Serpe's condition was slowing improving. Ana spent the next few days in the Med Bay, but the nights by Elizabeth's side. She took her pain killers in secret while she worked. Her skin was still tender under Elizabeth's touch.
Ana turned off the anesthetic that had been flooding Serpe's body. After a while, her eyes
opened slowly like a rusted gate. She yawned, stretching out her dried lips. Ana heard the skin
around her mouth crackle. Serpe lifted her hand to her chin and ran a finger down the thick,
crisscrossed stitching that held her face together. "That's not healed yet," Ana said, moving Serpe's hand away.
Serpe stared straight at her for a moment. Ana watched her pupils dilate, adapting to the light.
A good sign. Clarity returned and Serpe recognized her. "What's the damage?" "That facial injury for starters, but I would say you got off lightly. And I don't know if you recall,
but you stepped in a bear trap." "A bear... I don't remember that," Serpe said. "Your leg has healed a lot better than hoped. You'll need some physiotherapy, but there shouldn't be any permanent effects."
"How long before my leg is up to full strength?" "It's difficult to say at this point. I've been working on an injection that helps numb pain
receptors while strengthening muscle damage. Pharmakon. It will help you exercise without pain so you can heal your leg faster. Once your stitches are set more I'll give you a daily shot of
it."
"Give me a mirror," Serpe said. Ana took out her compact, surprised at Serpe's vanity. Serpe held it close to her chin, studying
the handiwork of the stitching.
"Impressive work, Miss Yukishnov. How long until they need undarning?" Serpe asked. "I'd recommend four days for them to heal fully. But you needn't praise me. I was injured too.
It was Lavell who treated you."
The mirror came crashing down on the side of the bed, showering sharp flakes of glass around
the Med Bay.
"You let that Jahlder touch me!?"
"Technically, I was unconscious," Ana said.
Serpe hadn't heard her. She was already in a fury. Her mouth frothed as her finger tensed
around the poles of the bed, rattling the frame. She swiped her hand to her chin, clawing until
the stitches tore. Chunks of flesh were scratched away. Dark blood sprayed from her fingertips
as she tossed the thread aside.
Ana rifled manically through the cabinet drawers. She searched for a needle with a strong
enough dose to knock Serpe out. As it plunged into Serpe's neck, she almost fell over the side
of the bed. Ana propped her back up and daubed a pad in antiseptic gel. She wiped it across Serpe's freshly torn open skin, washing away the blood and scabs, preparing the mangled skin
to be re-stitched.
YOU ARE READING
Black Hole Heartbeat
Science FictionBlack Hole Heartbeat is Star Wars if the stormtroopers didn't miss all the time. Like Cowboy Bebop meets Butch and Sundance, or Guardians of the Galaxy in the style of Pulp Fiction. Self confessed thief of ill repute, Elizabeth Ranger, runs head fi...
