Page 11 of Nowhere To Hide
Seven
Axel
“The clinic is seriouslyright behind the bar?”Charlie asked as I held her hand and helped her walk through the snow-covered parking lot to get to it.
The night had been long with me constantly worrying about her and whether she and the baby were okay.I was glad that she let me have Jo come take a look at her, but the wave of relief that washed over me when she agreed to go to the clinic this morning was something I never expected.
“This one is,” I answered as I made sure to keep her steady.
“So, you mean to tell me that in a teeny tiny town with no hotels, you guys have more than one clinic?”
“Technically, we have one clinic and a hospital on the outskirts of town,” I replied, walking fast enough to get us there before we lost any limbs to frostbite but slow enough to keep her from slipping and falling as she linked her arm through mine for support.
“Who would have known?”she said, and I could swear I heard a little bit of teasing in her tone.
“Only the locals use the clinic, though some prefer to go to the hospital instead.”
“I’m guessing it’s another thing you guys keep hidden from those who pass through, given there’s no sign on the building, and it’s tucked back here between all of these trees.”
“Exactly.”I grinned as I stepped to the side and opened the door for her.“It’s one of those need-to-know types of things.”
A rush of warm air greeted us as we walked in.I pulled the door closed behind us, shutting out the frigid cold.I guided Charlie over to a chair in the corner as I watched her look around, taking everything in.I had been to the clinic so many times that it felt normal to me, but I could only imagine what it looked like to an outsider who didn’t know the ways of our town yet.
The room we were sitting in was designed to look like a living room, with two couches and a chair around a coffee table.There was a fireplace on one wall and a TV mounted on the other with a small entertainment center beneath it.Dark curtains covered the window, making it impossible to see outside, but there were plenty of cameras hidden around the building to provide a clear view of everything.
“Good morning,” Jo said as she came down the hallway and greeted us.“Dr.Foster is ready to see you.”
“Are you sure this is aclinic?”Charlie asked me under her breath as I guided her with my hand on her lower back as we followed Jo to the room.“Or should I make a run for it now?”
“It’s purposely designed to look like a house,” I answered, keeping my voice low as we entered the room.“Dr.Foster sees those who don’t want anyone to know they’ve been here and who can’t risk having their information recorded.If someone were to come here, they would think it was just a house.If they came inside, that thought would be confirmed because there’s nothing up front that indicates this is anything other than a house.Even the patient rooms are designed to look like bedrooms.”
The clinic was purposely set up so that none of the rooms looked anything like what you would expect a medical facility to look like.The two rooms where patients were seen were equipped with a twin-sized bed and a small desk with a computer.Paintings were hung on the walls, and windows were covered with blackout curtains.Just as there were plenty of cameras outside the house, there were plenty inside, just not in the patient rooms.
“Good morning,” Dr.Foster said, walking in and closing the door behind her.“I’m Dr.Foster.”
“Hello,” Charlie said as she fidgeted nervously.
