmade bed, and walked with the doctor to the nurses station to check out. His explorations of the overnight bag pleased him in finding clothes that were not black suits. He was free to wear what was in the bag, and picked a pair of faded blue jeans, a dark blue sweatshirt, and strange shoes that felt so comfortable that he smiled when slipping them on.

The physician laughed and shook his head. "I admire your assertiveness. Not all patients seem to share your enthusiasm of our hospital."

"That is a sad detail," Remy's voice seemed clearer as he signed his release.

Doctor Spiker nodded in agreement. "Where to now?"

"Home, I suppose." Waiting for Spiker to sign his release papers, Remy took the time to look around the white, multi-halled room. He watched as doctors and nurses came and went, people on beds were wheeled down the halls by maroon scrubbed orderlies, and visitors sat in the small waiting room. It was a complete mystery to him that such a clean and orderly place feared most people. Why would people dislike coming to hospital when something serious happened? If it meant staying in the world a bit longer, he would certainly visit the hospital when he felt ill.

As Spiker finished and handed Remy his forms, he escorted Remy to the elevator to say his goodbyes, "Well, it seems we've come to the end. I'm sure the nurses will all be upset that you're leaving. I think a few have come to enjoy seeing you on their rounds." A smile graced his lips for a moment as the elevator doors opened to an empty car. He stood beside Remy and thought to himself as he looked the young man over, he didn't seem to have any range of drastic emotion; he was just pleasantly calm about the whole experience.

Remy was touched and smiled in return. "I'm sure they will find someone who is more of a conversationalist than I am." Holding the door open with his left hand on the sensor, he shook the doctor's hand with his right and stepped into the car, "good bye." The doors closed before Spiker could reply but Remy knew the sentiment was returned, and awaited to be free of the building. He knew he had missed several days and was anxious in getting back to work.

When the elevator doors opened, Remy stepped out into the neat and spacious lobby. Few doctors and nurses were talking to nurses at the administration desk, and several patients filled out paperwork in the small waiting room. Ahead of him were tall, glass sliding doors that invited new patients in, and well patients out.

Strolling forward, Remy noted a small, ill girl holding her mother's hand as they walked towards the front desk. Upon seeing him, the little girl stopped and clutched her mother's side when he smiled down at her. He paused to say 'hello' and ease the girl into comfort.

Little Julie Brink stood shivering beside her mother. A pink baseball cap hid where her hair had fallen out, and the green sweatsuit hung on her withering frame. She was only eight or nine years old but her eyes knew who he was. "Hi." Her voice was only a whisper yet she said it so clear for him to hear the pain and fright in it. Watching him with wide eyes, Julie lay her head on her mother's arm.

"Don't worry, cherie. You'll be just fine." After a wink and another smile, Remy stepped aside and let them pass before contnuing on his way outside.
_______

Remy stood on the curb, just outside of the building, and stared out into the parking lot. Inhaling and exhaling slowly as he stepped off of the curb and walked straight, down a row of cars to the intersection. His pace was slow to moderate but the quiet buzzing in his ears of people's worries and tensions grew steadily as he reached the sidewalk of the street. In coming to a stop on the sidewalk, he sighed and waited for the light to change so that he could cross to the other side.

The light changed and Remy started to cross, his head filling with sounds that came from everywhere. In reaching the other side, he paused and slowly turned his head to find where a certain sound was coming from. Somewhere off to his right, there came a sound of great distress; inaudible to everyone else but him. With an eyeblink, he was gone from his spot on the curb.

By the way he traveled, it had only taken him less than a second to arrive at a small apartment in a big, non-descript building in the middle of town. The paramedics had already arrived on the scene so Remy was forced to stand just outside the doorway. His bag now gone, and a black suit where jeans, a blue sweatshirt, and tennis shoes donned. Remy was dressed like a businessman, only the business he was in was not one to get dressed up about. Standing there very calmly, Remy waited with a smile. The smile faded as a smaller medic stopped his workings on an elderly woman, and seemed to stare at him. Smirking slightly, Remy was gone from the hallway, leaving a loud, flat beep to ring in Logan's ears.

Logan shook out of his thoughts and turned back to tend to the woman. His mind kept the image of the young man that he had known from somewhere but couldn't place him. "We've lost her," he uttered after a long minute. "Let's get her to the M.E.'s." Logan thought it odd to see the young man standing in the hallway, and as one of the medics passed in front of him, the boy was gone and with him went the 83 year old's life. What the heck was going on?

"You alright, Chief?" Zeke placed a hand on Logan's back as he came to stand behind him. The older man was a little concerned for his friend as Logan hadn't been himself since they arrived on the scene of the car accident days ago. Zeke had watched his friend and Chief carefully and noted the moment when Logan stopped what he was doing and looked out into the empty hallway, staring off into space. When the man didn't answer, he asked again, "Logan?"

Logan took a deep breath and turned to face Zeke. He nodded and motioned to the covered board as he whispered, "let's get her downstairs."

Remy watched the men roll the stretcher out and place it in the back of the ambulance. He stood about three car lengths down on a busy Saturday street, watching the smaller medic. The medic had looked straight at him when no one else saw him. It was puzzling him that he couldn't understand how the medic saw him.

As the ambulance pulled away, Remy stood there and watched it until it was out of sight. His eyes sat fixed on the passengar's side mirror and Logan's bewildered face that reflected in it. Somewhere inside him, he knew they would cross paths again and he wasn't really looking forward to it.
________

Logan stood in the third lane, on the freeway, after a five car pile up and surveyed the damage as the firefighters peeled back doors and car roofs. The fourth car had started smoking and the remaining firemen were quick to get it under control. He waited and watched for the chance to let his team in to do their part of the job. Glancing around to the backed up traffic, as it had the flawless timing to happen in the middle of rush hour, Logan's eyes caught sight of a dark figure on the entrance ramp.

Taking a step closer and holding his hand up to shield his eyes from the streetlights, he noted the young man's face. Logan felt the confusion take over his thoughts again but let them wither as his attention was directed back to the fourth and fifth car. Standing on the other side of what looked like a morbid form of an arrow, Logan sighed and reached for his kit that sat at his feet. When he looked back for the dark figure, it was gone. He smirked to himself of what the mystery between the Cajun kid and the scenes he stood by and observed.

Remy stood on the median and stared at the man who stared back before beng called away, thinking just how it was that the medic was able to see him. Focusing on each of the cars, Remy put it out of his mind and did what he was there for. He now stood at the third car, and the smushed point of the arrow. Being that cars one and two scattered to either side of the lanes, three had hit between them and cars four and five hit each other as they tried to break before it. The young man went unnoticed as he peered into the crumpled, late model Pontiac and found a small child huddled lifeless between the back seat and the passengar's seat, on the floor. He smiled and seemed to be reaching in and taking the 5 year old, hispanic boy's hand. As their hands nearly touched, a voice called to Remy from the ambulance.

"Hey, what're you doing here?" Logan had called to him twice but it was the third time that Remy had heard him. Grabbing his kit and walking briskly towards Remy, Logan kept his eyes focused on the young man in black. "Who are you? Did you see what happened? Answer me!" His temper flared as he was stopped short of the young man by a few feet. "You need to leave the scene and let us handle this."

Remy held up a hand and managed to keep Logan back at three steps. He paused a moment and turned back to the wrecked car. "You won't be needing that," Remy said with complete and eerie calmness. Swallowing at the dryness of his task, Remy smiled and nodded lightly.

Leaning over and looking in through the window, his eyes caught sight of what Remy was staring at. "Shit!" Turning back, Logan yelled for Cam to bring a board as he tried to open the door on the other side. Opening it slightly, Logan glanced back to make sure Remy was still there, he was. Managing to get the door open a little ways before it jammed, he was told again in the same calm voice.

"You don't need dat, now."

"Why not?"

Remy breathed slowly, "too late for de chile." He didn't move as Cam came to stand at the window where Remy stood. As both medics were now busy with the boy, Remy took the time to slip away and leave them to their job.

When Logan turned back to look for Remy and ask the multiple questions that he had, the young man in black was gone. "Dammit!" Sighing and finishing loading the covered boy into the ambulance, he glanced up and watched a cloud of dark smoke rise up from the first car and distort the once black and clear night. "Aw Hell."

TBC.