From Bunkers to Palaces

Part 7 - No Land's Man in a No Man's Land

The day in the monitoring room had been quiet until the alarm sounded and the fear that Kate had flat-lined was voiced. The noise woke Diana who had slept off and one in that chamber since 2 am. She rose and crossed the room to the monitor as her husband, Joe, called the nurses and duty doctor in the infirmary to be sure that they had heard the alarm and were responding.

Diana brought the intensive care room into view on one of the monitors, transferring to her own laptop which sat on one end of the wall-length desk. After the emergency was over and Richard had left the room, she had expected him to storm in here and voice his anger to them. Both Joe and Diana were very close to their employer, Richard. When he didn't come, and Joe suggested he would go to him, Diana agreed. 

Sitting in Joe's chair, she watched the screen; Kate weeping now. She wished she could comfort her and tell her that she believed that she was innocent in this. She had suffered amnesia, of that Diana felt sure. Amnesia was something Diana had studied in college some years back. 

As Kate began to whisper aloud, Diana rewound it while keeping it still recording. Turning up the volume to hear what Kate had said, she listened...

"Of course we had secrets, Richard. You told me from the start you had secrets and that for every one of yours, I could keep one too. We agreed to allow each other to keep our secrets and enjoy our friendship online, and by writing letters. Yes, when you told me you had another secret you had to keep, I told you that I had added to mine. That was when my father left my mother... but we gave up telling each other about any new secrets. How old were we then? —I was fourteen, you must have been sixteen. We wrote a letter every month. I have a shoe-box filled with yours...

"Online, we focused on sharing verses and songs, and even prayer... we both told each other that we wanted to be friends forever."

Empathising with Kate and believing in her, she heard Kate relive the memory of her abduction and knew that this young woman was Kate even though she had not claimed to be her. It was Richard himself who had learned of her abduction. Who else could she be? No, in Diana's mind, she was Kate. 

The secrets they had kept from each other... Diana knew what she must do. Stopping the replay, she paged Joe and discovered he had not found Richard. "He's likely gone walking in the forest," she said. "Please page him, right away Joe and have him come urgently to the M-R. He shouldn't have gone out without telling someone."

"Is Kate still stable?"

"Yes, but this is really important."

"Right. I'm paging him and I'm coming there now myself."

*****

Richard and Joe listened to the replay of Kate's discussion with herself. It seemed unbelievable to Richard and at first he thought she knew that they would record her words and that it was all fake. "Why else would she say all of this out loud?"

"Excuse me, Richard, but it's not loud. The volume is up as high as it can be because she's whispering most of it. She is doing what most amnesiacs do when they're recovering their memories. Speaking aloud helps them recall more accurately. It confirms their memories in a real way, rather than being thoughts. She'll likely do this for a long time yet without realising so."

"I agree with Richard, Diana," Joe said, "It's difficult to believe her... but then, you did do extensive study on that condition..."

"Let's go back to the beginning of her conversation with herself and listen again without scepticism. Think about what she's saying, Richard. Did you keep secrets from Kate? Did she keep secrets from you? If so and if she is NOT Kate, then how on earth can she know about any secrets? What about the letters, you never told us you shared actual written letters. How did you and her keep them secret? Where are they? If she knows this and the contents of the letters, you should have no doubts. Think about it while I check the monitors... I've been remiss, neglecting our duty..."