The police officer's footsteps resonated through the corridor, growing louder with each step. The man's nervousness intensified.
"Oh no, no, no, he's a police officer," thought the man as he began to sweat. "What should I do? Should I just keep walking and ignore him? No, that won't work. What if he asks me why I'm not dead? Wait a minute, he doesn't know me so he wouldn't know that I was dead. As far as he's concerned, I'm just a doctor who works here."
He stood under the door frame, weighing his options. "Maybe I should go back inside and close the door. No, he'll think I'm running away, which will make me seem suspicious, and he might shoot me. He's got a gun. If he shoots me, I'll die in this body. Oh no, I'm screwed. Why did I have to become human? If I still had my powers, I could just disappear. Damn it, he's going to catch me, then I'll be interrogated. The they'll ask me who I work for, and if I say the Almighty, they'll think I'm mocking them and shoot me. And since I'm human, I won't come back."
The man's thoughts raced as the officer drew closer. "Maybe I should make a run for it while there's still some distance between us. He's a bit chubby, so maybe that'll slow him down. But wait, he still has a gun. Without my powers, I can't outrun a bullet. What if he's a top marksman?. What if he graduated the top of his class for shooting running people?. Yep, this is it for me."
The officer finally arrived, standing right in front of the man. "Hey, doc," he said.
"Please don't shoot me," the man blurted out nervously.
"Huh?" said the officer, taken aback.
The man cleared his throat and replied properly, "Good morning, officer."
"But why would I shoot you, doc?" asked the officer.
"Ehhh, ummm, sorry about that. I just get nervous around guns," the man stammered.
"Oh, so that's how it is? Don't worry, this only shoots bad guys," said the officer with a reassuring smile.
Laughing awkwardly, the man replied, "Of course it does. Don't worry, officer, I'm a good guy I can assure you, so you definitely don't have to shoot me at all."
"That's good to know, I guess," said the officer.
In his mind, the man thought, "Don't make him shoot you. Just act like a normal human being and no shooting will occur. You got this, me. You can do this."
"So, I just got directed here from the reception by a guy called Andy. I'm looking for a Doctor Damian," said the officer.
"Oh, you're looking for Doctor Damian, huh?" said the man, stalling for time.
"Yeah, I am. Have you seen him?" asked the officer.
"Of course, of course, I've seen him around. He's, ummm..." The man thought, "Who the hell is Doctor Damian? I don't know where he is. I don't work here in the first place. Oh man, not good. I need to find this Doctor Damian or else I'm screwed."
"Doc, is everything alright?" asked the cop, sensing the man's nervousness.
Clearing his throat, the man tried to answer, "I'm all good. Just haven't eaten, that's all. Must be the hunger getting to me."
"You sure?" said the officer, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Yeah, I'm sure," replied the man, trying to act normal.
"Why are you sweating so much, doc? It's not hot at all in here," asked the officer.
"Oh, that... Ehm, it's a condition. Yeah, it's a genetic sickness I got from, ummm, my mother's side. Yeah, I sweat a lot when I'm hungry, so I should probably go get some lunch before I drench my clothes. I'll see you around, officer. Thanks for checking in," said the man as he started to walk away.
"We're not done here," said the officer firmly. "Doctor Damian."
"Doctor Damian?" the man said, pointing to himself.
"Yeah, you. It says so on your name tag," said the officer.
"Name tag?" said the man, glancing down at his chest to see the tag staring back at him. "How'd I miss something so obvious? Why did it have to be Doctor Damian and not any other doctor? Damn it, now he's definitely going to be suspicious. I acted like I wasn't Doctor Damian."
He frantically thought, "Think, think, maybe there's a way out of this. Or not," as the officer started to approach him, looking menacing.
"What the hell is wrong with you, bastard? I asked you where Doctor Damian was and you tried to throw me off like you weren't him. If I hadn't noticed your name tag, you would have gotten away with it. Damn it, I almost bought that sickness crap. You used that to get away, didn't you?" said the officer.
The man thought, "Yeah, I've been caught. I can't believe he saw through my genius strategy." Then, laughing nervously, the man replied, "Okay, officer, you got me. I'm Doctor Damian," while smiling.
"Do you have any damn idea how long I've been waiting for a simple autopsy report? I have filed request after damn request, and you, Doctor Damian, the assigned coroner to my case, refuse to give me my damn autopsy report, so now because of you I can't build my case against a suspect," the officer said angrily.
The man thought, "Maybe there's hope after all." Then he said, "Oh my goodness, officer, I am so sorry for forgetting to fax you the report. It totally slipped my mind. Matter of fact, I have the hard copy document in my office. Let me fetch it for you real quick," said the man.
"Finally. Go get it; I haven't got all day," said the officer.
With a sigh of relief, the man replied, "Yes, sir, I'll go get it," as he walked back into the room and entered the office connected to the operation room. His mind raced as he thought, "This is a huge gamble. I have no idea what kind of report he wants. Please be here - I really don't want to die."
He began searching through the office for anything that looked like a file when he heard a voice say, "Are you digging the report up, or will you bring me the damn file?" said the officer.
"One moment, please," said the man, as he continued to look through the cabinets and the desk, hoping to find the report.
After searching rigorously, he looked up to see a wall cabinet. He went closer and opened it. Inside was a stack of files, which he took out and laid on the desk. "Please be here," he thought as he started to skim through the files. Then he realized, "How will I know which file he's looking for from all this bunch? I'm scared to ask him. If I do, he'll definitely be suspicious. Damn it, I was so close to getting away," he thought as he continued to page through the files.
Then a sudden realization struck him: "Maybe the file doesn't matter as long as he doesn't open it. All I need to do is just convince him that whatever file I give him is the one he wants. But wait, that won't stop him from paging through and verifying it," he thought.
He looked around the room until something caught his eye. "Yes, that's it... That would work perfectly," he said as he walked across the room and grabbed a large envelope that was on the desk. "If I put the file in here and seal the envelope, that should discourage him from opening it right away, I think. Honestly, I've gambled so much today I don't even know if this will work. I can only pray," he thought as he picked a random file and sealed it inside the envelope.
He let out a deep sigh, tried to steel himself, and said, "Now I just have to sell the lie and hope he buys it." He walked out of the office and approached the officer with the enveloped file in hand. "Here goes nothing," he thought.
"Got your file right here, officer. I am really sorry for all the trouble," said the man as he extended his arm with the envelope. In his mind, he thought, "Please don't open it," as the officer reached out to accept the envelope.
The man added, "I've sealed it nice for you so it doesn't get dirty, you know, with all these hospital chemicals in the air. You probably want to open it back at the office," he said with a smile.
Unfazed, the officer grabbed the envelope and shook his head. "You people," he muttered as he walked away.
With a sigh of relief, the man thought, "I did not think that would work at all. I've had enough of this place. I gotta get out of here right now," he said.