Ethan looked back at him, gulping. His eyes were wide open.
"The doctor? Really?" Baker asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Her? Her? The doc?" Baker inquired repeatedly, chuckling.
"It's not what you think," Ethan responded shaking his head. "Don't even say that-"
"You're having a thing for her... damn kid your mind is crooked."
"It's not what you think... seriously."
"So what is it then?"
"I heard about what Zayn did to her, and being in the same end as Zayn from another woman's POV it really got me hard."
"So you're having a thing for her?"
"No," he shrieked, "are you even listening to what I'm saying?"
"Oh yeah, as a matter of fact, I am. Your words can say lots of different stuff but your gaze says another." He answered shrugging.
"You and your perverted mind..." Ethan told him, nudging his elbow on Baker's side. He cringed in an ounce of pain. The doctor walked out of the room, and Ethan looked away this time. "Can you tell me about this Zayn I hear everyone talking about?"
"Um... why? You have a lot of friends. Ask them. They'll tell you. Wait, it's one. That skinny dude Derreiro."
Ethan closed his eyes. "Would you just tell me what I want to hear?"
"Hasn't Derreiro ever told you anything about him? All this while you two have been in that cell together?"
"He tries as much not to tell me. He said that Zayn's guys are out here listening for anyone talking trash about him."
"You mean the cooks? And those basketball guys that almost gave you a new face on Friday?"
"Wait... the basketball guys are also his friends?" Ethan asked, unsure.
"Not friends. Brothers. And yes. They're his cult buddies too. I mean I don't know how that guy managed to get popularity in here as young as he is. I mean Josiah practically follows him around."
"So what? You mean that he has built an empire here?" Ethan asked, brows drawn closer, and a cocky smile printed on his face.
"Oh no, no, no," Baker muttered. "I know that look. Do you actually mean that you want to dethrone him? The one and only Zayn?"
"Even the greatest empires do fall."
"Is your brain in your leg? Did Josiah strike it too much? Are you crazy?" Baker quivered. Ethan saw his book rattle.
"So it is true, that everyone here is afraid of him."
"Um, yeah. I can say that. I mean if it were my wife who was done the way he did Dr. May in there... I'd have already made sure that she'd never return to this place ever again."
"Are you also afraid of him?" Ethan asked.
"There's time for everything... the bible says," Baker responded. "There's time to laugh, there's time to cry, there's time to hurt, there's time to heal. There's time to be brave Ethan, and there's time to run away. A wise man knows when he needs to be brave, and when to be afraid."
Trickles of sweat formed on his forehead. His heart paced up, non-athletic reasons related. "How bad was it?" Ethan asked. "The prison riot?"
Standing up, Baker told him. "Ask the two who died here that day. They'll tell you of Zayn. Just ask the dead. Trust me... some do speak." Ethan looked at the book. The horrific cover page hooked his eyes onto it instantly: A hand coming out of the ground, filled with black blood and dirt. "Son..." Baker grabbed his attention once again. "I'm really sorry for what happened. Quick recovery."
And with that, the officer walked out of the small room and left Ethan still gazing at the cover page. The dead do speak. The thought ran through his mind. He remembered Dylan immediately. Seventeen years had passed and he was not here. It was really unsatisfying that the world continued spinning, that nights and days came and passed as time went on and that his brother wasn't really around to see all that had happened. Life is such a mystery, so they say. He hoped that he would one day pay a visit to him.
He saw the doctor come back into the library again, walking in haste, with some pile of books in her hands. She headed to a shelf, put the pile of books there, and took another. As she headed out of the room, Ethan called for her, stopping her in her fast walking motion.
"Hello there..." She replied as she came to him, book in hand.
"How are you?" Ethan asked, unsure of what to say thereafter.
"I'm good, I'm good. How about you?" She asked.
"Oh, I'll live." He answered affording a smile. "As you can see my injuries are healing pretty fast."
"That's good to hear. It means that the nurses are taking good care of you..."
"Yeah."
Silence.
"Where have you been through, these past three days?" Ethan asked. "I um, thought that you were going to 'live' only for a weekend or something... but today's Thursday, and today's when you decided to finally show up at work."
"Oh." She chuckled. "My bad. I've been, trying to find answers... about stuff."
"Answers? About what?"
The doctor looked at the book in her hand for a while. Later on, she turned her focus back to Ethan. "Come with me to my office." She told him. "There's something I've got to show you."
His eyebrows almost crossed paths. "Are you sure?" He asked, stuttering.
"Come on... it's not what you're thinking about."
"I-I... not what I meant exactly. I mean, wouldn't it be too suspicious to the officers that you're having me in your office. Alone?"
"Ethan, we're past that. And it's my office. My profession, my job. My job. My rules."
"Fine..." Ethan shrugged as he got up to his feet. He took his crutches and supported his whole weight on them.
"Do you need help or you're okay?" Dr. May asked.
"No, I'm fine Dr. May." He answered. She afforded a smile after his response. Slowly once again, he walked to her room, her leading the way.