Before Beasts, There Was Fire--Book 2

Not Human

Kai was content to eat his hospital fare and slip back off to sleep. But, as his team often did, they sought him out and then convened for a discussion, using him as a sort of marker for a meeting place. It often worked this way rather than they try to bring him out to them. He must really be imposing, he thought with a wry smile.

Tyson and Max had already dressed into their everyday clothes, having finished the last of their tests and just waiting to be checked out by a guardian. Ray had dressed as well, though he still wore the bandage about his head. It didn't affect his hearing, though he did request that they keep it quiet as his ears were still sensitive. The only one who had to be reminded of this was Tyson. Kenny had also come to the circle lounging about Kai's bed, opening Dizzy by Kai's foot. And, for some unknown reason, Hilary had come as well, probably with the excuse of visiting him as Ray was also dressed and ready to leave with Tyson, whose grandfather served as Ray's temporary guardian whenever he was over in Japan.

"The hospital doesn't have a clue who she is, and she either is hiding it or doesn't seem to know herself," said Kenny in a low voice, as though afraid of being heard. "I couldn't find any missing person reports on her either. She's in a very precarious situation. With her care adding up on the bill, the hospital might just hand her off to anyone willing to pay it."

"That's horrible!" said Hillary.

"You mean those creeps could come and take her back to that—that—" Tyson had never been very eloquent with words, and he couldn't seem to find one now. Apparently Ray had told him about what Kai had found about her, though none of them had yet to ask him how he knew. They would ask eventually.

Ray didn't seem to have forgiven Kai yet, for he stood next to the window rather than in a chair about Kai's bed.

Kai just took another scoop of his potatoes. They tasted dry. That was okay. He planned on checking himself out after he finished. He could pick up his pain meds and head somewhere that had proper nutrition.

"Maybe that's why she tried to run away," said Ray, watching something out the window. "I ran into her coming out of Kai's room. She looked...desperate."

"I think there's more to it than that."

Everyone's attention turned to Kenny, except Tyson, who had been eyeballing Kai's cup of pudding since he had come in and chose now to say something about it.

"Hey, Kai, can I have your pudding?"

Kai shrugged and the pudding was gone.

Kenny went on as though Tyson's shameless devouring of the pudding cup didn't occur. "Now you guys can't say a word or I can be in some major—and I mean major trouble with the state, but I...I took a peek into her hospital file and read the doctor's notes hoping I could find something like, I don't know, a tattoo or something that could help me narrow down my search and I found some very odd figures. For one, she's only 85 pounds and she's the same height as Hillary! By any cases, that's dangerously skinny, we're talking organ failure and tremors and hair all over you—nothing but bone. But I dropped by to take a look at her and she doesn't look anorexic at all." Pink had flushed up to his face at this point, which Max didn't miss.

"Kenny, you perv, just how close of a look did you take?"

"I have morals!" Kenny snapped. "My point is, it's extremely odd, but I think I know why it is." He twisted his laptop around to show the screen, where some x-rays of a neck and skull were shown. "These are the x-rays they took to make sure her neck and skull weren't damaged—basic procedure to electrocution accidents. Usually bones display on an x-ray are completely white, but here they're mostly grey with a white outline—at least in the thicker bones. In the doctor's notes he mentioned that she may have a severe case of osteoporosis, though he had his doubts as she couldn't have gotten through all that without breaking something. But after I googled a bit, I found that her bones have similarities to a bird's in the fact that they, well...they're hollow—which, if they were, would also explain how she is so light."