Endurance

The Doctor

"Cassidy, get up! You're going to be late for school!" The yelling echoed through the house as Cassidy Stark's mother bellowed up the stairs. With a grunt and a stretch Cassidy hauled herself out of bed, regretting the decision almost instantly. She shoved her feet into the first pair of slippers she could find and trudged down the stairs. Waiting for her on the kitchen table was a bowl of cereal and a glass of fresh apple juice. 
"Thanks, mum." She mumbled.
"Don't forget you have an appointment with the doctor today."
"Yes, mum." Cassidy said with a slightly sharper tone than intended - her mum had told her at least six times in the past day that she had a doctor's appointment. She wouldn't have needed one at all if she wasn't getting anxious at nights and finding herself unable to sleep. "I'm off for school, I'll see you later." She said, kissing her mother on the cheek as she walked out the door with her backpack slung over her shoulder.

Cassidy arrived at school with ten minutes to spare before the bell. After dropping off the books she needed for the afternoon in her locker, she walked straight to the drama classroom where she knew her best friend, Viv, would be waiting for her.
"Hey!" Viv called as Cassidy pushed the door open. Cassidy tossed Viv's phone charger across the room at her.
"Thanks for letting me borrow it! I have absolutely no idea where my charger could be." Cassidy admitted; she was terrible at keeping track of her possessions. On more than one occasion her phone had spent the night on a desk at the school and Cassidy had panicked when she realised she was missing it. 
"No problem. So, my mum's taking me to McDonald's after school because she really can't be bothered cooking tonight. You want to come with us?" Viv asked, looking hopeful that Cassidy would say yes. Cassidy groaned.
"Sorry, I can't. I have a doctor's appointment." She responded as Viv's face fell. "I'll make it up to you though." She continued.
"It's fine. Is that about the sleep thing?" Viv asked, back to her usual perky self. When Cassidy nodded, Viv went on, "Well at least if they find out what's wrong you'll be able to stay awake in maths!" Cassidy chuckled at this.
"I'll never be able to stay awake in maths, even without trouble sleeping!" She joked. "I have Mr Smith for a teacher!" The bell rang and Cassidy grabbed her stuff and headed to her first class of the day, English, leaving Viv in the world of drama, where she clearly belonged.

Like the rest of the day, English passed fairly quickly. As usual Cassidy was told off in maths for not paying attention. At the end of the day, Cassidy grabbed her books from her locker and was about to leave when she heard someone shout her name. 
"Cass!" Viv called, tearing down the hallway towards her. 
"What's up?" Cassidy asked casually, expecting some exciting gossip from the year group below her own. 
"The prime minister is dead!" Viv exclaimed breathlessly, bent over with her hands on her knees panting.
"What? How do you know this?" Cassidy asked unsure whether to believe her friend or not. Viv had often convinced Cassidy that something terrible had happened and then laughed at her reaction when she ran around telling everyone she knew. 
"Everyone's talking about it! I mean don't get me wrong, I have no interest in politics but this is big. Apparently some group of scientists shot him and have taken over the government." Cassidy shook her head and laughed; now she knew Viv was pranking her. Viv looked shocked at Cassidy's sniggers. "This is serious!" She cried, a look of panic and alarm spreading across her face. Cassidy, however, remained unconvinced. After all, Viv was the best in the whole school at drama - she knew how to put across a convincing performance.
"Okay Viv," she said still chuckling to herself, proud at not being fooled this time. "I have my doctor's appointment, I'll let you know what happens!" Cassidy called over her shoulder as she made for the main door of the school.

There was an uncomfortable silence hovering in the waiting room at the medical centre. Cassidy took a seat and sat staring at the wall opposite her, avoiding eye contact with the other patients. The minutes ticked by and she became more and more anxious about what she was about to learn about herself. What if her recent insomnia was caused by something serious? The worst that had ever happened to her was a sprained wrist when she was four years old and had fallen from a climbing frame in the local playpark. After what felt like an eternity, Cassidy was called in.
"Hello Cassidy, my name is Doctor Jamieson. I'm here covering for Doctor Edison today as she called in sick this morning." Doctor Jamieson was a tall, dark haired man. His face said he was in his twenties but his outfit and hairstyle said he was in his late fifties. 
"Hi." Cassidy said politely.
"I understand you've been having some difficulty sleeping?" He enquired.
"Yeah. At night I just can't sleep. It's like I'm paranoid that there's trouble coming and that falling asleep could be dangerous." Cassidy explained.
"Okay, have you had this feeling any other time? At school? When you're out with friends?" Doctor Jamieson prompted her for answers. 
"No, only at night when I try to sleep."
"Okay, well I think we'll rule out an anxiety disorder for now since you only experience this at night. Anxiety attacks wouldn't be so regular." He explained. "Have you noticed any other symptoms?" 
"My heart beats faster and my hands get cold and clammy." Cassidy replied. The doctor was silent for a moment.
"I'd like to do a blood test Cassidy, just to be sure you're not suffering from any sort of viral infection." Cassidy shuddered; she'd never been good with needles and avoided injections at all costs. Doctor Jamieson helped her onto the bed and wrapped a tourniquet around the top of her arm. He tapped on the inside of her elbow three times and several small blue veins raised up towards her skin. Cassidy closed her eyes and yelped as she felt the needle pierce her skin. She opened her eyes very slightly and shut them again tight when she saw the tubes filling up with her blood. 
"All done." Doctor Jamieson announced as he placed a small cotton pad on her arm and pressed down. "Hold that there." He said, retrieving a plaster from the cabinet. He put the plaster over her arm and placed the five small tubes of blood into a plastic tray. "I'll only be a moment Cassidy. I can conduct one of the tests downstairs in our laboratory. He left, taking the tray of blood tubes with him. Cassidy closed her eyes to stop her head spinning and waited for him to return.

Doctor Jamieson returned ten minutes later with a grim look on his face. Cassidy knew all too well that when a doctor wore an expression like that, you were not about to receive good news. 
"What is it?" She asked, just wanting to get it over with.
"I'm afraid this might be quite strange and difficult to hear..." The doctor began, "Did you hear the news about the prime minister today?"
"Yes..." Cassie replied uncertainly; Viv had been telling the truth...  "What does the prime minister being shot have to do with me struggling to sleep?" She asked impatiently.
"The group who have claimed responsibility call themselves "The Genetic Safety Elite". They discovered that some individuals on our planet possess a very rare genetic abnormality. An extra chromosome. This particular chromosome is known as "The Endurance Chromosome" and it provides the individual who possesses it with enhanced survival skills, such as physical strength, problem solving abilities, even enhanced night vision. It also occasionally displays an ability to sense danger. You've been struggling to sleep due to anxiety and paranoia - this is your body telling you that you are in danger. Your reaction to the lack of sleep is not normal, you should be suffering from exhaustion but your body has adapted to its need for survival. The Genetic Safety Elite are tracking down everyone who possesses this chromosome and disposing of them - they feel threatened by your ability to resist conforming to order. I'm sorry Cassidy, you have the endurance chromosome." Cassidy couldn't speak. Everything the doctor had said made sense. She was good at solving problems in maths even when she hadn't paid the slightest attention to Mr Smith's monotone lectures. 
"How do you know all this?" Cassidy asked, barely managing even a whisper.
"I work for them." Doctor Jamieson admitted, looking ashamed. "Don't worry though, I have no intention of hurting you. I think the advantages your body has are truly incredible; I don't want to see something so rare and beautiful destroyed. Of course, the elite are completely unaware of this. I want to help people understand their enhanced abilities. Do you trust me when I say that I will get you out of here alive?" Cassidy couldn't speak so she just nodded. "I'm going to tell my supervisor that I have found a patient with the endurance chromosome. Once I've left, wait for ten seconds then calmly get up and leave the room. Don't let anyone see that something is wrong, just walk straight out the door and don't stop walking until you're home. I'll call you from a private number later tonight with a meeting point for us and I'll explain further what we do from here to keep you safe." Again, all Cassidy could do was nod; it was too much to take in all at once. "Remember, ten seconds and do not stop walking!" Doctor Jamieson said with a tone of extreme urgency as he left, closing the door behind him. Cassidy counted to ten slowly and did exactly as he said. The last thought to cross her mind as she left the medical centre was that she was not like other people - and because of that, she was a dead woman walking.