"Why?"
"Your wife would disturb the autopsy," he replies dryly.
"Don't worry; she's the nurse."
"Oh." the other officer looks at Eleanor. He opens the door and gestures for her to go ahead of him.
"You don't have to do that," Herbert whispers to her.
"It's fine! You're the doctor here." she shrugs as she walks into the room.
A cold breeze blows through the corridor outside the autopsy room. As Herbert closes the door behind Eleanor, he leans against it, his forehead pressed against the wood.
The room reeks with the smell of blood. On every table lies a dead body, either decapitated or missing parts. A large gash on the head makes the entire scene look as gruesome as possible. Some of the bones lie scattered on the floor.
"How many bodies do you think were killed here?" Eleonor asks as she picks up one of the bones.
"Maybe twenty? Thirty?" Herbert guesses.
"Were they fighting?"
"Or maybe the killers had a grudge against each other."
"Whoa, I knew you were smart."
"Thank you."
They stand there quietly for a while. Eleonor starts to pick another bone.
"Start cutting up the bodies Dr. Kemp. I want to experience this at least once!" she says, turning to him.
Herbert nods and starts to work on the following body. He quickly finds some pieces of skin on the floor that had been thrown out of a window. After ensuring everything is ready, he grabs the scalpel and slices through the first body.
"What now?" Eleonor asks, looking at him expectantly.
"Um, you realize I am woefully unprepared for this kind of shit."
"Well, do you know how to operate on a human body?"
"No."
"Then stop being such an idiot and start!"
"But there are so many bodies…."
"Stop complaining, and cut those things open!"
The first corpse is sliced open quickly enough.
"Shouldn't we be writing a report or something?" Herbert asks.
He tries not to look at the guts of the poor dead boy.
"We have nothing to write about! That moron got himself killed. Now come over here and let me finish the job."
Herbert sighs before he grabs the scalpel and cuts through more organs. This is getting easier.
Eleonor starts scribbling some passable report. 'Just wing it.'
she thinks.
"Done," Herbert said while flipping through the Laboratory Manual's pages.
The rest of the corpses are finished after about fifteen minutes.
"That's it? Not even anything interesting happened!" Eleonor shouts when Herbert hands her the last piece of tissue. "Why are these people all so bloody?!" She screams in frustration.
"Are you finished doing the report?" Herbert sighs. 'We could face serious jail time here!'
"Yeah," she answers sarcastically. "Anyways, should we leave?"
He shakes his head.
"What? Why?! I really need to wash my hands!"
"There are some things I'd like to discuss with you."
"Discuss away, doctor." She crosses her arms.
"Do you know how irresponsible this incursion is?" he asks.
Eleanor rolls her eyes. "Relax. I have an excellent poker face, so no one can tell I'm faking it."
Herbert looks amused by her confidence. "I suppose that's a little bit better."
"Anyway, let's book it out of here," she says. She leaves the report on the table and grabs Herbert's arm. They exit the building undetected and hop onto the street. They walk down the road silently.
"You know, I'm just saying they can't keep us in here forever., she says softly.
"I feel like we're committing a major felony or something," Herbert replies.
It's already 3 in the afternoon, and the sky is as dark as usual.
Their surroundings look abandoned. The streets are empty and quiet, with people hiding in their homes. It was almost impossible to make out anyone on the sidewalks since they wore masks and hoods over their heads.
"Should we walk to Trenton or ride a bicycle?" she asks.
He thinks for a moment. "Climb on."
"Huh?" she says, raising an eyebrow.
"Hop on; let's take the bike."
"What? Are you crazy?" she asks in disbelief.
"Come on," he says, smiling.
He walks towards the police station and grabs a motorbike. After answering some of the officer's questions, he gets Eleonor to hop on.
"Now, it'll take only an hour."
The motorcycle hums as they ride the long road to the south.
As they turn left on the main road, Eleonor becomes uncomfortable sitting on the saddle and clinging tightly to Herbert.
"Hang on tight," he yells at her as he turns his left foot. "Hold on tighter."
The motorcycle races along the straight road.
When they arrive at the highway, the sun has set, and the city's lights illuminate the road.
"Can you pull over somewhere?" She says nervously.
"Just close your eyes and hold on tight; you'll be fine." he laughs as he puts his foot on the brake.
Herbert pulls off the road and stops by the side of the road. He takes his helmet off. "Here. Get on." He motions with his hand to Eleonor.
She hesitantly slides off the bike and onto his lap.
"This way, even if you fall asleep, you won't fall off." He says before wrapping an arm around her waist.
"What are you going to do?" she whispers, closing her eyes.
"Nothing dangerous." He whispers right in her ear. She flinches slightly at his voice. "Let yourself relax."
Eleanor lets herself sink into his embrace.
The ride goes on peacefully, and the English countryside seems peaceful and eerily quiet.
The sky slowly changes from black to grey as the sun begins to set.
Herbert parks the bike under an oak tree next to Trenton's train tracks.
"Thanks for everything today," she murmurs in a whisper.
He smiles at her as he removes his arm from around her waist.
"I take a trip to Paris at least once a year. I know what I'm doing." He stands up and offers her his hand. She stares at it in amazement. "Come on," he says quietly as he helps her off the bike, "let's get inside." he points to a massive complex. The amalgamated building holds the city's facilities.
They find the entrance and see a hall with many corridors and stairs. Like a labyrinth, a wrong turn, and you're lost.
After they climb the stairs to the front desk, he rings the bell.
An attendant comes walking toward them.
"Yes?" the attendant asks.
"Good evening. We're looking for our hotel?"
"May I help you, gentlemen?"
"We're here to check in."
"Sir, please follow me." He leads them through the maze of corridors until they reach a staircase.
"I believe we've finally arrived," he continues, "Room 528."
He pushes a button on a wall which unlocks the door.
"Please excuse my clumsiness," he says as he takes the key off the wall and opens the door.
The door swings open without a sound. Herbert hands him 2,500 pounds before entering the room with Eleonor in tow.
Once inside, he closes the door behind them. There's barely any light except the moonlight coming in through the windows. A giant bed in the middle of the room is more extensive than most hotels.
"What do you think?" Herbert asks.
"It's nice…" she responds with a smile. "So, where do we sleep?" she asks.
"I think it will do."
"I don't mind a single bed, you know."
"You never mind anything," Herbert smirks and plops himself on the bed.
Eleonor opens her backpack and takes out her Laboratory Manual. She then starts to scribble on it.
"You're writing on that again?" Herbert asks.
"Of course, idiot." she laughs.
The next day, Herbert wakes up and stretches himself in bed with a yawn. Looking around, he sees Eleanor sleeping on the other side of the bed.
He smiles softly. For someone who is always so impatient, she's pretty sweet. A kerosene lamp only illuminates the room, so he can observe her without waking her.
His gaze lingers on her for a few minutes. She's lying on her back, still snoring softly. Her hair sticks to her sweaty forehead, creating shadows under her eyelids. Her lips parted ever so slightly as she breathed in and out. He feels like a pervert, staring at his friend like this. Herbert and Eleanor walk out of the room with their stuff when a commotion in the city complex occurs.
"Police Officers are everywhere!" the crowd exclaims in alarm.
"Something must have gone wrong," Herbert whispers to himself. He looks at her and notices that she hasn't moved yet. People start filling the hallways of the corridors around the place. Some scream loudly, but none of them can hear the commotion.
"Eleanor! Let's go!" he says, shaking her shoulder.
He grabs her and runs towards the exit, weaving through the crowd. Once at the door, though, they see a mass of police officers standing near the entrance.
"There must be an accident!" he yells. "We need to hurry!"
They push through the police line, making their way to a crowd outside the exit. The group doesn't move as far as they would typically expect.
"The damn Irish!" a police officer yells as a warplane flies overhead.
"Get the fuck outta here!"
People continue to run out of the building with panic written all over their faces.
Eleanor and Herbert grab each others' wrists and start running down the sidewalk, trying to stay inconspicuous.
They continue running for several blocks in silence. After they're sure there is no one following them, they stop.
"Are you okay?" Herbert asks with concern written all over his face.
She nods in agreement and breathes heavily.
"What is happening?" He asks himself as he watches a squadron of foreign planes drizzle the city with bombs.
The air fills with smoke and debris. They look at each other in horror. Herbert turns his head to his right and catches a glimpse of something. His eyes widen. He grabs Eleonor's arm and drags her away.
The scene unfolds before them: hundreds of civilians running for shelter, the buildings exploding, and a battalion of police officers in blue and white uniforms with spears.
The chaos is unbelievable. The ground shakes continuously with the explosions and gunfire, making breathing difficult.
Several police officers shoot bullets at the crowd, causing many civilian casualties. Many people are screaming in terror. Others are attempting to run away from the fighting. A few people fall to the ground while holding their chests.
Some elements of the crowd start to fire back. The police officers' spears start glowing. An officer falls backward from a bullet wound to his chest as blood pours from the injury. The rest of the police officers continue shooting.
"We need to go home," Herbert says as he takes her hand.
"But where will we go?" she asks desperately.
"Let's just keep heading south."
They continue running and passing through several streets. Men in green are shooting at the police, and in the flag is what looks like a Lyre. Several people fall to the ground as the police officers attempt to fire back at their attackers. They fall unconscious in a bloody heap.
"This way!" Herbert shouts as he sprints toward a corner of a street filled with houses. They cross the street, running parallel to the road. As they approach another intersection, a group of soldiers appears. One of them is carrying a flag decorated with the Union Jack.
"Hey! You!" he shouts angrily.
As soon as he sees the two of them, he throws the banner down and raises his rifle to aim at them. But the gun jams, giving him trouble aiming.
"We are citizens!" Herbert shouts. The soldier in red stops what he's doing and approaches them. "Give me your names!"
"Lom-"
"Herbert Kemp and Eleanor McDonald!" Herbert says.
'He's a soldier, for fuck's sake. If we're caught lying, he'll shoot us. Shoot us!' he looks at Eleanor.
She gives him a nervous expression.
The soldier puts his rifle on his shoulders and raises it slightly.
"McDonald? Are you sure you aren't harboring an Irishwoman? Come with me, Mr. Kemp." The soldier says, apprehending them both.
"No! I was born here!" Eleanor screams. The soldier takes his sidearm and shoots Herbert's shoulder.
"Ow! What the hell?!" He clutches his wound and stumbles backward. Blood spills out of the injury and lands on the cement.
"Control your woman!" the soldier shouts as Eleanor is pushed to Herbert.
"I am not...!" Eleanor cries.
"Shut up! We're not going to die!" Herbert yells.
"Stop crying! This is your fault!" the soldier roars. He takes out his knife and slices Herbert's face. Herbert screams in pain.
"Fuck..." he groans as he falls to the pavement in agony.
"That should teach you," the soldier says, pulling Eleanor by the hair.
They woke up shackled in chains, soldiers outside their prison cell, guarding the perimeter. The only light comes from their burning torches, illuminating their path to the exit and entrance where they were being held captive for nearly a day. Herbert looks to his side and sees Eleanor sulking in the corner. She doesn't bother looking at him when he calls her name, not even glancing at the door.
"What did you do?" She says, barely louder than a whisper. He sighs heavily and tries to figure out what has happened. Where did the planes come from? When did this war start? What exactly is going on?
"I don't know!" Herbert exclaims. The attack came so suddenly that he was surprised when he felt the first explosion.
"Don't worry about it," she scoffs as she leans over to look at him. "Just focus on escaping."
As soon as that last word left her mouth, a beautiful woman entered the cell, accompanied by her posse of guards. A strange smile on her face. Her hair was dark brown, falling straight and thick down her back, framing an angular, youthful look. Her eyes seemed like they could bore through anything, piercing Herbert's soul with an intensity that almost made him believe she was speaking directly to him. "Enjoy your stay," she says with a deep voice.