“Is he awake?”
“More or less. He’s been in and out.” Ellis sounds weird, so there must be something else.
“Okay. But that’s good, right? That’s normal.”
“Yeah. That’s not…There’s something else,” he confirms Dawson’s suspicions.
“What?”
“I think it’d be better if the doctors explained. In person.”
Well, that’s not ominous at all.
“Alright, yeah.” Dawson puts the key into the ignition. “I’m on my way.”
He finds Ellis outside the waiting room, talking on his phone. He only catches a few words that tell him it’s work related and not good.
“Yes. Yes, I’m aware, believe it or not, but I just went to see him and—” He breaks off when he spots Dawson. “I’ll call you back,” he says and pockets his phone. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Dawson studies him. He looks like he hasn’t slept in days, which probably isn’t inaccurate. “Work?”
Ellis sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Just when I think things can’t get more complicated.” Before Dawson can ask, Ellis points at the entrance and says, “Let me get a doctor.”
Inside, he speaks to the receptionist who nods amicably and makes a call. Shortly after, Doctor Connelly comes to see them.
“Mr Reeves,” she says to Dawson only, so she must have already talked to Ellis.
“Just Dawson is fine.” He hasn’t been called by his last name as many times in five years as he has in the last few days, and it’s getting under his skin.
The doctor nods. “As I explained to Mr Reeves…” She glances at Ellis, “Cal started to regain consciousness today. We’ve been testing his responses to various stimuli. He’s fully responsive to auditory and visual stimuli, obeys commands, and his motor control is remarkable, considering he’s been in an induced coma and undergone two surgeries.”
“But?” Dawson prompts when she doesn’t continue. Next to him, Ellis shifts on his feet.
“Cal struggles to recall events and facts.”
Dawson lets the words sink in. “Are you talking about amnesia?”
“That’s the conclusion we’ve come to, yes.”
“He doesn’t remember the accident?” That’s not unusual, is it? It makes sense that the brain would want to spare you the trauma.
“Not just the accident,” Ellis says, his tone sending a chill down Dawson’s spine.
“Like, short-term memory loss?” It’s called retrograde amnesia, he thinks. That’s what they call it in the movies. But how come no one mentioned the possibility to Dawson? There must be something in all those tests they did. Something in the brain scans.
Just how much has Cal forgotten? Is it weeks, or maybe months? What if it’s years? The mere idea makes Dawson’s head spin. But when he looks at Ellis and notices how pale his skin is and how all the energy seems to have been sucked out of him, he has a feeling that reality is even worse.
“Cal doesn’t remember anything.”
Dawson frowns. “About?”
“Anything.”
“What?” A nervous chuckle spilling from his lips, Dawson’s turns to the doctor. “I don’t understand.”
“Cal doesn’t seem to be able to retrieve any personal information. He doesn’t know where he is, what year it is. He doesn’t recognize his name.”
“How’s that possible? You didn’t say anything about a brain injury.”
