Chapter 12. The Examination
Jack examined her surrounding as she made her way to the medical facility. Guardians stood around, laughing and dancing as they waited for their friends to finish collecting bounties or enhancing their weapons. Soon, the facility came into view, and Jack saw the familiar brunette.
"Oh, hey Jack, what's up?"
She saw Elizabeth leaning against the wall; a smile pressed on her lips.
"Hey, Elizabeth," Jack smiled, "What're you doing out here?"
"Lunchbreak," she answered, "I like to come out here and stretch my legs; it gets nauseating if I stay in there for too long, will all the chemicals and such."
She nodded, "Yeah, I get that; it can't be good for your lungs."
She laughed, "Really, it all depends on the chemicals," she eyed the girl, "So, what brings you to my neck of the woods?"
"Cayde wanted me to see you."
Elizabeth's face turned confused, "What, why?"
Jack sighed tiredly and explained to Elizabeth what had been happening to her. With the dreams, the visions, and even the episode she experienced the first day after her dream. The entire time Elizabeth listened and nodded, her face displaying the same severe and concerned look.
"I can run some tests on you," Elizabeth began as she made her way into the facility, Jack close in toe, "But I don't think I'll need to. It just sounds like bad dreams."
"But what about the visions?"
"Panic attack probably, or maybe even a form of sleep paralysis. I don't think it's anything to worry about, but if it'll please Cayde," she patted the examination bed.
Jack hopped up on the bed and watched as Elizabeth walked over to a decent-sized machine and pushed it over to Jack.
"Sleep paralysis? But I see these things when I'm awake."
"It's probably nothing, Jack; believe it or not, it's not uncommon for Guardians to see things."
"Really?"
She nodded, "Yeah, stress can indirectly lead to hallucinations, and Guardians are always stressed. Sit up straight, please."
Jack did what she was asked as Elizabeth activated the machine, and an ample square light began to circle Jack.
"Is stress the only thing that can cause them?!" Jack called out over the machine.
"No, things like schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, drugs, alcohol, certain types of medication…. It all can cause hallucinations!" Elizabeth explained, having to elevate her voice so she could be heard.
The machine then shut off with a whirring noise, the light dimming as it stopped spinning. Elizabeth looked down at her holopad and shrugged.
"Just as I thought, completely normal," she held out the holopad, the image on the holopad being one of a brain, "You're probably just having these dreams because you're stressed out and trying to process everything."
"But what about those 'visions,' or whatever they are? What are they?"
Elizabeth frowned and shook her head, "It's probably due to you not sleeping well. Have you always had 'visions' or hallucinations?"
She nodded, "Yeah, I've had them since Sheldon revived me."
She shrugged as she sat at her desk, "Might want to ask the Speaker; maybe it has something to do with the Traveler."
"Yeah, maybe," she whispered, "Hey, Elizabeth, off-topic, but have Guardians ever found out about their past?"
"I don't know, maybe one? We have many Guardians, so it wouldn't surprise me if at least one figured it out."
Jack rested her chin in her hands, "Why is it so wrong to try and learn about your past? Is the Traveler trying to hide something?"
"No, I don't think so," Elizabeth answered, "The reason it's looked down upon is because of how many Guardians we've lost due to them trying to seek answers. For example, we used to have a guardian named Ana. She left us because of how badly she wanted to learn about her past," she sighed and shook her head, "Ana was lucky; she woke up with her ID on her body; she knew where to go."
"ID?" Jack murmured before reaching down under her shirt and pulling out her dog tags, "Like these things?"
Elizabeth's eyes widened; she jumped from her chair and rushed over to Jack, practically ripping the tags out of her hand, "Where did you get these?"
"I had them on me when I woke up," she gritted as the chain dug into her neck.
Elizabeth looked at the dog tags, the name visible, while the other words were too hard to determine from the rust.
"Cayde said you might be able to help."