Practicing Medicine // Complete

Chapter Twenty Four: (Don't Fear) The Reaper

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2075 ROBCO(R)

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HOLLOW TAPE LOADED: "THE-REAPER"

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STATUS

Battery Level: 100% (CHARGING)

Wireless Signal: (?)

Operating Temperature: 83F

HEALTH

BP: 120/90

SPO2: 100%

Temp: 98.5F

RR: 12

HR: 70

WARNING: GALLBLADDER ABSENT!

TIME

Day: 4 October 2279

Time: 07:21

CLIMATE

Current Temperature: 72F

Atmospheric Pressure: 760 mmHG

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The next morning, there were two main things that I noticed as soon as I woke up:

1: The pressure inside my skull was so horrible that I was pretty sure that it was literally about to explode. I'm talkin Night of the Living Dead, chunks everywhere, bits of brain and skull dripping off the walls and ceiling, barely-attached skin flopping all over the place. Real artillery-shell-to-the-jaw kinda imagery.

2: I didn't have my clothes on. Any of them.

...Which naturally contributed to my immediate conclusion that I had gotten real, real drunk, and then done something that I was just lucid enough to regret. A conclusion further supported by the lingering taste of alcohol in my mouth, and the lack of any clear memories past 7 o'clock. I let out a mournful groan.

"What did I do?" I murmured, blindly searching the covers for my better half. The bed creaked as someone sat down next to me.

"We took the rest of the night off. There's nothing wrong with that," said Savanna. I squinted through the morning light to look at her.

"Ugh... guess not. Wish I hadn't drank so much." I looked around the hotel room. One or both of us had clearly tidied it up a bit since we got there, but nothing could cover up the deeply embedded nastiness. The walls and ceiling were both peeling and moldy, the rug was stained various shades of brown, and even Savanna's pleasant-smelling soap and shampoo wasn't enough to mask the scent of stale piss. Not the kind of place where a sober person considers sleeping. "Did we do anything? Last night, I mean."

"We did a lot of things," said Savanna. I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Well, yeah, but did we do a thing? Like, a sex thing? Did I do a sex with you?" Savanna laughed.

"Well, you kept saying that we should..."

"Ah Jeez."

"But, you were really drunk, so it just felt weird! I felt like I'd be taking advantage of you." She ran her fingers through my hair. "So... we didn't. I was pretty sure you'd be alright with it, but I'd never take that kind of choice from you." I breathed a sigh of relief.