The Restoration Project

4.19 - Merrick

"This is it," Marybelle said, showcasing the building across the street.

That building was the Atlantic City Memorial Hospital or, as Harry liked to call it, Harry's Hospital. The street was empty, aside from the prostrate bodies of N3s littered along the asphalt like waste. Merrick hadn't recognized Anita among them yet, although his search wasn't thorough. It felt disrespectful to touch them because they were still breathing. Whatever turned them off might be reversible.

"Thanks, but I remembered the way to get here," he said, turning his attention to the hospital. It bore the promise of reuniting with Anita, yet it frightened him at the same time. If Frankie brought her to Harry's, like he said, she would only be a doorway and a few walls away. But she might be like the rest of the N3s on the road.

"I know. But I needed to see this town for myself," Marybelle said. The way she tightened her lips afterward suggested she had no intention of expanding on the matter. She might as well have said she wanted to see Frankie's town perish with him.

"Where are you going next?" Merrick asked.

"I have some friends I need to see. After that, who knows? Probably head away from here, like most people. Try the West again."

The West sent a shudder down Merrick's spine. It wasn't pleasant out there when he left and he had no intention of going back. He would have advised Marybelle the same, but she was stubborn enough not to listen. "What do you think caused this?" he asked, raising one hand and twirling his finger in the air to suggest their surroundings.

Marybelle scrunched her forehead. "Why do you think I would know?"

Merrick shrugged and looked back at the entrance to Harry's Hospital.

"Are you stalling?" Marybelle asked.

Merrick didn't reply. He couldn't admit she was right. That he wasn't worried about going inside and finding Anita like the rest of the N3s in town, but rather not finding her at all.

"Hmm," Marybelle said, and then shrugged and studied the bodies of the N3s around them. "I don't plan on sticking around long enough to find out what caused this. Or to be here when they wake back up." True to her word, she didn't bother waiting for a response, but rather turned around and departed in the direction they had came.

Merrick watched her for a few moments before turning back to Harry's clinic. The building seemed larger than he remembered, casting a dark shadow across the street. Most of it was unused space but, as it loomed above him, his mouth went dry with worry and anticipation. He stole one last glance in Marybelle's direction, confirming she disappeared around the corner of a building, and then he took a step toward the entrance.

It was dark inside. Darker than he was expecting, at least. The curtains that Harry used to separate his space from the rest of the hospital served to block out any light the grimy windows permitted. The small generator that powered the string lights crossing the space above his head was dead as well. It either ran out of fuel or was damaged by whatever pulse deactivated the bots.

"Hello?" Merrick asked. His voice echoed in the darkness.

He wasn't expecting a reply, but he wasn't expecting the sheer silence that ensued. His breathing reverberated in the space, like there was someone standing behind him breathing down his back.

"Hello?" He called out again, louder this time in an attempt to drown out the other sounds. Still, no one replied. Harry was either gone or too scared to speak out.

One promising sign if, in fact, Anita was delivered here, was that there were no bodies on the ground. It meant the N3s hadn't reached inside the hospital before whatever caused them to deactivate. It made it easier to navigate the narrow pathways that divided the atrium into makeshift rooms.

He headed in the direction of Harry's operating room, directed by a series of makeshift signs. When he reached it, there were two additional re-purposed signs hanging beside the door. One said 'Keep Out' and the other, paradoxically, said 'Knock Before Entering'.  Merrick wasn't in the mood to listen to either of the warnings. He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The room on the other side was pitch black—the darkness amplified by the lack of light in the rest of the hospital. He reached in his pocket, pulled out the lighter Pierre had given him, and flicked it on. The room it illuminated was empty aside from the equipment Harry used for his tests. A metal table sat in the middle of the room, dirty and grubby. His heart sank.

"Anita?" he asked, as if evoking her name would magically make her appear.

She wasn't there, and may never had been. The lighter was getting hot on his fingertips so he snuffed it out and stood in the silent darkness for a moment. He wanted to cry but tears wouldn't come.

A loud clatter from the direction of the entrance startled him. He whipped around, preparing to confront an assailant, but saw Marybelle wrestling with one of the sheets instead.

"What are you doing back here?" Merrick asked.

Marybelle shrugged. "Wasn't sure if Anita would be here or not, and figured you could use some support."

"I'm fine," Merrick replied. "I'll find her." He broke away from Marybelle to venture deeper into the hospital.

"She's not here," Marybelle said.

"How do you know? This is a big place," Merrick said, not breaking his stride. He poked his head in the next room but it was as dark and empty as the first.

"If Anita was here, Harry would be as well—he wouldn't do anything to upset Frankie. But he's clearly not. Wherever he's gone, she's with him," Marybelle explained.

"What would he want with her?" Merrick asked, going to the next room. This one wasn't empty, but didn't hold anything useful, either. It was a collection of all the equipment cleared out of the previous rooms.

"I don't know, I just think you're wasting time looking for her here," Marybelle explained.

"And you're wasting time just standing there instead of helping me," Merrick replied. He had to keep moving.

Marybelle grunted but opened a door on the opposite side of the hall, finding it empty as well.  Offering up that Anita wasn't there without looking at the building annoyed Merrick. They still had a handful of rooms to check in the atrium. If Harry was anything like people described, he would be just the kind of guy to hide in a corner.

The search took half an hour before they cleared the final room. Merrick's feet hurt and his shoulder hurt from shoving open stubborn doors. He wanted to curl up on one of the vacant tables and sleep.

"They're not here. Come with me," Marybelle said, appearing beside him.

Merrick looked at her, he wanted to cry, but held it in. Not in front of her, at least.

"I said, come with me. I have friends I'll be meeting up with, they might be able to help you," Marybelle explained.

"And if I don't want help?" Merrick asked.

"Have you learned nothing?" Marybelle asked in reply.

Merrick stewed on her words. She was right. "As soon as we find them we start looking for her. I'm not going to stop."

"Don't worry, we will," Marybelle replied. "Promise."

Merrick inhaled and took in the emptiness of Harry's Hospital one last time. As he let it out he turned to the front door to follow Marybelle outside.