Defying Fate

Chapter 16-p2

They brought Odysseus to a room lit with more of the strange flat lights. It was cold and grey, furnished with a table and a few chairs, all made of the same silvery metal. A panel of smooth silver was set into the near wall. It was certainly the largest, most flawless mirror Odysseus had ever seen. He glanced at his reflection, then away quickly. It had been a long time since he'd seen himself, and the wild-eyed man in the glass looked strange to him.

They led him to the chair directly across from the mirror, loosing one wrist from the manacles, they brought his arms in front of him, and looped the chain through a bar on the table, before cuffing his wrist once again. He had no choice but to sit, and then the two officers left.

"A doctor will be here soon to take some blood," Louiza said softly, rapping on the tabletop with her knuckles. "We're going to keep you separate from your crew for now, but know that they'll be alright."

She pressed some kind of panel in the wall and the flat lights in the ceiling went out, leaving only a single lamp shining down on the tabletop, illuminating only his hands, and leaving the rest of the room in shadow. Without another word, she left him in the room, and for the first time for as long as he could remember, Odysseus was left completely alone with his thoughts.

Odysseus crossed his wrists in front of him, allowing for as much slack as possible in the chain of his manacles, and put his head down on his forearms, trying to stop his thoughts from spiraling.. to no avail.

What had he done? Defying the gods, delivering his men into the hands of Zeus and Poseidon, and now he'd led his ship to a strange world, where they'd all been captured. There was no way that he could see to get out of this. They'd be trapped here in this unfamiliar land. And the rest of the fleet! He'd just... abandoned them to the storm. He would never learn about their fates. How could he even—

The door opened once again and the lights were lit again. Odysseus looked up to see a young woman in a long white coat entered the room. Her dark hair was pulled up in a bun, and her demeanor was calm and concerned.

"Hello, sir, I'm Dr. Tessaro," she said. "I'm going to take some blood now." She laid a small package on the table and unfolded it, withdrawing a strange band, tying it around Odysseus' upper arm. Her touch was light and expert as she pressed the veins in his forearm, nodded, and then pulled a strange device from the package. It was a small tube, tipped with a needle, which gleamed in the low light.

"Hold still, sir," she took hold of his wrist and he flinched away from the needle instinctively, but there was only the barest sting of pain, and the tube filled with red so quickly, Odysseus could hardly believe it was his own blood.

Before ten heartbeats had passed, she was finished, and packing up her needle again. She penned a few letters on the tube, and laid it gently in a tray, alongside several others.

"You did very well," she said with a smile, as if to a child, applying a small sticky pad to the place where the needle had pierced him. He rubbed at it, but it was stuck firmly, and a small spot of red appeared right in the middle. A bandage. Dr. Tessaro nodded to the officers at the door, and they escorted her back out.

"Have you taken blood from the others?" Odysseus asked, but Dr. Tessaro didn't answer, and the door closed again, though this time they did not turn off the lights.

He was left staring at the reflection of himself. A wild-eyed man in a wrinkled chiton, his hair and beard were unkempt after three days of rowing. His hair was longer now, about to his shoulders, Usually Polites would have been on him about it, or taken care of it himself. His beard wasn't so long as it could have been for six months of neglect. He suspected Polites had something to do with that, Odysseus hadn't had the time or the inclination since he'd woken from that dream.

He looked down at the table again, wondering where they were. Louiza had said they were safe... but could he really trust her? Was any of this real? He put his head down on his arms again. Three days of anxiety and rowing caught up with him and he fell asleep.