Scars Of Time

Flight Into The Unknown

Present Day

Tenley sat inside the confines of her room. She had her laptop, which had been set up to the safety protocols by members of Homeland Security. She was allowed limited access to help her work while inside the bunker, should she need references or resources in handling certain situations.

Agent Christopher had understood the need when Tenley approached her regarding the impossible nature of handling an entire makeshift hospital with just her knowledge alone. Doctors looked things up frequently and she was no different, but to live in hiding without any outside connection, it would be setting her up for possible failure.

One of the other additions she requested was access to her email accounts. She explained that she would like the ability to at least have access in case she needed to seek advice should the need arise. When Agent Christopher began to explain the dangers involved, she stated that inside hospitals, doctors and other staff would get together once or twice a day to do what was called, 'rounds', where they would discuss or brainstorm patients and their ailments. Usually, by doing this, they were able to come up with answers that might not have come so easily to the attending. Tenley expressed that her email would be strictly business only and that she'd allow full access to Agent Christopher if she didn't think she could be trusted.

Denise had explained that it had less to do with trust and more to do with security. Should Rittenhouse be searching for IP addresses, it might link them back to the bunker, exposing the entire operation. Tenley pointed out that the same was true about cell phones, and yet they had a few of those.

Tenley provided her passwords and login information to Agent Christopher in exchange for being allowed access. She acknowledged the seriousness of the secrecy and explained that she wasn't about to go breaking the rules. Everything would strictly be professional and business-related only.

However, on this particular day, Tenley opened her email and scanned through the topics. Most of the emails were duplicated forwards that other doctors had already answered, so she was able to file those away.

There was one email however, that stuck out to her. She recognized the handle. It was from an old mentor from when she was in Med School, Tim.

Tim was the man who had approached Tenley regarding an opportunity to help make a difference in third world countries by providing medical care. He had suggested that she take a full semester off to get the full hands-on experience.

He was an older man in his late fifties who had a cheery disposition. He was from France and had an accent that made a lot of people swoon. Tenley had always thought that it was contrived but said nothing. She hadn't been to France, so she didn't have much experience with their accents to know.

The two of them had grown close, becoming good friends, but as her semester off began to come to an end, and she was looking forward to returning to Med School, Tim began to act a little odd to her. He professed his love for her, which made her uneasy. To this day, she never told anyone about Tim and what had transpired between them, but she still remained in touch with him, but much more reserved. She had to explain to him that she wasn't interested but still valued his friendship. It seemed to sate him, but then almost all communication had ceased.

Until now.

The email was brief and to the point; Hello, Tenley. How are you?

She stared at the words. It had been several years since she had heard from him. After the awkward exchange she had with him regarding his feelings towards her, he had only reached out two other times to see if she wanted to go with him to other countries to repeat what she did when she first met him. Both times, she had to decline - not from lack of interest, but lack of ability with her job at the hospital.