The Final Voyage Chapter 5 The Hospital
I woke up in an Escondido California hospital, battered and bruised. I pressed the call button and a nurse showed up a minute or so later, with a policeman right behind her. She asked me what my name was while the cop stood by with a pen and notebook at the ready. I didn’t have any identification when I left the old folks home, so they didn’t know who I was. I told them my name was Bill Weber, (hoping there was no missing person data out there) and said I was homeless, just hitching a ride when all this started up near Roseville. She asked if I knew anyone in the local area. I gave them Kelvin’s name and said he lived in Murrieta. She and the cop left the room.
They ran a full body scan on me to make sure there were no internal injuries. I was rolled back to my room and the cop and the nurse came in shortly after that. The nurse who had contacted Kelvin said I could be released in 24 hours. The cop said that Hal had been a stand up guy and admitted that I was just a hitchhiker he had picked up to keep him company. That was a big surprise to me, but Hal did seem like an ok guy, except for being a mule for a stolen car ring.
Kelvin arrived that evening. We had not seen each other in 18 years. He brought a bottle of tequila with him. I rang for the night nurse and she brought us two cups of ice water. She left, Kelvin poured out the water and we sipped tequila and shot the bull until visiting hours were over.
Hello, my name is Kelvin; I found these story notes written on a tablet Bill had with him. The nurse said his heart had stopped in the middle of the night and the staff could not revive him. I typed his notes and am sending them to his contacts and posting the story on his Facebook page as he no doubt intended to do. His body will be sent back to the farm for burial, where he will rest in peace.
The End
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