My, someone has been busy today, huh?
Here is my new story! Enjoy!
Wandering Blind Part One
Rated: R
“Thanks for calling me, Roger,” Pete said, following his friend, Sheriff Roger Hemmings, through the narrow, winding corridors of the hospital. “How is MacGyver doing?”
“The Coast Guard found him floating face-down in the water, not far from his houseboat,” Roger said.
“Oh my God…is he all right?”
“Paramedics were able to resuscitate him, but he’s been unconscious ever since they admitted him.”
Both men swerved out of the way to avoid colliding with a nurse walking in the opposite direction.
“I wonder what happened…he’s been missing for so long…” Pete said.
“That isn’t all,” Roger said. “When he was examined by the doctor they found markings around his neck, wrists, and ankles, almost as if he had at one point been bound with something.”
“You don’t think…perhaps that’s why he’s been missing for so long,” Pete said. “Someone held him captive.”
Roger shrugged his massive, rounded shoulders. He was an impressive, hulking, bulldog of a man with a thick, bushy white mustache. “We won’t know for sure what happened until he comes around and I can ask him some questions,” he said.
“So we can go in there now? We can see him?” Pete asked, growing more anxious as each moment passed, the disturbing reports of finding MacGyver nearly drowned unsettling and almost too much to bear.
“He’s in with the doctor right now,” Roger said. “They said it was fine and that we can see him at any time.”
“Good. Thanks for the report, Roger. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. That MacGyver has been found…that he’s alive…”
Roger smiled grimly. “When you reported him missing, I knew I had to mobilize my men to do anything to help you find him,” he said.
They stopped in front of a door in the ICU.
“Is this it?” Pete asked.
“It is,” Roger said. “Go on in.”
They entered, finding MacGyver being attended to by a petite, middle-aged woman. She looked up from her chart when she heard their footsteps shuffle against the linoleum, peering over her thin, wire-rimmed reading glasses.
“Are you Mr. Thornton?” She asked.
“Yes, and this is Sheriff Roger Hemmings,” Pete said.
The doctor nodded curtly at the sheriff. “I have already been introduced,” she said. “I’m Dr. Harris,” she said. “I’ll be the physician in charge of MacGyver’s recovery.”
Pete shook her hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Doctor,” he said. He looked down at MacGyver’s still form, noticing the marks on his neck that Roger had mentioned. “Well, how is he? Is he going to be all right?”
“I believe so,” Dr. Harris said. “He is unconscious at the moment, be he appears to be stable. However, we don’t know for certain how long water was in his lungs and how long his respiration was suspended.”
“What do you mean?” Roger asked.
“If his body was starved of oxygen for a prolonged period of time, it could affect his brain functioning.”
“So the worst case scenario would be that he’ll have brain damage?” Roger asked.
“I’m afraid so.”
“Oh God, I hope not,” Pete said.
MacGyver stirred and began to regain consciousness, moaning and stretching almost as if he had revived from a brief nap instead of nearly drowning. His eyes slowly fluttered open and stared, searching the hospital room, struggling to make sense of his surroundings, a confused frown on his face.
“MacGyver, it’s Pete, can you hear me?” He asked softly, taking his hand.
MacGyver’s eyes rested on Pete. “Pete,” he said weakly. “What am I doing here? What’s happened?”
“You almost drowned.”
MacGyver’s eyes widened. “What?” He asked.
“You were found floating in the water not far from your houseboat,” Roger said.
MacGyver’s eyes followed the new low, booming voice and noticed he was wearing a badge. “What…what’s going on here?” He asked. “How…how did I? Am I in some kind of trouble?”
“Just calm down, Mac,” Pete said. “This is an old friend of mine, Sheriff Roger Hemmings. He was in charge of the investigation to find you.”
“Find me? What…? What do you mean?”
“You’ve been missing for three weeks,” Roger said.
MacGyver’s eyes widened further in terror. They darted wildly around the room, seeking meaning, something that would make sense to his confused and disordered mind.
“You don’t remember?” Pete asked, noticing his fear and bewilderment.
“No,” MacGyver said. “I’ve…I’ve been missing?”
“What is the last thing you do remember, MacGyver?” Dr. Harris asked.
“Going to bed, Tuesday night…what…what day is this?”
“It’s Thursday, the fifth of April,” Dr. Harris said.
MacGyver counted the days in his mind, realizing they were right. He had been gone for several weeks. “I don’t…understand,” he said. “Where…where could I have been all that time? Why can’t I remember?”
Dr. Harris looked at the men across from her in a stern manner that seemed to suggest that she wanted their silence and that she had a private matter that she wished to discuss with them. Both men seemed to understand, nodding slightly. She turned back to her patient.
“We will help you try to remember, but it’s going to take some time,” she said as sweetly as possible. “You’re going to be fine.”
“But…I want to know…”
“You will, I promise,” she said, smiling. “For now, I need you to rest. I need to speak to your friends alone for a moment, but we’ll return shortly.”
MacGyver looked at Pete uncertainly, his eyes still filled with fear and confusion.
“It’s all right, Mac,” he said, gently squeezing his hand. “I’ll be right back. It’s going to be okay. We’ll sort everything out.”
MacGyver nodded slightly, showing Pete he understood, his eyebrows still knit in a puzzled frown. He watched as they left, never feeling more lost in his life, wondering how he could have been gone for three weeks without being able to account for it. It was as if someone had stolen a part of his life, and he didn’t know how he could ever retrieve it.
***
“What is it? What’s wrong with him?” Pete asked once they were out in the corridor.
“Does he have brain damage?” Roger asked.
“If my suspicions are correct, I believe MacGyver suffered from some kind of dissociative fugue episode,” Dr. Harris said.
“What’s that?” Pete asked.
“You mean like amnesia?” Roger asked.
“Well, yes and no. The two are related, but there are major differences. MacGyver seems to know who he is and who you are, so he has not forgotten everything. He has simply forgotten a period of time. It’s selective.”
“Selective amnesia?” Pete asked.
“Yes.”
“How does that happen?” Roger asked.
“Unlike retrograde amnesia, a fugue state is not brought on by any external forces such as head trauma or the influence of some drug, nor does it make the person completely forget who they are,” Dr. Harris said. “Usually, a stressful event triggers it, and the person experiencing the fugue state may wander and have some confusion about their identity, but these episodes are brief, generally a few days.”
“That would explain why he doesn’t remember being gone,” Roger said.
Dr. Harris nodded. “After a fugue episode, the person will remember who they are, but will have no memory of the period of time that elapsed during the fugue,” she said. “They can seem completely normal and function, even performing their daily routines without being aware of it later on.”
“So MacGyver went missing because he traveled away from home, unaware he was doing so, not in charge of his memory at that point,” Pete said. “That he was found so close to his houseboat meant that he was trying to come back home. The question is, where did he go all that time? Why does he have those marks around his neck?”
“From what I can determine, it appears as if someone tried to harm him, perhaps strangle him,” Dr. Harris said.
“Who would do that?” Roger asked.
Pete sucked in a breath, shuddering slightly in horror as he considered the many possibilities. “MacGyver has many enemies,” he said. “Maybe one of them took advantage of his confused state to try to kill him.”
“Then we’ll have to find out who, obtain a list of possible suspects,” Roger said. “I can also interview MacGyver. Maybe he will remember something later.”
Dr. Harris shook her head. “That he will ever recall what happened during his fugue state is highly unlikely,” she said. “Those memories often remain lost.”
“Well, maybe there are witnesses. Someone had to have come into contact with him,” Roger said.
“That’s true, but without knowing where he went all that time, finding them could be difficult,” Pete said.
“I know, but we can post a bulletin, much like we did when he first went missing, asking for information.”
“Good thinking.”
“Of course, I could be incorrect in my diagnosis,” Dr. Harris said. “He might also have suffered some traumatic injury as indicated by the marks on his neck that could have caused this, but I have found no convincing evidence that this is the case. There was no trace of any drugs in his system, no obvious signs of head trauma…nothing that would explain his condition other than as a result of a fugue state. I will have to run more tests, of course, but so far that seems to be the most convincing explanation.”
“You said that people who suffer from this…fugue…that it’s triggered by something stressful?” Pete asked.
“Yes, usually either a stressful event or person,” Dr. Harris said. “The theory is that a fugue state is a temporary defense mechanism, a way to protect the person from the stressor by forgetting it and assuming, at least briefly, a new identity or new life far removed from the traumatic memories. Tell me, has MacGyver been under a lot of stress lately?”
“Well, his profession is by nature stressful,” Pete said, “but he has always managed to handle pressure well. That’s why I don’t understand how something like this could have happened to him.”
“Had he been upset? What was his behavior like before he went missing? Mr. Thornton, if you can think of anything that might have triggered his fugue state, that might be helpful.”
Pete considered it for a moment. “He had been having vivid, disturbing dreams,” he said.
“About what?”
“Murdoc,” Pete said, shivering just by merely saying his name.
“Who is Murdoc?” Roger asked.
“Well, much of that information is classified, but suffice it to say that Murdoc is a man who does not wish MacGyver well.”
Dr. Harris and Roger glanced at each other.
“Pete, I understand the sensitive nature of your work, but you are going to have to provide me with more information on this Murdoc character,” Roger said. “He might be the clue we need to solve this.”
“I know Roger, and don’t worry about it. You’re my friend, I can trust you. There is no way I would ever obstruct an investigation, especially when MacGyver is involved.”
Roger inclined his head slightly, as if in a respectful bow. “I appreciate that,” he said.
“Meanwhile, I will run more tests and ask MacGyver more questions myself,” Dr. Harris said. “I need to confirm the diagnosis as fugue and not something else, so I must rule out any other factors that could have contributed to his condition.”
Pete nodded. “Can we go back in and see him again?” He asked.
“Of course,” Dr. Harris said. “I will tell him all we have spoken about later, but I was concerned about overwhelming him with too much information all at once. He has after all already learned that he has been missing for three weeks without having any recollection of it. That has to be frightening for anyone.”
“I can imagine,” Roger said.
“I advise you to be gentle and patient with him for now,” Dr. Harris said. “Don’t press him for too much information yet.”
“We will, Doctor,” Pete said, “thank you.”
They re-entered the room where MacGyver lay, missing pieces of his life. Three weeks did not seem like a significant amount of time, but as all of them realized, a lot could happen in three weeks. The question now was how to recover that lost time and reconstruct what happened.
To be continued…
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."
--Henry David Thoreau
brains+brawn+beauty+personality=MacGyver
