Page 31 of 80% Beef 20%
I took three stiff steps toward the ominous egg chair. Irrational hesitation weighed down each heavy footfall. As I sat on the lip, fingers clasped along its cold edge, I felt like I’d been deceived into unwittingly participating in a villainous body snatcher program.
Nurse Claice, more attuned to my fraying nerves than the doctor, placed a reassuring, strangely human-like hand on my shoulder. Her wings were folded in a neat taper down her back. “Don’t worry, little chick. Dr. Ten was recruited to Tern specifically for his experience studying and working with hundreds of species. This won’t take but a few moments and is entirely pain free. When the med chair seals, it will darken, and a red light will analyze you. The light’s harmless, but many find it more comfortable to close their eyes.”
Before I could say another word, she placed my head and arms on the rests, tightened the straps and sealed the chamber.
“Fuck!” My teeth clenched, and I bore down on my chair as if it were a rocket launcher about to take off. When nothing happened beyond the soft sound of waves lapping against the shore, I opened one eye and then the other. Crimson, coraland carmine lasers spiraled around my body like a spirograph. The beams of light were beautiful. The palette would’ve worked perfectly for the dragon harness costume I’d created a few years back.
Bathed in the ruby glow and the lulling ocean sound, the space filled with a hesitant optimism. Would there be an advanced technology treatment for my condition? A magical serum that might cure me in one dose?
The chamber’s seal swooshed open a few minutes later, and the sanitized room’s bright white light flooded back in. Nurse Claice’s efficient hands unstrapped me.
“You did very well.” Her short beak clacked as she pressed buttons on a panel attached to the unit. “The results are uploading as we speak. The doctor will review them with you in a few moments.”
“Thank you.”
Her white feathers fluttered in response as the door snicked shut behind her.
Despite doubling up on my meds and getting excessive rest, my muscles still spasmed in pain, and now my hands and ankles were swollen to boot. I wished I’d accepted Geo’s many offers to accompany me, because what if the diagnosis was worse? Fear over what I was about to hear sent tremors down my arms.
Out of nowhere, my imagination conjured JayJay’s big hand wrapped around mine, and my feet stopped their incessant jittering. Why would thoughts of an enormous Rock Dweller calm me? I brushed it off. Anyone would find safety in the presence of someone who’d rescued them.
The vacuum-sealed door unfolded, and Dr. Ten entered, head bowed toward a data pad. “So very interesting,” he muttered to himself. “Well, I think I remember a case where….” He tapped his chin with one bony finger.
I cleared my throat.
He chirped happily. “This is absolutely remarkable. You do indeed have idiopathic blood degeneration. The symptoms you display—exhaustion, swollen joints, muscle spasms—are typical of other humanoid species with this condition.” Deep in thought, his head ticked to the side while he scrolled through the data. “The folic acid and calcium supplements you’ve been taking, in addition to your medication, will slow the disease. However, the antimetabolite is no longer effective.”
Uh-huh. Tell me something I don’t know.
“How are you liking your time on Tern?”
Why did doctors insist on small talk? “Well, last week, the most horrific beast I’ve ever seen trapped me in a volcano.”
Dr. Ten’s small eyes filled with concern.
“Then, last month, I had to be rescued when the same bastard worm shook the ground so hard it blocked the entrance to the rocky outcrop’s cave with a giant boulder.”
He cocked his head to the side, clicking his beak with a sound oddly close to atsk.
“And I’ve nearly frozen to death in an avalanche.” I sighed. “Honestly, my return to Earth in a couple of weeks can’t come soon enough.”
Dr. Ten’s beak opened and closed, but no words came out.
Judging by his silence, honesty had been the wrong approach. I blamed my lack of filter on the uncertainty.Tell me what to do about my antimetabolites already, would ya?But I didn’t want him to think humans were ungrateful, so I put on my fake smile.
“Ah…What I meant to say is that it’s been awesome. Thanks. My best friend’s happy and married to a wonderful Lornian.” While it was true, spewing polite BS had never been my gig. “And I’ve taken part in so many exciting cultural exchanges. But my favorite part has been learning to ride a hoverbike.”
He pulled a stool from under a table closer to me. “It pleases me to hear that. Perhaps you won’t take the news I’m about to give you poorly after all.”
What?!
Dr. Ten’s wingtips fluttered. “Your expression tells me I’ve said the wrong thing again. Nurse Claice is forever warning me not to scare my patients.”
My feet drummed a nervous beat against the floor. “Just rip the bandage off. Don’t sugarcoat it.” I clutched the edge of the egg chair in a white-knuckled grip.
“I don’t believe ‘rip the bandage off’ and ‘sugarcoat it’ are translating correctly, but I gather from your trepidation that you would like the worst news first.”
OMG, this guy’s killing me.
