10/17

Episode 7, Chapter 28

The ring of the land line exploded into the kitchen, startling Laney so much, she nearly dropped her bowl of cereal. Reflexively, she looked at the clock as she shuffled over to the counter. It was ten after seven on Friday morning and the world was already worn out from another rough week of Altered news. To the surprise and disappointment of the major news networks, Halloween had come and gone on Tuesday without any major incidents in the United States. By Thursday night, no new Altered teen bodies had surfaced within the country. With no local incidents to report on, the news had gone international, reporting reporting on similar unexplained deaths happening in Mexico and South America.

Then there were the other occurrences. In Sao Paulo, Brazil an Altered somehow allegedly collapsed a section of their stacked housing, destabilizing several blocks of structures. A dozen people were killed and the homes of hundreds of others were put at risk. It didn't matter that the teen in question allegedly helped with evacuations, dramatically reducing the death toll, the world was angry. This story was off set by multiple accounts of an Altered boy in a luchador mask pulling off vigilante style rescues and deeds in the back alleys of Guadalajara, Mexico. According to the eye witnesses, he was bullet proof and strong enough to lift trucks. Dozens of people had come forward claiming he had saved them from everything from muggings and car accidents to kidnapping attempts. The criminals were easily taken into custody after being left bound for the authorities. The feelings of the world toward the Altered ran hot and cold by the moment.

"Got it," Laney yelled to the living room to keep her Nan in her chair with her paper.

"Who on Earth is using a phone at this ungodly hour," Laney heard her Nan grumble back. Of course, anytime before nine in the morning was an "ungodly hour," to her Nan's way of thinking. Amused and in total agreement with the attitude, Laney picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Laney? Hi, good morning, It's Rene, from the A-teen Clinic. I was calling to confirm your appointment today. Do you still want us to send a car around?" Laney's mind went blank. All she could do was blink in astonishment as her brain tried to kick back in. When it did, her thoughts rolled over her in a crushing wave. The Clinic had delivered her results on Thursday and, as usual, it was the same bland noninformation. Her numbers were good, on a level but nothing to worry about. When they had attempted to set another appointment, her mother had declined. "Laney?" the voice said again. She flopped down in one of the bar seats and gripped the counter sorting through the tidal wave of emotions until one finally won out over the rest. Anger.

"Ah, I'm sorry. You must have misunderstood us on Tuesday, and yesterday," Laney replied with barely contained hostility. She did her best to channel her mother's calm tone when dealing with a difficult situation. "We did not make another appointment. Car or no car, I'm no longer comfortable coming to your clinic. I'm exercising my right to opt out of your operation. If that changes, I'll let you know. Don't call us, we'll call you. Is that clear enough, Nurse Rene?" she said, putting a biting sneer into her voice on the nurse's name. There was a beat of silence.

"I see." Those two words were cold and hard, sounding nothing like the usual sickening honey tones the nurse typically used. After another brief pause, everything was back to normal. "Well, I am sorry to hear that, but you're absolutely right. You have every right to decline our services. Please remember, we are not your enemy. If you change your mind, and I hope you do, we are here to help you in any way we can. So please don't hold back from calling on us and don't be afraid to let us know what is going on with you. Let me give you our emergency contact number, just in case you need us for any reason."

Laney swallowed her angry retort at the scripted response. Seriously, did someone tell these people that repeating certain words and phrases was soothing somehow, because whoever gave them that advice, lied to them. She grunted for the woman to continue without bothering to write the number down. For one, she never planned to use it. For another, as a string of numbers, her new super math brain easily stored the useless information for future nonuse. She repeated it back to the robotic nurse, just to get her off the phone then disconnected the call.