The Book of Blood Volume 4 The Body Politic Part 5

The Book of Blood Volume 4 The Body Politic Part 5

He knew better. He knew he wasn't safe anywhere,  not now. Not while he still had a hand. It was not under his control any longer, if indeed it had ever been. Perhaps it was just an illusion of servitude it bad created these forty-odd years, a performance to lull him into a false sense of autocracy. All this he wanted to say, but none of it would fit into his mouth. Instead he just said: "No more sleep." But the nurse had procedures. The ward was already too full of patients, and with more coming in every hour (terrible scenes at the YMCA she'd just heard; dozens of casualties, mass suicide attempted), all she could do was sedate the distressed and get on with the business of the day. "Just a mild sedative," she said again, and the next moment she had a needle in her hand, spitting slumber. "Just listen a moment," he said, trying to initiate a reasoning process with her; but she wasn't available for debate. "Now don't be such a baby,"…